WFC Runners - Welcome

I first heard about Winchester Fit Club from my wife, Sarah, who had started attending in early 2017.  She thought I might enjoy the Monday madness sessions with Gill, so I went along to see what it was all about.  I really enjoyed the sessions, although they made me realise how inflexible and unfit I actually was, despite all of my running! 

Through the Monday sessions I got speaking to Mike and he asked me if I might be interested in setting up and coaching a running group on a Thursday, which I was!  We went through the process of planning how the sessions would be structured, who they would be aimed at and when they would start and I started planning routes and activities. 

Our aim for WFC Runners was agreed as:

“The aim of the Winchester Fit Club running group is to help people become more confident in running 5km and to assist those wishing to make the step up to 10km. 

Each session will include a warm up and cool down and will be a mix of strength, speed and endurance training. They will include interval, pyramid and hill sessions, tempo runs and time trials. They will cater for all abilities, as every Fit Club session does.”

We set a start date of 14^th September and went about getting people interested in coming along.

I was so nervous on the first night, worried that either no one would show up or I’d completely balls it up! As it happened 15 runners gathered in Abbey Gardens with Mike and I where we talked though the purpose of the club and what we hoped to achieve. I knew some of the group from the Monday sessions, but was pleased to see a number of new faces.

  

Mike led the warm-up and we headed off to the North Walls rec for my first ever coaching session and with that we were off and, literally, running.

I have been so proud of the way that the group has gone from strength to strength.  Every week I see Fit Clubbers working really hard and they have always stepped up to every challenge I have set.  But there’s more to it than that…friendships have been made and there are now regular groups going out for runs (and drinks) together.  We are building a support network where the runners are supporting each other’s training, checking on each other when injured or ill and encouraging each other before and after races. 

Nowhere was this more evident than the huge turnout of Fit Clubbers at the Winchester 10km, both in terms of runners and supporters.  It was a fantastic day, even if my own personal race didn’t quite go to plan!  I was so proud to see how well everyone ran and how excited people were with their results.  No coach could ask for more.

So as we look to the future what are my goals?  I would love to see more people joining us on a Thursday night (I’m sure this will happen once it is light again and the weather improves) with more group runs organised throughout the week and at weekends.  I would like to see the group entering more races together and supporting each other around.  I would also like to start a Couch to 5KM group at some point to try and encourage some of the non-runners out there to perhaps start running.  I’m also really excited about seeing how the Fit Clubbers get on with their spring marathons…I think some people will really surprise themselves!

I would like to thank Mike for giving me this opportunity and for his, and Laura’s, on going support.  Most of all I would like to thank everyone who has attended a running session; you inspire me!

Coach James