Clare Carrington
Walks for women – connecting instead of running after
Bridge builder Clare Carrington on the Isar in Munich: Here she brings women together while walking
© PR
Her mission: walks for women who are looking for connections
Their motto: come alone, go together
Your role model: Walking tours in NYC
The fact that Clare Carrington, 28, would one day bring around 200 women together would have been unthinkable for her a few years ago: “I was very shy as a child.” On this Sunday morning in Munich, there is no trace of that: Carrington – she bears the surname of her English father – beams as she welcomes the large group on a plateau above the Isar for a walk along the bank. Then it starts: from bridge to bridge and back again, which takes just under three quarters of an hour. And the heads of the people watching from the side of the road are clearly rattling: This is not a demonstration… But what is it then?!
How walks can change lives
For some of the women it may be just a short walk. But for most it is more: With her free event, Clare Carrington enables participants to make new contactsthat can change your life. It’s a bit like online dating: you’re there because you’re looking for the same thing. Transparency and the relaxed walking situation makes it easy even for more reserved peoplelike casually striking up a conversation. Most of the women are between 20 and 35 years old, but older people also find connections here. “Many are new in the city or just passing through. Others are going through a phase of change or want to work in a Safe Space like this one to meet new people.” Carrington herself stays more in the background: she simply announces in advance on the Instagram account “munichgirlstalkingwalking” when and where it starts – usually every other Sunday morning on the Isar or in the English Garden – and then walks ahead as a signpost.
Carrington could only have guessed that organizing these events would require a lot of effort. Now she only allows herself a maximum of one hour per day to announce upcoming walks, create reels, answer inquiries and commentsBecause event management is not part of her professional portfolio: She is a business economist and works as a senior tax manager in an international tax department. A job that often requires her to interact with strangers. “After consciously leaving my comfort zone many times, my self-confidence has grown enormously. I now absolutely love interacting with new people,” says Carrington.
Clare Carrington’s inspiration: “It was so helpful that I really wanted to offer this format in Munich as well.”
It was also her job that inspired her to take the walks: last autumn and winter she spent four months in her company’s New York office. In order not to wander lonely through the huge city after work, she actively sought out connections – and learned about the Account “citygirlswhowalk” the fitness influencer Brianna Joye Kohn about the walking concept. Carrington was happy that only female walkers would be there: she wanted to build a group of friends and had no desire to accidentally end up on some dating track.
The first woman Carrington spoke to at her debut in the Big Apple was a real hit. That same evening, she went with her to a drone show in Central Park, and a few other women they had spoken to on the walk came along too. Within a very short time, Carrington was able to build up an exciting circle of acquaintances in NYC. “It was so helpful that I really wanted to offer this format in Munich as well.” Because she likes to roll up her sleeves, it was time just five days after her return. Carrington expected about 20 walkers. Almost ten times as many came. Since then, the number has only been fewer when the weather is bad.
A study from 2023 also shows that many people long for such open encounters and analogue exchanges: Almost half of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 69 would like more contact, and a quarter even feel very lonelyIt’s no wonder, then, that Carrington’s initiative has been such a success: women in around 30 other German cities have now been inspired by it – but the idea is also gaining traction beyond the borders, for example in Lyon and Budapest. You’re less alone among women walking.