Running might not be for everyone—but there's always a first time for everything. Besides, you don't have to be super fit or totally sporty to look into running clubs these days. So when run clubs are slowly picking up their pace for the general public to notice it, we're here eyeing to join a specific club: the Blooms Run Club.
Here at Cosmo, we're self-proclaimed fans of the P-pop girl group, BINI, a.k.a we're Blooms. From their music to their personalities, their style, and even their advocacies, we definitely follow and subscribe to BINI. That's why when we heard about Blooms Run Club (BRC), we just had to dig deeper and maybe see if we (we're talking about us, including you!) could have a shot at joining them.
What You Need To Know About the BINI-Inspired Run Club
What is the Blooms Run Club?
First of all, it's not a fan club. Technically speaking, running clubs are made for people who share the same passion for running. As for Blooms Run Club, they're not just made to share their love for the sport, but also to express their admiration for the P-pop girl group, BINI.
It all began on May 13, 2024, when one of the BINI members, BINI Aiah, talked about the 10-kilometer route that she made on the running app, Strava. Upon seeing it, Blooms Run Club founder Patrick Olympia tried Aiah's route the very next day after it was posted.
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Sometimes running is really better when you share the route with more people. So, the following week, Patrick thought of inviting some people to run through Aiah's route. There were only seven people at first, but as weeks passed by, the group became bigger. At present, they have dozens of runners participating in their running sessions, which, btw, occur every Wednesday!
"At the moment, we have a total of 2,000+ members in our Facebook group and 1,400+ followers on Instagram. Every run, we have a total of 50 to 80 runners joining our Wednesday 10km sessions," the run club told us through an Instagram message.
What is the objective of Blooms Run Club?
More than being an avenue for Blooms to connect, Patrick and more runners saw the club as an opportunity to help others in starting their running journey. From one kilometer to the next, then 5-kilometer, until their first 10-kilometer run, the Blooms Run Club hopes to guide their members through it all. After all, for the club, it was a fusion of interests as runners and as fans who love BINI.
"The main objective of our group in creating this running club is to help everyone do their first 10km run. It is open to everyone—whether you are a first-time runner or an elite runner. Most of our members are Blooms who have never tried running before but were inspired to put on their running shoes by Aiah," they told Cosmo.
Not many people may be into running like the club founders or Aiah. But the Blooms Run Club highlights that running is a welcoming sport. And if there's enough encouragement, more people will surely enjoy and will be able to join the growing running scene in the Philippines. The club noted, "We believe that running is an accessible sport. It is suitable as there are many great running spots in the Metro, which is ideal especially now that the running scene is growing in the country. Primarily, we work to maintain a healthy mix of our love for running and being supporters of the group."
What was the BINI Run 2024?
Here's a quick throwback. Blooms Run Club actually participated in their biggest event yet, and not just with fellow Blooms, but with BINI themselves. The BINI Run was announced and acknowledged on BINI Day on June 11, 2024. It was the celebration of BINI's third year as P-pop idols.
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The club representative recalled how the BINI Run materialized: "Our regular runs of the 10km BINI route in BGC were noticed by her [Aiah] and Direk Lauren [Dyogi] through social media. From that, they decided to create a fun run for Blooms before their three-day BINIverse solo concert."
And so on June 23, 2024, more than 6,000 individuals participated in the 5km run along Roxas Boulevard, with all eight members of BINI, Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena leading the way!
ICYDK, the first sold-out BINIverse concert was held from June 28 to 30, 2024. So, for the fans, the fun in the fun run was because they got the chance to see BINI in the flesh! "During the event, a lot of BRC members participated in the run, with some of our members even tapped to serve as marshals. It was a fun event for Blooms to have a chance to see and run with BINI before their big solo concert," a Blooms Run Club representative said.
What's next for the Blooms Run Club?
A run club will exist as long as there are motivated and passionate runners running with the members. For Blooms Run Club, they're out to continue until all Blooms can find their own rhythm and pacing in beginning and maintaining their fitness journey.
"The goal of the group is to enjoin more people, whether Blooms or not, to take up running and become engaged in a more active lifestyle. It is the ultimate goal of Blooms Run Club to encourage everyone who wants to begin their fitness journey to find running as an enjoyable and sustainable activity," they affirmed.
As of writing, their Wednesdays-BRC Runs are still ongoing, gathering more people by day! The club is continuing its goal of engaging Blooms (and even non-Blooms) in a more active lifestyle while appreciating BINI, too.
How do you begin your running journey according to Blooms Run Club?
Now that you've read everything above, you still probably have doubts about whether you want to try or if you can even begin running in the first place. In the wise words of the Blooms Run Club members, they acknowledged that the first step into running is always the hardest—however, meeting other individuals who not only share the same interest in running with you but also the same music taste (a.k.a. being a Bloom), they assure that it would be less hard for sure.
"Joining a running club is a great option to try. It will open you to a new world where you can meet other individuals who share the same interests and goals as you do. Likewise, joining a group will help motivate you in instances when you don’t feel like running or push you to challenge and exceed your limits."
BRC recommends that you put yourself out there first. There's no pressure when you're running—do a 10-15 minute mix of running and walking, even without a target distance, running is running and it will still bring some change to you!
"We've had members join our run club for their personal runs, and they didn't have to complete the entire distance or maintain a specific pace. Some even joined for just a few minutes before heading off, and that's perfectly okay! Run clubs are a safe space and a welcoming community for all kinds of runners. If you're looking to join one, join us at Blooms Run Club!" they concluded.
Just message them on Instagram @bloomsrunclub or join their Facebook group!
This interview was conducted in July 2024.
