During June, join us for 9 virtual club sessions and a scavenger hunt. We want everyone to stay active and enjoy exploring their surroundings within social distancing guidelines of course. Can you find an old postbox whilst running up a very big hill? Or spell out your name with street signs whilst running your favourite route in reverse? Where's the hidden gem you have discovered during lockdown? Have fun and enjoy. Some hints and tips:
Charlotte has put together another club newsletter - this time, it's filled with lots of ideas to occupy ourselves in current circumstances - learn a new skill, read a book, try some new recipes, do some stretches, share your ideas with each other. Please do have a read. Thanks Charlotte and everyone who has contributed. Get in touch if you'd like to contribute something to our next edition.
Our April Newsletter has been compiled by club member Charlotte to provide us with some tips, hints and ideas for managing our well-being at this challenging time. Please do have a read. Thanks Charlotte and everyone who has contributed.
We are Potters Trotters.
We love running. We love running outside. We love running together. It helps our physical health and mental wellbeing. It keeps us connected. It helps us manage our stresses. But at the moment, we need to look for some alternatives to our usual exercise routines so we can follow guidance on social distancing and self-isolation in relation to Covid-19. We need to #stayathome where possible. We need to help everyone #staysafe. It's one of the simple things we can do to show our support for health care and other professionals all tacking this at the frontline and help slow the spread. So let's get creative. Let's find and share different ways we can exercise from home. There are so many different options. It might be a YouTube yoga session - here's one I tried yesterday from Fitness Blender It might be a circuit session around your garden or kitchen - why not get your family involved in designing it? It might be some skipping - a few of you are already following this challenge. It might be something you can do sitting down - this one looks like it would be tough but fun It might from a TV programme, video or website - there are some great 10 minute workouts from the NHS here It might be something put together as part of your running training - here's our Potters Trotters strength plan It might be a computer game - anyone up for some WiiFit tennis? It might be a something completely out of the ordinary - why not learn to Salsa with Oti Mabuse? It might be some long neglected exercise equipment from the garage - perhaps some step aerobics? Let's find ways to encourage each other. Post a photo, add comments below, share your stories and if you are brave enough, invite us all to join in using Facebook live on our Potters Trotters Group Page. Wear your Potters Trotters kit if you can. If you have any other ideas for how we can continue to exercise and connect virtually, please do let us know. Share the challenge with family and friends and let's help them stay active at home too. Until we can go running together again. And then we will have a party! With lots of love Potters Trotters Potters Trotters is a ladies only running club that supports, encourages and welcomes everyone who comes to join us, whatever their goals, background, experience or interests.
Who are Potters Trotters? Our members come from a range of different backgrounds and have lots of different reasons for running. If you want to run faster or further, we are happy to help and support you. If you want to run to provide you with cheerful company, an escape from life’s pressures or make sure you leave work on time, that’s absolutely fine. If you want to learn new skills, we can provide training opportunities. If your goal is to learn how to run and talk at the same time, then we will do our best to make sure you achieve it. If you want to run but never take part in a race, that’s ok, you don’t have to. If you aren’t able to run, we still want you to be part of the club. We work hard to organise club sessions and events with all these goals in mind. Is the club affiliated? The club has been affiliated to England Athletics since 2008. As an affiliated club, we can access support services, competition licensing, free resources, liability insurance and club programmes. England Athletics also has club standards in relation to safeguarding, welfare, inclusivity and health and safety. There are a range of benefits for members through being an affiliated club, including discounted race entry, offers from partner organisations and access to a range of resources for runners. More information can be found here: https://myathleticsportal.englandathletics.org/. How is the club organised? The club is governed according to its constitution. It has a small committee of volunteers who look after memberships, our finances, race entries, training, policies, procedures, health and safety, safeguarding and welfare and communications. The club committee is also responsible for ensuring policies set by England Athletics are implemented. New members will receive a members pack that links to all our official policies and those which apply to us from England Athletics. The committee is supported by other club members, who organise social events, running events and trips to races. Please speak to us about getting involved. Do you have qualified runs leaders? All our official runs are co-ordinated by qualified run leaders, who have completed the England Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness Course. Our leaders can advise runners on aspects of training, warmup and cool down exercises and help members prepare for races. The club currently has one coach, who has completed the Level 2 Coach in Running Fitness course. How can I join? Please get in touch to let