Spring 2025 Roundup and News

It's been getting warmer and warmer as we finally say hello to summer and look forward to a few months of sunny social running. Spring has been as busy as ever, expanding the team, expanding our little RTC run family with lots of new members and expanding the repertoire of runs, jeffs and walks.  So far, despite some run leader injuries, we have had some very memorable sessions over the last few months, so let's see what’s been going on and what we have to look forward to.

Happy Birthday to us!

Our 4th Birthday was a blast, and it’s hard to believe we’ve been going for so long already – RTC really is the gift that keeps on giving, so thank you to everyone who made that Birthday so memorable – you know who you are!

Spring in words

Marathons, ice lollies, Bushy Park, breakfasts, races, training, walks, sunshine, speedplay, mental health week, flag, trailblazers, meetings, collaborations, pubs, global running day, cake, newbies and trampolining! - There are just too many fab things we have been involved in in just a few short months, but it's been great and we look forward to a Super Summer of fun and running!

Welcome to your new and shiny Run Leader lineup

We are very excited to officially announce that Ben, Dev and Nick are joining our run leader team of Emily, Hannah, Carolyn, Sally, Kerry, Laura, and Tony. I am so proud of this run leader gang - each offer something a little different in terms of experience, knowledge and personality.  We want to give you as much variety as possible, and this growing group of leaders is increasing our scope for consistent, regular runs and future development – it’s a very exciting time.  Welcome to the team Ben, Dev and Nick, we are incredibly happy to have you.

Come back to RTC - we miss you!

We know many of you have been busy getting married, changing jobs, moving house, having babies, getting injured, struggling to build exercise into your routine, worrying about whether you feel brave enough/fit enough/fast enough/available enough to return, but please do. Do come back to us if you can, no matter how long it has been.  Due to GDPR, we can’t hold your details forever and I will soon be deleting the details of those who haven’t run in the last two years – if that’s you and you plan to return, then drop Emily a message on 07770479589 and let me know.  We have a walking group, a jeffing group, a 5k group and an 8k group, we have speedplay, trail runs and we meet at a parkrun every month so hopefully there is something for everyone.  Our focus is always on the social so come back and see us soon!

 

Upcoming Running and Walking events, by Emily, Run Leader (slack channel #rtc-events-and-races)

Wingham 5.4 and 10k (annual RTC team event) – Sunday 14th September 2025, 10am start, 9am meet time.

Several members have already booked this again for 2025; it’s a really lovely undulating rural road route with water stations and wonderful marshals.  It is a Sporting Events UK event and is bookable through their website.  Members will be running and jeffing both distances, so don’t be shy and book yourself in!

Thanet 5k Colour Run  – Sunday 5th October, 9.30am registration, Margate

Another fun family-friendly 5k event which promises to be an explosion of colourful fun.  If you haven't done one of these before, all I can say is don't wear your best trainers and be prepared to come out of it looking like something from the Trolls film - what's not to love.  

Mental Elf Run  – Sunday 30th November, 10.00am, Umbrella Centre, Canterbury

This is a brilliant event which many of us ran last year and are planning to run again so book your place, and dig out your elf costume for a bit of festive fun and games. 

Save the date - RTC24 

Hold the date for the weekend of 19th/20th/21st June 2026 for RTC24 and RTC12.  We are in the early planning stages of an endurance run where we will run one mile on the hour every hour for 24 hours, with a 12-hour option too!  We are currently looking at the solstice weekend to hold this event, but at this stage it is subject to change.  More details to follow, but it's going to be fab, so pop a note in the diary and save the date. 

 

Upcoming social events, by Laura, Run Leader and Social Events Team member (slack channel #rtc-social-events)

We've had a busy couple of months on the social calendar. Most excitingly, celebrating our wonderful group leader Emily’s birthday at the same time as our RunTogether group's 4th birthday. The celebrations started at 6 am as we headed up to Bushy Park to do a parkrun. On the way up we had Bingo, I SPY, and a fun fact quiz about the team. Thanks to everyone who provided sausage rolls, cakes, rocky roads and more; I sampled each of them and they were all delightful! That evening, we headed back out to the pub to hang out and enjoy people’s company. Thanks again to Emily for creating this group and to all our members for a memorable 4th birthday anniversary!

