Broughton Runners is a group of junior athletes who train together in Broughton in Furness and are affiliated to Ambleside AC. At the moment we’ve got 18 in the group, and a very enthusiastic and talented bunch they are! Myself and Lecky, Ambleside members both, are in charge of training along with Val Gill, a member of Black Combe: we’re all now qualified Level One coaches and will be progressing to Level 2 shortly. We’re all kept in order by June Birkett, a parent and our secretary.

We train every Tuesday night, summer and winter, rain or shine (although we do alternate sessions in the village hall through the winter). The entry threshold is age nine and we’ve got a waiting list at the moment, mainly because we can't fit any more into the hall! The kids have got their own striking variant on the club vest for competition and over the years we’ve gathered quite an array of training equipment.

This has been a bit of an off year as far as competition goes! We’ve had a nucleus running the Kendal Winter League, three of whom got into the top four for their age group; Theo Messenger-Jones and Douglas Jardine in Under 12, and Theo’s sister Chessie in Under 14. Several others have run, and won, in local races through the summer. Six or seven of the group are keen on orienteering; Katie Wright is Northern Champion in Under 10 and her brother Jack is in the North West Junior Squad and a British Schools winner. Matthew Penellum is a regular winner in local events.

Some of the group haven’t competed yet but we’ll be tempting them into the minibus to some of the Winter League races after Christmas. The bottom line though is that everybody’s having fun and nobody’s too much of a couch potato! When your 10 year old beats you in the bleep test its time to start training!

So what about it some of you Ambleside based parents? There’s nothing too technical about getting a group together and the kids will be raring to go. It amazes us how they respond to a little encouragement and Lecky and I would be happy to advise. I’ve been working with some of the Broughton group for nearly four years now and I cant tell you how rewarding it is. Some of our group have the potential to become champions in whatever branch of athletics they end up in . All of them get so much out of it, physically, socially, and in terms of confidence that I reckon its about the most productive hour and a quarter of my week!

Isn’t it about time to put something back?

Selwyn