us know you are interested in joining the club. You can come along for a couple of sessions to meet club members, ask questions and come for a run with us before deciding whether you would like to join. We hope you will receive a friendly welcome. Memberships fees are changed annually and cover club membership as well as England Athletics Affiliation. What if I’ve never run before? If you are a complete beginner, we have offer regular beginner's courses which run for 10 weeks. These are run at different times throughout the year. The goal of the course is to get everyone running for at least 40 minutes without stopping. Beginner groups are supported by our run leaders, most of whom started running as adults and completed similar beginner programmes with Potters Trotters or on their own. I already run so would I be able to join? If you are already running, or have run previously and are looking to get back to it, you are very welcome to join us. We will have a chat with you to find out more about your running experience and goals and buddy you up with one of our regulars to make sure you get to know other club members and can find your feet. If you've not run for a while, remember to start slowly and only increase your distance/speed gradually. Where and when do we meet? There will be a mixture of evening and daytime runs. Some events will be aimed specifically at walkers. We also organise weekend runs and meet at local parkruns on Saturday mornings. Where do we run? We try to vary our routes as much as possible. Some routes will be flat, other times undulating or even hilly - hills are our friends. The distances also vary so that different abilities can be accommodated. During the winter, we stick to main well-lit roads. During the summer, we use a wider variety of routes, including parks, the canal towpaths and river paths. We also occasionally meet at alternative locations to explore and try out different routes. All our meeting points and routes are risk assessed and covered by our health and safety policy. How are club sessions organised? Sometimes, we all run together. Sometimes, we split into smaller groups to cover different distances, routes or terrains. We also include warm-up drills, technical coaching and stretching exercises in most of our sessions. Special sessions can include hill training, interval sessions or time trials for those who want to take part. Club sessions last about an hour but we sometimes have an option lasting about 90 minutes. Will I be running on my own? You should never be left on your own. Our number one rule is that we do not leave anyone to run on their own. We encourage runners to stay together and that is why we organise groups for each run. Our run leaders may ask runners to loop back or muster (wait at fixed points) if groups are becoming too spread out on the route - we ask all our members to support the leaders in this in order to ensure no one is left to run on their own whatever their pace. Looping allows some runners to run a little bit further on the same route - it's a great way of challenging yourself to run further or a bit faster too. What kit do you need? The most important items of kit are running shoes and sports bra. We are happy to provide recommendations on the best places to purchase and some hints about what to avoid. You should also consider a gait analysis when purchasing new footwear. If you are joining us in winter, you will need some hi-viz / reflective clothing for evening runs. Can my children come along too? Unfortunately, we are not able to include junior members aged under 18. We want to make sure they get the correct support for their age and so would recommend joining a club with a specific junior section e.g. Newcastle (Staffs) AC, Trentham Running Club or Stoke AC. I can't come every week, does that matter? We know that time is precious; everyone has busy lives and limits on the amount of time they can spend on running or club activities. That’s one of the reasons that club sessions usually only last about an hour. We understand completely if you can only come every now and then or can’t make it to the club nights at all; we still want you to feel like you have a place with us and feel welcome when you join us for special events or weekend runs. Will I be able to enter races? Lots of our members take part in races - you can read reviews from some of them on our blog. A particular local favourite is the Potters 'Arf in June each year. We also organise trips to races a bit further afield and have been to Windsor, Anglesey, Blackpool and London. We can help you plan your training for a special event. How do you keep in touch? We send regular emails and produce a newsletter every couple of months. We use the SPOND app to organise club runs. We have a closed Facebook group for club members only, where members post updates, ask questions, share details about upcoming races and make plans for weekend runs. Once you've joined the club, you are welcome to join the group - please ask for more details when you come along. You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram. A selection of challenges, ideas and suggestions to help everyone stay motivated over the summer. Most challenges can be completed by running or walking and some don’t involve running at all. We will also be fundraising for our 3 nominated charities (Bowel Cancer UK, Chelsea Burley Trust and Cystic Fibrosis Trust) via the Potters Trotters Team Page on Virgin Money - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/PottersTrotters1 #potterstrotterssummerchallenge2019 Here are the challenges:
* Bottle Kiln Map: https://bottleoven.blogspot.com/p/whats-left.html ** Canal Map: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network Warming up ahead of our the launch of our challenge.... getting ready to run our fastest mile (challenge #17).
