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Alfreton Jog Club is a Jog Derbyshire group based in Alfreton, Derbyshire. Group leader Amy Bradley tells us all about it.
How many leaders do you have? 4
How many co-leaders do you have? 4
Roughly how many participants regularly run with you? 10-20
When and where do you meet? We meet at Tesco Alfreton on Monday nights at 6.45pm
Tell us about the history of the group. How long has it been going and how did it start?
The group used to be based in South Wingfield under leaders, Tim and Anne. I (Amy) started running with them because I felt I was too slow for running club and was at the back every week. With Jog Club, I felt like I was getting quicker and not getting left behind. After a while, I decided to give something back to the club that had helped me so much, so I became a LiRF (leader) around 10 years ago and then a CiRF (coach) five years ago. We moved to Alfreton and Jo joined me as a co-leader, later qualifying herself as a LiRF. Roy (LiRF) kindly offered to help us out when we started to run in groups of six after lockdown and has since become a very important part of our core team.
Tell us a bit about the group
We’re only a small group but we have one simple structure. We run 5km every week, looking after the slowest runner there. We’re not really a beginners’ group, mostly because we wouldn’t want a complete beginner to feel out of their depths and give up so we point them in the direction of our friends at other local JD groups.
With us having such a great team of leaders and co leaders, there can be quite a spread of pace but someone’s always at the front and back to look after all abilities and we regroup often.
It’s very social and our no-pressure approach means that people can dip in and out. We have runners who feel safer in groups, runners who like the motivation of a group and runners for whom the group is a lifeline. There’s no judgement based on your background, ability, or anything like that. You can tell us about who you are, or you can run in silence. Whatever our runners need, we’re here for them.
What’s your best memory of Alfreton Jog Club?
Our annual Reindeer Run creates some fabulous memories every year. It started out as a little quirk one of our co-leaders spotted on a run. It was vaguely animal shaped. She ran around an industrial estate to create antlers and the rest is history. It now attracts hundreds of runners each year with the support of other JD groups and leaders. Last year we used it to raise around £700 for charity!
Are there any extra-special members of the group who deserve a shout out?
Every single member of Alrefton Jog Club is part of our family so it’s difficult to single anyone out, but Jo is great at routes and motivation. Roy is the man who makes sure we’re adhering to all the latest rules and guidance. Our co-leaders are essential for making sure everyone feels like part of a group.
We have a number of participants who have taken on huge personal challenges and raised thousands of pounds for some incredible charities over the last year or two so let’s give them a huge load of kudos 🙂
What’s the best thing about being part of Jog Derbyshire?
The support network is fantastic. There are some amazing groups locally so we know that if our runners want to run more often, make new friends or run in different areas, we can point them in the direction of another group, knowing they’re in safe hands. We can call on other leaders for tips and advice.
Are there any opportunities for other groups to join you?
Groups and individuals are always welcome to come with us and see the sights of Alfreton.
Our annual Reindeer Run is an extremely popular route during December. It’s not an official event so we run it with the same structure and feeling as our regular sessions. It’s such a behemoth that, although we love to welcome anyone to run it, we ask larger groups to message us to arrange an evening to bring over your runners, come and have a bit of fun and bring some leaders so that we have the correct amount of support.
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