Life runs better if we club together

Me and the Saxon Shore Striders at Reculver

Although I love all things running, I’ve never managed to be part of a running club.

When I was younger, I could never guarantee being home from work in time for club meets and at weekends I was more inclined to do family things, rather than abandon them for a run.

This week, however, I realised what I had been missing all these years.

You may recall I ran 3,700 laps of my garden for Prostate Cancer UK earlier this year and lots of people joined me for the odd virtual mile.

One running group, the Saxon Shore Striders, got around 20 of their members to do laps of their gardens to support me and my charity cause. It really meant a lot to me so when one member, Dave Hadlow, asked if I would join the group for a run when lockdown allowed, I jumped at the chance.

Last week, I met up with them all in Herne Bay

– the Kent town where they are based – and went for a socially-distanced

12k run along the seafront to the Roman village of Reculver.

I had an amazing morning chatting to the members and what I loved the most was the way the faster runners looped back every 10 minutes or so to rejoin the slower ones so everyone stayed together. There was no frustration over the considerable differences in pace.

It made me realise that, all too often, groups are not inclusive and start cliques when they should be encouraging a wider audience.

This doesn’t just apply to running but all sports – plus, perhaps even more importantly, to race, gender, religion and disability.

I hope you seek out a group that shares your passion and if you’re already in one, I hope you make it as inclusive as possible.

Until next week,

Kev