Other Groups

Recent:
When I first started my involvement with Run England [set up in the summer of 2010] at the beginning of 2011, I was asked to cover for leaders with groups at Newham Leisure Centre, West Ham Park and Wanstead Flats. Since then I have set up six different Run England groups and encouraged eight runners to become leaders themselves.

Sweatshop Canon Street 2013

I was a leader for the SRC Sweatshop Canon Street branch [before it closed] between Apr 2012 and Apr 2013. I arranged/led Half Marathon training for the Sweatshop Stratford branch on Sunday mornings for the inaugural Hackney Half Marathon from Apr-June 2014. I currently lead the Tuesday 10K training.

Over the last 2 years I have helped run a lunchtime jogging club for Primary pupils at a school in Tower Hamlets. I have arranged for them to take part in the World Marathon Relay 2013, Sport Relief Mile 2014 and, for those old enough, the London Marathon Mini-Marathon. This Spring will be the second year they will take part in the Hackney Half Marathon Challenge. For the 2014/15 academic year various different groupings are also working towards a Kids Run Free marathon award, a Take12 award, and the more advanced, an England Athletics Endurance Award. Several pupils now regularly take part in races up to 5K and/or have joining a local running club.

I was involved with organising the local Tessa Sanderson weekly 5K West Ham Park Run series from Autumn 2010 through to Summer 2013.

I have been the Event Director [and a Run Director] at Wanstead Flats parkrun since May 2011. And I have set up two local parkruns; which I volunteer at [and beyond] on a weekly basis.

Core team at Wanstead Flats parkrun

I was the Race Secretary and lead coach at a local UKA road running club between 2011 and 2013.

My Background:
I started leading/instructing informally when I was 15 years old [weight training] and leading runs informally when I did my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award leadership in the late 1980s. I took my first formal qualification in 1992 [Community Sports Leader] though I already had an ‘O’ level in Physical Education when I was 16, and was involved with organising Orienteering events in the British Army.

Although I have been involved with running, coaching and organising events for many years, I only started to take formal UK Athletics qualifications at the beginning of 2011.

I have been responsible for setting up or aiding with races from 1 mile to Ultra distance. I am a UKA official/coach/event adjudicator. I am one of two coordinators for the JOIN IN London East Network [10 London Boroughs]. Groups I have run have been awarded UK Athletics Run England London Group of the Year and England Athletics London Club of the Year, in the last 3 years.