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South Gloucestershire Council runs away with award

This news article was published more than a year ago. Some of the information may no longer be accurate.

Published: 12/12/2013


As part of the England Athletics National Awards and Hall of Fame programme, the South West regional awards were held on Thursday 5 December in Exeter. Deserving volunteers from across the region were awarded with a trophy in recognition for their work in athletics.

We picked up the Run England Project of the Year award for our work to establish running groups in South Gloucestershire. We have funded 17 volunteers to attend Leadership in Running Fitness training and helped to set up ten new Run England recreational running groups. We also support a number of women only running groups, a buggy group for mums and dads and a successful workplace group, which reached 1,000 members its first year and is regarded as a model of good practice across the Midlands and South West.

Brian Gardner, South Gloucestershire Council’s Active Lifestyles Manager and a keen runner, was at the event to collect the award. He said: “It was a great honour to collect this award on behalf of the council and especially the growing number of sports volunteers in South Gloucestershire. It really has never been easier to take up running for health, fitness and enjoyment. Our volunteers are making this possible by giving up their time to help others, all year round, come rain or shine.”

Doctor Mark Pietroni, the council’s Director of Public Health, said: “Running regularly can provide a number of physical and mental health benefits. It helps to maintain a healthy heart by giving the heart muscle an effective workout, can improve circulation and will also help reduce the risk of a heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. Running can lift your mood and help to relieve mild depression. It can help you get a good night’s sleep, and you can also burn as many as 1000 calories in one hour.”

We also funded and helped to set up the Little Stoke parkrun, which has seen over 1,500 runners recording over 1,500 personal best performances in the first year – all organised by over 150 volunteers performing over 600 roles.

New parkruns in Chipping Sodbury and Pomphrey Hill are due to begin early in 2014. Visit www.parkrun.org.uk to register for free, weekly 5K runs.

A new ‘Run South Gloucestershire’ leaflet featuring details of how to take up running in the district will be available in libraries, leisure centres, doctors’ surgeries and other outlets from early 2014.

For more information please telephone 01454 862296 or visit www.southglos.gov.uk/A4L


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