I’m very much a millennial cliche who got into running around my 30th birthday. It was only ever meant to be an occasional parkrun1, but somehow I found myself running the Sydney Marathon in 2025 and signed up for the Berlin Marathon in 2026. Now, while I am a runner, I am not what most people would classify as a “good” runner. My marathon took me over five hours, and it’s a very good week if I get a sub-30 at parkrun. So I’m on the slow side of average, but I’m out there, and I do enjoy going along to brand-hosted 5kms to see how they differ and who puts on a decent event.
Run clubs have exploded in popularity around the world over the past 5 years. While some have always existed (the one I’m a member of here in Sydney just celebrated its 40th anniversary), social media has seen endless options appear. So it makes sense that relevant brands want to leverage that popularity.
As far as I’m aware, the first Formula 1 run club for fans was held in 2024, when Alex Albon joined Williams sponsor MyProtein for a 5km run in London. Alpine hosted a run with their sponsor Mission in London in 2025 (and tried to claim it as a first), and Jack Doohan and his personal sponsor Beforeyouspeak coffee have hosted a few run events around Australia. But it seems like Melbourne in 2026 is where teams are going all-in on run culture, with three teams and the track itself hosting runs in the lead-up to race day.
It makes sense, Australia is a sporty nation, it's a time of year with (mostly) good weather, and there’s plenty of ocean and river to run along in Melbourne to make it scenic. Aussies are also very accustomed to waking up early for exercise, so nobody really blinks at a 6:30am start time for an event.
Before I jump in to outlining the events on offer, I want to quickly outline the obvious Pros for brands thinking about hosting a run club as fan engagement, but also a couple of Cons to be mindful of.
The Pros:
Straightforward logistics. You don’t need to set up a million activities to keep attendees entertained. Give them a meeting point where you can do a quick stretch, then they’ll be off for ~30mins and back to grab the sponsored food/drink/merch before they have to dash to work.
Obvious connections for sports brands. It’s a no-brainer activation if you're a health/lifestyle/fitness-focused organisation. Even if you’re not directly involved in running, attendees come away associating you with easy, community-based healthy living.
Endless content. A run club is an excellent way to capture a huge amount of content for your channels. Running montages. Post-run party vibes. Community feel. You’re getting TikTok videos for days out of the morning. Attendees also love to capture their own running content that they'll tag you in!
The Cons:
Run clubs can be extremely intimidating. As a slower runner, even when something is advertised as “all paces welcome” or “social pace”, I worry that I’ll be left behind. Run clubs also often have a particular “look” (if you’ve ever run in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, you’ll know exactly what I mean!) that can make people feel like they’re not going to “belong” to the group.
How to mitigate: Be very clear in your advertising that you truly mean everyone is welcome. Be specific about what pace you mean by social, and emphasise that you’re emphasising the “social” in “social run”.
Many fans can’t run 5km. As much as it becomes an “easy” distance when you’re training for a marathon, it remains a goal distance for many, and completely out of reach for others. It’s also not a super inclusive activity, with limitations for fans with certain disabilities.
How to mitigate: Make sure that a run club is not your only event or way you’re engaging with your fans. It's great to offer them, but mix it up to help all fans feel included. You can also offer a shorter walk as part of the run (i.e. if you’re expecting the runners to take 30mins, you can offer a walking group that goes out for 15mins and then turns around for 15mins so they’re back at the same time. A shorter distance for the walkers, but more people can feel like they’re able to participate).
F1 run activations at the Melbourne Grand Prix
Gatorade is teaming up with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to open the actual race track to fans on Thursday morning before the gates open for the event. The track is 5.3km, making it a perfect race distance. Access to the track is usually off-limits for fans, so this is a very exciting opportunity to check out a new view of the circuit.
Tickets are $99+fees, but you get a medal (and I’m a sucker for medals), as well as an exclusive Strava badge and, obviously, Gatorade once you finish.
This activation is part of the broader PepsiCo sponsorship of Formula 1, which was announced in May last year.
Hosted by the Lambros, Aston Martin and their new partner Celsius are hosting a community run on Wednesday morning in St Kilda.
I stumbled upon advertising for this run, as it hasn’t been broadly shared through Aston's own channels which feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.
Celsius is my energy drink of choice, so the chance to grab a free can or two before I head to work is very tempting! I’m also curious about what merch will be on offer, especially as, despite considering myself an Aston fan, I don’t have any in my collection.
VCARB are partnering with Peloton (who are not one of their regular sponsors) to host a combined yoga sesh and 5km run on Wednesday morning.
Unlike Aston, VCARB sent invitations for the event to their mailing list with the option for advanced registration. By framing the event as “secret” and something they were “inviting” fans to, it increases feelings of community, and the value of receiving their emails.
To my earlier point about intimidation at run clubs, I do appreciate that Peloton have advertised very inclusive pacing groups in advance. That “race pace” of 7:30min/km is just a bit slower than my marathon pace, and a speed that’s often not included at events (especially those over shorter distances). If fans are nervous about coming along, hopefully seeing that they are prioritising inclusive paces will help!
I'm not a Peloton user, but I know it has a huge community following, so I'm sure the chance to work out with three of their coaches at the event will be a big draw for attendees.
Audi have announced they will be hosting a community run with adidas, linking their merch supplier to the “adidas runners” element of the brand. It also ties in to the larger set of activations they’ll be holding across the week.
There’s very limited information about this run so far, so we have no idea when it will be held or how far the run will be, but I’m sure that info will be shared in the next day or two.
I'll be lacing up my shoes for Run The Track, and will also be at either the VCARB or Aston runs (so sad that they’re at the same time!). If the Audi run doesn’t clash with an existing event, I’ll also do my best to join that one. Let me know if you’ll also be at any of them!
I'm heading to Melbourne on Monday and, as I did in 2024 and 2025, I will be checking out as many fan activations as I can to report back on. I’m keen to chat to any teams or brands working on the big activations (either in the city or at the track) to hear about their approach, so please let me know if you want to help make that happen.
It’s one week until the drivers hit the track and the fun starts, and I’ll see you there!
‘til next time!
Georgia
1 Speaking of parkruns, Williams Team Principal James Vowles and Haas reserve driver Jack Doohan are both fans of the weekly community 5km!