WELCOME -GENERAL INFORMATIONOUR MEMBERS’ POLICY

Welcome to all –to those of you just looking at who we are as well as to our membership, new and old.

The club was formed in March 2010 and was the idea of Sarah Connors, a local athletics physiotherapist, who had moved here with her family from London. She was surprised to find that there was no local club, although, plenty of people out and about jogging or running. She and a small group of like-minded running friends started the club and many are still members. A formalarrangement was reached withK&D Cricket Club which still kindly allows us to use their clubhouse as a base. The Knowle Fun Run of 2010 was used as the ideal opportunity to promote the new club.

Club membership has since grown from a handful to 245 members and in 2015 we were rewarded by England Athletics, our governing body, for being the West Midlands RegionClub of the Year. The award is in recognition of work thatwehave done in attracting people into running for the first time, for helping members progress in their abilities and for having a number of quality runners capable of competing at regional level.

We have qualified for the national road relay finals for the last two years. Our age range is adults from 18s to over 70s. We are restricted by insurance and our constitution from taking under 18s and so we encourage juniors to join Solihull Athletics Club.

We cater for a wide range of adult abilities. Our main club get together is on Wednesday evenings throughout the year when we ensure that everyone runs with others of a similar standard – the starting point is our 10 minutes per mile Improvers’ group rising to faster levels. The club has recently introduced a structured training plan for all abilities whatever the season so that on most Wednesday evenings we follow a club led training session.

Other runs take place during the week. Unfortunately, whilst we don’t have the number of run leaders to take on novices on club evenings throughout the year there is a pre – Improvers’group which meets on Friday mornings at 09:15. For those completely new to running we organise an intense training course every January - our 0 to 3 mile (similar to a couch to 5K) challenge lastingfor about four weeks culminating in the very popular 5K Parkrun- which takes place every Saturday 09:00 at Brueton Park.You don't have to join the club to participate in the challenge but many of those did from the last two courses. They still run together, meet up socially and several have entered their first half marathon.

There is an intense Monday evening19:30 hill training session for all abilities. Other informal group runs are organised during the week such as that for the pre - Improverson Friday mornings from the clubhouse; and on Tuesday mornings two separate social groups meet at local venues sometimes with tea/coffee to follow eg at the National Trust’s Baddesley Clinton;

We organise track sessions - which take place at various times at the Norman Green athletics track in Solihull; and Saturday morning hill strengthening sessions at Cofton Park, over at the Lickey Hills during the winter season.

Our club year runs from the 1st April – 31st March. The current sub for the whole year is £35 but there are reductions if you join partway through the year. Whenever you join, however, £13 from the fee has to be paid by us to England Athletics and you will then become an EA registered athlete entitled to various benefits such as race fee reductions, newsletters, clothing discounts etc.

We hold our very popular annual club dinner/awards ceremony every May as well as other ad hoc evenings out, sometimes combined with health/running educational seminars. On the first Wednesday of every month we meet immediately after our run in the cricket club lounge for an informal social get together.

New members are always welcome; just come along any Wednesday by 7.30pm toKnowle and DorridgeCricket Club and give us a try for a couple of weeks without commitment - or contact the club via for further advice.

WHERE WE RUN

The club is extremely fortunate to be located on the edge of the green belt, less than half a mile from open countryside in places and a couple of miles from three canal systems – the Grand Union, which runs between Birmingham and Warwick, the Stratford-upon-Avon northern section, over towards Hockley Heath and the southern section, which goes in the direction of Lowsonford and Preston Bagot. All three systems meet together at nearby Lapworth.

Our runs onregular Wednesday club evenings depend upon the time of year. From September to March we are generally restricted to routes within the local built up area. Runs go out at varying paces and our basic 5 mile route can be found here - with variations usually added to this; or a longer, still local, alternative is;

More experienced club runners prefer to run further and a popular 6.5 mile choice is a circular route into Solihull town and back;

When the clocks change to BST a whole new vista is opened up on club evenings and we make full use of the local countryside and footpaths/towpaths to incorporate cross country routes. Road runners who prefer to stick to the lanes will stride out towards Packwood and Lapworth for 7/8/9 miles or so. Many more head for the local public footpaths, tracks and towpaths. A typical multi–terrain 7 miler is shown here taking in the picturesque National Trust’s Packwood House;

For a shorter distance in the other direction with varying scenery both urban and rural, club runners of all abilities enjoy the run over to Whale Tankers;

The Improvers’ group mentioned above (circa 10 min mile pacewhich is the step up from beginners)is led over various multi – terrain routes. An example is shown here of a typical summer evening run through Knowle village and then over towards Barston along the banks of the River Blythe;

The steady,longer Sunday run presents a great opportunity for many of us to stray slightly further afield and allows us to explore the beautiful countryside that we have mainly to the south in the former Forest of Arden area, meeting up at venues such as the two local NT properties referred to; Packwood House and Baddesley Clinton as well asLapworth church,Lowsonford, Hampton-in-Arden and so on – only a few minutes’ drive away from the club.

