Taking up running can be daunting, especially for people who may feel they are not as fit as they would like to be.
Battle Town Football Club Runners wants to support would-runners to gain the confidence and skills to become more active through running.
Whatever your pace, activity level or experience a friendly and supportive running group is helping participants take those initial steps to increase their activity levels and improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
Get moving
Couch to 5K is a simple, free running plan for absolute beginners. It’s been developed to support people to get moving. It includes a running schedule which will have you running 5K after 9 weeks. Learn more about the plan and get tips on the NHS Couch to 5K (C25K) running plan.
We spoke with Battle FC’s Esther Dunn, co-founded Battle Town Football Club Runners about the club’s programme.
Why and when did the Club start its C25K programme?
I started running C25K courses many years ago as a way to help people get more active and as a way to serve the local community. As we emerged from COVID in 2021, Battle Town FC took us under their umbrella and the group began to really grow.
How did you get coaches trained?
I have three other volunteers who run the sessions with me. Through various grants I was able to get these volunteers first aid trained and provide them with first aid kits, rucksacks and stop watches. I was also able to equip the club with high-vis vests and head torches. We became Leadership In Running Fitness (LiRF) trained and I went on to undertake the Coach In Running Fitness (CiRF) training. This training was supported by a grant from Active Rother.
How did the programme develop?
Our plan was to run regular C25k courses which would feed runners into our Wednesday training sessions. This model has been extremely successful. Every Wednesday night we offer running training and we have a mix of runners attending. Our ethos is to value every runner whatever their level of fitness and running speed. We design our sessions to allow every runner to run at their own pace.
How have you recruited participants?
I have found that Facebook is the most successful way to recruit participants. I have also spoken to a local social prescriber, emailed GP surgeries, put posters up, handed out flyers, emailed schools etcetera.
How many people have taken part in the programme since you began?
To date, 101 runners have taken part in the programme (not all completed it but all started with us). In addition a further 30 runners joined our running sessions without doing C25k.
How many people attend sessions on average?
It’s not unusual to have around 20 runners turn up to our Wednesday training, but typically it’s around 15 each week. In terms of C25K somewhere between 10-20 people usually attend each course.
When do sessions take place?
Typically, on a Wednesday evening at 6.30pm meeting at Battle Baptist Church. The C25K session is alongside our training session, as this helps C25K runners get to know the Wednesday runners, making it more likely that they will continue running once they have completed the course. We have also started a C25K course on Sunday afternoon at 4.30pm. This meets at the Recreation Ground in Battle. Sessions finish with a post run cuppa, something we have found very important for building relationships within the group!
What do people say the benefits are from taking part?
There are so many success stories. We always finish C25K with a celebratory 5k run along the seafront and a glass of bubbly afterwards. People are amazed that they have taken themselves from struggling to run for 60 seconds to being able to run nonstop for 30mins.
One of our most recent C25K runners, Katie completed the Battle Bonfire Boyes 10k in September. Last year we challenged ourselves as a club (so between us) to complete a Park Run for every letter of the alphabet. This included a trip to The Hague to get the Z.
Future plans?
To train up two further coaches in LiRF, which will allow us to run more C25k courses and potentially offer an additional day of training. We are grateful to Active Rother for providing us with a new grant to fund this training.
How can I find out more?
To find out more email active@battletownfc.com