Kerry and I have begun a monthly/ fort-monthly Sunday morning run/jeff and brekkie. We had our first one in June, which was a hot day and a success. There have also been a few impromptu ice cream and drink dates after the warm runs to cool down!

Sunday 20th July 9:30 - morning run/jeff with breakfast afterwards. Now bookable on the app.  Please join rtc-sunday-social-jeff-and-breakfast on Slack for the upcoming brekkie run dates.

Saturday 23rd August – Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch family railway/beach trip.   We will be getting the train from Hythe and getting off at Dymchurch. The plan is to have a little wander onto the beach and have a relaxing, fun day out. The more the merrier, so bring along spouses, children, or friends. It will be a fun adventure, so please do pop it in your diary and come along!

 

parkrun update, by Tony, Run Leader (slack channel - #rtc-parkrunners)

With the weather being so nice so far this summer, our trips out to a local parkrun have been growing in popularity, and whilst we have loved our trips recently to Dover, Sittingbourne and Ashford, the one that stands out most was our excursion to London and the original home of parkrun, Bushy Park.

It was nearly twenty-one years ago that Paul Sinton-Hewitt and his friends first set up a regular timed run around the park, which grew and grew until it became the worldwide phenomenon that it is today. For those of us who love it (always as much as we love RTC!) it's a bit of a pilgrimage.

So, early on Saturday 17th May a coach full of runners left Canterbury to make the journey to London. The weather was kind (eventually!), the food was good (thank you, Theresa), and the run was amazing, as we added our numbers to the 1706 finishers that day.

We have future trips planned for August and September before we return to our local pair of Whitstable and Canterbury for the winter.

 

Mental Health Champions update – by Kerry, Mental Health Champion and Jeffing Run Leader

May & June brought a change for our Mental Health Champions.  England Athletics has been overhauling the Mental Health champions programme, and it will now sit as part of RunTogether.  This has meant there have been webinars/training for our Mental Health Champions, which led to the MHC's meeting to catch up.

We have realised the importance of having more Mental Health Champions within the team, which means we have appointed 2 new Mental Health Champions - Welcome to Laura Young and Amy Hall, who have joined Emily & Kerry as MHC's for Run Together Canterbury.   Sadly, Ginny will be stepping down from her role as Mental Health Champion but will still be around to provide support to the team if needed.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ginny for her time and expertise she has given to the Mental Health Champion team, we really appreciate you Ginny.

We will be continuing with the mental health events, our next event will be the #RunTalk event which will be held later on in the year, and further information about this event will be given closer to the time.

As always, please come and chat with one of us if you need to.  We are always here for you.

 

Run roundups, by Emily, Run Leader

Monday Speedplay – managing run leaders Carolyn and Emily, with run helper support. (slack channel - #rtc-speedplay)

Speedplay is currently taking place at two rotated locations, Crab and Winkle Way meeting at the Oaks Nursery at UKC and Pilgrims Way meeting where Pilgrim’s Way meets Barton Road.  Sessions are varied and include a short warm-up and warm-down with fun short hill sprints suitable for everyone.

Tuesday run night – managing run leaders Hannah and Carolyn, with run helper support (slack channel - #rtc-tuesday-runners)

This social run is for the speedier runners among us (5.30 per km) who also enjoy longer distances (7 – 10 km).  This session has been as popular as ever for those who like to run a little further and faster.   This session is not suited to beginners due to the increased pace and distance.  

Thursday social run night – managing run leaders Emily, Hannah, Carolyn, Laura, Tony, Kerry, Ben and Dev (and Nick too soon), with run helper support. (slack channels - #rtc-Thursday-run-night and #rtc-jeffing-group)

Thursdays are now made up of 3 sessions and until sometime in October will alternate at Blean Woods and the City loop:

Social Jeffing group – 6.15pm (#rtc-jeffing-group)

Social 7-10k run group – 6.15pm (#rtc-thursday-run-night)

Social 5k run group – 6.30pm (#rtc-thursday-run-night)

Wanderers Walking Group – managing leaders Kerry and Emily, and walk helper Theresa (slack channel - #rtc-wanderers)

Our wanderers continue to wander once a month, and the next walk is in Goldstone, Ash on the 27th July.  It’s a walk we have done before and are looking to do again with a drink stop on the route.  Theresa has been out recceing routes to add some new walks to our growing list of ‘places to walk before the important tea and cake bit’.  She welcomes any ideas (walk or cake stops) and will happily talk to you if you have a walk you love and would like to share. Join the slack channel to ask any questions you might have.  We look forward to seeing you at the next one.  Walks which are held usually on the last Sunday of the month, are bookable up until the end of the year.

