Celebration for Grantham Running Club Graduates
Grantham Running Club celebrated the graduation of its 2016 Couch to 5k and 10 Weeks to 10k runners on Friday 24th June with a barbecue and presentation evening at Great Ponton Village Centre.
The two schemes, first run by the club in 2015, attracted 66 novice runners who took part in twice weekly runs on Mondays and Wednesdays, beginning on April 4th and ending just before the club's Summer Solstice 10k Race on June 17th. An impressive 52 successfully completed one of the two courses, the majority of whom were present at the barbecue to collect their commemorative technical t-shirts applauded by club members, friends, and family.
Penny Hodges, who was one of a team of GRC Run Leaders who assisted with the schemes, presented the t-shirts to the graduates with fellow Run Leader Michelle Allbones, who herself was a graduate of the club's 2015 Couch to 5k campaign. The pair was assisted over the ten weeks by numerous club members, including Lizzie Potter, Gordon Geach, Rick Dobbs, Sarah High, and Paul Durham.
"I'm so proud of our runners who completed either the Couch to 5k or 10 Weeks to 10k schemes," enthused Penny having presented the graduates with their t-shirts, "they all did brilliantly and it's great to see that half of the graduates have decided to join the club with more set to follow." She continued.
Grantham Running Club Chairman Matthew Kingston-Lee was equally full of praise for the runners and for the club members who helped set up and run the two courses:
"When I saw over sixty runners attend the first session on a cold, wet, Monday at the Meres Leisure Centre, I was simply blown away. It was an evening grim enough to deter the most seasoned of runners, but from the first evening there was an enthusiasm and determination to succeed that was infectious and inspiring. "These two schemes are great as they gradually increase the volume of running when a common mistake by newcomers is to do too much, too fast, too soon – which often results in either getting injured or finding it too exhausting. Having experienced runners on hand to offer encouragement and advice when required is a massive help for those new to running.
"For our runners to achieve the milestones of 5km and 10km is a brilliant effort by all and I hope that these 10 weeks prove to be the foundations of a lifetime of running fitness ahead of them!"
Photo by Matthew Kingston-Lee: Some of the group after the presentation, centre with Black Hoodie Penny Hodges
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