Have you been victimized by this TikTok running trend?

Couples and friends have been eager to jokingly roast one another on TikTok by taking part in the viral running trend called #suspectchallenge. In the videos, participants take turns filming while running, chasing down their chosen “suspect” and pretending to issue a police dispatch report, complete with humorous insults and jabs.

The founder of the trend, Lauren Case, is a California video creator with more than one million TikTok followers. Her video gained more than 35 million views.

After growing in popularity in late October, the trend has already seen 100,000+ videos using hashtags #suspectchallenge or #suspect. Participants range from well-known content creators with millions of followers to grandparents. The playful roasting captures the unique connections within each relationship, with light-hearted inside jokes.

The challenge has also proven to be a test of fitness; some participants have no problem holding up the conversation while running, while others immediately indicate some difficulty catching their breath, even resorting to the use of an inhaler.

The trend exposes the relative lack of fitness of the non-runners, presenting an opportunity to call one another out for poor running form. “Why are you running like that?” one user said to their partner in their video.

posted Saturday November 9th