Almost Athletes amazing community support
As the largest running club in Cheltenham, Almost Athletes certainly make their mark on the local community. Priding themselves on being friendly, inclusive and supportive, the club welcomes runners from all abilities and backgrounds to get involved and enjoy our sport.
Giving back to the local community
But what makes Almost Athletes amazing? Each year the club seeks to raise money and awareness for local charities through a variety of ways. This January, they hosted the annual Linda Franks five-mile race. The race was originally set up to honour much loved member, Linda, who sadly passed away with the event taking place on the Sunday closest to what would have been her birthday. Now running for over 30 years, the race proceeds have contributed over £6000 to local charities.
Speaking on the race's continued success, club chair Dave, said:
"We have been really lucky to have had the same race director for many years, with a new director this year following in their footsteps. We organise three races per year, and the club volunteers are always behind us and offering their help. We are in the process of developing a core race committee to ensure that we keep providing a great experience and support the excellent work of our race directors. We spread the workload across 40+ volunteers. The volunteers love to help out at the races as it is a fun morning out with friends, celebrating the running community. There are loads of different roles for them to get involved with, from marshalling to meet and greet and making teas and cakes.
"The race continues to attract runners and some years is part of the County Road Race Series, giving a great boost in numbers of local clubs and raising lots of money. The fast, flat course is certainly a big attraction with no cut off times making it inclusive and friendly to all runners. There is also always a huge mountain of cakes at the end too!"
The club is no stranger to supporting local charities, as they have raised around £3000 within the last year. Each year the club and members decide on charities close to their heart, and this year the focus is towards the following charities:
- Read for Good (empowering children and young people to read)
- The Archie Matthews Trust (supporting young men’s mental health and neurodiversity)
- British Blind Sport (ensures access to sport for blind and partially sighted people)
- Gloucester Hospitals Big Space Cancer Appeal (race partner for the Linda Franks race – helping to improve facilities for those being treated for cancer)
Dave added:
"Over our 37 year history, raising money is something which we have become synonymous with. Across the three races we host each year, we tend to support different charities with local interest. On top of raising money through races, we also make donations as part of awareness days or celebrations; for example donating money to MIND through 'Time to Talk Day'. As a committee, we put aside club funds to support causes close to our hearts.
"Our members have had issues in their lives and through the running club they are able to give back to charities with donations beyond what they may achieve on their own."
Dedication to learning and development
Keeping a well governed, safe and fun club running week on week is no mean feat but club chair, Dave, is committed to developing the club's leaders and committee to ensure the future remains bright. Dave explained why training and development is important within the club:
"Almost Athletes has been through a period of change with myself taking over as chair and a newly appointed welfare officer. We felt that the Club Leadership Programme offered a great opportunity to develop our knowledge and experience of leadership aspects with an England Athletics lens. We are particularly mindful that with our 40th anniversary coming up in 2028, we want to focus on the ongoing future of Almost Athletes. We want to be best placed to support our members and our club.
"We have had one webinar so far, but our immediate thought was 'wow' - with the number and range of clubs from across the country. We all run but seem to manage our clubs in different ways with different challenges. I am particularly interested to learn more about the clubs that have developed and moved forwards. We are a mature club with a long history and strong membership base, but I am excited to see what is next for Almost Athletes!"
Applications for the 2026 Club Leadership Programme are now closed, but keep your eyes peeled as applications will reopen in the autumn.