Thamesmead Running Club

WELCOME TO THAMESMEAD RUNNING CLUB!

Established in September 2016,  we are an adult only, inclusive, active and friendly England Athletics Affiliated Running Club.

We are volunteer-led and community-based, with runners from Thamesmead and surrounding areas (Abbey Wood, Belvedere, Bexleyheath, Woolwich, Plumstead, Blackheath, etc.). 

We welcome new and experienced runners, walkers and triathletes looking to exercise with like-minded people.

CLUB OVERVIEW

Each week we run a variety of sessions for a range of abilities, from complete beginners nervous about starting running, to runners with decades of experience, long distance runners and triathletes.

Our training sessions are led by one or more of our 10 England Athletics Licenced Run Leaders, co-led by a trainee Run Leader, a Run Leader Mentor or our Running Coach.

We have regular beginner programmes and frequently join local parkruns, compete in local and national races (5km to marathons and beyond), as well as host our annual licenced Thamesmead 5&10km each year.

You can find regular updates about the club by following us on our social media channels: 

Facebook Page - Thamesmead Running Club

Instagram @RunThamesmead

ARE YOU NEW?

If you're looking to start running or for a local running club in Thamesmead (SE28), do get in touch and try us out for FREE through our 1 month free trial. Running is so much more fun and rewarding when you have a running community to partner with you, get you started or keep you going, challenge you, motivate you, train you and work with you to improve your times and techniques.

Get in touch with us at thamesmeadrunningclub@gmail.com - our membership secretary will then connect you with a run leader and send you the relevant information. 

After a 1 month trial, you will be invited to take up membership for £33/year or £48/year with an England Athletics Race Licence and retail discounts.
 

OUR CLUB SESSIONS - IN DETAIL

We offer multiple club training sessions each week:

• Social runs: Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6:30pm

• Beginners group: Saturdays, 10am (seasonal)

• 5km+ group: Saturdays, 8:50 for 9.00am start

• 15km+ group: Sundays, 8am

Our sessions are outdoors and continue throughout the winter come rain or shine, keeping in mind safety. 

Led by one or more run leaders, each session includes a dymanic warm up,  cool down and static stretching post main session.

Sessions may include running drills for good form and technique, distance runs, hill training, sprints, interval training, agility and co-ordination, and strength work. Above all, we aim to promote runners' wellbeing through safe gradiated running activities; building community through regular socials and encouraging runners to meet up to train together outside of sessions; improving confidence through celebrating runners' achievements; and fostering a friendly and supportive environment.

Where do we run?

We use a variety of routes for our sessions, including: beautiful riverside runs along the Thames Path towards Woolwich/Greenwich; via the Green Chain walk, Ridgeway, into Lesnes Park and the hilly Bostall Woods (great for trail and hill training). Other times we may go to Greenwich Park, or Sporting Club Thamesmead, Bayliss Avenue SE28 8NJ for specific coached training sessions.  

Where possible, we meet in areas that provide ample free parking. If meeting at Sporting Club Thamesmead, you will also have access to lockers and toilets, as well as bike storage. 

When travelling further, we arrange car sharing and drive in convoy.

Book into a running session by clicking on 'Our runs' tab above. Club members are welcome to attend as many sessions as they wish each week.

England Athletics provide training for our run leaders and coaches, and insurance for our club activities.   

Our Activities are linked with their RunTogether (read more here) initiative. 

HOW DO I BECOME A CLUB MEMBER

All new runners with us are welcome to have a 1 month free trial!

After this, you can decide whether to join the club for an annual fee of:

• £33 (member only), or 
• £48 (including your £19 England Athletics Race Licence, which provides discounted entry to many road races, retail discounts - such as at New Balance, Intercontinental Hotels, AfterShokz, DW fitness gyms and more, plus exclusive entry to some events and our club allocation of London Marathon Places.)

To break this down, joining at £48 is around £4/month for up to 3 club sessions per week, 92p/week, or 46p per session if attending 2 sessions per week!)

To start this process, simply contact us at thamesmeadrunningclub@gmail.com and you will be sent a membership application form as well as details on arranging to pay your subscription.

Full details of membership can be found in our "Membership Invitation Letter" or under our News Tab (search April 2024). This includes what we spend membership fees on.  We will take subscriptions around 1st April each year and if you have 6 months or less until the next April, fees will be charged at 50%.  

Please click on the following  links for details of our Club Constitution & Rules, Privacy Notice, Inclusion Policy, Grievance & Disiplinary Policy,  Social Media Policy, Anti-Bullying Policy, Welfare Officer and Health & Safety Policy.

How do I pay?

We do not charge for our sessions, there is only the annual membership fee.  Once we have your details from your membership form, we will email you from our club England Athletics portal. This will contain a secure link for you to pay online; if you do not wish to do online payments, we will have a chip and pin option available.

RUNNING EVENTS

We regularly participate in races, fun runs and other events together: anything from a local 5km, to OCRs and marathons. Club members are encouraged to share events in our WhatsApp and Facebook groups. 

More details of races and events we are entering can be found on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on our Races and Events tab.

Past events we have taken part in include: parkrun, The Big Half, The London Marathon, The Bexley and Greenwich Community Hospice Colour Run, Chatham Maritime 10km, RunTogether races, Joydens Wood cross country trail runs, to name a few.  We also host our very own Thamesmead 5km and 10km races annually.  

To find out more email: thamesmeadrunningclub@gmail.com