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How Gen Z is turning to running to make friends

Katherine Bett
BBC News
Jack Easton A group of 20 young women pose for the camera. Some are standing and others are crouching down. They are all wearing running trainers, leggings and long sleeve tops and have numbers pinned onto their tops. Jack Easton
The She Strides Run Club is made up of more than 100 women aged under 35

"I didn't really know where I was going in terms of my friendship group – everyone was spread apart," says 24-year-old Katie Moys.

For many Gen Z women it's a familiar story.

Starting a career, a new family, or moving back home after university can be isolating.

But a running club for women under-35 is bringing people together, not just for fitness, but also for friendship.

"It's crazy how easily you make friends," is how one runner described the She Strides Run Club.

Ten months after starting in Fleet and Farnborough in Hampshire, the club has more than 100 members.

Jack Easton A large group of women pose together at night. They are wearing running gear and many of them have reflective tops. They are underneath a large metal arch and there is an illuminated building behind. Jack Easton
More than 140 women signed up for a run to raise awareness of ovarian cancer

It began when Hollie Thackway moved back to Aldershot last year and was looking for company on her half-marathon training.

She posted on social media to say she was going for a run, and seven people turned up.

The second week it was 14 and by the autumn the number had grown to about 80.

There is now an offshoot of the group based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and the biggest run to date saw 140 women sign up to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.

Katie Moys has blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. She is wearing a black top and has a silver necklace and earrings. She is standing on a street at night.
Katie Moys joined the running club when she struggled to make friends after moving home from university

Ms Moys joined the club when she moved back to her home town of Camberley after university.

"Unless you wanted to go out drinking with your friends, there was nowhere to go and network with like-minded people," she says.

"She Strides has filled that void for me and I've got an amazing group of friends that I can do amazing things with and I can push my own boundaries too."

Tamara Schmidt Vasuki Sellathurai is wearing a black top and running leggings. Her long dark hair is tied back and she is smiling at the camera. She has an orange running number pinned to her front. She is holding up a medal. Behind her you can see other runners. Some are wearing santa hats. She is standing on muddy grass. Tamara Schmidt
Vasuki Sellathurai found it hard to make friends at work before joining the running club

It was a similar situation for Vasuki Sellathurai, 28, who moved to Farnborough in 2022 and found it tricky to make friends.

"I work at the hospital, and you work with such a variety of people that you don't always connect with them," she says.

"I'm not social enough to go up to random people in the gym, and about a year and a half in to living here I was like 'wow I don't have anyone around here that I can just grab a coffee with'."

Ms Sellathurai also says she is seeing more women from diverse backgrounds joining the club.

"Working in the hospital you do come across more ethnical backgrounds, but I think that's been something I'm still searching for outside of London."

A woman with dark hair in a pony tail and a dark running top
Ashley Makepeace says after having twins the running group helps her feel more like herself

Ashley Makepeace, 32, from Aldershot is a mum of twins and says she knew no-one in the group before she turned up.

Running with the group makes her feel "relaxed" and "myself – I'm Ashley" .

"The buzz that you get from everybody is amazing – we're all egging each other on no matter what we're doing."

She says she also now meets her new friends for runs outside of the club.

A group of women run on a street at night. There are seven women on a pavement. They are wearing lights and reflective tops. Behind there is a street light.
The group run in Fleet, Farnborough, Aldershot and Maidenhead

Frankie Smyth, 32, grew up in Farnborough and says: "It's incredible how big it's grown and how many people now come."

She has been involved in other running clubs and communities of mixed ages, but has not been a part of something "that is this female-only and similar age groups".

"You can relate to them. It's crazy how easy you make friends."

Emma Moffat has long blonde hair and is wearing a black head band. It is night and she is on a street. Emma is wearing a black zip-up top and an orange reflective. Behind you can see a dark street with an area of grass and street lights.
Emma Moffat says she has made a hundred friends thanks to the running club

For all the women in the club, friendship is central to the experience.

Emma Moffat, 33, from Tongham, joined in May 2024 and "has never missed a run club since".

"I couldn't run 5km three years ago, but now I'm running half-marathons and supporting other girls achieve that. I love seeing people succeed in running," she says.

"I've got like a hundred friends from run club. They just feel welcoming."

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