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Recreational running clubs have grown rapidly in urban centres over the past decade, evolving from small, informal gatherings into organisations with memberships numbering in the thousands and structured weekly schedules spanning multiple skill levels. Public health researchers have taken particular interest in this trend because group-based exercise appears to produce adherence rates markedly higher than solitary training regimens. A commonly cited explanation is social accountability: runners who commit to meeting others at a fixed time and place are less likely to skip a session than those who plan to exercise alone, since absence is visible to peers rather than private. Beyond consistency, club members frequently report psychological benefits that extend past physical fitness, including reduced feelings of isolation, a stronger sense of belonging to a local community, and, for newcomers to a city, an accessible way to build a social network without the pressure of purely social events. Clubs have also become informal support structures during difficult periods, with members organising meal deliveries or accompanying one another to medical appointments. Local governments in several cities have begun to recognise this dual function, offering subsidised access to public parks, discounted municipal facility bookings, and small grants for clubs willing to run free beginner programmes aimed at underserved neighbourhoods. Not every effect has been positive, though. Sports medicine clinics have documented an increase in overuse injuries, particularly stress fractures and tendinopathies, among participants who progress from occasional jogging to structured group training too quickly, often driven by a desire to keep pace with more experienced club members rather than following an individualised training plan. Coaches and clinicians increasingly advocate for clubs to incorporate graduated onboarding pathways, ensuring that the social and motivational benefits of group running are not undermined by preventable injury, which remains the most common reason cited for new members abandoning the activity within their first year.