- Campus , Sports
- 24/09/2024
Running across campus outside of your own bubble
An informal running environment where you meet new people. This reporter joined Social Run Club Eindhoven for a run.
On Wednesday evening, sports enthusiasts gathered on the TU/e campus. They’re members of Run Club Eindhoven, a group for beginning and advanced runners whose main aim is to socialize. Cursor’s reporter joined them for a run, without any experience whatsoever.
It’s a balmy Wednesday evening. On the TU/e grounds, people in sports clothes gather underneath the Atlas building, where they stand around in a circle. It’s a mixed club of students and working people, all sharing the same goal: to run four or six kilometers today. This reporter joins them for the 4K, even though it’s at least ten years ago since he last wore his running shoes. They still look pretty new.
These runners came together in the Social Run Club Eindhoven, set up by TU/e alumnus Robin Rouschop (Industrial Engineering) and his friends, alumnus Vera Driessen (Innovation Management) and her sister Laura, last April. “We wanted to create a no-strings-attached, informal group that likes to run and meet new people at the same time,” says Rouschop. Anyone can join and there are no obligations, is the idea. Which isn’t a new thing: there are clubs like this in all major cities in the world. “In Eindhoven we were missing such an informal group.”
After a brainstorm session about setting up the group, a logo was designed and an Instagram page was created. Reels (short clips) were posted and it didn’t take long for one to go viral. Rouschop: “Then things started to snowball: from six people to twenty to a whopping 45 a few weeks ago.” First-timers end up staying, he sees, and friendships are formed. “To me, that’s the most valuable thing.” Which means his mission has technically already been accomplished, although he didn’t think the club would be this successful. “It’s kind of starting to look like a small organization.”
Round of introductions
At 7:35 pm, there’s a round of introductions, as there are many new faces. One by one, everyone tells the group why they’re here: to train for the Berlin or Eindhoven marathon, to get into shape, or just for fun. It’s a group made up of working people, expats, and TU/e and Fontys students. The average age is 25, but ranges from twenty to forty.
This is followed by a short warm-up, led by TU/e master’s student Andreas Efstathiou (Computer Science and Engineering). He’s been involved in the group from the very start. “I had always wanted to support an initiative that brings people together to do something active. It’s nice to see how people push their boundaries. Taking on that challenge together creates a bond.” He has made many new friends and is planning to run a marathon with one of them. “We have a joint goal and help each other achieve it.”
A good start
After a few squats and stretching exercises, the group is split in half. The majority opts for the 6K run at a set pace, while the rest will run 4K at their own pace. Rouschop leads the ‘beginner group’. Before we start, he reminds everyone to turn on their Strava app, where everyone keeps track of their route. Those details are shared among friends in the app, who can then award kudos to the achievement. The club members also support each other on social media. “If the run isn’t recorded in Strava, it doesn’t count,” laughs Rouschop.
The route starts underneath the pillars of Atlas and takes us through the Market Hall before continuing across campus towards the Karpendonkse Plas. As it starts to get dark, the group members are chatting away. Topics include studies and work, personal goals, and sometimes a bit of small talk. One of the runners is a PhD student conducting research into Russian and Ukrainian propaganda. Another one is in the middle of her HRM study program. And there’s a user experience designer who moved to Eindhoven two years ago and absolutely loves it here.
For the first kilometers, yours truly is fairly happy to join the conversation. Although sweat is dripping from every pore, I’m able to keep up my motivation thanks to the group.
One kilometer to go
During the last kilometers, everyone is asked how they’re doing. Some look a bit more tired than others. “One kilometer to go,” says Rouschop. It’s almost dark and the TU/e grounds, the end of the line, is already visible behind the trees. All of this creates enough motivation to keep going, even with every step becoming more labored, just like my breathing. However, one kilometer later it turns out we aren’t there yet: Rouschop made a mistake consulting the app. “Another kilometer, guys.”
I’m starting to feel a stabbing pain in my side. As we enter the TU/e grounds, the pain starts to get worse. “Just give it a pinch with your right hand,” is Rouschop’s advice. “But if you can’t manage, we’ll just take it a bit slower.” The advice seems to work for a little while, but at the 3.3 kilometer mark I have to briefly switch to walking, albeit it a brisk pace.
“Wesley needs a bit of motivation,” I hear less than a minute later, and the group starts to clap and cheer. We start a final lap of the Auditorium and with 250 meters to go, we begin to run even faster. It’s the final sprint.
Drinks
Afterwards, the runners have drinks at Hubble. The 4K group arrived first, but the 6K one wasn’t far behind. Some people have a beer, others stick to water or coffee. They continue their conversations about life, their jobs, their studies, and running itself of course.
Master’s student Valeria Oceguera (Operations Management and Logistics) had joined for the first time. “I’m training for a half marathon, but I’m used to doing that on my own. So I thought: why not try together with other people?” She likes the evening run: “It’s very motivated to see that many people run together. It gives you a nice feeling: we’re doing this together.”
For Lucas van der Graaf, second-year Biomedical Engineering student, it was also the first time. “It’s an informal way of meeting people, especially if you can have a chat with each other afterwards.” Van der Graaf particularly enjoys the mix of Dutch and international students. “This means you can break out of your own bubble a bit.”
Sore muscles
The Social Run Club meets every Saturday and Sunday. The evening run on Wednesday is new and is an instant success. Rouschop and the other organizers are therefore planning to do it more often. Rouschop hopes more TU/e students will join. This Cursor reporter enjoyed the experience in any case, although the same can’t be said for the sore muscles that plagued him for two days afterwards.
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