The growing popularity of running clubs and group fitness classes is signaling dollar signs for popular wellness brands.

The big picture: Companies selling athletic clothes, shoes and even food are planning sponsored events with local influencers, with the hopes that people will turn out and share their products on social media.

• Attracting mega influencers with big followings takes guerrilla marketing to a whole new level.

Case in point: When celebrity chef and entrepreneur Michael Chernow wanted to market his new Kreatures of Habit protein bar, he turned to PB Run Club.

• The club ended up hosting a joint event last month where people could try the bars before their usual 3-mile run.

More than 300 people came, Chernow told Axios, but the reach went far beyond that.

• "Everybody was using the socials," he said. "Publishing and tagging and collaborating, it's definitely a big social media event."

So many brands are working with influencers now that hosting an event can be a way to try to cut through the noise, he said.

• PB Run Club has a huge social media following, so joining with them helped build exposure beyond just the runners who were physically there, he said.
• Chernow also rented a 30-foot-long RV decorated like a giant protein bar driving down the street to gain further brand awareness.

Between the lines: High-end athletic wear companies also host group fitness events with influencers to expand their social spread.

• Vuori runs an ongoing "ACTV Studio IRL" series where people come to its stores for fitness classes.
• LSKD hosts group runs and fitness classes at its Pacific Beach store.
• And last month, Lululemon hosted a sculpt yoga class with brand ambassador Megan Roup on the beach in Coronado.

💭 Claire's thought bubble: I was invited to check out the Lululemon class, but organizers asked that I wear their brand's yoga gear. I don't have any, and they said they'd gift me some, even asking my size and color preference.

• That's against Axios policy, so I remain unsculpted.

Reality check: While online algorithms are the place to reach consumers these days, it's hard to track from the outside exactly how big a reach these events have on social media, or if they're really spreading brand awareness to thousands of followers.

• Collaborative posts between PB Run Club, Chernow and Kreatures of Habit received about 800 likes on social media.
• And Roup's Coronado post got 26,000 likes.

But it's not just about the likes, Chernow said. It's also about doing something different to reach people.

• "We weren't necessarily looking for run clubs with the most numbers, although that's great," he said. "Really, what we wanted to do was just connect."

Tell a fitness fan

A few local run clubs have taken music on the run to a whole new level.

The big picture: Pacific Coast Run Club and OCHO Run Club joined up with K3VØ to DJ their runs.

How it works: "We called it the Latino bounce," Pacific Coast Run Club organizer Juan Tapia told Axios.

• "It was pretty much just DJing from the back of a truck, and we're all running behind it," he said.
• K3VØ also practiced running and mixing beforehand.

It was a viral trend on social media, Tapia said, and the groups wanted to try it.

• They raved along the strand in Oceanside where there's less traffic, he said.
• "Obviously, we were going slow so everybody could keep up and jam and have a good time while having community and being around other people," he said.

Tell a runner

🚐 Police wrote 6,742 tickets during the first full year of a crackdown on overnight RV parking, mostly around Mission Bay. Officers made 797 referrals to safe-parking sites. (ABC 10News)

⚠️ Meanwhile, police gave out more than 300 warnings and 18 misdemeanor citations to cliff jumpers who insist on leaping off Sunset Cliffs. (NBC 7)

• It's illegal to jump into the ocean or Mission Bay from higher than 5 feet.

🌊 There's also a new bill to make lifeguards officially first responders, which would give them more authority at emergency scenes. (ABC 10News)

🇭🇹 Up to 10,000 local Haitians lost deportation protections when Temporary Protected Status ended last week. A local nonprofit is helping families make emergency childcare plans. (Times of San Diego)

🤘😢 Hard rock music venue Brick By Brick is closing after 12 years. (Instagram)

The proposed Topgolf on East Harbor Island could have serious environmental impacts from increased driving, light pollution and nets that could ensnare birds, according to a new report.

The big picture: The golf entertainment complex is part of the Port of San Diego's plan to redevelop an industrial area across from the airport, but first it must go through an environmental review.

Zoom in: Topgolf would increase pollution through driving, according to the report.

• Its lights could also attract birds, which could then get tangled in the golf range's nets.

Other options: The report offers two scaled-down options.

• Instead of three stories, Topgolf could be one story, with 34 instead of 108 hitting bays. That would make the nets about 30 feet shorter.
• Or, the Port could skip building Topgolf altogether and build a 20-acre park instead of the planned 10-acre park.

Yes, but: The Port says in the report that it needs something that makes money to support projects like repairing roads.

What they're saying: "Topgolf has been engaged with the Port of San Diego on the redevelopment of East Harbor Island, which includes our proposed Topgolf, since 2019," Matt Smith, senior director of real estate at Topgolf, told Times of San Diego. "We remain firmly committed to working with the Port to see this entitlement process through to a successful conclusion."

How to submit comments

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show the area to be redeveloped is industrial, (not a park).

It's been a minute since we played our local landmarks guessing game.

• Now we're back with a new quiz.

Where did Claire take this picture? The reader with the most specific answer will get a shout out in tomorrow's newsletter.

Hint: It's not near the ocean.