England Athletics CEO Chris Jones visits London Frontrunners
Last week, England Athletics CEO Chris Jones visited London Frontrunners (LFR), who are celebrating their 30th anniversary as a club.
The club pride themselves on being one of the most supportive LGBTQ+ sports communities in the UK.
This year, London Frontrunners have increased their coaching pool from 18 coaches to 33, by encouraging members to take part in coaching courses to enable more runners to join the club and benefit from the ample coaching expertise the club now has to offer.
LFR are an England Athletics affiliated club, and have launched popular initiatives such as their Women’s and Non-Binary Run of the Month and Women Only training sessions.
England Athletics CEO Chris Jones joined in with a club run last week to show his support of the club and their fantastic initiatives.
London Frontrunners recently tasted success at England Athletics’ London Regional Volunteer Awards, where club coach Matthew Sandknop-Haas won the award for Coach of the Year, volunteer Mitch Fryer won the Newcomer to Volunteering award, Race Secretary and Cross Country Captain Julia Robinson was recognised as a runner-up in the Volunteer of the Year category, and the club were also second runners-up for Club of the Year.
A strong sense of community
Following his visit, England Athletics CEO Chris Jones said:
“It is very clear that the club is a special place, providing running and social activities, and a strong sense of community and family, for all members of various abilities, ages, and ambitions. It was a hugely enjoyable evening.”
Opening up pathways into running
London Frontrunners (LFR) Club Secretary & Lead Welfare Officer, Dr. Christos Bitzis-Politis, said:
“It was a great pleasure to be able to welcome and host Chris among our Wednesday crew and we truly appreciated the opportunity to share more about the values that drive LFR, our unyielding commitment to inclusion, our strong sense of community and of supporting newcomers to London, providing them a sense of belonging and opening up pathways into running by keeping engaged and active people of all backgrounds.
“It was an absolute privilege to be able to have a constructive dialogue with Chris about the work we care so deeply about, and his visit gave us a valuable opportunity to share the principles that shape our 750 + strong community, and we were glad he could get a feel for the spirit that brings the London Frontrunners together all over London.”