Running group leader loves every minute!

Just one year after taking a Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course Andy Lauder is recruiting members galore for his Hinckley Running Club beginners group in Leicestershire. He’s loving every minute of it and by all accounts his group members are too!

His current group has grown to a whopping 25 members although Andy does admit with relief that they haven’t all turned up on the same night yet, with an average group size of around 15 for each session.

Even more spectacular is the uptake of group members going on to join Hinckley Running Club. Andy said: “I have had great success getting individuals to join the local running club – it’s about 50 per cent so far. From my first two courses, seven have joined Hinckley Running Club, others re-join my next beginners’ group if they feel that they are not yet ready and hopefully will see the benefits of joining the club later.”

Andy is about to lead his third successive group which is linked to local schools and involves a ‘school run’ group with the support of a local school and community centre. It’ll give busy parents an ideal opportunity to join the group and Andy is just hoping that it will be as rewarding as his other groups have been.

So what are the secrets of Andy’s success?

“I set my groups ‘homework’ to do – which is to go for a run before the next week’s session. I advise them that it’s easier with someone else than on your own – and it’s great to see beginners who didn’t know anybody to be doing their runs together a week later. Quite a few have developed close friendships from this.

“At the end of my courses they all have a goal – which is a local 5k race or parkrun. It’s great to see the enjoyment of beginners finishing a 5k in a reasonable time when 10 weeks earlier they couldn’t run at all!”

Good luck and all the best to Andy and his Hinckley Running Club group for the future!