Beach day at Plage du Couchant — how it went

Where the idea came from

The idea came from one of the sportier members: a “small, sporty, cheerful day at the beach with a run along the shore, a picnic and a summer mood”. The organiser turned it into an announcement on 3 June 2025 — two days after the first barbecue-camping weekend, the trip the community itself grew out of. The announcement was pinned in the chat, the date was set for Sunday 22 June, and the place was Plage du Couchant on the coast near Montpellier, with a Google Maps pin attached.

The programme in the announcement was honestly modest: a warm-up on the sand, an easy 1 km and 5 km run “for kids and adults”, and after that a picnic, swimming, games, sun and music. Music was on the list for a reason: a speaker and microphones had been bought specially for the day. “Our little speaker is here and ready to get the beach vibe going,” the organiser reported a few days beforehand, asking people to send in tracks for a shared playlist.

From there the programme kept growing right in the chat. On 6 June free morning yoga on the sand was added — a trainer from the community volunteered to lead it: “gentle breathing, a nice stretch, a few static asanas, a little strength work and, of course, savasana to the sound of the waves.” It was agreed that yoga would follow the run. Two days before the trip, members announced they were bringing two paddleboards (“they won’t replace a table, but you can go out on the water”), and someone else a sadhu board of nails: “If anyone’s up for it, I can get a couple of people standing on the board.”

There was also a poll — to work out how many children were coming and how to plan the sporty part. “Our beach shelves gently and it’s safe, so you can run and play as much as you like,” the organiser wrote.

Logistics

Everyone was asked to gather at the beach car park between 10:00 and 10:30, with the start at 10:30. Taking part was free, with no contributions of any kind: “The event is FREE ;) But please vote in the poll so we can plan the sports side of it.”

The packing list was simple and very summery: a mat or towel, water, a hat, sunscreen, food for the shared picnic (fruit, snacks — “whatever you like”), a volleyball, badminton, a parasol, swimwear and a good mood. Closer to the date one more request went out: “Does anyone have a folding table? It would be really useful for the picnic.”

In all that preparation exactly one thing went wrong: the map pin in the reminder pointed somewhere else entirely. “Are we meeting in Dubai??? That’s where the location points,” someone noticed in the chat. A corrected link to the car park arrived the same minute.

How the day went

The organisers were at the car park by 10:15: “Morning, everyone. We’re at the car park)))”. After that people trickled in all day — some “around 11”, some “after lunch”. There was no strict schedule; you came for whichever part of the day you could.

The run along the sea turned out longer than planned: instead of the announced 1 and 5 km, the organiser later thanked the member who led it “for 6 km of working on yourself”. After the run came yoga on the sand. The sadhu board saw plenty of use too — “special thanks for the nails… that was amazing)) a whole new world”. As the organiser tells it, one simple rule made the day work: whatever you do, you share it for free — the sportier member held the pads for anyone who wanted to work on their punches, anyone could try standing on the nails, and the paddleboards went round in turns.

It was a very hot day. “Put your hats on! Only two people here grasp the seriousness of the situation)” went the warning in the chat; those who stayed home wrote “You’re fearless! Heroes!” The reply from the beach was calm: “Nah, there’s a breeze, we’ve got parasols, it’s fine)”. By the middle of the day a shared table had come together on its own — everyone had brought something, and there was more than enough food and watermelon to go round. The speaker played on, the playlist was topped up in Spotify on the spot, and one group was offering “a photo with the dog ;)) in exchange for a treat”.

Nobody was in a hurry to leave: “Only the hardcore are left)))”. At 22:02 the chat reported: “Still going — our karaoke is not over yet”, and the day signed off with “And then… the long road through the dunes”. That evening photos and videos poured into the chat — 62 and 34 of them respectively in the event’s archive — and the next day one of the members edited them into a short film about the day.

If you fancy the next beach day

The format repeats easily and asks for nothing but the wish to come: it is free, food is potluck, and the kit appears by itself because someone brings a paddleboard, someone a speaker, someone a board of nails. Children are welcome: the beach shelves gently, and the organisers counted the kids in advance. You don’t have to stay for the whole day either.

Announcements, polls and the meeting point all live in the community chat — which is where this day was born. Two weeks later a smaller group came back to the same beach, and the summer carried on with new meet-ups.