《纽约客》：纽约人通过跑步找对象

André Wheeler

The year 2024 has so far included a number of trends that jumped the shark. Brat summer. Demure. Existing in the context. Another head-scratcher: singles swapping out Tinder for run clubs. The novel approach sprouted from social-media folklore, with viral posts alleging that run-club members were doing a lot more than jogging with one another. “Run clubs are the new horny singles club,” the comedian Dan Carney posted on X, in June, along with a satirical video. In the clip, a group of runners pore over a complex cluster diagram of romantic connections. Last month, NBC News reported, “Thousands of singles in New York City are flocking to run clubs to meet their soulmate, but some say they are just as rife with drama as the dating apps they wanted to escape.”

“2024年迄今出现了不少已经‘过气’的趋势。坏小孩的夏天（Brat summer）、端庄风（Demure）、随境而存（Existing in the context）。还有一个让人摸不着头脑的趋势：单身人士用跑步俱乐部代替Tinder。这种新的跑步俱乐部社交方式来自于社交媒体上的一些传言，一些热门帖子声称跑步俱乐部成员间关系不只是跑步那么简单。喜剧演员丹·卡尼（Dan Carney）在六月于X上发布了一条讽刺视频，写道‘跑步俱乐部是新一代的单身俱乐部’。在视频片段中，一群跑步者正仔细研究一个复杂的恋爱关系图表。上个月，NBC新闻报道称，‘成千上万的纽约市单身人士涌向跑步俱乐部寻找灵魂伴侣，但有人说那里就和他们试图逃避的约会软件一样充满了戏剧性。’”

“Jumped the shark” 是一个英语俚语，表示某个事物或趋势走向衰退或过度夸张，已经失去了原有的吸引力，甚至变得荒唐、滑稽。这个表达最初来源于美剧《欢乐时光》（Happy Days）的一集中，主人公在水上滑板时跳过一只鲨鱼。观众认为这一情节过于荒诞，标志着这部剧开始“走下坡路”了。现在，“jumped the shark” 用来形容任何事物（例如节目、趋势、品牌）达到巅峰后开始衰落或偏离原来的轨道，甚至让人觉得勉强、无趣或荒诞。

这里的 “Brat summer. Demure. Existing in the context.” 是对2024年的一些热门趋势的引用。这些词和短语代表了一些特定的时尚、态度或生活方式潮流，可能在社交媒体或流行文化中广泛传播。让我们逐一看看它们的含义：

Brat Summer：指一种随性的、可能带点叛逆和故意不羁的生活方式或态度潮流，类似一种“坏小孩的夏天”。可能是在强调一种自由、放纵的生活态度，或者是一种反抗成熟或过于自律的态度。

Demure：这是一个传统上用来形容谦逊、低调或端庄的词汇，可能指的是一种复古的、含蓄的美学趋势，特别是在时尚或社交中的表现。2024年把它当作一种潮流，可能意味着人们更加青睐含蓄、低调的风格。

Existing in the context：直译是“存在于语境中”，指的是一种不刻意追求明确目标或强烈自我表现的生活态度，而是安于现状、顺应环境和情境的状态。这里暗指了一种更被动的、适应外部环境的生活方式，而不是主动追求或挑战。

novel approach 是指一种新的、独特的方法或做法。

sprouted from 意为“萌芽、起源于”。

social-media folklore 则指社交媒体上传播的传闻、轶事或流行的“民间故事”，即没有经过证实但被广泛讨论的内容。所以整个句子的意思是，这种新的跑步俱乐部社交方式其实来自于社交媒体上的一些传言或流行的说法

viral posts：指在社交媒体上广泛传播的帖子或内容。

pore over：表示“仔细查看”或“深入研究”。

One weekly run club, organized by the dating app Lunge, cuts to the chase: runners who are single wear black, while those who are taken wear colorful clothing. “We found that a lot of run clubs are strictly focussed on running,” Steven Cole, the twenty-eight-year-old founder and C.E.O. of Lunge, said the other day, before a meetup in Washington Square Park. “We wanted a more social vibe.” Cole, a former competitive water-polo player and investment banker, teamed up with Rachael Lansing, a twenty-seven-year-old fitness instructor at F45 Training, to start Lunge Run Club in May. Since then, meetups have grown from thirty people to more than a thousand.

一个每周一次的跑步俱乐部活动，由约会应用Lunge组织，直切主题：单身的跑者穿黑色衣服，而有伴的则穿彩色衣服。“我们发现很多跑步俱乐部只专注于跑步，”28岁的Lunge创始人兼CEO史蒂文·科尔（Steven Cole）在华盛顿广场公园的一次聚会前说道。“我们想要一种更社交化的氛围。”科尔是一名前竞技水球运动员和投资银行家，他与27岁的F45健身教练瑞秋·兰辛（Rachael Lansing）合作，于今年5月创办了Lunge跑步俱乐部。自那时以来，聚会人数已从30人增加到了1000多人。

“cuts to the chase” 是一个英语短语，意思是直接切入正题、不绕弯子。在这里，俱乐部的活动方式让人们能迅速了解彼此的感情状况，通过衣服颜色轻松区分单身和非单身状态。

“a more social vibe” 指的是“更有社交氛围”或“更具社交感”。它强调这个跑步俱乐部不仅仅是为了跑步，而是希望大家能借此机会交流互动，形成一种轻松愉快、便于社交的环境。

“vibe” 是一个俚语，指某种场合、环境或人散发出的“氛围”或“感觉”。它不仅指物理环境，还带有一种情感或情绪上的体验，比如某种氛围让人感到放松、愉悦、充满活力等等。在不同语境中，“vibe” 可以描述一种人际互动、一个地方的感觉，甚至是一个人的气质。

As runners trickled into the park, Cole and Lansing handled logistical matters. Both wore all-black gym attire. Translation: single and ready to mingle. “We’re both hosts and participants,” Cole said, laughing. “I met someone through the app. I was seeing her for, like, six months right after we launched.” They broke up, and he’s gone on dates with more than ten people thanks to the run club.

