If you walk through Lindsay Park on a Wednesday evening, there’s a chance you’ll see 300 Calgarians stretching and getting warmed up for a run.
They’re all part of Offline Wellness Club, a growing group that meets for weekly runs and also gathers together for other social events like pickleball tournaments or wellness-related activities.
The run club trend is growing in Calgary. Other groups like YYC Run Crew, BIPOC Run Club and Mor Run Club have popped up as well, blending running with community.
“What we recognized was people weren’t coming for the run or the love of running at all. I think people were coming for the community, getting out and meeting new people,” says Nina Hill, one of the founders of the Offline Wellness Club.
The club, which was also founded by Kat Smith and Phillippe Burnes, has grown from 20 members in April 2024 to around 300 in June 2024.
Each run is free to join, and you don’t need to be an expert.
“We have everyone from professional runners to people who have never run before that are just getting into it. Our philosophy has always been that the ending is the same for everybody. Doesn’t matter how fast you get there or how you get there,” says Hill.
Three hundred people sounds like a lot, but the founders of the club have a solid plan to help make sure everyone has a good time, and other trail-goers aren’t too overwhelmed.
The event starts with a group warmup, where everyone can limber up and meet new people.
Then, everyone splits into two groups: those running five kilometres and those running three kilometres. From there, each group splits up further based on if they want to run at a slow, medium or fast pace, and start their runs group by group.
Like Hill says, the ending is the same for everyone. These days, the group has been meeting at local sports bar Home and Away, where they can mingle with new people or continue the conversations they started before the run.
With so much positive momentum, Hill says that the three founders are already planning more social events for the future, and are thinking of creative ways to maintain the connections people have created once the weather starts to turn in the winter months.
“I think the possibilities with our community are really endless. The community members are amazing people. I’m surprised every single week with who I’m meeting, and the support system that we’ve created is so genuine — I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Hill.