Introducing Campus Tuesdays....
Every Tuesday there will be a group based on the University campus. The campus group will be open to everyone including beginners and new club members. The group will stay on the campus paths rather than going out on a road route and will do a mix of running/walking at their own pace or to suit their particular running goal for that week. The idea is that it will allow us to be more flexible in welcoming new members - they won't need to wait for a new beginners group but can join at any time and develop their running at a rate more personal to them. We will be on hand to offer advice and support based on our existing beginner programme. Campus Tuesdays will also offer existing members more opportunities too: - if you want to offer and encouragement to new runners, you can run with the campus group and your support will be really appreciated - if you can only stay for half an hour or are running late, you can still easily meet up with other runners safely without having to catch up or run back on your own - if you are coming back to running after a break or an injury or are relatively new to running, you can build up your confidence and running speed/distance without worrying about taking walk breaks or following a longer route - if you've had a tough week of training or are struggling with an injury, you can use the Campus Tuesday session for a shorter recovery run and extra time for stretching - If you are training for an event and need to include speed work, you can join the campus group and do your session with some company without worrying about road crossings and following a route. We can create session plans if you need help and have mapped out locations for everything from 100m to 1 mile intervals (maps will be posted on FB). The sessions will run from 6.30pm to 7.30pm as normal in the first instance. Happy Running Potters Trotters Potters Trotters is a ladies only running club that supports, encourages and welcomes everyone who comes to join us, whatever their goals, background, experience or interests. We have been affiliated to England Athletics since 2008.
Who are Potters Trotters? Our members come from a range of different backgrounds and have lots of different reasons for running. If you want to run faster or further, we are happy to help and support you. If you want to run to provide you with cheerful company, an escape from life’s pressures or make sure you leave work on time, that’s absolutely fine. If you want to learn new skills, we can provide training opportunities. If your goal is to learn how to run and talk at the same time, then we will do our best to make sure you achieve it. If you want to run but never take part in a race, that’s ok, you don’t have to. If you aren’t able to run, we still want you to be part of the club. We work hard to organise club sessions and events with all these goals in mind. How is the club organised? The club has a small committee of volunteers who look after memberships, our finances, race entries, training and communications. We are supported by other club members, who organise social events, running events and trips to races. We also have a number of qualified run leaders, who have completed the England Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness Course. Our leaders and can advise runners on aspects of training, warmup and cool down exercises. Our club chair has also completed the Level 2 Coach in Running Fitness course. How can I join? Please get in touch to let us know you are interested in joining the club. You can come along for a couple of sessions to meet club members, ask questions and come for a run with us before deciding whether you would like to join. We hope you will receive a friendly welcome. What if I’ve never run before? If you are a complete beginner, we have offer regular beginner's courses which run for 10 weeks. These are run at different times throughout the year. The goal of the course is to get everyone running for at least 40 minutes without stopping. Beginner groups are supported by our run leaders, most of whom started running as adults and completed similar beginner programmes with Potters Trotters or on their own. I already run so would I be able to join? If you are already running, or have run previously and are looking to get back to it, you are very welcome to join us. We will have a chat with you to find out more about your running experience and goals and buddy you up with one of our regulars to make sure you get to know other club members and can find your feet. If you've not run for a while, remember to start slowly and only increase your distance/speed gradually. Where and when do you meet and are there changing facilities? We don't have a permanent base at the moment but meet at various venues around the city. Our club runs are advertised to members on an app called Spond. We can't offer changing facilities. How are club sessions organised? Alongside our beginner's group, we run a mixture of different sessions each work and runners are organised into groups depending on the session. Sometimes, we all run together. Sometimes, we split into smaller groups to cover different distances, routes or terrains. We