当跑者们陆续来到公园时，科尔和兰辛忙着处理后勤事务。他们都穿着全黑的运动装。意思是：单身并期待认识新朋友。科尔笑着说：“我们既是主持人，也是参与者。我通过这个应用认识了一个人，在我们刚开始的时候和她约会了大概六个月。”他们分手后，科尔又因为跑步俱乐部和十多个人约过会。

Logistical matters：指的是活动的组织和安排工作，例如接待、签到、路线安排等，与活动进行相关的幕后协调。

Attire：指穿着的服装、装束。在这段话中指的是跑步俱乐部成员们穿着的运动服。

Mingle：意为与他人互动、交流，尤其是在社交活动中与陌生人或新朋友交谈和建立联系。

“I’ve always preferred meeting someone in person,” Lansing said, about her own love life.

“我一直更喜欢与某人亲自见面，”兰辛谈到自己的爱情生活时说道。

A few moments later, throngs of runners in black had filled the park’s north side. Erin Mertes, twenty-seven, and Barbara Quagliarbi, twenty-three, scoped out the scene.

几分钟后，身穿黑衣的跑步者们涌入公园北侧。27岁的艾琳·梅特斯和23岁的芭芭拉·夸利亚比正在观察周围的情况。

Quagliarbi, who had travelled from Jersey City, said, “I like the concept. You can’t just randomly run threepoint - whatever miles and try to connect with someone.”

从泽西城赶来的夸利亚尔比说：“我喜欢这个概念。你不能只是随便跑个三英里，然后试图与某人建立联系。”

Mertes was cool about her prospects of finding a guy. “I’m more here for the experience,” she said warily, adding that she didn’t have a problem meeting people in real life.

梅特斯对找到合适对象的前景持冷静态度。她谨慎地说：“我更在乎的是体验，”并补充说她并不介意在现实生活中认识人。

Nearby, a twenty-three-year-old sales director named Henry, who gave only his first name so that people at work wouldn’t learn of his dating activities, realized that he had misread the dress code. “I thought you were supposed to wear red,” Henry, who is single, said.

旁边是 23 岁的销售总监亨利，他只透露了自己的名字，以免同事知道他的约会活动。他意识到自己误读了着装规定。“我以为应该穿红色的，”单身的亨利说。

“You better take that top off, bro!” a friend shouted at him. The red T-shirt read “Property of my hot wife.”

“兄弟，你最好把上衣脱掉！”一个朋友朝他喊道。红色 T 恤的意思是“我有老婆了！”

“Hot wife” 是一个英语短语，通常用来形容某人的妻子（或女友）非常吸引人或性感。这个表达包含了对外貌的高度赞美，暗示配偶在外观上非常迷人。它也可以反映出说话者对自己伴侣的自豪感。

“I’m not really big on dating apps or anything,” Henry said. “So, if I find the right one today, I find the right one today. I’m young, I got some priorities. So she needs to be the right one for me to really take a jump.”

“我对约会软件不太感兴趣，”亨利说。“所以，如果我今天能找到合适的那个人，那就找到吧。我还年轻，我有一些优先考虑的事情。所以她必须是我真正想要的，我才会认真考虑。”

Cole and Lansing stood on the edge of the park’s fountain, ready to kick things off. They shouted instructions into a bullhorn. Participants could join one of two groups: “runners” (about a three-mile course) and “hot walkers”(1.5 miles). As people sorted themselves, some mixing and mingling happened.

科尔和兰辛站在公园喷泉的边缘，准备开始活动。他们通过扩音器喊出指示。参与者可以选择加入两个小组：“跑步者”（大约三英里）和“快走者”（1.5英里）。当人们进行分组时，大家开始互动和交流。

Then it was off to the races. The runners powered down Christopher Street and up Washington, in the protected bike lane. As they ran, Henry and his friends chatted up Isabel Miller, a twenty-one-year-old. The classic icebreaker: “Is this your first time here?”

然后，比赛开始了。跑步者们沿着克里斯托弗街的自行车通道，一路跑向华盛顿街。跑步时，亨利和他的朋友们在和一位二十一岁的女孩伊莎贝尔·米勒聊天。经典的破冰问题是：“这是你第一次来这里吗？”

It seemed to work. Outside the Biergarten at the Standard, one of the week’s designated post-run bars, Miller and her friend were still talking with Henry’s crew. Miller seemed interested. “It’s very hard to speak while you’re running, but you can make it work,” she said.

看起来这个问题很有效。在标准酒吧的啤酒花园外，作为本周指定的赛后酒吧之一，米勒和她的朋友依然在和亨利的一伙人聊天。米勒似乎很感兴趣。“跑步的时候很难说话，但你可以做到，”她说。

Had she made a connection? “Yes,” she said, smiling. “Maybe.”

她是否建立了某种联系？“是的，”她微笑着说。“也许。”

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该文章刊登于2024年10月28日将要出版的《纽约客》杂志印刷版，标题为“The Chase - Hot (and Sweaty and Maybe Blistered) Singles!”。 作者简介：安德烈·惠勒 (André Wheeler)是一位青少年小说家，曾任《Vogue》杂志撰稿人，自 2021 年起开始为《纽约客》撰稿。

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