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Minutes from the Clarence Runners committee meetings can be found here. The most recent is shown in full – past minutes can be viewed from the PDF list below.

29th April 2026

Clarence Runners Committee Meeting 29/04/26

Present: Nick Whitley, Luke Barneet, Jayne Jackson, Brian Jackson, Alan Blagburn, Amanda Peplow, Debbie Pendlebury, Steve Hamer

Apologies: Andrea Sidebottom, Sacha Roy

N.B. The term ‘club’ has been used but it should be noted that Clarence Runners are NOT an affilliated running club but a social running group.

1. Minutes:

  • It was noted that the minutes of the previous meeting should have stated that the 3k distance was to be offered on a trial basis only, not necessarily as a permanent option.

2. Finances:

  • The current bank balance is £1664.58 – income (from grant funding, club merchandise, event ticket sales & raffle) amounted to £2444.81 and expenditure (run leader training costs, social event costs & S.K. Kits costs) amounted to £780.23.
  • There is money in the budget to cover the cost of replacing the tarpaulin sign on the park railings and for a C.R. branded feather flag – Nick to pursue design/manufacture options.
  • It was agreed that new run leaders would be provided with a free T-shirt and first aid kit and an allowance would be given to replace the t-shirts of ‘older’ run leaders; Luke would build the costing into future funding applications.

3. Fundraising:

  • Luke informed us that he will be looking into claiming a grant from the Sport England Movement Fund and is hoping to secure £1500 to cover the cost of training more run leaders.
  • Luke also advised of a ‘meet the funder’ on-line session on 27/05/26 that might inform/help advance our application.

4. Run Leaders and Run Leader Support:

  • The club has recently paid for Debbie H & Damian to train as LiRF accredited run leaders.
  • Anna P & Debbie H are both on the verge of recording their run leader training videos.
  • Several run leaders (Nick, Andrea, Jayne, Brian) will be required to renew their LiRF training this summer @ https://www.englandathleOcs.org/welfare/licensing/ – The process includes renewal of mandatory safeguarding units and a new DBS check with the total cost per person estimated at £20-£36.
  • Praise and thanks were given to Alan for his weekly organisation of the groups inc support volunteers. Feedback from other groups across Bury is that they are not as organised as us.
  • Appreciation was also expressed for our many enthusiastic support volunteers who are invaluable in ensuring the club is able to provide as many different offerings as possible on a Thursday evening. Their presence helps to ensure the club’s ethos of inclusivity is foremost.
  • Alan has offered to re-word the run leaders’ guide as a guide for support volunteers including the role of the back-marker.

5. Tuesday am & Thursday eve sessions:

  • Luke reported that the formulaic nature of the Tues early morning session continues to work well.
  • It was reported that there have been ‘rumblings’ about the 5k being occasionally too fast despite the presence of a dedicated back-marker. Is this a question of pace or a question of whether re-grouping breaks were sufficiently long enough for the slower participants?
  • It was noted that the 7k offering has seen massively varied take-up; some weeks nobody at all, other weeks as many as 12-14 participants
  • The 3k trial has been well-received and it was suggested that, as a club, we should encourage the 3k’ers to try the Sunnywood Burrs 5K run on a Sunday morning.
  • Alan suggested that when posting route info, leaders should try to increase engagement by asking a question e.g. Who’s excited to lace their trainers up?

6. First Aid:

  • It was agreed the club should keep a stock of basic first aid items to replenish kits as necessary. Carrying a bum-bag of first aid supplies does NOT mean you are the person responsible for administering first aid.

7. Statistics:

  • In the last 12 months, the club have seen 2264 participants cover 14,764km over a several route distances from 3-10k.

8. Trails:

  • The question was asked as to what exactly constitutes a trail? Would some of our summer routes over Birtle be classed as trail?
  • It was suggested that, in future, it would be good for the club to have at least one person qualified as a trail leader

9. Club apparel:

  • Nothing to report; Andrea is happy with how things are going with our current kit provider. Logo’d caps remain on the wish-list for the future.

10. Website:

  • It was suggested that run leaders’ profile pictures be retaken with everyone wearing the same Clarence Runners logo’d shirts.
  • Whilst one of the main purposes of the recently launched Clarence Runners website was to record participants’ I.C.E. details, Luke suggested that having the age & sex data of regular runners would be useful for particular funding applications.

11. Bury Running Festival:

  • Nick will be liaising with the organisers in due course but, as in previous years, the club will look to support the event by providing pacers, marshals and a cheer station. Pacers will have entry costs covered by the organisation and marshals will be able to claim a free entry to a future Run for All event.
  • It was agreed we should press ahead with the purchase of a C.R. branded feather flag for use at local running and/or community events with the purchase of a branded gazebo for a cheer station also being considered dependent on price.

12. A.O.B.

  • It was suggested the club should approach Kathy Taylor of Keep Bury Clean (KBC) to see if our members could be involved in a group litter pick on Hornby Street.
  • It was suggested that we encourage as many Clarence Runners as possible to meet up on one or other occasional Sunday mornings to run/marshal/promote the Sunnywood Burrs 5k event.
  • Justin intends to offer the 5-10k improvers course again this year beginning Weds 8th July and using Totty Lines to promote constant running.
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