HEALTH & SAFETY ADVICE

The overriding principle is that weundertake responsibility for our own health, safety and welfaremore particularly, by wearing sensible and suitable clothing and footwear for the conditions, keeping hydrated, running within our abilities especially if we are new to the sport, maintaining a proper lookout and taking account of physical features such as the terrain and the weather etc.

There is provision in the membership form for new runners to inform the membership secretary of any health concerns that we as a club ought to know about in order that we can take these into account for you. Existing members should inform the membership secretary if such concerns arise at a later date.

If you have an underlying health issue it may be sensible to consult your doctor as a precaution, either before running at all, or when your running becomes more intensive. It is important not to run when you are ill, recovering from a virus or injured. Also be aware of sudden changes in your wellbeing such as chest pain, increased breathlessness or fatigue; which might indicate an underlying cardiac or respiratory problem. Above all please seek medical advice - most people who fall ill whilst running have had warning signs beforehand.

The club has a number of volunteer, qualified running leaders, DBS checked and authorised by our governing body England Athletics who help us with training and leading formal runs:

Coach in running fitness (CIRF) Simon Bentley

Leaders in running fitness (LIRFs) Sally Anderson

Kathy Bailey

Sarah Connors(first aider)

Mark Cordiner-Barton

Claire Deeley

Richard Dixon

Jo Hitchcock (first aider)

Lorna Davies (first aider)

Tracy Davies

Geoff Lewis (first aider)

Sarah O’ Donoghue

Siobhan O’ Donnell

Jackie Paterson

Tim Price

Bob Taylor

Advice for individuals:

  1. Clothing - wear bright or fluorescent tops in daylight and white/hi-visibility/reflective clothing in the dark. Hi-Viz vests are occasionally distributed foc by the club when available;
  1. Lone running –preferred by many or sometimes there may be no choice; but it is better not to run alone if it can be avoided. If you do, stay where it’s light and on safe surfaces, carry ID, a phone, possibly an alarm and torch if appropriate, any relevant medical details, wear no headphones, vary routines, and inform others of your route, distance and ETA;
  1. Road running - maintain awareness of the road, traffic and weather conditions with eyes and ears. Anticipate that drivers and cyclists may not be as alert as you and may make mistakes. Keep it in mind that they may have difficulty seeing you for any number of reasons. Be aware of and obey the rules of the road and the Highway Code, for example, running towards and facing the oncoming traffic except where impaired visibility dictates otherwise - move over in good time to the left hand side before returning to the right when it is safe to do so. Maintain good manners as representatives of the club and remember that in the event of a collision with a vehicle or bicycle - you are likely to come off worse, regardless of blame. Better to stay uninjured than to win an argument or a court case!
  1. Animals – be on your guard; expect the unexpected even in urban areas, err on the side of caution, assess the behaviour, proximity and potential danger of all animals domestic and farm/wild, take account of their unpredictability, give them a wide berth if at all possible, proceed with extreme caution and in particular on cross country runs – ideally not to run in fields where cattle are close and find another route; or at the very least walk until any threat has passed;
  1. Infections – the risk is extremely low but members ought to be aware of the possibility of contracting Lyme disease from deer ticks when running in the countryside and of contractingE.coli from inadvertently ingesting mud at extreme events. Deer ticks are only about 5 cms in size with eight legs. They will attach themselves to the skin and after a while will feed on your blood. Remove them early by teasing them out whole with tweezers without crushing them. Otherwise it’s best to go to A&E especially if a rash develops;
  1. Avoid injury by a) getting into the habit of warming up beforehand (making the heart work faster by exercises or even starting your run gently before moving to normal pace), b) cooling down at the end of your run (by winding down as part of the run or afterwards if it’s a race), followed by c) developing your own stretching routine – there is plenty of information about this on the web.

