Any female running clubs?

RayCun

Blackrock might be mainly women, and might have some training groups that are all women, but it also has male members (and has done since at least 1955)

PVincent

This thread has raised a number of very interesting issues that currently exist in Running and Fitness circles. There is no doubt that the vast majority of runners/ joggers , do see running clubs as a place for Fast Runners. It is scary the amount of people who are running these days , but it is even more exasperating to see AAI and a lot of running clubs doing very little to attract these people further into the system. In my own club , we made a very conscious decision to change our name a number of years ago to Knocklyon Runners, because it was felt that Bros Pearse AThletic Club was putting off people joining. We succeeded in attracting a large amount of new runners. We also took a novel decision to advertise running classes in the local schools night classes. That also proved hugely popular. ( they weren't classes, we just got them down to the club) And we still advertise in that way. We now feel that we have made such a statement about what the club was , what we were about , that we decided last year to completely ditch the Knocklyon Runners name ( much to the disgust of Tallaght AC) . We also ran two hugely popular c 25k programmes and the vast majority of these runners became members of our club. Personally speaking the Fit4 Life brand is sending the wrong message. If a club sets this up, and they get people attending the sessions, that is great , but you are immediately saying they are not part of the club , instead of saying well actually you are all now runners and you are part of an athletics club. Why not just call it a Beginners group or a Novice group. Far easier for people to move up the ranks if you already have them as part of the club rather than as a separate entity away from the main body of the club. We make it part of our ethos that every group mixes and encourages each other and this is especially important when dealing with beginners. It does them so much good when our lead group will shouts words of encouragement or chat with them after a session. It's that type of contact that keeps the newer runners coming back for more.
When I look at the Grant thorton 5k , I see a huge chance for the sport to increase its exposure and participation from the business community. When you see so many companies getting several numbers of teams out to run in this great 5k , it demonstrates to me that it is the area that clubs and AAI should devote time. Many business are now spending time and money on healthy lifestyle issues for their staff. Lunchtime running is now very popular, and even c25k programmes and gym conditioning sessions are taking place . My own company have done two c25k programmes with a third planned. I have got at least 8 members into my own club because of this. That has really helped the understanding of what we do in our club. And these people will tell others. So the growth area for me is within the business community. There is no doubt that the BHAA do a good job, but it's a select group. When you see the numbers in the Grant Thornton , you have to wonder what they need to do to attract even a fraction of that. I always find it a little frustrating that the same people win prizes all the time at the BHAA races. So what's in it for most of the runners other than a cup of tea and a slice of brack after and the company of friends all for 10 euro. Parkrun offers the same level of organisation for free, so why would people bother paying to run ? I can understand why people , experienced and newer runners , choose the Parkrun these days. The BHAA need to do more to attract these companies into their setup. If they don't , they will continue to lose out . A non member pays 15 euro to run a BHAA race. You can pay 20 and get a free tee shirt and a goodie bag elsewhere.
Sorry I have gone on a little off the thread topic, but my basic thought is that as a committed runner and someone who wants the sport to really grow within the club scene, we need everyone to do more. The opputunities are there. Get out there and grab them .
To that lady who just wants to run with Ladies, come along to Bros Pearse for 3 sessions and let us show you how great and fun , training with a club can be. You won't be disappointed.

scaryfairy

RayCun wrote: »

Blackrock might be mainly women, and might have some training groups that are all women, but it also has male members (and has done since at least 1955)

the group on Tuesdays is tiny and never seen a gent around

happygoose

Spot on PV.

Its v much with the Clubs to entice the likes of our OP through the gates. Running is going through a boom, there's no reason that a runner shouldn't be attached to a Club, Clubs should be able to offer the environment that the OP is looking for. BP have gone about the right way about attracting the beginner runner / walker, C25K programmes are the way to go, the gateway to F4L programmes. Often the case is that there's a drop off at some stage from people in F4L, C25K's can incorporate lapsed runners into the programmes and get them back running again.

Perception of what a Club is is huge, the term 'Athletics Club' can be daunting, Clubs need to prove to potential C25K'rs and F4L'rs that there's something for them and everyone else in the Club. Getting in the gate and doing a session or two soon puts the notion of Athletics Clubs being for elites to sleep. Word of mouth about a programme within a community counts for a lot in this regard.

