AYOP: Berlin, Germany

Founder: Sujin

AYOP is a running club in Berlin built on a simple philosophy: at your own pace.

Every pace, every distance is welcome and the community rewards commitment.

The community is founded by Sujin, an avid runner and changemaker within the Opening Up the Outdoors programme. This programme was set up to make the outdoors more inclusive and accessible for everyone. This principle is brought across through her creation of AYOP. Nacho is part of the senior leadership team and is supported in the coaching by Bileg.

There is a bustle as I arrive at the running track on Monday evening. People group together, introducing themselves, sharing where they heard about AYOP from, some are chatting about their next race, congratulations are passed around. Nacho and Bileg stand at the front running the group through tonight’s plan.

Everyone is rubbing their hands together under the dimming evening light, trying to create some more body heat in the cold lip of Berlin’s winter.

What is AYOP?

Powered by Hoka, AYOP trains every Monday at Sportsanlage Maybachufer, Berlin. The club rewards its members based on commitment. AYOP is designed for people who want to reach their running goal. Their running goal can be anything from 5km, 10km, to half marathons. For 2025, AYOP’s main focus was the Berlin Marathon. The Monday track sessions at Maybachufer have been dedicated to support people who want to achieve a certain pace or time for the Berlin Marathon.

The team see community as essential for running, to create fun for the 7am training runs (!) and also to share goals and vision together. A key part of AYOP is to bring together like-minded people.

Most of the group members do not come from Berlin. Nacho and Bileg explain how, to many, AYOP has become an anchor point for people to find relatable people.

According to the coaches, rewards to members are based on their commitment. Rewards are usually sponsored giveaways from brands and bibs for races. By rewarding through commitment, the club continues to grow. AYOP is open to everyone to join, everyone is respected, and it is natural for connections to evolve. As connections grow, Nacho and Bileg mention that they have seen members push themselves further.

They are motivated by the connections they have made through the AYOP running community.

After some gentle introductions, there are new faces from across the world telling their story and saying hello. Some come from Korea, Italy, and Kenya. Then the warm-up begins. Some dynamic stretching led by Nacho and Bileg around the track to get the heart rates pounding. Everyone is chatting. There is a buzz around the track and then the main sets begin. A range of paces lap around the 400m track in the bitter winter cold.

For December 2025, the group has a 30-day 5km challenge, which consists of the aim to run 5km every day for 30 days. It is being shared across their social media and designed to encourage the community to keep going through the winter days. All activities are also shared on Strava. Their spirit of commitment runs through their group initiatives, rewards, and attitude. Some snacks are given out at the end from one of the members’ recent trip abroad, photos are taken and there is a cheer that floats through the winter mist.

To join message the Instagram page: @ayop.run

Disclaimer: the opinions from the team are represented by the individuals asked rather than the team.

Photo credit: Plagmann (instagram: @plagmann.cth)