A new running club has launched in Kendal, aiming to make running as inclusive as possible.
The S*** Running Club launched last week in the town and founder Shaun Fagan shared his reasons behind launching the new club.
He said: “I started running a few months ago and I found it incredibly hard, my progress was painfully slow. It was really, really difficult.
“I was online looking for some inspiration and actually all I saw was demotivating me. I started thinking what do normal people do, they can’t just do these half-marathons.
“Then I looked at it from another angle, how about something that’s intentionally open and as accessible and friendly as possible, so that anyone who has had the slightest inclination or has never run had some sort of club.
“That’s the ethos to me, hopefully some other people will get some benefits from it, not just the physical side but the mental side too.”
Mr Fagan’s first session attracted 17 people on January 7 and he was pleased with the turnout for what was effectively a trial session.
“We had our first session last week, it was almost like a practice event for ourselves. We had 17 runners, well make it 17.5 as we had a dog as well,” he said.
“I’d have been happy with two or three people. Last Wednesday, it was icy and freezing cold, horrible conditions so we were pleased with that.”
The sessions will run on Mondays and Thursdays from 6pm from the car park behind Kendal County Hall and Mr Fagan is hoping that the club will bring some social benefits to its members too.
“A couple of mates who live here were roped in to help with the volunteering side of things, but I didn’t know any of the other people who came along,” he said.
“We actually went to the pub afterwards as well. Hopefully some people who are thinking of coming along will drag their mates along, the long-term idea is that we’ll have new people coming all the time and the regulars will become mentors for our new people.”
Read the full article at: https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/25758010.kendals-newest-running-club-launched-great-success/