Lower Entry Fees - Join Running Club

I run over 10 races a year at various locations and found out that it would be better for the purse-strings to join a running club as this would lower the entry fees (affiliated I think it is called). Which is the cheapest club to join? I don't have time to train anywhere locally, I just train on the move, where ever I am. Can anyone give me some advice? Additionally, if you are affiliated do you have to wear the club's running vest at each event? I wear different tops depending on the weather and can't really afford to renew my wardrobe. Yours in anticipation....

Comments

  • try UK netrunner

    it's an online running club so it doesn't matter where you live
  • Thirty five quid to join a virtual running club?!  You'd have to run 18 races a year to get that back.

    You can join ours for £15 (£10 to be a member, £5 for the UKA affiliation), Elsie, and we won't mind if you don't wear our vest image

  • There's the Women's Running Network but no idea what it costs to join.
  • Wilkie - whats yours? I was moaning about this problem the other day...I will at some point next year need to be a club member to have a bash at a championship VLM place but I am a cheapskate and want to wear what I want...would you guys still mind about not wearing the vest at VLM?
  • Curly, we're very relaxed - I hardly ever wear my vest at races (no particular reason, I just forget), and I'm the club Secretary!

    The club is Club Kingswood running club, in Essex.  We're very social, and very easy-going.  If you really want to join, let me know and I'll send you a membership form.

  • Curly,

    I may have misunderstood your post, but you don't need to be a club member to run a champs qualifying time; you do need to be affiliated to participate in the champs start.  I ran my first champs qualifier as an unattached athlete.  You do need to have joined by the time you make your application, which is usually very early January.  If your club enters a full team (I think 3 ladies) and wishes to try and win the team event, everyone needs to wear a club vest; from memory they pass a form round for you to tick saying that you understand that, by not wearing a club vest, your time will not count for scoring purposes but you'd need to check the EA rules to be sure.

  • Curly, it looks like you are not wearing a vest in your avatar!
  • Try FERC: FERC

    Virtual club for £16 p.a. including affiliation.

    8 races you get your money back

  • The Road Runners Club is £12.50 and you get a magazine (3 per year)!
  • Well there you go!  Plenty of bargain alternatives, Elsie and Curly  image

    (but I bet my club is more fun image image)

  • Thanks guys (not getting my emails for some reason)

    Oooo Joolska you are good I didnt know that - great I can hold off for awhile until I have actually run the time (hopefully next year but lets not too ahead of ourselves), but Wilkie your club does exactly like the right sort of thing - cheap and relaxed = perfect!

    On the subject of it - if you ran a qualifying time and then wanted to run in the GFA instead would they let you (just as an idle wondering)?

    (and as for Musketeer *wink*)

  • My club costs a packet but they think it's good value. We do have a running track which we share with the leisure centre and that costs, also it's an athletic club so there's other stuff like jumping and throwing.

    Don't you have to wear your club vest - UKA rules or something? Not that I do unless its a league fixture.

    I'd have to run rather a lot of races to get my money back, and that'd be rather expensive. image

  • I think the rules say you have to wear a club vest for a team competition (and they must all be nice and matchy-matchy).

  • From the UKA Rules: 

    (3) In individual English County, Scottish District, Welsh Regional and National Championships, (but excluding Road Running) athletes must wear the vest of their first-claim affiliated Club, their County or National vest, or any other Representative vest approved by UKA. The affiliated Club concerned must be the one which in terms of Rule 2(4) caters for that particular discipline of athletics.

  • I would dis-recommend the Road Runners Club.  Yes, very inexpensive but equally very unhelpful and left it to the athlete to sort out their own affiliation.  Another forumite and I had no end of difficulty with them with problems with affiliation and, in the end, took our memberships elsewhere.  Surprise, surprise this also caused problems and my new club ended up having to discuss it with EA to get the matter resolved.

  • LondonFrontrunners:  £11.00 to join (unwaged), including affiliation.

  • Why not join a friendly local club?  You don't have to go to all their sessions, and I don't think very many insist on you wearing the club tops.  And the bonus is you get to go to races together and get a nice social aspect out of it all - you don't have to run with them all the time, but it's nice to be able to share transport, meet for a drink after a race, get suggestions and advice from other people... etc.  I'd find out what's in your area and how much it costs to join them.

  • I'm with North Derbyshire RC and it's £12 a year, plus an optional £10 to be "registered" with UK Athletics to get the "attached" discount off races

  • Wilkie - Competition Licences (ie England Athletics affiliation) is £10 this year.

    Cinders - WRN ceased to exist several years ago (liquidated).

    Elsie - I'm with Madbee, try looking at local clubs first - there might be a cheap one and you might enjoy belonging?

     

  • CindersCinders ✭✭✭

    40Minutes, this thread is 3 years old!  

  • There are other considerations for joining a club other than how cheap they are. You might be buying in to a great deal of expertise that is passed on to you at the various training sessions they run. There will be social events. Members of my club tend to get discounts at a running shop because another member works there. It's not just about saving money on events.

  • I might add that you can pool travel expenses to events...

  • Awesome. This thread is five years old, but if you put in a Google search for "cheapest running club", it's the first one that comes up. And the general advice here is still relevant, even if some clubs have folded, and prices have changed.

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    Anyone care to update which is the cheapest current club? Just straight yearlyfee with and without the racing fee?

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    http://forum.bcrunners.org.uk/comments.php?DiscussionID=1797

    surely this isn't £13 including £10 to race to English Athletics?

    If it is, that can't be beaten surely!

  • My old club used to be £15 including the £10 fee, which is not that cheap but still a bargain! We voted to subsidise the costs of membership when EA put their fees up because we wanted to encourage new members. It included entry to local leagues (cross country and road) but I think you still had to pay to enter the county and national championships.

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    All these fees make my old club's charge sound colossal.

    £40 or so...back when EA charge was less, and you don't get jack all races for that. So all 5ks and XCs (2 local leagues) straps on another £24-30ish.

    I suppose clubs that hire a track are even costlier if they charge even a mere £1-2 per session, all adds up.

    Although in fairness, in footy days, I'd spend £3-5 twice a week on subs, so can't really moan!

  • For the sake of £2 a race saving, and having to race half a dozen events before you even start saving, are people really so tight... sheesh.

    Join a club because of what it offers you, not to save the cost of a couple of pints a year !!

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    Jason, it's probably flown spark over your head some of our comments are a little tongue in cheek here.

    It probably doesn't really need saying that £40/50 a year for the higher costing clubs is barely going to break the bank.

  • £40/£50 for a club that you're never going to use may not break the bank, but for some people may not be money well spent.

    If folks want to use a club, they'll join their local club, be it £20 or £50, but if they want to join a club simply to save money on entry fees (which is a reasonable reason), then they'll simply be looking for the cheapest club. Why pay £50 when you can get the same thing for £20?

    Not everyone wants to join a club and run on a track. Many runners are purely recreational and occasional, and may already have running partners, or may enjoy training on their own in meadows and parks, though also enjoy taking part in organised races, and are looking for reasonable ways of saving money.

    Each to their own, as they say.

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