What’s your FQ? We’re referring to your Friends Quotient, the measure of your speed dial universe! Do you have so many friends you would need a huge banquet hall to hold all of them if you threw a party or are you the sort who is perfectly content having a handful of friends at your side who have your back 24/7?

Whether you’re happiest laying claim to an entire village of friends or you can squeeze your besties into two cars, finding new friends can be problematic these days. Everyone works like crazy. Some try to cram 48 hours of living into a 24-hour day. Who doesn’t have family obligations?

You need a matchmaker - and that’s us. We want to help you expand your social universe while you stay fit and have fun, which is why we offer the following tips as suggestions for meeting people with the potential to become a friend. Try one. Try them all. Just don’t blame us if you become so popular, you turn into a local celebrity!

1. Join a club.

No, silly — not a dance club or a gym (though we recommend both for cross-training and expanding your world). We’re talking about a running club where a ready-made family of like-minded people await, if you are in Singapore, you can join any of these friendly and free Singapore running groups. Check gym bulletin boards for club announcements or search on social media groups. Keep surfing ‘til you find several candidates and then audition them all to see which fits.

2. Start a club.

You’ve thought about this before, right? But for any number of reasons, you never followed through. Time to make this a goal rather than a thought, and get creative when it comes to recruitment techniques. Pick a compelling name for your run club that grabs attention. Make the name so clever, people will respond to it.

Photo Credit: Running Department

For example, “You can run but you can’t hide!” or “The Association of Sexy Runners” both grab attention. Make flyers after picking a name and post them in areas most likely to attract members, like kiosks, work bulletin boards, health clubs and dance studios.

3. Organise your group.

If you took those first steps to form a running club as a conduit to meeting new people and making friends, use your computer to create a database of names to organise training runs, meet ups and more efficiently. If a couple of your recruits volunteer to help you organise, this is your chance to get to know them better.

Organise your names under the club name so a single “Send” key stroke reaches everyone. Prepare a profile sheet to collect contact information — especially birth dates (year not required!) and zodiac signs for fun. This database can be life-saving if it also includes individuals’ emergency contact information.

4. Make individual efforts.

Let’s say you have no desire to join or start a running club but you crave companionship in concert with your favourite sport and you aren’t shy about seeking people out solo. The easiest way to run into the people you want to add to your circle of friends is to go where the runners go — this means fitness lectures, expos, classes and events that attract a physically-active crowd.

How about volunteering to help at a school or youth activity where you’ll run into like-minded people who not only love sports and want to help kids, but exhibit the giving hearts you value in a friend.

5. Sign up for marathons.

If this seems an obvious way to make new friends, you’re not wrong, but every marathon has its own personality and some may offer better social opportunities than others. While it's awesome to run them, high-profile marathons aren’t necessarily the best places to make new friends. First, they’re crazy huge events that attract crowds, so one-on-one meetups with new people can be difficult.

Next, runners at high-profile events tend to be so focused on their goals, they prioritize the race itself over meeting new people. In other words, their performances are priorities. Look for fun runs that are less about who wins and more about having a good time or raising funds for charities, whether you invite being splashed with colorful waters, pass a silly banana baton during a relay or run in unorthodox shoes!

6. Become a volunteer.

Since not every marathon is going to be your cup of tea, how about opening your heart to become a helpful part of upcoming running events in Singapore in which you don’t compete?

No matter how powerfully organised a marathon may be, there’s never a shortage of volunteers to do the heavy lifting associated with getting a big event off the ground, so whether you volunteer to help with registrations, hand out water bottles at hydration stations, hustle runners to the start line or assist at a first aid station, you’ll have myriad opportunities to introduce yourself and perhaps make a new acquaintance or two in the bargain.

7. Become a vendor.

Complex marathons with over-the-top side shows that can include exhibits, booths, food stalls and entertainment — the sorts of events that can sprawl across huge amounts of acreage — gives you another opportunity to meet people. Whether you work for a company that exhibits at a marathon or you want to show off your own entrepreneurial side by renting space and selling your crafts, art or souvenirs, you may be standing on the sidelines of the actual marathon but you’ll be right on the front lines of people meeting. If you make some money doing it, good for you! You can use it to throw a big party at which you can introduce your old friends to your new ones.

Make New Running Friends

Have you had problems making friends in the past because you’re shy or you don’t feel comfortable introducing yourself to others?

We would love to know whether running proved the catalyst to helping you make friends and if so, do you have any tips to help break the ice that you wish to share with us?