{"id":825850,"date":"2026-07-26T23:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T23:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825850\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T23:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T23:52:13","slug":"coogee-run-club-founder-tara-meakins-on-the-group-creating-connection-and-combating-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825850\/","title":{"rendered":"Coogee Run Club: Founder Tara Meakins on the group creating connection and combating loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays \u2013 \u201crain, hail, shine or hangover\u201d \u2013 thousands of Sydneysiders<\/a> don their running shoes and descend upon the beachside suburb of Coogee<\/a> in search of connection.<\/p>\n

Widely touted as a combined source of fun, fitness and friendship post-COVID, run clubs have emerged as younger generations\u2019 go-to method for creating community \u2013 and one club co-founder is now credited for helping over 5000 regular attendees feel just that little bit less lonely.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Coogee<\/p>\n

Around 5000 keen runners frequently turn out for a number of weekly events.\u00a0Coogee Run Club \/ Tara Meakins<\/p>\n

Tara Meakins moved to Sydney from Perth in 2022, years before the current run club craze fully took hold, and found the options for meeting new people to be decidedly scarce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was nothing around,\u201d she told nine.com.au. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like it is today. The trend hadn\u2019t taken off yet, and the run clubs [were] kind of few and far between.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that all changed when Meakins was added to an unassuming WhatsApp group chat, from which she met Coogee Run Club co-founder Hannah Gandevia.<\/p>\n

From humble beginnings on a cold, dark autumn night in 2022, the pair\u2019s \u201ccasual\u201d run club \u2013 which initially sported a grand total of three members \u2013 then gradually ballooned into the 5000-strong behemoth it is today.<\/p>\n

Meakins largely credits this growth to the large percentage of overseas immigrants choosing to set down roots in Coogee, and one enduring question: how do we find our people in a brand-new place?<\/p>\n

Running events across the country have also seen a major spike in participants, frequently selling out<\/a> as millions of Australians embrace the post-pandemic fitness boom. <\/p>\n

According to Meakins, endurance races are now viewed not just as fitness milestones, but also as essential social outlets amid a notable decline in community groups.<\/p>\n

According to a report shared by peak body Ending Loneliness Together, one in seven young people in Australia is enduring \u201cpersistent loneliness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Coogee<\/p>\n

Tara Meakins is the head of Coogee Run Club, building it from the ground up with co-founder Hannah.\u00a0Coogee Run Club \/ Tara Meakins<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible journey, and it just never ceases to amaze me at how much people don\u2019t just want to get fit, but they also want to be part of a community and feel that sense of belonging,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Meakins, Coogee Run Club\u2019s appeal lies in its consistency, boasting a total of five meetups per week (four in Coogee, and one on Saturdays at Centennial Park\u2019s Park Run).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s most likely you\u2019re going to see someone tomorrow or the next day… so it\u2019s that repetition that creates familiarity, which creates a community, which creates the friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

She describes the club as \u201cmore of a social club, with a bit of running on the side\u201d \u2013 and was quick to add that it avoids the typical \u201ctoxicity\u201d some associate with run club culture \u2013 embracing inclusivity of all fitness levels.<\/p>\n

Meakins also alluded to the sociological concept of the \u201cthird place\u201d \u2013 a social surrounding separate from the two primary environments of home (first place) and work (second place) \u2013 as a driving factor behind Run Clubs\u2019 booming popularity.<\/p>\n

\"Coogee<\/p>\n

Run clubs have fast become the go-to source of community connection.\u00a0Coogee Run Club \/ Tara Meakins<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing such an increase in young people not drinking, for instance. People are drinking less, they\u2019re going out less, but it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not doing anything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not staying at home, they still want to find ways to connect.\u201d<\/p>\n

As opposed to alternatives such as fitness classes, Pilates<\/a> or yoga, running, according to Meakins, is an accessible approach to finding your people.<\/p>\n

And no longer are nightclubs and online dating apps the go-to method for meeting your soulmate, either; an increasing number of young people are now in hot pursuit of that evasive run club romance.<\/p>\n

In lieu of dating apps, Meakins began a spin-off of sorts to Coogee Run Club, with particular emphasis on meeting your match.<\/p>\n

Their inaugural Valentine\u2019s Day event drew a crowd of around 1000 single runners, proving young people are \u201cso sick of the dating apps.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know the dating apps inside and out, they are awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event is now a monthly occurrence, consisting of a three-kilometre run, followed by a round of singles bingo.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Aussie run club craze is showing no signs of slowing, having now cemented itself as a place where connections, fitness and romance intersect, and belonging is built.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re creating these social lives and these social communities and hubs, and this is life-changing stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays \u2013 \u201crain, hail, shine or hangover\u201d \u2013 thousands of Sydneysiders don their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-825850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}