BHUBANESWAR: They are young, energetic and would trade late-night doom-scrolling for a 4 am alarm. While Bhubaneswar sleeps, they lace up their shoes and hit the road. For them, running is more than fitness - it is a lifestyle, a community and a daily reset.
True to its motto of putting ‘you before anyone else’, BAE Run Club has transformed early morning running into one of the capital city’s coolest youth movements, blending fitness, friendship and mental well-being.
BAE is proudly Gen Z at its core - fun, inclusive and fiercely community-driven. From students of colleges and universities to young professionals, the club brings together a diverse young crowd that runs not just for fitness, but for friendship, mental clarity and that addictive post-run dopamine hit.
In a city known for its humid mornings, these youngsters are choosing discipline, connection, and sunrise vibes before anything else. Founded in July, 2025 by 24-year-old Cuttack-based entrepreneur Prasidhi Poddar, BAE Run Club began as a small group committed to the mantra - ‘you before anyone else’. What started with a handful of runners has now grown into hundreds of participants from across Bhubaneswar and neighbouring Cuttack.
Prasidhi recalls she decided to set up BAE Run Club in an attempt to provide a platform to the Gen Zs navigating through personal and professional hardships or dealing with a general lack of life direction. She pursued a four-year global BBA programme in three major international business hubs: Singapore, Dubai and Sydney from 2019 to 2022. After completing the course, she worked in Australia for another two years.
During her stay in Sydney, the 24-year-old was a regular morning runner and part of many groups. “Upon return to my hometown in 2025, I noticed there are not many Gen Z runner groups in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. For me, running served as a powerful psychological tool to regulate the nervous system, burn off anxiety and re-establish a sense of control,” she points out.
Twenty-one-year-old Monalisha Dash, a student of Bachelors in Psychology, echoes the sentiments. “I was going through a rough phase in life after my grandfather passed away. I joined BAE Run Club in October last year to improve my fitness and mental well-being. I made a lot of friends and have now developed the stamina to even run half marathons (21.1 km),” she says with immense pride.
For group members, distances are beginner-friendly and 5 km is standard, with the club recently starting 10 km runs weekly once. The focus remains social and inclusive rather than fiercely competitive.
Themed events add flavour with the club organising runs on occasions like Christmas, Women’s Day, Mother’s Day, Raja festival and the latest one being Father’s Day, which is observed on third Sunday of June every year. This year, Father’s Day will see a run at CDA in Cuttack on June 21. The participants will return with sunflower and pumpkin seeds to gift to their fathers, said Prasidhi.
BAE’s runs are deeply rooted in Bhubaneswar’s landscape. Regular meet-ups happen at Ekamra Kanan, the scenic Botanical Garden that offers shaded paths, green cover and a peaceful atmosphere perfect for morning strides. Runners weave through the garden’s trails, often starting in the soft pre-dawn light before the city fully stirs. The club extends to Cuttack occasionally, but most runs are organised in the state capital.
“I joined the club in February this year and found the members very encouraging. Though there is no competition, it is an ideal platform to improve fitness as well as socialise and make friends,” says Mudita Daga (24), a native of Raipur, who completed her MBBS here and is now preparing for NEET-PG examinations in the capital.
BAE is not just about logging kilometres on the smart watch, it is more about overall well-being of the Gen Zs. The post-runs are fun with runners heading to spots like cafes and restaurant for chats, laughter and refueling much of which sends the vibes across its Instagram account with over 5,000 followers. So far, over 1,000 young runners in the age group of 18 to 28 have participated in 53 events organised by the club in twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.