PROMOTING GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

As with physical health, the promotion of good mental health is a fundamental objective of the club.

Two club members are nominated as Mental Health Champions. In conjunction with the Chair they lead on the development and implementation of the club’s strategy of supporting mental health. The club’s approach to mental health is explained further in our Mental Health document and includes occasional post-run talk sessions.

THE SOCIAL SIDE AND THE COMMUNITY DIMENSION

Fun and enjoyment are key ingredients of the Bearcat Running Club experience.

Building up from our standard training sessions, which we aim to be good fun in any case, we have social sessions where more emphasis is put on members from our different ability groups getting to know one another better.

At The Turk's Head, many of us stay on for a short time after our Sunday morning run, for tea/coffee and chat. On occasion we have themed post-run talks or a bring-and-share breakfast.

Participation of Bearcat Running Club teams in events such as the Greenbelt Relay and the River Relay (both organised by Stragglers running club) is truly representative of all the ability groups in the club. Our event captains having an amazing track record of not just succeeding in the hugely complex task of co-ordinating our teams’ participation but also in ensuring the club’s ambition for fun, enjoyment and celebrating every team member’s effort shines above all else.

We organise a minimum of two large social evening events each year in spring and autumn, with The Turk's Head management always providing fantastic support to make these a success. We also promote opportunities for club members to try things together like Stand Up Paddleboarding, Tai Chi or getting involved with the running of Clothes Exchange and Tabletop Sales events.

To show our thanks and support to Parkrun, we also aim that twice a year our club members cover all the volunteer roles at a local Saturday morning Parkrun event, usually Crane Park or Old Deer Park.