By founding 10 years ago, the Paris Running Club with its Blackrainbow agency and the support of Nike, the Frenchman Jay Smith, 39, launched the boom of urban running crews around the world. Now, let’s look at the history of this cool revolution.
How did you come to found the Paris Running Club?
Jay Smith: I come from a small suburban town called Gentilly in the 94 district, where people are very nice (since “Gentil” means nice in French, LOL). But I went to school in Paris, in the 13th district. I started playing basketball across the street from my high school. We climbed the fence to go to play at noon and we came back sweating and stinking! Afterwards, I discovered surfing through my cousins, then I got into martial arts. I began running very late and by chance. In 2006, I co-founded the agency Blackrainbow, specializing in public relations, marketing and strategic positioning, which operates in the fields of luxury, sport, art, street culture. In 2007, Nike sought me for a video project on Air Max and sports. I had to choose five well respected personalities from Paris from 5 different disciplines. There was Stéphane Ashpool of Pigalle Paris for basketball, Sarah Andelman of Colette for football… But nobody wanted to represent running, so I did it. At the time, running was so boring. The products, the music, the world, everything connected to was rotten! Apart from athletics and champions like Marie-Jo or Mehdi, there was nothing. Then, in 2008, Nike launched the Human Race, a 10 km worldwide race in which all participants run simultaneously, at the same time. They asked me to set up a running project. The challenge amused me and that's how we created the Paris Running Club.
I selected a dozen hipsters (graphic designers, DJs, artists, etc.) who had never raced and prepared them for this 10 K. They were friends of friends, people recruited from the hype network. Inbreeding, favoritism, subjectivity: all the words we love (lol)! I needed a specialist’s guidance and I met Renaud Longuèvre, who was a Nike athlete. At the time, he was already a national coach, coaching Ladji Doucouré and handling jumpers and the Olympic track team at Insep. He was an openminded and had a playful approach which helped us get along very well. PPG, split, deep muscles, removal of the foot ...: I acquired from him the technical knowledge, which often seems elitist and confusing when you start. Some people enjoy the sensations, the adrenaline rush that running causes. Personally, I love the preparation, all the technical background that I did not learn at school.
Since 2008, urban running crews have exploded all over the world. What role has the PRC played and what are your views on this development?
Six months after Mike Saes and Cedric Hernandez's Bridge Runners in New York, the PRC was launched almost at the same time as the London Run Dem Crew, founded by Charlie Dark. Shortly after, Nbro Running was launched in Copenhagen. In the process, other crews also supported by Nike whose products were used by people outside the inner circle came to complete this scene: AFE in Tokyo, Braves in Berlin, Hong Kong Harbor Runners ... Friendships were formed, connections were made, and We have started organizing events like “Bridge the Gap”. The first event took place in Berlin, but it was in Paris, at the semi-Boulogne, that the concept really took off. The captains invited the other teams to come and participate in a contest in their city. The idea was to meet up, party and run on Sunday. I would point out that all of this happened spontaneously. For us, it was an opportunity to travel and discover cities differently. But it became a huge marketing event: towards the end, there were “Bridge the Gap“everywhere, all the time, so we decided to stop. In fact, athletics and running have existed since the beginning of time, but we have helped make them contemporary and modern. We - the PRC, the Run Dem Crew, Bridge Runners and Nbro - are truly behind the revolution that turned running into the coolest sport in the world! When the other brands (Adidas, Asics, New Balance ...) realized the scale it was taking, they started to want to create the same type of club, with their own marketing strategy. A new typology of clothing, music and speech has thus emerged. At the same time, countless apps have emerged that have made it possible for people to start running differently. It feels like everyone has become a runner today. Eight years ago, when we started training at the BNF, we didn't see a soul. Now even my mom has a running club! What bothers me is that people no longer realize the effort, because the numbers don't mean anything anymore. You have to be a real runner to know that it's hard work to go from 40 to 38 minutes in the 10 K! I also regret the current trend of ever more. The incredible performances of Marine Leleu, for example, are inspiring and at the same time creepy. Where to place the limit? Where is the notion of pleasure, of surpassing oneself for people who have a job nearby? Finally, there is the experience of socializing: it is essential to be seen playing sports. But seeing a lot of people running tends to keep me from running. This year, I did it on purpose to train at odd hours (#noexcuse). But paradoxically, Instagram and the messages I received on the Net motivated me. It’s rewarding to lead by example, to make others want to do it.
How do you see the future of running? What about PRC?
I watch the trends and I think running needs to find a new freshness. Especially since there are good years just around the corner in France, with the European Athletics Championships of 2020 and the Olympic Games 2024. I expect brands will offer things that surprise us in publicity, in marketing, in products. Regarding the PRC, which has been independent since 2016, we will have to define the project of the year in the coming weeks. What you have to understand is that the PRC was a basic beginners club. But people stayed long enough to progress and become runners. They compete and beat times. New problems arise like nutrition, rest ... So, what do we do? What is the next step? How can we regain the energy of the beginnings? Are we moving towards triathlon? Ultra-trail? Relay? track? I don't know yet, but I want to shake up the routine and try new things.
Instagram
@paris_rc
@jaybkrw
@blackrainbowagency
Strava
strava.com/clubs/paris-running-club