With regard to a female / male split, I'm not really sure there's a need. I would say that the uptake on these programmes is 4:1 female to male anyway.

I think there are possibly two things AAI could do operationally in order to get these runners in:
Provide a framework for Clubs to follow, as you've outlined but with greater detail, a marketing strategy. They could visit Clubs like yours, copy the model and make it available to Clubs elsewhere.

AAI and County subs for non-competitive runners are too high, €17 in total is too much to pay, what are the Clubs getting for this money? What are these runners getting for this money? The AAI should reduce these by half, at least.

I think you've raised a point with regard to the Grant Thornton race, I've seen posts saying the BHAA covers this cohort of runners. I think the AAI should be taking the lead and pushing this, as a consequence we'd see more people coming through the gates of Clubs, the Corporate world would see the benefits of the extra curricular stuff too. You could set up Corporate Leagues etc. I'm sure they're looking into it after 3,500 turning up at the GT 5k.

T runner

DarByrne1980 wrote: »

I would have thought fit 4 life were non intimidating! I started back running 2 years and have ran with fit 4 life groups in 2 different clubs. Both very welcoming and had lots of people who could not run very far or fast. Most runners were women too! A couple of my friends all wanted to join one of the clubs once they seen me out running with large group of good looking women

There is a large demographic of beginner women who want non-elite, female only clubs/gyms/races. One of the reason may be that they want a guaranteed safe environment where they can get on with getting fit without their appearance/looks/weight/whatever judged by "the lads".
They will get that in a female only group. As you've already alluded to, they may not get that in a mixed group. Once they have more confidence in the lay of the land they can progress to clubs if they get the bug.
As you say Fit for Life may be low on this intimidation front. But it is crucily not guaranteed low. The female only groups recognize this. Im sure there are other reasons for wanting female only--Thats just a hunch of mine. The point s that many beginner female runners do.
As has been pointed out. If Fit for life adapted a little, they would get the women in this demographic.

DarByrne1980

T runner wrote: »

There is a large demographic of beginner women who want non-elite, female only clubs/gyms/races. One of the reason may be that they want a guaranteed safe environment where they can get on with getting fit without their appearance/looks/weight/whatever judged by "the lads".
They will get that in a female only group. As you've already alluded to, they may not get that in a mixed group. Once they have more confidence in the lay of the land they can progress to clubs if they get the bug.
As you say Fit for Life may be low on this intimidation front. But it is crucily not guaranteed low. The female only groups recognize this. Im sure there are other reasons for wanting female only--Thats just a hunch of mine. The point s that many beginner female runners do.
As has been pointed out. If Fit for life adapted a little, they would get the women in this demographic.

I wondur how big this demographic actually is? I'm not saying tere aren't ladies who want this set up! I also think you are making some incredibly general statments about "the lads" as you call them judging women based on appearance etc! Those generalisations really annoy me or are you just speaking for yourself? I can tell you one thing I have heard lots of women make reference to my appearance and the weight I was and am still carrying. Maybe we need men begginer groups so we can be save from "the girls"

T runner

DarByrne1980 wrote: »

I wondur how big this demographic actually is? I'm not saying tere aren't ladies who want this set up! I also think you are making some incredibly general statments about "the lads" as you call them judging women based on appearance etc! Those generalisations really annoy me or are you just speaking for yourself? I can tell you one thing I have heard lots of women make reference to my appearance and the weight I was and am still carrying. Maybe we need men begginer groups so we can be save from "the girls"

40,000 women partcipate in the women only MM. There are women only gyms etc. Many women clearly feel strongly enough about it regardless of underlying reason.


As I said Its a hunch of mine that this may be one reason. Women are judged on appearance more often than not in my opinion, and many women might feel uncomfortable, under the spotlight, intimidated when a beginner (who might not be fit etc) in a mixed sporting environment.
Whatever the reason/s, the size of the demographic is significant and the Commercial womens only gyms/groups etc get this.

Would be worth clubs times to really find out why this demographic exists and change market accordingly.

"The lads" I was referring to was that posters friends who claimed to want to join a running club because of the god looking women in the Fit for Life group.

Knowing that men might be judging women on appearance in these groups might make women skip them IMO.

Presumable they want to get fitter etc without the unwelcome scrutiny. Thats only my opinion.

I dont think the same male demograhic exists in any sense.

