Although online dating is one of the most popular ways to find a partner, singles in Dublin are ditching the apps and are instead hitting the pavements in the hopes of finding their perfect match at their next run.
One run club in particular has been helping to bridge the gap by organising monthly single runs, giving young to middle-aged adults a unique and active way to meet.
Samantha and Eoin Keating, founders of “Your Friend, My Friend”, launched their ‘Singles Run Club’ in Dublin last September.
What started as a casual way for singles to mingle after work on Wednesday evenings in Ranelagh, quickly took off, leading to the addition of Sunday morning runs in Rathmines and eventually making its way to Cork and Galway cities.
Samantha believes that their ‘Singles Run Club’ gives participants an opportunity to forge genuine connections with like-minded people.
“It’s a great way to start your morning, it just brings together people who are into fitness, taking care of their health and then after they get to have a chat, have a coffee, have a few healthy snacks or on Wednesdays we have pizza and pints.
“If you meet somebody that you fancy and you don’t get a chance to ask them for their number, we can connect them for you. So it’s a great way to meet someone and there’s no pressure on it,” she said.
Samantha adds that “even if you don’t meet somebody romantically you get your run in, you get your coffee in the morning, you’ve formed this great community of people, which is always fantastic.”
For some run club participants, common ways of dating such as going to nightclubs, bars, or using dating apps, are no longer appealing. Which is why runners like Frances and Chris are looking for a healthier way to meet their special someone.
“I think you’re more likely to meet somebody doing an activity like running, hiking, yeah events like that, something different, rather than using the apps.
“The apps – God – you don’t know what you’d get off these apps nowadays,” joked Frances.
“I was using dating apps like Hinge, Tinder, Bumble and they just didn’t work. I’m not really into drinking so much. I feel like it’s a commitment, if you want to go out you need to drink, so I was tired of that,” Chris explained.
“I found this [run club] by scrolling on Instagram and I was like ‘Oh that’s interesting, 5 kilometres – you’re going to sweat, you’re going to meet someone'”.
Although Chris says he hasn’t yet found the one, he believes the Singles Run Club has proven to be successful for him, both romantically and platonically.
“I’ve been lucky three times, it has been working for me, but it’s also nice to meet other people. I’m always up for the fun.”
While the majority of runners are hoping to swap out their solo runs for a long term running partner, Amy, one of the club’s newest members, believes that forming new friendships is just as much of a win.
“For me, it’s just to step out of my comfort zone and to get to socialise with people again. If I do meet somebody special then great, but I feel like I’m not aiming for that and even if it’s just finding friends I feel like it would be really nice.”
As the singles hit the ground running and decide to swipe left on virtual connections, it seems that these Dublin singles may just find their perfect ‘sole mate’ at the finish line of their next run.
