When I first attended for FFRC’s “Toasted Thursday,” starting and ending at The Kallang, Gate 4, the vibes of this run club lend itself well on me – candid moments, stylish toasties and more.
How It Begins
Fast and Free Running Club began as a small group of friends training together for 2022’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon after co-founder Azaria completed the Gold Coast Half Marathon 2022. What began as a simple way to journal weekly runs on Instagram gradually evolved into something much bigger.
The public runs took off unexpectedly well, and both founders Azaria and Dadima saw the potential in building something more intentional around the community they were forming. Together, they decided to approach the club more seriously and grow it organically through what they believed a “seriously social” run club could become – a space where runners could train with purpose while building genuine friendships and experiences beyond running itself.
Inspired by the popular overseas concept of the “Bagel Run” – commonly associated with breakfast runs – the club adapted the idea into a distinctly local flavour by naming their Saturday long runs “Kaya Run.” From there, the club’s identity naturally began to take shape. The colours green, representing kaya, and yellow, representing butter, became FFRC’s club colours.
The toast, or “toastie,” became more than just the club mascot — it symbolized the community and reimagined the traditional “pacer” role. This title was reserved for the leadership team who are key faces of the club that leads different pace groups during weekly sessions
Run Route & Schedule
FFRC’s weekly schedule is anchored around two key sessions that reflect both the club’s training philosophy and personality.
Every Thursday, the club hosts its group interval session known as “Toasted Thursday,” starting and ending at The Kallang, Gate 4. These sessions are designed to give runners structured speed work in a communal environment, balancing serious training with the energy and camaraderie that the club is known for.
On Saturdays, the club gathers for its signature long run series known as “Kaya Run,” which starts from 18 Robinson and finishes at different locations across the city. Staying true to FFRC’s belief that running should also be exploratory and social, no two Kaya Run routes or workouts are ever the same. The club intentionally designs each route to encourage runners to experience different parts of Singapore while making long runs feel less repetitive and more engaging.
Every third long run within a training block is known as a “Spicy Kaya Run,” where race pace efforts are incorporated into the session to help runners adapt to harder efforts within longer distances. Despite the added intensity, the session still stays true to the spirit of an A-to-B run, often ending at a different local kaya breakfast spot around the city.
Beyond simply finishing a workout, these runs also aim to shine a spotlight on local F&B businesses while creating a shared post-run experience for the community.
What to Expect
- Running is not easy, it was never meant to be, but we believe in finding fast, being free and just running together would make the entire experience better!
- Pace groups of ambitious standards with experienced toasties (aka pacers) to lead
- Structured and focused running drills before each run always
- Adequate rest stops over the long run for hydration and safety of everyone
- Youthful, energetic yet serious energy!
- Shoutouts for overseas race participation and news worth noting in the running community
- Coached training programme on Thursday and Saturday
- Free hydration post-run every Thursday
- Expect to wear a different lens while navigating through unique parts of Singapore on Saturday
- Organised and well-structured group intervals
Review
This is definitely a run club as people return to every week to feel grounded. It’s like a community that builds on offline connections and holds a Singapore-core identity. When I ended and left the run session, I told myself, “This is what a culturally authentic run club looks like…”
