Joy Runs

Where's your running taking you this Bank Holiday?

This week we’re issuing a rallying call to give back to the running routes you love.

Who wants to join us for a spot of litter picking on their next run?

Learn more about 'Plogging' (jogging & litter picking) via the link in the comments...

Sun's out, t-shirts in 🌞

We've a few of our original Joy Runs tees still left. It's almost as if somebody over-ordered Medium & Larges.

A joyfully oversized fit for leisurely runs or epic everyday wear. Perfect for the runner in your life.

Use code 'spring' for £5 off 👕

Link in comments below 👇

🌉 New Run Theme: Bridges 🌉

Bridges offer runners more than just another side of a city.

They also double up as picture-perfect vantage points, dramatic marathon landmarks, icons of past glory, and engineering masterpieces. A brief moment of contrasts, as your feet hit the hard tarmac with the vast waters beneath.

Hopefully one that brings you lots of awe and joy.

New Theme: Nooks 🏕️

Nooks offer shelter and sanctuary. These cosy corners and crevices gain extra appeal to weary runners in autumn, igniting our imaginations and primal instincts.

Moody and mysterious, enticing and intimate, it’s when the world is in silence that the nooks come out to play. A sub plot to normal city life or hideaway in the wild, grasping onto what little light they get, barely noticeable to passers-by. But not us! 👀

Examples include:
🪺 higgledy-piggledy alleyways
🪺 tree houses or cabins
🪺 medieval streets and buildings
🪺 secret passageways
🪺 benches carved into stone walls
🪺 window seating in a café
🪺 a cosy balcony with fairy lights
🪺 the canopy of a giant tree
🪺 a bird box

Don't forget to tag us in your discoveries!

🏅 New Theme: Running Goals 🏅

Whether it’s longer miles or wider smiles, it can be helpful to know what you’re running towards.

So, what inspires you?

Sometimes it’s hard goals, like finishing a parkrun or marathon. More often, it’s softer goals, like being healthy and letting more joy into your life.

Although .co runs on weekly cycles and is a no pressure running club, it’s useful to zoom out once in a while.

Examples include:
🎯 embarking on more spontaneous adventures
🎯 running year round to enjoy the seasons
🎯 raising money for charity
🎯 hitting a PB time
🎯 running a 10km or marathon
🎯 running a race abroad

This Joy Run is an invitation to share your running goals with the group on Instagram or TikTok with a relevant pic, tagging in Joy Runs.

🍁 NEW RUN THEME: LEAVES 🍁

Running in autumn is a leaf-lovers dream. Full of visual stimulation, when trees shed their leaves nature’s true colors are revealed.

Running at this time of year also reminds me about the type of life I want to live. Watching summer drift away we’re well within our rights to retreat indoors and bunker down. But that would be cheating yourself out of a fresh set of joys.

Here’s a few ways to enjoy a leafy run:
🍂 running in the wood’s warm tones
🍂 capturing leaves majestically falling in mid-flight
🍂 tuning into the rustle of leaves under foot
🍂 the fiery carpet of a park’s paths
🍂 the symmetry of skeletal trees lining a street
🍂 the seasonal gifts of conkers and acorns
🍂 clocking the remnants of a windy day
🍂 the sun bouncing off botanical wonders

Wishing you lots of leafy joy on your runs. Don't forget to tag .co on Insta and TikTok.

🔆 NEW THEME: LIGHT 🔆

Light is a runner's friend. From dreamlike sunrises to dramas in the shadows, let's explore the joy of light on a Joy Run.

Light, like life, is also ever-shifting. Changing by the hour. It flows majestically over surfaces, causing them to flicker or glow in the sun’s beams. Then it’s dialled down, until it eventually disappears. So much magic exists between the two - lightness and darkness - that it warrants its own theme to run to.

Here’s a few ways light can illuminate your run:

🌅 the world’s colour emerging at first light
🌖 the moody tones of moonlight
👥 mini dramas in the shadows
🔵 the joy of blue sky in autumn
🌇 stop and surrender to a sunset
🌈 a rainbow of colour in stained glass
🚥 quench your neon needs at night
🕯️ the low light of autumn afternoons
🎋 light piercing through trees

…and lots more!

Happy running 🩷💛

The Joy of Berries 🫐

Running and foraging along the Cleveland Way coastal path.

The Cleveland Way National Trail is a 109 mile (175km) walking/running route through beautiful and ever-changing landscapes and scenery of the North York Moors National Park. That's a lot of mouth-watering views and free food!

🍒NEW THEME: BERRIES🍒

Berries radiate joy. A burst of colour poking through a hedgerow, twitching in the wind. Their shades of red, blue and violet dancing in the sun.

This week’s Joy Run is an invitation to swap grey pavements for the trails. To rewild your runs and re-engage and delight in the natural world.

Your berry-filled run could be:
🍓 the hedgerows of city parks and fields
🫐 brambles on the edge of woodlands
🍓 cowberries and cloudberries on coastal paths
🫐 a trek on heaths and moors
🍓 the gift of street and garden trees
🫐 rich pickings on the trails
…or something else entirely.

Hopefully it brings you a tasty mouthful of berries or simply injects more colour into your run this week.

Don't forget to tag us in your discoveries.