A new platform designed to help a generation of active Londoners find compatible training partners, build friendships and combat loneliness through sport has launched this week, coinciding with Loneliness Awareness Week.
Backed by racing driver and sports enthusiast Alex Lynn, PACER enables users to organise their entire sporting social life in one place, connecting runners, cyclists, golfers, padel and tennis players based on ability, goals and location.
PACER is a free sports community app and website built for Gen Z and millennials who increasingly see sport as part of their social identity and want to meet like-minded people, in real life, through sport.
Described by its founder as ‘the home of social sport’, PACER combines intelligent sport matching (find your people) with community and messaging tools (manage your sports life) – helping users find compatible people to train with, organise sessions and events, build sport-specific groups and stay connected beyond the workout itself.
The idea for PACER came after founder Dylan Morris-Jones struggled to find a like-minded training community after moving to London.
“We’re all so digitally connected now, but making friends in real life as an adult is harder than people admit – especially in a huge city like London,” said Dylan. “Sports is so important to the mental and physical health of many young people today, as is finding the perfect people to train and play sports with, but how do you go about this? I wanted to create something to solve this genuine problem that I myself had.
“There are a lot of sports apps out there to help you discover sports events going on, or to organise your sports diary, but PACER is the only platform that can find your perfect sports and training partners too. It does everything, across multiple sports: it matches, organises and discovers.”
The platform matches users based on sporting interests, ability, goals, location and schedule, helping people find training partners they actually want to run, train, play sports with, and who will help them push their performance to the next level – whether that’s for a half marathon, a post-work padel game, weekend cycling or a round of golf.
But PACER goes beyond simple matching. The platform also acts as a dedicated social layer for sport communities, allowing users to discover events and organise their own, by messaging directly, creating groups, coordinating training sessions, sharing personal bests, and building ongoing communities around the sports they love.
Instead of juggling multiple WhatsApp groups for running friends, golf mates, cycling clubs and padel players, PACER brings a user’s entire “sport life” into one place.
International racing driver and Le Mans competitor Alex Lynn is a board member and investor of PACER and brings elite sporting experience and insight into the importance of consistency, accountability and community in training.
“Training is always easier when you’ve got the right people around you,” said Lynn.
“Whether you’re an elite athlete or just passionate about your sports, having training partners who match your level and mindset makes a huge difference. PACER is about making those connections happen naturally – and giving people a place where their whole sporting world can live.”
The app is launching at a time when Gen Z participation in fitness and recreational sport is booming, reflecting a response to our increasingly digital lifestyles. Running, golf, cycling and padel are all seeing record growth, as younger people increasingly turn toward active socialising. At the same time, loneliness among young adults – particularly in major cities like London – continues to rise, in part because of the new culture of hybrid working and working from home.
“The upward trend in popularity of social sport is fantastic” says Dylan. “It’s become a core part of the social identity of a generation. PACER was built to make it easier for people to find their people within sport – it’s not just another fitness app or another group chat.”
The app will initially launch in London across multiple sports, with plans to expand into additional sports and fitness categories, and into more cities, later this year.