Again if clubs want to hit this demographic, they need to fully realise the reasons behind it even by consulting female club members.
Clubs might not need those numbers though and might get plenty of women by disbanding the elite only myth as Bros Pearse have done.
Is guess that the strenght of the womens side of that club is a great help in the female recruitment drive.

DarByrne1980

T runner wrote: »

"The lads" I was referring to was that posters friends who claimed to want to join a running club because of the god looking women in the Fit for Life group.

Without "lads" pursuing women I think it would be safe to say the worlds population would be in trouble! Are you male or female yourself! If you are male and have a female partner how did you hook up with her. Did you make any judgements on her appearance. In my experience the biggest bitches to one another are women themselfs.

T runner

DarByrne1980 wrote: »

Without "lads" pursuing women I think it would be safe to say the worlds population would be in trouble! Are you male or female yourself! If you are male and have a female partner how did you hook up with her. Did you make any judgements on her appearance. In my experience the biggest bitches to one another are women themselfs.

Lets just say, I disagree strongly with your opinion of women.
The demographic is there, however, whatever the underlying reason. Dont think I can add anything more to the OPs quest or thread so Ill leave it at that

DarByrne1980

You strongly disagree about one of my observations of women. It's not a all encompassing opinion. We will agree to disagree.

Back to the first poster. Give the fit 4 life a bash. What is the worst that can happen

PVincent

It's a well known fact that more women will tend to run in the winter at night in the dark, so as they can't be seen in their gear. One of the key focuses we have with BP, is making sure that we make people feel good about themselves, proud of themselves , more confident, happier and we hope we make them fall in love with running. By and large we do succeed with that ideal. I think it's an aspect that maybe some clubs don't do. I can't comment on whether the likes of Run with Tina or any of the commercial outfits do it or are capable of doing it. Being a good coach in any sport is so much more than having technical knowledge. In fact I would say that 80% of coaching centres around people skills and knowing what motivates people. This is especially true in running where technical expertise is not as important as it is in team sports . To get people out running and coming back for more , it has to be an enjoyable experience . If it's enjoyable they will come back . Enjoyable means banter, slagging, and craic. If you can get that whilst training properly you will have a perfect combination . Runners will be more relaxed, if they are relaxed they will run more fluently, they will train harder, and the consequence is that they will improve quicker. This then gives them the self confidence and suddenly you have achieved the aim of creating runners from joggers. All simple in writing but it's a difficult thing to get right. Thankfully I like to think we have done just that in BP and it's why we continue to grow and improve.

Hani Kosti

I started with Fit for life, well structured and all led by volunteers. Each session was divided to group based on ability And NOONE was ever left behind. Also each session was focused different running training style (intervals, fartlek, hill sprints etc)
I felt very welcome and supported by everyone around, fast or slow.
I joined a tri club this year and also attending running club trainings. It is a mixed club, we get our training plan by email and you run with whoever shows up on the day.
Again noone is ever left behind, people are supportive and genuinely want to know how is your progress going.
If you meet your clubmates before/during run/tri, those will always cheer up on you the loudest with the biggest pride.
Leave your prejudice behind, join a club and enjoy every single moment of your running future!!

rom

I think post might be relevant here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79235855&postcount=1

Ososlo

rom wrote: »

I think post might be relevant here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79235855&postcount=1

In all fairness rom, you at the time, and the op as she currently stands are a million miles apart in terms of running ability. The op is an absolute beginner whereas you would have been considered mid-pack level at worst in a club scenario. Chalk and cheese.

Ginny

I'm a member of sloggers to joggers. It's run by women and everyone is involved in the group. It's actually based in Swords, off the top of my head we currently have a walking group, a c25k group, a 5210k group, a 7-10k group, a half marathon group and a marathon group. It's a brilliant group, really helps all types of runners, from absolute beginners to marathon runners. In the c25k groups people who are longer running volunteer to go back and mentor the newer groups. There's members from 18-60+. Most of these women would never had run before, we get out 3 times a week and try and do one official race a month or so. I joined in September 2013 and could barely run, I then did a half marathon less than a year later, granted I trotted it more than ran it, so now I'm working on pace. In general I'm not a fan of segregated clubs, but I completely understand that most of our members would never have dreamed of being a "runner" never mind joining a club. Although now afaik we are the biggest "club" registered in the Malahide parkrun.