RunTogether can give you a helping hand to start running

Starting something completely new and lacing up your trainers for the first time can be a little daunting, but the community of 3000 RunTogether groups throughout England is there to give a helping hand.

From a complete beginner in 2017 to training for a marathon, David Clark from Caister-On-Sea was supported by his RunTogether group every step of the way.

Giving running a go

For David like many others, it was the lure of his local parkrun that helped him to start his running journey. here's what he had to say.

I decided in 2017 along with my friends to do a parkrun challenge. We wanted to complete four parkruns after doing no running whatsoever. Fast forward to June 2019, I saw an advert for my local RunTogether group, NORSUF Jog, Walk, Run, and I decided to join.

"I had always wanted to try running and achieve just one medal in my lifetime, so I initially started the group’s Couch to 5k course."

With the help and encourage of my Run Leaders Russell Ray and Trevor Rawson, our group was guided on regular runs. We were given advice and stretches to help us become better runners. I caught the bug and became a regular weekly visitor.

Graduating from Couch to 5k and catching the running bug

With all the positive endorphins and happy hormones running provides, it’s no surprise that people keep coming back for more! Once David had completed his Couch to 5k programme, he then took on his first 5 miles progressing to competing in regular 10ks, but he didn’t stop there.

“From the 10k I completed a half marathon. I have so far done 67 parkruns and volunteered 35 times.” Fully immersing himself into the running world, David applied for his very first London Marathon.

“I applied for the 2023 London Marathon and luckily got in first time with a ballot place. The training was tough but with the support of friends and my RunTogether group NORSUF, I was upping the mileage each week until we reached the 21.2 mile target. Before this the furthest I ran was a half marathon.

Unfortunately, due to the higher mileage he developed an IT band injury just three weeks before the marathon. With the advice of his Run Leaders, he thoroughly rested my legs in the final build-up and was able to complete his marathon goal.

“The encouragement and support from NORSUF was immense. It is a family atmosphere, and they are always so helpful with any problems you may have. For me currently, I am being patient with running until my injury fully heals with slow jogs to try and build back up.

“I would like to thank RunTogether for my running hobby. I may have found it later on, but it really has changed my life.”

Feeling inspired?

If you feel inspired and want to try out RunTogether for yourself, visit our website and use the postcode checker function to find your closest group.

If you’d like to share your story, we would love to hear it! You can send an email to hello@englandathletics.org for the chance to feature on our website and social media.