SPRING EDITION (Winter 2020)
Mole Valley Runners looked at ways they could continue to maintain fitness, have fun, support one another and stay safe. One member came up with the fantastic idea of the January MVR Bingo Challenge, which has been incredibly well taken up.
People go out on their own, with a family member, a buddy, or with members of their support bubble and tick off some of the items on the bingo card.
Over the first four days of January, already over 85 runs had taken place with everyone sharing their photos of their runs and their achievements.
At Mole Valley Runners, there is no pressure to be a fast runner, the emphasis is on getting outside, doing something that is good for you, and having some fun along the way!
As all of the normal club's organised runs cannot take place at the moment, the club will continue to provide fun activities to keep people active during the lockdown and to provide a vital place of support, camaraderie and fun through these difficult times.
Throughout the last lockdown, club members undertook runs around their garden, on their garden decking and even round their dining table. There was also a fun daily wheel of doom challenge. During these events, the club managed to raise over £4,100 for the NHS Epsom and St Helier Hospitals charity.
SUMMER EDITION (Spring 2021)
Following the great success of the January MVR Bingo Challenge, the group decided to continue the fun challenges in February and March, with again, hundreds of runs taking place keeping people active and providing a fun challenge during the long winter lockdown.
People undertook many 'buddy runs' too during lockdown, exploring the local area and finding lots of new trails. Lots of people decided to undertake exciting new challenges, often for charity, like running every day for 100 days or running 100 miles in a month. Two of our members even achieving the amazing feat of running 10 marathons in 10 days over Easter! What a fabulous achievement! Those two runners, together with another runner who is undertaking the virtual 630 mile South West Coast Path run, have raised over £3,500 for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity through their exploits.
Following the great news that the Government and England Athletics that organised group sport can now restart, the club are kicking off with 4 runs per week from 19th April. The runs will be taking place on Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings. The runs will be from Bookham Common, Norbury Park and KGV playfields in Effingham. There will also be lots of additional ad hoc runs for members of the club.
WINTER EDITION (Autumn 2021)
The last few months have seen Mole Valley Runners go from strength to strength. Our amazing run leaders have been providing around 10 different run options each week, with runs from Bookham Common, Norbury Park, KGV in Effingham and around Dorking. With runs in the morning and evening and groups offering levels of beginners, plodders, steady and continuous and distances from 5k to 12k, there really has been something for everyone. The club staged their first ever race in August, with members running either 5k or 10k around Bookham and Effingham, which was a great success. We have celebrated members who have gone from beginner, running their first ever 5k only 12 months ago, to running their first ever marathon this September. It's been truly inspiring to watch.
With running events now back up and running, members have been taking place in events from 5k to ultra-marathon. Already there has been a lot of highlights for our group. We had a huge turnout at the return of the Mole Valley parkrun at Denbies Vineyard. We had an amazing day at the Brighton Marathon with 13 runners taking place and an awesome cheer squad chasing across Brighton to offer a huge amount of support around the course. We had 23 members completing either the London Marathon or the Virtual London Marathon, with members having a phenomenal day, achieving fantastic results and having a huge amount of fun along the way.
SPRING EDITION (Winter 2021)
2021 was a fabulous year for Mole Valley Runners. Despite all of the uncertainty and challenges that Covid has brought, the club managed to grow and support all of the members brilliantly.
The club offers 10 different types of run each week. From a 5k beginners run/walk group to a 10k continuous run. Running from venues such as Bookham Common, Norbury Park, KGV in Effingham, Denbies in Dorking and Dorking Halls. The focus is always on enjoyment, so there is never any pressure on pace. There are both morning and evening runs, there really is something for everyone, all supported by a great team of run leaders.
2021 saw members achieve a huge number of personal goals, whether that was achieving their first 5k, running 10 continuously, earning their first medal, running in fancy dress, running their first marathon or even an ultra marathon. The club is incredibly supportive, with the members really cheering each other on and helping each other to achieve their goals. There have also been lots of fun activities like Bingo challenges, pub runs, fancy dress runs and Christmas lights tours.
SUMMER EDITION (Spring 2022)
We have had a great start to the year with membership hitting a record level. There have been around 10 runs per week around places such as Norbury Park, Bookham Common, Dorking, Denbies and Effingham.
Members have also been running at many events over the last couple of months with people running from 5k, 10k, 10 miles, half marathon, marathon and even a 50 mile ultra-marathon event around a track. There were many members at both the Surrey Half and the Hampton Court Half as well as many other events. Another highlight was the Denbies parkrun takeover where over 30 members volunteered for all the roles at the event.
As the evenings get brighter and the ground drier, the evening runs will now be going out exploring a lot of the wonderful local trails we have near us. We will have runs from a beginners or plodders 5k, a steady 8-10k or a continuous 10k. There are also runs on Monday and Thursday mornings. Members have also been training for events that they have coming up with people working towards a first 10k, their first half marathon and a couple of members are even going for their first ever 100-mile event.