Running is great, but not as great as running with mates! Don’t worry! We’re here to help facilitate your social exercise calendar with some of the best running groups around the country. From Dublin to Limerick to Cork and pretty much every park across the country! Here are our favourites:
Sanctuary Runners
Nationwide
Positioned on solidarity, friendship and respect, the Sanctuary Runners brings together Irish residents, asylum seekers and refugees in a social running forum and has been doing so since February 2018. The group started in Cork and spanned 40 different nationalities from the start, and now satellite running crews have popped up across the country. Anyone can join and everyone is encouraged - running skills are optional, smiles are mandatory!
Run Talk Run
Dublin + Limerick
What began as one woman’s quest for a safe space to work through her mental health challenges has now become a global movement for the same. Jessica Robson started Run Talk Run in London back in 2017 and now we’ve got ourselves two RTR groups right here in Eire! Head along to the Dublin or Limerick runs for a social jog and welcoming space to talk mental wellbeing.
Dublin Front Runners
Dublin
Running in Phoenix Park on Wednesdays + Saturdays, Dublin Front Runners is a running club for LGBTQ+ folk and their allies. Whatever your running ability, level or pace, this is a group centred on fitness, fun and inclusivity. There’s a nominal membership fee to join but it lasts you a full year and it looks to us like it comes with good pals and a whole lotta craic!
Wibbly Wobbly Wonders
Cork
Definitely the best name for any group, running or not, that we’ve ever come across! The Wibbly Wobbly Wonders run the streets of Cork every week and pride themselves on catering to all levels and pace. This crew focuses very much on fun, friendship and fitness so if you’re looking to pick up your level of fitness as well as a couple new mates, this is the crew for you!
Urban Run Project
Dublin
Officially running together since June 2018, (but unofficially for ages) The Urban Run Project meets weekly in Dublin to have a bit of a chat and a bit of a jog and a bunch of fun. It’s free to join and they’re always welcoming new members, so if you’re out Sandymount way, make sure to meet up with them for a little socialising + exercising!
That First Step: The 5 at 5
Cork
If early mornings (and we mean early) are your jam then get going with the 5 at 5! Yep, it’s 5km run at 5am and it’s done once a month with the indomitable Conor O’Keefe! Grab a head lamp, something warm to wear and a whole lotta early-morning attitude and then spend the remainder of the month letting everyone know that it is, in fact YOU who is the early bird and you’re reaping those early bird rewards all over the shop.
Dublin Runners
Dublin
Meeting at various locations around Dublin for regular weekly runs and events, this is a great social running club option with a ‘no person left behind’ policy, which we love! Throw a fiver into the group for your one-time membership and your good to go with your new running support crew!
Parkrun Ireland
Nationwide
Parkrun Ireland has been pounding pavements since 2012 when they began their weekly runs in Malahide. Now, they boast close to 2 million runs and nearly 200,000 runners! Their aim is to bring a Parkrun crew to every community with an appetite for it and it seems they’re well on their way! Wait are you waiting for? Go and join your local, or start your own!
Cork Social Runners
Cork
Like your running fortnightly and with a post-jog coffee? Us too. And that means Cork Social Runners are just the crew for you! Meeting at the Bean+Leaf in Mahon Point, join in for a 5k beginners jog, or go full throttle with a 10k run! Maybe stop by and say hi to the good folks on the G+C Clubhouse at Mahon Point while you’re at it?!
