City running club guide
Los Angeles running is shaped by geography more than almost anything else. Within a single week you can log miles on a flat beachfront path in Santa Monica, grind up a canyon fire road in the Hollywood Hills, and circle a historic park loop that distance runners have been using since the 1960s.
The clubs here are built around that variety, and picking the right one often comes down to which part of the city you are starting from.
The social side is real and not an afterthought. Nine of the thirteen clubs here include a post-run hangout, whether that is coffee at a Westside cafe, beers at a rotating brewery, or drinks at a hotel bar. If you are new to the city and looking for people as much as mileage, that matters.
Local guide
The Westside and coastal neighborhoods are where group running clusters most densely. Santa Monica's beachfront path gives clubs a flat, car-free stretch that works for every pace, while the streets of Venice and Playa del Rey feed into it from the south. Saturday mornings along Ocean Avenue and the paths near the waterfront can feel like a continuous informal race, with multiple clubs starting within blocks of each other.
Inland, the action spreads across Downtown, Inglewood, Culver City, Highland Park and the Eastside. Clubs meet at parks, breweries and coffee shops that double as neighborhood anchors. Baldwin Hills and the Crenshaw area, Boyle Heights and the Los Angeles State Historic Park on the Eastside, and the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex in South LA are all genuine group-run hubs, not just dots on a map.
The Santa Monica Mountains are where things get genuinely demanding. Trails up there are hilly, strenuous and a long way from the flat boulevard running that most clubs are built around. When the summer heat arrives, the conventional wisdom holds: earlier is better. Most clubs that run year-round push their start times to early morning or evening specifically because of it, and the mild winters mean almost nothing gets canceled when it rains.
What they run on
If your free window is a weekday evening, Tuesday gives you the most options, with five clubs running that night. Wednesday and Thursday each have clubs out as well, so a midweek habit is realistic without much compromise. Friday is the thin day, with only one club running, so if that is your only opening it is worth knowing before you plan around it.
Cost is a reasonable thing to check before you show up. Ten of the thirteen clubs here are free to run with, so money is not a real barrier for most people. Three clubs charge dues or a fee, and one of those gives you a first run free before anything is owed, so you can try before you commit.
If you walk, or you are not sure yet whether you can run the whole thing, five clubs explicitly say walkers are welcome. Eight have not said either way, which is not a no, but if being explicitly welcome matters to you, the card grid below will show you which five those are.
For trail running specifically, the options are narrower: only two clubs run trails, and neither of them describes itself as beginner-friendly, so if you are new to off-road running it is worth reading those club details carefully before you turn up.
Narrow it down
Compare profiles
Los Angeles, California
Angels City Run Club is a community-powered running club in Los Angeles with regular Wednesday evening and Friday morning runs. Wednesday runs meet at Angels Flight Railway in downtown Los Angeles at 7 p.m., while Friday runs depart from a Starbucks in Culver City at 6:30 a.m.
Los Angeles, California
DTLA Running is a free, community-based running club in Downtown Los Angeles established in 2008. The club meets Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings at The Bloc, welcoming runners of all ages and paces with different routes each week.
Los Angeles, California
Founders Running Club :: Los Angeles is the Los Angeles chapter of Founders Running Club, a weekly social running and networking group for entrepreneurs, founders, investors, and startup enthusiasts. Runs meet on Saturdays at 7am from Primo Passo Coffee Co in Santa Monica, followed by coffee and post-run conversations.
Los Angeles, California
Good Vibes Track Club is a performance-oriented yet community-focused training group based in South Central Los Angeles, primarily meeting for track sessions at Rancho Cienega Sports Complex with additional tempo and long runs. The club hosts monthly community runs at the Hoxton Hotel in Downtown LA featuring chatty-paced miles and post-run social gatherings.
Los Angeles, California
Keep It Run Hundred is an inclusive, Black-led run club based in Inglewood and Culver City offering free, community-oriented runs on roads. The club welcomes walkers, joggers, and runners of all levels with a strong emphasis on wellness benefits and community support.
