Your news: Best foot forward with Crawley running club

With Christmas behind us for another year, a leading charity-affiliated running club is on the lookout for new members.

The Trailblazers run for The Olive Tree cancer support centre, based at Crawley Hospital.

Their latest Couch 2 5K programme, designed to encourage people to start running in a friendly and non-competitive environment, begins this week.

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Over a nine-week period, participants will slowly build up their fitness levels. In the first session, runners alternate between 60 seconds of walking and 90 seconds of running over a 20-minute period. By week nine, they will be running for a solid 30 minutes.

To mark the final run, the Trailblazers will be heading to Tilgate Parkrun where upon completion, ‘graduates’ will receive a custom medal.

“I saw the advert for Couch 2 5K and thought, ‘I really would love to do that’,” said Michelle McKenzie, who completed the first Couch 2 5K training programme. “I have always said I can’t run, so filled with anxiety and completely petrified I talked my sister-in- law Gemma into joining me and off we went.

“First session after jogging 60 seconds I wanted to quit. I hurt, I couldn’t breathe, I had a stitch and was ready to give up. The club kept me going and I soon learned with the encouragement and support from the whole group I could actually do this,” she explained.

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“I soon started to enjoy every session, yes it was tough and each week was a challenge but it didn’t take long for me to want to be a Trailblazer. I couldn’t be prouder to wear my Trailblazer vest, and I look forward to welcoming new members into our Trailblazer family.”

For those that complete the Couch 2 5K, or want a bit more of a challenge, there will be a 5K 2 10K, where participants will increase their distance to 10K. Throughout 2017, the Trailblazers will be running a separate ’12 in 12’ event.

This will consist of one running event for every month of the year. This can vary from a 5K or 10K, to a half marathon or full marathon.

The Trailblazers meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.15pm outside The Olive Tree, next to Crawley Hospital.

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The group is open to all abilities of runners. More experienced runners looking for people to run with are just as welcome as those who are beginning their running journey.

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