NYC's Lunge Run Club: The new hotspot for singles to connect

NEW YORK CITY - In a time where meet-cutes have turned into right swipes on an app and organically meeting a partner is more difficult, many people have discovered an alternative to finding their significant other: run clubs. 

A sea of almost 1200 singles buzzed with energy as they gathered at Washington Square Park on Wednesday evening to run with Lunge Run Club — a running club in NYC created to meet a significant other or friends. 

The eager crowd took over the park, spilling outside the Washington Arch — the volume of enthusiastic chatter rapidly rising as the runners multiplied. 

The club was created in May by Rachael Lansing and Steve Cole, who is also the founder of the Lunge App, which matches people exercising in the nearby area. The Lunge Run Club — Cole said in an interview — gives people a chance to make these connections in person. 

Every Wednesday, a three-mile jog at a conversational pace kicks off at 6:45 p.m. Recently, the club has been meeting in Washington Square Park. Singles wear all black and those taken come dressed in color, always ending the run at a nearby bar where participants can get to know each other better.

Most runners on Wednesday were looking to find a special someone, not shying away from brand-new interactions with strangers. 

"I’m ditching the dating apps," said a runner with her Instagram QR code taped to her back. "And then I saw the Lunge Run Club, and I was like that’s the perfect place!" 

The run club is on rain or shine with locations and updated details available on their Instagram, @lungerunclub. 

After the run, the runners colored the street in black as the line to the bar stretched all the way around the block, ending the night with #BeersAfter, as the club calls it.