Trailblazers – managing leader Hannah, with run leader and run helper support (slack channel - #rtc-trailblazers)

Hannah will continue to arrange these weekend 5 – 10 mile runs as and when her diary allows throughout the summer.  These runs are popular with the distance runners amongst us and are, as with all our sessions, very social and treated as such, with the pace staying slow and steady and allowing for plenty of opportunities to enjoy the route, take photos, stop and have a drink. The runs tend to finish at a pub for a drink and bowl of chips or ice cream and often include a trip on the bus or train at the beginning or end of the run to get to the start point or get home so bring some pennies.

Easy Saturday trail run - managing leader Emily, with run leader and run helper support (slack channel - #rtc-saturday-blean-trail-runners)

These easy-paced, relaxed 5k trail runs continue to take place up at Blean, mixing up the routes a little as we fancy on the day.  The run takes place on the last Saturday morning of the month as often as Emily can lead them (her son’s trumpet lessons interfere with this from time to time).  Bookable now.

 

Biannual volunteer committee meeting - Wednesday 16th October

Thank you to those who attended the meeting back in April. In summary, we agreed at the meeting to increase the team of Mental Health Champions (no cost) and the Run Leader team (£200 per run leader).  Since then, we have appointed Amy and Laura as Mental Health Champions, and Ginny has requested to step down.  We have added Ben, Dev and Nick to the Run Leader team, and with these additions, we hope to have fewer cancellations and allow for a reduction in capped runs due to ratio limitations. For anyone who would like to join the next meeting, take a more responsible role within the group or would just like to support the group's development or lend your skill or expertise for the behind-the-scenes admin, it will be held on Wednesday 16th October at 7.30 pm at the Curzon Cinema cafe. All welcome.

RunTogether Canterbury Kit

Our kit supplier, Print Matters, have recently moved to their new premises at Unit 9 City Business Park, Canterbury, CT1 1DX (near Asda).   We have a catalogue which I try to keep a copy of in my car, and we have an online catalogue that you can view here at RTC Kit Catalogue.  If you have any specific questions or requirements, Chloe, our contact there, has all the details and will be happy to help you, call her on 01227 765031.  You are completely free to personalise your kit and choose other colours if available.

Fantastic fundraisers

Clare Hale is running a year of challenges for Mama to Mama, Thanet's first and only baby bank, providing essential items for babies and children up to 5 years old, to vulnerable families living in poverty.  Her fundraising page is here.

I and my better half and fiancé Ash, are running the Great North Run for The Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust.  A charity that supports my family as we navigate our possible genetic disposition to the condition.  Our fundraising page is here.

If you would like your fundraiser shared here next time, please let Emily know.

Runner information

Please do refresh yourself with the Members' information page on the website for any information about the group, how we operate, how to book, cancel runs etc etc. 

Google reviews please!

If you haven’t already, please review the group on Google.  It helps others to get a better picture of what our group is about and whether it would suit them, so your opinions are valid and helpful.  Thank you in advance!  Click to review

I would like to thank all the Run Leaders and helpers for their time and effort in continuing to provide what can only be described as a fantastic variety of runs and walks. I hope I speak for everyone when I say we are all very grateful to you.

As always, if you want to contact me, please do, via slack, WhatsApp or give me a call 😊

Emily 07770 479589

 

I am resolute that this group is free to join and free to attend, however, we are reliant on our application for small grants, holding fundraising events and taking small donations to raise money to train and maintain our run leader team and to cover various expenses, including things like first aid kits and marketing materials.  If you feel like you would like to make a small donation to RunTogether Canterbury, we would be extremely grateful, but this is entirely voluntary.  Our community bank details are as follows:

RunTogether Canterbury

Sort Code 30-99-50

Account number 66222362