IN RECENT years Egyptians have gathered in public spaces to pursue such lofty goals as democracy and social justice.  But one of the country’s best organisers was motivated by something more mundane. “ I was a bit fat,” says Ibrahim Safwat, who regularly leads thousands of Egyptians into the streets. 

Mr Safwat is the head of Cairo Runners, which gathers on Friday mornings, before the city perks up and goes to mosque.  He and about a dozen friends started the group on Facebook in 2012.  Now it attracts up to 3,000 people to its runs, which change place and increase in length each week, culminating in a half-marathon on April 15th. 

There were runners, and even running clubs, in Cairo before Mr Safwat and friends took to the streets.  But not many, and most stayed indoors.  Broken pavements, potholed roads and snarling traffic make even walking hazardous.  Green space is sorely lacking.  Dirty air, extreme heat and the threat of harassment complete the unwelcoming picture. 

But on Friday mornings the streets are unusually calm and the air feels fresh.  Each week the procession of mostly young, Lycra-clad runners, male and female, elicits stares, but little harassment.  There is safety in numbers, and the sight is becoming more common.  Cairo Runners has given birth to a running culture, and not just in the capital.  Similar clubs have sprung up in Alexandria and Ismailia. 

Still, most Egyptians do not exercise.  Diabetes is a growing scourge.  The trick for Cairo Runners is that most see it as a social activity as much as a fitness routine.  Runners stop for water—and to post selfies.  Others enjoy the escape. “ We wanted something in the streets that had nothing to do with the political stuff,” says Ayman Guemeih, a co-founder. 

But the political stuff creeps in.  When the group organised a run at the pyramids of Giza last year the police, after initially consenting, tried to stop them.  An uproar on social media forced the cops to relent.  The group dreams of holding a marathon in Cairo, like the one in Beirut.  But it needs the support of the government. “ We’re not there yet,” says Mr Guemeih. 

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, seems inclined to support the runners.  He has made a show of riding his bike in public to promote fitness.  The president even met the group while they were out on one of their runs. “ He stopped his car, took some photos with us and asked what we were doing,” says Mr Ibrahim.  Doing more will require Mr Sisi to overcome his fear of large groups of motivated young people.