Chasing love with sneakers on

What would we be willing to do to find the love of our life or even just a person with whom we have a real connection? Usually, we limit ourselves to signing up for a dating app, matching, doing an Instagram check and trying to show our best side without revealing everything or seeming desperate. Maybe we smile at stupid jokes and overlook red flags. But some go further. More and more singles are putting on leggings, sneakers, and leaving their comfortable air-conditioned apartments to spend hours sweating with strangers, hoping that one of these will first be a crush and then the long-awaited soulmate. Just choose a sport, from running to tennis, from basketball to pickleball, join a group, and face your fate. In short, you have to get your muscles moving, work hard so much that someone has dubbed the trend fating, that is, a combination of fitness and dating.

Chasing love with sneakers on

Finding a partner through the classic meet-cute is something out of a novel. Fortuitous encounters in real life are pure science fiction or the faded memory of a rom-com, and the classic dating apps have become tiresome or have proven useless. So, why not try something new and fun? After all, if you do group sports, there are no awkward silences, there is less pressure, you don’t have to be afraid to make the first move, and a second date is almost guaranteed since these sports clubs usually meet periodically, bringing together more or less the same people.

The benefits of fating, dating + fitness

Maybe meeting the soulmate isn’t guaranteed, but fating has several positive factors not to be underestimated. First of all, playing tennis, doing Pilates, running, or any other sports activity gives you the opportunity to have a shared physiological experience because our brain is flooded with endorphins, giving us a natural euphoria. By moving our arms and legs, we relax, are in a good mood, making us more accessible, open to forming new connections, including romantic ones, and creating a positive and stimulating environment. Additionally, engaging in physical activities together builds trust in the potential partner. Competing together in physical challenges can create greater harmony, pushing us to step out of our comfort zone, revealing and discovering sides of our character that we might keep hidden in a traditional date due to shyness or fear of not being liked. Throwing a ball, trying difficult yoga poses, or struggling through a 20-kilometer run can make the conversation flow spontaneously and naturally. The most obvious plus? At least we keep in shape and develop healthier habits not only in terms of relationships.

Taking risks is no longer just a saying

Apparently, there is nothing less romantic than wearing gym clothes that stick to the wrong spots because we are sweaty, having a red face from the effort, the lack of makeup, making funny faces and panting (not for pleasure). Yet, presenting ourselves this way, almost unfiltered, in a certain way vulnerable, makes sports a perfect circumstance to meet someone and immediately establish a true relationship. Of course, there are also risks. It’s not all fun, records to beat, and opponents to outdo. Sometimes you get hurt, like @feliidaze, a Canadian girl who, in search of love, tried every kind of sports date, from running to axe throwing, from cricket to paintball, from kickball to beach volleyball, always putting in a lot of enthusiasm and sometimes too much, so much that during a game of dodgeball she broke her nose.

Is it really worth it?

From Los Angeles to London, from Paris to Sydney, fating is booming. Some consider New York’s pickleball courts the new hot scene for singles. Even running clubs are increasingly crowded and organized with name tags, bracelets to indicate who you want to meet, related to gender and sexuality, and members are even given a list of questions to break the ice. You play, do sports, then maybe have a beer together and chat. Sometimes it ends there, but for the luckiest, a spark can ignite. An example? Sammie and Zac, two former singles from Australia who told News.com.au they got married after meeting in a running group in Sydney. "Our relationship developed simply by running", said Sammie. "You run side by side for hours and really get to know someone because neither of you is distracted by phones or social media or anything else. We were both training for marathons... so you get to know each other while running and chatting". Meeting someone special can be difficult, so if we like sports, why not try this new dating trend? The lucky ones could be us.