Queenstown’s Wednesday night running club, which held its first anniversary run yesterday, is just as much about meeting people as running.

Free to join, runners meet at Frankton marina’s Altitude Brewing every Wednesday at 6.16pm, then run about 5km at their own pace to the old Kawarau Falls bridge and back before having a drink and a bite.

Queenstown Run Club was founded by friends Karin Camblor and Toby Lingard, who’d been in Auckland running clubs, as a way to connect with locals.

Typically 25 to 30 people turn up, and, from initially booking one table at Altitude for their ‘after-match’, they now book three — Altitude knocks 10% off drinks prices for runners, as does a food vendor.

“Everyone talks to everyone, and I met my current flatmate through the run club,” Camblor says.

“It’s a great way to meet people in Queenstown because it can be quite hard if you’re new to town,” run club regular Mike Sceats says.

“There’s people from all walks of life, whether they’re backpacking or here on working visas or locals, so it’s been quite a pleasant discovery.”

Camblor says many of the runners also participate in Saturday morning’s Queenstown Parkruns or Bakery Runs.

Her club also has ‘shakeout runs’ before the likes of the Routeburn Classic and Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon.

About two months ago they added a Friday morning Queenstown Hill ‘QUEST’ run.

Runners either walk or run up to the ‘Basket of Dreams’ sculpture in time for a 7am run down the track.

The club’s Instagram account is @queenstownrunclub

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