Bali embraced digital nomads. Now it's reckoning with the growing pains.

Bali is cracking down on foreigners who are flouting local rules and customs.

Jaromir/Getty Images In July, a popular running club became a flash point in a debate over how foreigners in Bali conduct themselves.

The episode comes as Bali cracks down on foreigners accused of breaking rules and disrupting life on the island.

Despite the tougher approach, there are few signs that Bali is losing its appeal to digital nomads.

Every morning, running clubs weave through the streets of Canggu, the busy beach town on the southwest coast of Bali.

They regularly pass along the Canggu Shortcut, a narrow road near Juryco Nugraha's tattoo studio, where he also lives upstairs.

Nugraha, who goes by the name Kane, had grown used to them.

"You can hear their steps and people talking," he said.

But every now and then, a larger, louder group would come through around 5:30 a.m., singing and cheering as it passed his studio, he said.

One of Canggu's many run clubs was Entourage Bali, whose events were hard to miss.

Videos circulating online show one of their "Silent Disco" runs, with runners covering almost the entire width of the street, wearing glowing headphones and a DJ leading the group from a truck.

In July, Entourage became the focus of a much bigger debate after social media posts said it had discriminated against local applicants.

The episode reverberated through digital nomad circles and sparked widespread backlash online.

A Reddit thread about it drew more than 500 comments.