Welcome to Clapham's new social running group!

Monday 12th April 2021 may have seen the gyms and pubs reopening their doors post lockdown #3 but that wasn't the most exciting thing going on yesterday!

Welcome to Clapham's brand new social running group! One of my objectives upon being chosen as the Running Mayor of Clapham, as part of the Runsome campaign, was to set up a network of local runners. This network will provide a place to connect with likeminded people, share running tips and experiences, find running events to enter or find a buddy to run with. It will be a place to get our voices heard in order to make changes and improvements to the areas we run in. A place to motivate and encourage each other and a place to make new friendships and memories!

The Mission: The Running Mayors Network exists to enhance people’s lives and improve our places by inspiring & enabling more of us to enjoy the benefits of running as a form of active travel and as a pastime.

The Vision: More people will run their everyday journeys and that all running is made more inclusive and accessible to all. The Running Mayors Network will transform attitudes to running as active travel. They will contribute to a healthier & happier population, and less car-dominated cities and places.

To start the ball rolling I created a Facebook group. In here you will information about the Runsome campaign and interaction between our members in order to connect as a local running community and promote the campaign message, which simply put is to get more people using their cars less and their legs more for short local journeys, errands, the school run and commutes!

But then I thought, what good is a running network without actually meeting each other?! Enter the #runsome Run Together social running group! There are other running groups and running clubs in the area offering different kinds of experiences but joining one can feel a little daunting and overwhelming for some people, especially as we all emerge from lockdown having spent so much time alone over the last year. I wanted to form an inviting, fun, friendly and inclusive environment that people could come along to for the social aspect of running.

As the session is a social, easy paced run it's important to me to make sure it feels suitable and effective for all who attend. Seeing as everyone's 'easy' conversational pace is going to be different the sessions are run using the 'loop-back' method and here is why..