Copenhagen’s fastest running crew NBRO mastered running the city’s urban terrain by individual members connecting their personal routes to create a marathon-length, 25K unbroken loop around the city.

“A lot of us grew up in Copenhagen and we played here when we were kids,” says co-founder Jacob Ørholm. “We used to shorten our runs and not get much out of it, but now we’ve got the 25K unbroken loop, which makes a marathon, we are able to actually make a training program within the city.”

“Run, Party, Repeat,” is the NBRO motto. Stamina means more to NBRO crew members than being able to run fast and far. One of the biggest badges of honour is being able to get up after a night of partying and run again, even if it’s not at time-beating speeds.

“My philosophy is that running has to be combined with your total life,” says co-founder Jacob Ørholm, perfectly illustrated by his upcoming marathon goals: he’s running the Copenhagen Marathon next, then hoping to beat his personal best of 2:44 from the Berlin marathon at Frankfurt in the fall. Why not Copenhagen? “I’m planning to party.”

“In the city you have to be careful and watch out and see what’s going on all the time. I like the energy of the city but I also like to go out by the water, where I can get fresh air and clear my head,” says sports teacher Kimmie Skafsgaard.

“It’s not at all an elite athlete mentality,” says NBRO co-founder Jacob Ørholm. “That’s what we’re about – long runs in the city and the social life.”

A collective like NBRO could not have happened anywhere other than a city, where the frenetic lifestyle draws artists, graphic designers, restaurateurs, club promoters, venue owners, experimental sports scientists, students and all the characters that make the urban sprawl buzz.

The global rise of running crews sees individuals from disparate areas of cities foregoing lone runs to take on their concrete environments as a united pack.

For some, running offers escapism from the 9-to-5, but for sports scientist and town planner Anders Spanggaard, training on the streets of his city deepens his understanding of his work.

“I actually I think that’s the reason why I do what I do, because I have the theoretical part from my job, where I test and look at the data, and then I can go out and apply it and feel this happening in my own body.”

There’s a unique pack mentality at the most speed-driven edges of the NBRO running crew, companionship and an underlying sense of competition spurring on runners to smash through their personal targets.

For sports scientist Anders Spanggaard, it’s helped to him to technically improve. “It’s quite special when we are together like a pack; It’s a very important factor to help pace you and come up with new programs.”