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Unattached vs Club
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Interesting this.
I was unattached for eyars because, like many others, I couldn't get to club nights. I then decided to join the Road runners club which is reality is a virtual club but being affiliated it saved me a lot of mone yand got me insured (for training not just racing). I then joined a local Athletics club.
A club does give a social side, it does mean you see fellow club members at races. They often organsier club champs, usually within existing races. You do get insured., you don't pay the levy.
So it is worth it but certainly if you don't want to go along then the Road Runners Club or Realbuzz online club makes a lot of sense.
However if someone wants to run unattached then that is fine.
Road Runners club website
This has been around for many years but is not a online club.
RRC is the longest established of all the "virtual" clubs, and also the cheapest (£12.50)
However, whilst its website says "You can become affiliated to the national body, and thereby save paying the non-affiliated fee for entry to races", it doesn't make it clear whether or not the £12.50 includes the individual affiliation to EA which would entitle you to the £2 discount, or whether you would have to pay an extra £5 on top.
AFJT...are your Realbuzzes PR officer?
Ouch...I would be careful about claiming to be the biggest running club in the world!!!
The rest is curtesy of England Athletics not Realbuzz. I got a £5 voucher for Sweatshop with my England Athletics card as I am a member of an affliated club and get discount at Uk Athletic track meetings.
What they say about the training guides is you have access to them...what they don't say is how much you have to pay to download them.
It really depends on what you want out of a virtual club...if you just want a couple of quid discount and nothing else than I guess Realbuzz are ok, but I would want more detail about who they are affliatted too. I asked them that question last year...never got a reply.
Lots of ways of wording claims to greatness, but I think you have to be careful and check what you are getting for your money.
I am still unsure....
if I am affiliated to ARC not UKA am I taking but not giving or an elitist snob,
if you did want to set up your own group for those who don't really fit with their local club, this might be an idea
http://www.runinengland.co.uk/
I see the "elitist" comment is going to get battered out of shape.
It was PURELY aimed at the comment that those people entering races unattached are selfish, nothing more, nothing less.
Interesting thread title
I never really thought of it as taking sides.
I've been a member of a club sometimes a second claim club too and trained at a third club of which I wasn't a member. It's all down to what nedds be
Currently I'm not competieing so am not a member of a club. I might choose to compete in the future which means I'll have to join a club again. But until such time I won't. There's no need.
As for taking sides, I don't think so.
I am a member of a club and have been for about 6 years now. We are affiliated to both ARC and EA but our club races are licenced by ARC.
Not sure if it is still the case but you had to (or were expected to) promote membership of Realbizz (sic) to unattached runners over your own club membership in order to get the EA licence.
Current membership fee is £27.50 (inc £5.00 EA fee) and I think is a bargain as we hire facilities at a local tennis club and now have a separete coaching session as well.
If you want to do cross country then you have to me a member of an EA affiliated club.
I have a vague recollection of a few threads being started re runinengland.co.uk and I think that a few people commented that it didn't take much to be a leader etc and they questioned the validity of the "training schemes" / skills of the leaders v club trainers etc.
CJBA, it depends what you are after. I did the training when I wsa with the WRN and I have my UKA qualification in fitness in running and walking. It is nothing like being a level 1 or 2 coach and it isn't supposed to be. It is about being able to lead a group of people in a running activity and also about being insured by the UKA when you are doing so.
Its for people who just want to go and run in a group, rather than people who want actual coaching (like you would get at an althletics club)
Dips - I'm not even a member of that club, let alone their PR Officer - I'm a member of a "normal" club. However, someone asked what you got for being a member of the club, so I answered that by quoting directly fom their website.
You are correct that the benefits you state are also available to club members like you and I - that's because realbuzz are fully affiliated, and the membership fee includes the individual affiliation which allows the member to claim the £2 discount on race entry fees. This is because the realbuzzrunbritain club was set up by UKA themselves in conjunction with realbuzz.
AFJT...I was joking about you being a PR officer
It was me that asked what you got for your 12.50 at Realbuzz as you questioned that we don't make a profit at uknetrunner.co.uk. Realbuzz are a big company and have their fingers in lots of pies...once upon a time (I think you will find) they were called Realrunner and ended up with a few problems, not least with the then online running club Team Realrunner.
A friend of mine did the Leadership course with runinengland.co.uk, and there is a bit of a skill to leading people. What she wasn't keen on was how they then wanted you to cough up more money, then get others to join Run England, at a cost of course.
I have my level 1 which only allows you to assist with coaching, but most of what I know and spout about is what I have learnt/picked up over the years. And most of that has come from running with different clubs and generally mixing with runners and coaches. As far as I see it, you get out what you put in, but there has to be some givers as there will be nothing for the takers.
You can tell I'm bored at work today
Yes, that's the impression that I got Farnie, that it was for people who'd like to join a club, but for whatever reason can't or won't and it was about getting out and running.
I joined the club more for the training/potential to improve, but was put into what they (politely and euphemistically) call the social group as it sounds better than "newbies"
. We didn't really get any training, just runs that pushed us out of our comfort zones in terms of pace. Had I been able to continue, perhaps I might have been able to move up and join other groups, but as I couldn't, I "treated myself" to proper training instead
.
...but other things you share Dips ?!!
I can't believe some of the negative comments on here. I wasn't aware how much petty politics and bullshit seems to go on in running.....
Danowat -
I totally agree with all that you said, calling someone selfish for not being a club runner and helping out at events is the biggest load of tosh I've heard in ages. Me and thee must be very similar... total and utter selfish awful bastards, how nasty of us to enter races and pay for the privilege
Maks Friend -
If being involved in a running club makes you so negative I suggest you find something else to do with your life. Each time I enter a race I pay a fee to contribute to the cost of the event. I could just as easily not bother entering any races at all and just continue to enjoy my running on my own, If we all thought like this there wouldn't be half as many entries in races would there? May I suggest that if you think it's selfish for unattached runners to enter your club's events, why don't you make it club runners only and see how many turn out then?