“Running clubs are the new LinkedIn,” my colleague tells me when I ask him about his running routine. He’s already met lots of people in his running club, he says, it’s a great exchange — I should come along sometime. To be honest, I find LinkedIn quite annoying but running a worthwhile activity. And because my routine has suffered over the holidays, I’m curious (despite the idea of not only having to keep up with the group’s pace, but also with an impressive CV). There are quite a few running clubs in Berlin, so you don’t have to look far, but it might be hard to choose which one is right for you. Here’s a selection of recommended clubs… With the aim of being “more than running”, Optimistic Runners has been organizing weekly community runs since 2023. The meeting point is always Berlin Mitte. And they now even have a sportswear label. I think the clothes are great, but I don’t know whether my running ambitions live up to the brand’s claim. Ante, who see their running club as part of their fashion brand, offers a similar overall package. You can buy their clothes online or at High Snobiety. The running club usually meets once a month on Saturdays in one of the LAP cafés. The LAP founder is a friend of Marcus, Julian and Christian, who founded Ante. The target group: Berlin’s creative scene, friends and friends of friends.

Load, which was founded in early 2024, also runs in Mitte. On “Load Monday”, 60-90 runners meet every Monday evening for a distance between six and seven kilometers at a relaxed 6:30 pace. The founders’ motivation is to bring people together through sport. In the end, I decided to join the Joy Run Collective. On Sunday mornings, they meet up for a community run (approx. eight kilometers), alternating between Treptower Park, Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg, Hasenheide and Tiergarten. The collective’s goal: more visibility, safe spaces and empowerment in running for FLINTA* of Color. The pace is a pleasant 6:30, the conversations are good, and all runners are welcoming. Afterward, a fellow runner invited me to pancakes in her apartment — it’s great to be a running club member.

Text: Inga Krumme / Photos: Joy Run Club, Maurice Pehle, Optimistic Runners

Optimistic Runners
Every Saturday morning. Meeting point: Torstr.62, with alternating running routes.

Ante
Once a month (Sa 11h). Meeting point: one of the LAP cafés.

Load
Every Monday 19h. Meeting point: Mitte

Joy Run Collective
Every Sunday 10h. Meeting point: Treptower Park, Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg, Hasenheide or Tiergarten. 

@optimisticrunners
@anteberlin
@loadmre
@joyruncollective

As you lie in a state somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, you feel your breathing relax as the tones of Tingsha cymbals and Koshi chimes appear in your auditory field. There’s absolutely nothing to do but surrender to the experience. This dreamy, floaty atmosphere is what typically awaits you at one of the sessions at Inner Sound, a space for sound baths, sound yoga – sound everything – that opened in Kreuzberg in November 2024. The studio is an offshoot of Har Studio on Urbanstraße, a space for creativity, focussing on Sound Healing, Yoga, Experiences and Pilates, and was started by Har founder Eugenia Har and Yasemin Vollmond from Vollmondyoga. It’s a place for all sorts of practices, from simple gong baths to different combinations of movement, breathwork, music, yoga and dance. Classes include the likes of “Quantum Meditation + Projections with Flor” and “Sunday Natural Crystal Bowls Bath with Yasemin” and there is a regular program of live acoustic and electronic concerts (“Voice Activation with Kimi“, where you are invited to sing with the group). Sessions and concerts aside, the interior of the 252 sqm loft space – located on the fifth floor of an Altbau – is itself a soothing place to be. The minimalist, downlit interior by Benjamin Brenner is all sheer curtains and soft diffused lighting and is so atmospheric in the evening. Step in on a dark grey night and you’ll immediately feel your heart rate fall – and that’s before a single gong is rung…

Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Janine Khayati

Inner Sound by Har, Urbanstr.93 (Hinterhof 5th Floor), 10967 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map

You can book classes and concerts via the website.

@inner___sound