Advice for leaders (and individuals when running with leaders):

  1. When leading a formal club run, set an example by e.g. wearing the recommended clothing as above. At the very least the leader should have a mobile phone and torch when dark and save the phone numbers of the clubhouse (01564 774338) and other LIRFs in your contacts just in case of emergency. Keep your location setting switched to on so that your position can be tracked if you have to ring the emergency services and you are in the middle of nowhere. Optional advice from the club is to carry a small supply of plasters, a bandage, a tube of antisepticetc -but only if you wish to do so. A couple of aspirin is a good idea, not just for pain relief but one tablet is recommended in the event of a suspected stroke. Don’t worry as we are talking about very unlikely worst case scenarios here. Sometimes it’s better to ring 999.
  1. The leader should explain the proposed route of the run beforehand, pace etc;
  1. Please bear in mind that leaders have responsibility for a number of runners in their group, often with different abilities and apart from ensuring that they are following the planned routeand pace, constantalertness is paramount.Assortedproblems can crop up during the run at any time. Please don’t distract or hassle the leader unnecessarily. For example constantly running ahead of the leader and asking “which way” means that you are in the wrong pace group!
  1. The club has a limited number of leaders and volunteers and may not be able to provide the optimum combination of at least two leaders per run. In these circumstances all individuals in the group must be responsible for keeping an eye on the runners immediately in front and behind them and should be ready to alert the leader to any problem;
  1. When crossing busy roads leaders should, when practicable, halt, re-group and ensure that the group crosses as a whole rather than in piecemeal fashion;
  1. Leaders must always be alert to the possibility of changed circumstances during a run requiring intervention or a change of route;
  1. Ideally they will lead a warm up, cool down and stretching session before and after runs.
  1. Further development and education – leaders will continue to meet at least twice yearlyin the spring and autumn, to plan ahead for the season, exchange ideas and consider risk awareness. They are also encouraged to maintain/improve their running education by, for example, attending winter season refresher courses offered by England Athletics,possibly becoming first aiders etc; They should also be aware of the duration of their qualifications and renew these in good time;

CLUB ETIQUETTE

Although the club is set up and runwithin its formal constitution (published on this website) the real heart of our club lies in thesharing of our common desire to run, the development of friendships,the relationships and friendly rivalries between our members and feelings of loyalty that members have for the club and other members.

This cannot be taught but remember thatwe are all part of the club and in some situations instinctive competitiveness may have to give way to club loyalty - the interests of the club as a whole may have to put above individual feelings and preferences.

Members will look out for newcomers to make them feel welcome, share advice and will always try and help out a fellow member in difficulty or distress - for whatever reason.

Don’t be tempted to run in a competitive race under another person’s number without trying to change the entry, or at the very least informing the race organisers.

Respect the club’s management and leaders. They may occasionally make mistakes but they are all volunteers and sometimes new to their roles and on a learning curve themselves.

Members should feel able to participate in a club run without unusual distraction or fear of extra hazard - so please no accompanied pets, children or buggies, listening to music, routine telephone calls and the like.

Please pay your club subs/fees/any money owed, promptly to save officers from having to chase you for payment and to assist the club’s cash flow.

In the wider field, we are all athletes with varying abilities and personal goals. In pursuing those we will obey the England Athletics’ code below:

Code of Conduct for Athletes

As a responsible athlete you will:

  • Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every athlete, coach, technical official and others involved in athletics and treat everyone equally.
  • Uphold the same values of sportsmanship off the field as you do when engaged in athletics
  • Cooperate fully with others involved in the sport such as coaches, technical officials, team managers, doctors, physiotherapists, sport scientists and representatives of the governing body in the best interests of the yourself and other athletes
  • Consistently promote positive aspects of the sport such as fair play and never condone rule violations or the use of prohibited or age-inappropriate substances
  • Anticipate and be responsible for your own needs including being organised, having the appropriate equipment and being on time
  • Inform your coach of any other coaching that you are seeking or receiving
  • Always thank the coaches and officials who enable you to participate in athletics

As a responsible Athlete, when participating in or attending any athletics activities, including training/coaching sessions and competition events you will:

  • Act with dignity and display courtesy and good manners towards others
  • Avoid swearing and abusive language and irresponsible behaviour including behaviour that is dangerous to yourself or others, acts of violence, bullying, harassment and physical and sexual abuse
  • Challenge inappropriate behaviour and language by others
  • Never engage in any inappropriate or illegal behaviour
  • Avoid destructive behaviour and leave athletics venues as you find them
  • Not carry or consume alcohol to excess and/or illegal substances.
  • Avoid carrying any items that could be dangerous to yourself or others excluding athletics equipment used in the course of your athletics activity

RUNNING TIPS