There's Another "Dick Runner" Out There — & She's Also Named Claire

There’s a new type of fitness influencer taking over Instagram: Dick Runners. To be more specific, women who jog outdoors in a route in the shape of a penis, and post screenshots of their journeys with running apps on Instagram. While this might seem like one clever runner's random prank, there's more than one dick runner out there, and it's caused quite a pickle online.

Today, VICE published a story about a self-proclaimed dick runner who goes by the Instagram handle, @dick_run_claire. For the past three years, she's been running in the shape of penises, and sharing screenshots of her runs from her Nike + Run Club app on Instagram. "But honestly, I just love running," she told VICE. "It’s my favorite way to get a workout in — and drawing a giant dick across a town is really just a bonus." Her feed is full of penis outlines in all different shapes and sizes, and sometimes a "twat trot" in the shape of labia.

Running in the shape of a penis — as one would imagine — is a pretty niche skill. But, if this story sounds familiar to you, that's because the woman behind @dick_run_claire isn't the pioneer of penis runs. Way back in 2014, Refinery29 interviewed another dick runner, named Claire Wyckoff (yes, they're both named Claire), about her knack for phallic running routes. As Wyckoff explained, she began doing the runs in July 2014 and, after discovering her talent, started intentionally drawing penises and other shapes. "We’ll keep the map open on the Nike+ app so we can monitor the progress and [course] correct as we run," she explained to Refinery29. "So, sometimes [my husband and I will] look down and be like, ‘Those balls need to be more defined,’ which will change the course of our run."

Cut to today, the OG dick runner saw the new story about @dick_run_claire, and alleged that she had been stealing her routes. "That woman follows me, and steals my runs, and now you're promoting her. Google me. Check it out," Wyckoff wrote on Twitter. On another timeline, @dick_run_claire posted that she actually has been doing dick runs for two years. "I don't mind that she’s running dicks," Wyckoff tells Refinery29 via email. "I mind that she’s acting like she came up with this without crediting me."

In an email to Refinery29, Claire (@dick_run_claire) explains that she actually doesn't follow the other dick runner, and the fact that their names are both Claire is pure coincidence, "that apparently makes for internet gold." Furthermore, she had no idea that this drama was happening until a friend told her about it. "There's TONS of other dick runners on the 'gram on that page, with dick runs all over the US (and obviously internationally as well), and probably under different hashtags too that we're not even seeing," she says. "But at the end of the day, I think there's enough roads out there for all of us to dick run to our hearts content."

It's unclear which runner will receive the short end of the dick in this situation. But the hard truth is that, penises come in all different shapes and sizes — and there's plenty of penis for everyone to run around.