Nipple tape. Short shorts. Sticky energy gels. Snot rockets. Running is weird until you make it a part of your life. Then, it’s still weird, but you are now part of it. Before long, you meet others who feel the same and accept you because of this weirdness, not in spite of it. Finding community in this way, moving – and embracing the quirks – together, is a special experience that transcends cultures, languages and locations.

From Los Angeles to Mexico City and Tokyo, we asked local run club leaders from around the world how they feel about getting weird on a run. And what makes their home base especially weird.

Sindo started running with five friends. Soon, there were 20 of them. Today, the Mexico City-based run crew Dromo has over 150 members. Sindo wants to help the runners in the group become better at running. But above all, he values the human connections created by running with others – the friendships, the happiness, the good vibes.

"If you spoke to someone about a running club 20 years ago, they would’ve probably pictured a serious, official club that your dad would go to. Running was for older people. About eight years ago, I started seeing what the running community was doing on Instagram. Run clubs have almost become brands, attracting a much younger generation of runners. They create communities and friendships, it’s beautiful to see.” 

“Most people approach me about Dromo, saying: ‘Hey, I want to join because I know you all run the Boston Marathon, and you're fast’. And that's okay, but that's not my driver, really. Once they're here, they see how it’s as much about fun and laughing, having a coffee together after the run, listening to music and making jokes. They come for the running, but they stay for the vibes.”

Of course, we had to ask: “Sindo, are runners weird?”

“I see a lot of weirdness in runners that are true geeks – tracking every single step they take, counting calories and the amount of sleep they get. Some of us really treat our bodies like machines. But there are many things that make runners weird. Anything can happen at the starting line of a race. Some people will have to take a leak, but there are no toilets. So you have people asking you to shield them from the crowds. Then there’s a tub of Vaseline being passed around for everybody to use. It’s those kinds of things.”

And what’s weird about running in Mexico City?

“Mexico City is wild. You have all these creative minds in one place – from directors to chefs to photographers. I want to show the world how this makes Mexico City so special, but also put the running community into that scene. When people see us [at international races] and ask where we’re from, they don’t believe we’re from Mexico. That’s what drives me. I want to put Mexico back on the map in the running world.”

At the beginning of her running journey, Yuna couldn’t understand why anybody would suffer such a (seemingly) painful way of exercising, just to clock a fast marathon time. To try and understand the appeal, she joined the 080 Tokyo run club.

“Soon after I joined 080 Tokyo, I realized running is not only about better performance, but that you can meet new people while running. It’s not only about the records or the distance you run. It’s very social. Running can be anything andeverything you want it to be.”

In the spirit of getting weird on a run, Yuna and the 080 Tokyo run club challenge the ever-so polite and respectful culture of Japan with spirit and good vibes.

“In Japanese culture, you don’t want to bother other people, it’s very polite. But when we run through the city, and we play music with speakers, we don’t think about being polite and minding our manners. Instead, we can put our energy outthere and attract more people to join us.”

“There was no social running group in Tokyo at that time. When people talked about running, they meant marathon training and running for performance. So we decided to create our own running culture in Tokyo.”

Back when Justin’s running happened mostly on a football field, he remembers seeing runners lap the gridiron on repeat. He remembers thinking it was a pretty weird thing to do: “Why would anyone do this? Why would you run long-distance?” 

Then, his early twenties, Justin signed up for the 10K Venice Christmas Run (“the worst decision of my life”). He ran it dressed up as an elf. And it went exactly as he feared it would. Despite this, he signed up for the LA Marathon straight after. 

Running elves? Seems like LA has its own touch of weirdness…

“LA is unique. Super fast, but super diverse. The beautiful thing is you can find all different types of vibes all in one city – you have emo on the east side, surfer vibes in the west, and central LA radiates the busy New York business energy. Run through Santa Monica and further down south to Venice and it’s about art and counterculture.”

Running became a habit for Justin, but as a solitary sport. It was amid the public unrest after George Floyd’s murder, that he saw movement as a way to create community. 

Justin started the Venice Run Club, which now has over 400 members. Today, his non-profit 48 For Change is part of On’s Right to Run social impact partnerships program. It supports community-based organizations in tackling the barriers that keep people from running so that they can move feeling confident and safe. 

“One thing I noticed when I joined the run club space is everyone preached inclusivity. But if we're so inclusive, why do we show favoritism towards people who are going to qualify for Boston? So for me, the reason why we've grown so much is we don't care. All the gatekeeping and judgment has to go. That's something we don't do here. We go out there and we work. We celebrate people who qualify for Boston. We celebrate the people who are finishing their first marathon. We celebrate people who are showing up for the first time. Everyone is accepted, everyone is on their own unique journey.”

Can’t wait to get weird on your next run? Try our weirdest creation yet: the Cloudmonster with monster-level cushioning and unbelievable energy return. Experience how the playfully weird ride leads to serious performance.

Quotes are edited for brevity and clarity