also include warm-up drills, technical coaching and stretching exercises in most of our sessions. Special sessions can include hill training, interval sessions or time trials for those who want to take part. Club sessions last about an hour but every month we will also include a longer run option lasting about 90 minutes. I can't come every week, does that matter? We know that time is precious; everyone has busy lives and limits on the amount of time they can spend on running or club activities. That’s one of the reasons that club sessions usually only last about an hour. We understand completely if you can only come every now and then or can’t make it to the club nights at all; we still want you to feel like you have a place with us and feel welcome when you join us for special events or weekend runs. Where do you run? We try to vary our routes as much as possible. Some routes will be flat, other times undulating or even hilly - hills are our friends. The distances also vary so that different abilities can be accommodated. During the winter, we stick to main well-lit roads. During the summer, we use a wider variety of routes, including parks, the canal towpaths and river paths. We also occasionally meet at alternative locations to explore and try out different routes. Can my children come along too? Unfortunately, we are not able to include junior members aged under 18. We want to make sure they get the correct support for their age and so would recommend joining a club with a specific junior section e.g. Newcastle (Staffs) AC, Trentham Running Club or Stoke AC. How much will it cost me if I decide to join? The annual Membership Fee for new members is £20 inclusive of individual registration with England Athletics. Membership runs from April 1st to March 31st each year and is renewable by 30th April. Late payments will be subject to a £5 administration fee. Membership fees are subject to change and review annually by the committee. Club membership also provides our insurance and entitles you to reductions in race entries for some events as well as discounts at some retailers through offers provided by England Athletics. You'll get a membership card and access to online information through England Athletics as well. Will I be left on my own? No, you should never be left on your own. Our number one rule is that we do not leave anyone to run behind on their own. We encourage runners to stay together and that is why we organise into groups for each run. Our run leaders may ask runners to loop back or muster (wait at fixed points) if groups are becoming too spread out on the route - we ask all our members to support the leaders in this in order to ensure no one is left to run on their own. Looping back allows some runners to run a little bit further on the same route - it's a great way of challenging yourself to run further or a bit faster too. What kit do I need? Being comfortable is the most important thing. If you are joining us in winter, layers are the key. If you are joining in the summer, it's all about light-coloured, loose-fitting clothes that allow heat to escape. However, the most important items of kit are:
Do you have club kit? You can buy various items of club kit, which is produced by one of our club members. You can order running vests, t-shirts, hoodies and much more. We encourage members to wear club colours for races. However, it’s not compulsory except for official team events such as cross country. Do you run at the weekend? Members get together at different times over the weekend for a variety of options, sometimes running longer distances than there is time for at club sessions. Weekend runs are not necessarily organised by group leaders but we ask all members to continue to run together and loop back / muster to ensure no one is left to run on their own. The venue varies and run details are posted in our closed Facebook group and on Spond. Weekend runs are often organised with a café visit afterwards. We also meet at local parkruns on Saturday mornings. Some of our members also arrange daytime runs during the week if they are not able to make club sessions due to work and family commitments. Will I be able to enter races? Lots of our members take part in races - you can read reviews from some of them on our blog. A particular local favourite is the Potters 'Arf in June each year. We also organise trips to races a bit further afield and have been to Windsor, Anglesey, Blackpool and London. We can help you plan your training for a special event. We also take part in the local cross country league during the Autumn of each year, which gives members a chance to try something a bit different if they want to. How do you keep in touch? We send regular emails and also produce a monthly newsletter. We have a closed Facebook group for club members only, where members post updates, ask questions, share details about upcoming races and make plans for weekend runs. Once you've joined the club, you are welcome to join the group - please ask for more details when you come along. If you have any further questions please just ask. We are here to help. Updated January 2022 |
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