On 10th September I will take on the Great North Run! a 13.1mile course starting in Newcastle and finishing in South Shields. I have never taken on a distance like this, until recently the furthest I had run was 5miles. This will be a huge challenge for me but the training plan kicks in with 12 weeks to go and I have a huge support network through Town Runners, one of the many groups coordinated by Harrogate Town Community Foundation.

Harrogate Town Community Foundation has given me so much through their Town Runners Group, it's time for me to give a little something back!

In April 2022, I heard about this group when I was starting to fall out of love with running. I was stuck in a rut and struggling with the motivation get myself out. I went to my first session and I was hooked, the whole group were so welcoming and really made me feel at ease and all the anxiety I'd felt about whether I was fast enough or good enough to run with a group just melted away. 6 months later I was asked if I would become a Volunteer Run Leader, I was completely taken back by this, it wasn't something that had ever crossed my mind to do. I feel so humbled that the charity provided funding for me to become an official England Athletics Leader in Running Fitness, allowing me to support Town Runners, both new with the Town to 5K programme, and exisitng runners with keeping them safe on group runs and providing them with any support they need.

Town Runners has given me confidence I didn't know I had, they aren't just a group of people who run together twice a week, they are a family that I am privileged to be a part of. They encourage you to push yourself, they allow you to open up and talk about your worries and stresses without judgment, they provide support in so many ways both mentally and physically. 

The community foundation isn't just about Town Runners though, the work they do in the community is second to non. They provide support to people who may be lonely, unfit, down, suffer with dementia, or who just want to get out and do something different, they do this through the many programmes that they offer throughout the week. Although the charity is affiliated to a football club, non of this can happen without fundraising and charitable donations to continue to help people to keep active, keep talking, make memories, and make friends.

Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation is the official charity linked with Harrogate Town AFC and we offer a number of programmes to promote better health and wellbeing within the Harrogate District. Some of the programmes we currently offer are:Sporting Memories; Man V Fat; Town to 5K / Town Runners; Walking Football; Premier League Primary Stars; to name but a few. A full description of each of these programmes is given on our website http://www.htafccommunity.co.uk