If you’re looking to get into running, meet new people, or find new walking routes, check out LA run clubs! If you’re following me on Instagram, you know that I’ve spent the last few months prepping for a half marathon. I went to a run club for the first time in fall 2023, and it was so fun and reminded me of high school cross country!
My friend Camilla and I are working on trying different run clubs in Los Angeles, and one week we went to three different run clubs and have decided to try as many as we can. There are some paid run clubs in LA, but all the run clubs we are going to are free to participate in. I mostly find out about new run clubs by following @larunningconnoisseur on Instagram and they have a comprehensive website here. They’ve been posting all the daily runs on their Instagram story, definitely give them a follow!
I’ve decided to evaluate run clubs by their parking because that’s a big struggle when you go anywhere in LA, order of events, running route, perceived sense of community, and how beginner-friendly they are.
KEEP IT RUN HUNDRED – @keepitrunhundred
- Tuesdays 7pm @ Veteran’s Memorial Park in Culver City (review is based on Tuesday run)
- Thursdays 7pm @ Sip and Sonder in Inglewood
- Long runs on Sundays at 6:30am, often in Marina Del Rey but check Instagram since the location varies
Parking: Free parking in the big parking lot at Veteran’s Memorial Park, or free street parking in surrounding neighborhoods.
Beginner Friendly: Yes! There’s a walking group, the route is straightforward and you can do as little as 2 miles if you want.
Order of Events: You show up at 7pm and have like 10 minutes to socialize. Then, the founder and leader, Butta, will have all the new people introduce themselves. Someone leads a safety prayer, and then the walkers start walking. The runners stay back and do 10 minutes of warm-up and stretching before taking off around 7:30pm. After everyone gets back to Veteran’s Memorial Park around 8:30pm, there’s time for community announcements where anyone is invited to speak on any upcoming events they have coming up or if they’re looking for help with anything. You take a group photo, and then people can leave or hang around to chat some more.
Route: The route is a very straightforward out and back. We run straight down Culver Boulevard until the Wendy’s, then turn around and run back to Veteran’s Memorial Park. If you stop at the park, it’s 2 miles, but you can keep running down Culver to get extra miles in. In terms of pace, I’d say most people falling between 8:00/mile and 11:00/mile. The walkers typically do 2 miles, and then the runners can run 2-6 miles, with most people running 3 miles.
Community: Butta founded the club around 5 years ago and has built a really great strong community! There are usually anywhere between 30-60 runners and everyone I’ve talked to is super nice. I like how there are multiple runs a week to choose from. They also do special groups for LA Marathon training and fun runs like Ladies’ Night!
Overall Experience (10/10): I am biased because this is my local weekly run club, but this is everything you want a run club to be! Even my first time going, the more experienced members talked to me and made sure I knew the route.
VENICE RUN CLUB – @venicerunclub
- Track Tuesdays 8pm @ Culver City High School (capped at 80 people, first come first serve sign up on their Instagram)
- Wednesdays 6:30pm @ 2150 Dell Avenue in Venice (review is based on Wednesday run)
- Long runs on Saturdays 8:30am @ 2150 Dell Avenue in Venice
Parking: There is free parking in surrounding neighborhoods, or you can pay for parking at the parking lot.
Beginner Friendly: This did not feel beginner-friendly since there’s only one route and it’s a little over 4 miles, which is a lot if you haven’t run before. It felt like everyone was really fast, and I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it if I wasn’t already in shape.
Order of Events: We showed up a little before 6:30pm at the meeting spot, which is just a big open parking lot-type space. There were hundreds of people there, maybe even a thousand. It was honestly intimidating. Someone (I couldn’t tell who) spoke into a microphone or a megaphone, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I know they used to make all the new people introduce themselves and declare their dating status lol. Then, we just followed the crowd and started running around 6:45pm. There were photographers taking photos along the route. At the end of the run, there was Electrolit provided for the first several hundred runners. There wasn’t any wrap up at the end, everyone just socialized or left.
Route: The route is a little over 4 miles. You start by running through some of the Venice canals and then make your way onto The Strand Bike Path by the beach. There were no lights on the path, and it was sandy and I felt like I was going to slip. You turn around near Navy Street and head back on Ocean Front Walk and then go through the neighborhoods with a couple turns before getting back to the starting point. Since there are so many people, you won’t get lost, but I didn’t like that I didn’t exactly know the route. There are some really fast people here, and I’d say most people fall between 6:30/mile – 9:30/mile.
Community: Venice Run Club is one of the biggest run clubs in LA and it’s become more of a do-it-for-the-Instagram-type thing. I know there are some people that absolutely love Venice Run Club and have a sense of community there and maybe it’s just because I haven’t been consistently going, but I didn’t see how that could really happen with a group that large. That said, the two girls we met at the beginning were nice. I’ve run past their Saturday long runs, and that is a smaller group of maybe 70-150 people. However, Venice Run Club has integrated into the Venice community, hosting 5k and one mile races with donations to charity.
Overall Experience (7/10): The 6:30pm timing is harder for me and I didn’t like running with a group that size. I think I would probably go if I lived closer to Venice, but it’s just not the right fit for me in terms of vibe/demographic and kind of reminds me of going to a big state school vs. a small private college.
SOHO HOUSE RUN CLUB – @sohohouserunclub
- Sundays 8:45am @ Soho House Holloway in West Hollywood
Parking: There is free parking on surrounding streets and the parking meters don’t start until 11am.
Beginner Friendly: Yes! With the easy-to-follow route and the one-mile option, I definitely feel like this was good for beginners.
Order of Events: There were about 50 people there. The founder did a little talk at 9am, we took a photo, and then we started running. After the run, we were allowed to enter Soho House Holloway and go to the library area that had water, towels, and coffee. On the first Sunday of every month, there’s avocado toast on the upstairs patio, along with ice baths. This run club felt more like a social club, with less serious runners. Most people were between 9:00/mile and 11:00/mile.
Route: You can do 1,3, or 5 miles. This is an out-and-back run, where you go down to Santa Monica Blvd and run west toward Beverly Hills, with the 5 mile turnaround point being the Electric Fountain at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Wilshire before the Beverly Hilton. Camilla and I actually decided to turn around at the Beverly Hills park sign, which ended up being pretty much exactly 4 miles roundtrip.
Community: The founder, global triathlon world record holder Raymond Braun, introduced himself to me when I got there and everyone was friendly. This run club only started in October 2023, but I could see this getting big like Venice Run Club, although it’s tough to get people get outside at 9am on Sunday.
Overall Experience (8/10): I don’t really like running down Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood because it’s really dirty, but I like the Beverly Hills section. It was nice that they provided water and towels at the end. It will be interesting to see if they move the time earlier in the morning in the spring and summer because it can hit above 70 degrees by 9am in West Hollywood.
