Love it? Hate it? It鈥檚 complicated? However you feel about social media and digital networking sites, there鈥檚 no denying that they鈥檝e made it easier than ever to find kindred spirits, whether you鈥檙e looking for other runners with an affinity for working out in costume or just wanting to find a post-work belay buddy. Nobody understands this better than ultrarunner and athlete Timothy Olson, who uses social media to spread his love of mindful running and find other runners when he travels. 鈥淏eing openhearted and open-minded during travel, you never know when an opportunity will arrive. Be curious of life and enjoy the journey,鈥 says Olson. That鈥檚 some advice we can get behind. Here are a few ways to find people to enjoy it with.
Strava
The most popular social fitness platform is good for far more than just tracking your KOM chase: the app鈥檚 tool also allows you to look for groups who organize workouts in your location. Connect directly with members, follow their activity, and join in group runs and rides. Using the tool, we found an NYC-based club for bikers who like to ride in Prospect Park. And the nationwide November Project uses Strava to log member activity and spread their mission of empowerment and community building through group workouts.
Mountain and Hiking Project
Mountain Project is the largest database of rock climbing routes in the world, and it鈥檚 also one of the best places to find a climbing partner. The site鈥檚 tool searches through more than 24,000 registered climbers who are looking to climb with new people, finding potential matches based on information about your skill level (lead and follow grades), preferred climbing styles (trad, sport, etc.), and more. Mountain Project鈥檚 sister site, Hiking Project, has a similar feature for those who like to keep both feet planted on the ground. Check out the , where hikers can look for buddies to tackle dream trails or their local parks.
Facebook and Instagram
In addition to being the stomping ground of angry aunts, Facebook is also the go-to organizational tool for hiking clubs and running clubs all over the U.S. The inclusive , a club that promotes female athleticism and raises money for women鈥檚 issues, uses Facebook to update followers about their various running projects and post inspirational stories of women succeeding in the outdoors. You can also search for 鈥渉iking groups near me鈥 and see a list of Facebook-based groups in your area. Or maybe one of your old running buddies happens to follow Timothy Olson, and she shares that he鈥檚 leading a pop-up group run in your town鈥攚ell, you just learned of a cool opportunity. 鈥淧op-ups are a great way to meet new people, learn new trails, and share memories that enrich our lives,鈥 says Olson.
Over on Instagram, the home of fun-hogging millennials, the , a glow-stick-loving running group in Los Angeles and New York City, spreads the word about its weekly runs, followed by 鈥渘o shower happy hours.鈥 , which also has groups in New York City and Los Angeles聽(as well as dozens of other cities around the world),聽takes a more performance-focused approach, promoting聽everything from panel discussions about holistic running to strength-training workouts on Instagram聽using .
Olson takes a similar tack, using Instagram stories to announce upcoming meetups and communal runs. To keep your finger on the pulse, Olson recommends using Instagram鈥檚 search and explore functions to find and follow hashtags, which can reveal new pages and profiles you otherwise might never have encountered. 鈥淟ooking for specific hashtags on Instagram is a good way to find us. We use the hashtags , , and so people can find us.鈥