Décathlon as Social Network

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Every few weeks I notice that Décathlon organise a run in Geneva, or Chavannes, or other places. Today I went for a five kilometre with this group and it made me think of Décathlon as a social network, rather than just a shop. What I mean by this is that we often go to Décathlon, buy something for cycling, or hiking, or climbing, or via ferrata, or swimming or other and then we vanish.

Usually the connection is through a Glocals event, or Meetup event. At other times it is through colleagues or family. Today Décathlon was the social event. We met at 07:50 to go for an 8am run, far more pleasant than 6am, before people headed either into the shop, or home.

The event is posted to Strava, and you can see the route, ahead of the run. You can decide whether that’s a route you want to run. I did want to run that route, to explore on foot.

I had the choice between an informal Whatsapp run in Nyon, starting at 8, or another more formal Strava run in Nyon at 08:30 but I chose Décathlon for two reasons. The run is rural, and because parking is easy. Nyon, during their road works to improve cycling and walking, have actually destroyed my enjoyment of it. Hence getting in an EV, yes, I don’t burn dinosaur soup anymore. I call it dinosaur soup out of mischief and pleasure, nothing more.

Someone asked me yesterday morning “How do you know about all these runs and rides?” and I answered “Strava and meetup.com”. That is where I see dozens of events listed.

Décathlon has Strava groups, and events, in a number of places so if you’re attentive you can find such opportunities where you are.

The event is free, and you are rewarded for turning up.

If you turn up

three times, you get 10 francs off when you spend 50 or more

six times, 20 percent off running stuff, after getting two items.

After nine times you get a nutrition kit

10 times you get a t-shirt and a collector water bottle

12 times, in other words, a year, you get 30 percent off shoes and socks

When bike shops and cafés offer group rides they are no longer just selling gear, or maintaining it. They are actively providing people with the social network to enjoy those sports with others, rather than alone. They are building, or expanding community.

Today the group started as one, and road crossings helped to synchronise the group again. I noticed that the group split in two. The “faster” group, and the one that ran at a constant rate. I noticed that people accelerated, instead of self-breaking. The result is that by the end pace was increasing and increasing. Usually when I ride with a group, or run, I keep an eye on pace to avoid that gradual increase in speed.

I like when shops and cafés work towards community building. It provides us with something social to do. Some people are self-motivating, and others like to have a group to do things with. The advantage is that if you’re flexible you can run with one shop on one day, and another shop on another day. This means that if you’re willing to travel between shops you can participate to several events per week.

I will join other events.