PARIS RUNNING CLUB // PARIS

Ignore the word ‘club’: this is definitely a crew. It was founded In 2008 by Jay Smith, who wanted create something different to the existing Paris running scene. ‘I started to run with a bunch of friends and creative people in Paris, to have fun and to try to reinvent the way we run in cities,’ says Smith. Fun is high on the agenda, but they take their running seriously. ‘Since day one I’ve worked with Renaud Longuevre, head coach of the French Olympic track and field team,’ says Smith, ‘and our philosophy was to adapt professional running methods to beginners without a stadium. The city was our stadium.’

Every Tuesday evening the group meets for this mix of serious training in an urban environment, running around the 11th arrondissement along the Seine, with sessions involving ‘warm-up, pain, suffering, smiles, sweat, drills, intervals…you name it’, says Smith. And if Paris on Tuesdays doesn’t fit with your schedule, it’s worth ‘joining’ via their Instagram feed. ‘Social media is a playground for us,’ says Smith. ‘We try to show different kinds of images – you might have classic session pics, but also inspirational ones and a lot of artistic shots, too.’

So what sets them apart from other groups ?‘I guess it’s the humour and the sense of selfdeprecation,’ says Smith. ‘We are not cocky, we’re open and smiley, and we love to run together.’

WHO WE ARE

‘It’s a big split; there are crazy-fast runners and beginners. Most come from the Paris creative scene… communications, fashion, marketing, music etc.’

WHAT WE WEAR

‘Black and white. Only black and white. No neon!’

WORDS WE LIVE BY

‘We want to have fun with attitude; we want to run with attitude.’

GIVING BACK

‘We organise solidarity days where we raise money for the immigrant community in Paris.’

FOLLOW US

On instagram @paris_rc