What gives you the ick?

The (very separate) problems with run clubs, trail runners, and insecticides.

“What’s your biggest running ick?”

It’s an objectively horrible question, but that’s what an IG reel from London’s Acai Berry Run Club asked its patrons last week. No, Acai Berry isn’t a new neighborhood in the English capital, but a twelve-store chain of cafes that focuses on the Brazilian superfood. And they’ve got their own run club.

It certainly aligns with their values of healthy eating, but they’ve misread the room with this video. The things that members of the Acai Berry Run Club had the ick for weren’t the best.

• Wearing a running vest for a 5k

• Not wearing proper running shoes

• Wearing too-proper running shoes

• Wearing a matching outfit with sunglasses

• Guys who come to run club to talk to girls (valid)

Many runners are put off joining group runs because they’re conscious of being scrutinized by exactly the kind of gatekeeping that Acai Berry is promoting. If they do take that leap, though, they often are surprised by how inclusive and encouraging runners are compared to the trash talk …