Los Angeles, California
LA Craft Runners is a free, all-paces social running club that meets Tuesdays at 7 pm at rotating craft breweries and brewpubs across Los Angeles. The club organizes short runs followed by post-run beers at the host venue.
Los Angeles, California
LA Road Runners is the official 26-week marathon training program for the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon, operated by The McCourt Foundation. The program offers coached pace groups, weekly long runs, and special meetup events across multiple Los Angeles locations including Santa Monica, Griffith Park, and Encino.
Los Angeles, California
Latinos Run LA is the Los Angeles chapter of Latinos Run, a community uplifting the Latino population through fitness and representation. Weekly Wednesday gatherings at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall feature a 6:20pm HIIT class followed by a 5K run or 2 mile walk, free to join.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Running Club is a nonprofit, all-volunteer running club offering year-round structured workouts including Monday evening runs, Wednesday track training, and Saturday long runs across Playa del Rey and Santa Monica. The club serves all levels with multiple pace options and organized race training programs.
Los Angeles, California
Mikkeller Running Club LA is a free, all-levels social run club that meets Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at multiple Los Angeles locations for approximately 5 km runs followed by post-run socializing and beer. All paces and faces are welcome.
Los Angeles, California
Running Mamis is a Latina-led, women-centered run crew in Boyle Heights / Eastside Los Angeles that meets early Saturday mornings twice a month at Los Angeles State Historic Park. It offers varied distances and paces from short stroller-friendly loops to marathon training long runs in a supportive environment for mothers and women of color.
Los Angeles, California
Trail Runners Club is Southern California's oldest trail running club, founded in 1988. It meets every Sunday morning at 7:00 am at rotating trailheads primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains for hilly, non-competitive trail runs typically 8-15 miles with options to go shorter or longer.
Los Angeles, California
Venice Run Club is a free, community-led running club based in Venice with three weekly runs: Tuesday track workouts in Culver City, Wednesday evening runs, and Saturday morning long runs. The club offers multiple distance and pace options for all levels.
Something to train for
A club gives you the training; a date on the calendar gives you the reason. There are 65 upcoming races around Los Angeles, each with finish-time stats from past editions so you can see what you would actually be signing up for.
Ten of the thirteen clubs here are free to run with:
Three clubs charge dues or a membership fee.
Five clubs explicitly say walkers are welcome:
Eleven of the thirteen say they welcome beginners, so the field is wide open for newer runners. The two that do not describe themselves as beginner-friendly are Angels City Run Club and Trail Runners Club.
Two clubs run trails: Angels City Run Club, which mixes trail and road on its Wednesday run out of Downtown, and Trail Runners Club, which heads into the Santa Monica Mountains on Sunday mornings for routes of 8 to 15 miles on hilly, strenuous singletrack. Neither describes itself as beginner-friendly, so both are better suited to runners already comfortable off-road.
Ten clubs run on a weekend day. Saturday is the busiest single day of the week, with six clubs out. Sunday has five. If a weekend morning is your only realistic window, you have plenty of company, and the options cover everything from short social runs on the Westside to long marathon-training efforts and trail runs in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Six clubs say no membership is required to turn up, so you can show up cold without signing up for anything first. Nine clubs follow the run with a social hangout, which makes the first visit feel less like a tryout. Clubs that do require membership sometimes still offer a first run free, so it is worth checking the individual club details before you go.
Two clubs are built around the run-then-beer format: LA Craft Runners, which meets Tuesdays at rotating craft brewery locations around the city, and Mikkeller Running Club LA, which runs on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays out of Highland Park, Burbank and other spots, finishing with beers each time. Both are free and say all paces are welcome.
Where this comes from: Club details come from each club’s own channels (their site, Meetup, Strava and social posts) and are checked by hand. Group runs move, so confirm the meeting spot on the club’s latest post before you head out.
