Hackney Run Club

Nourishing wellbeing within virtual community in times of collective need, through sports.

In the context of a socially isolated pandemic, I decided to set-up and lead a community doing the one thing we were allowed to do, exercise outside alone. With the Slogan “Run, Alone Together” plastered across hand-delivered t-shirts, perfect strangers across Hackney gathered together via Strava, running at the same time from their chosen location 2/3 times a week. Fuelled by the soundtrack of the weekly HRC curated playlists and the knowing your PB may just be published within the weekly newsletter, somehow a real sense of community was formed.

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Context

March 2020. The moment when the the penny dropped that the COVID-19 pandemic was about to change our lives. While the health risk of COVID felt very real to me, perhaps it was something in the language of “social distancing” that just didn’t sit right with me. Despite all the uncertainty, one thing I knew to be true: if the big risk to us in this moment was a health risk, then our priority above all else is to support our health and strength. And while physical distancing certainly does that, social distancing does not. And from that Hackney Run Club was born - with the simple aim of edifying our physical, mental and social wellbeing during tough times - alone, together.

Activities

During the pandemic, Hackney Run Club was made up of the following components:

• Strava Run Club with 500+ runners
• Several virtual runs per week hosted via Strava
• Weekly newsletter - with community achievements highlights, local run route recommendations and curated local businesses
• Curated Weekly Spotify Playlist - run and pace optimised
• Run Alone Together T-Shirt Merchandise with 50% of all proceeds donated to Hackney Food Bank
• Hackney Run Club Social (in-person event with eased restrictions)

Outcome

At least for me, but anecdotally from our members, Hackney Run Club created a sense of grounding during an uncertain time and gave people motivation to maintain their mental and physical health. The concept of a virtual run club allowed peopel to go at their own pace while encouraging them to challenge themselves physically, with dozens achieving new personal bests through running challenge. We received member feedback that highlighted how the virtual run club fostered motivation and a sense of togetherness during an isolating time.

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