Junior Section

Are you interested in running and between 9 and 15 years of age?

If you answered, "Yes" to that question then this will be of interest to you. Here you will find all you need to know about our junior section (and if you don't find what you want let us know so we can keep this up to date).

What is the "Junior Section"?

For a number of years the club has organised training sessions for Juniors. The sessions are run by Level 2 UK Athletics qualified coaches who have all been on child protection courses and have been CRB checked.

The club is also achieved full 'Club Mark' status. We can cater for all standards and new members are always welcome.

Where do I find the Junior Section and when does it meet?

The Junior Section meet once a week, on Tuesday evenings from 6.00pm to 7.00pm at the Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, Gainsborough Road, Stowmarket (meet at the side entrance). Training is generally outside during the winter so you need to consider the weather when coming out to run!

Sometimes, in the Winter months they meet at Stowmarket Middle School Gymnasium, Childer Road, Stowmarket. Any moves will be announced at the club and on this website.

The sessions are usually attended by a minimum of 4 coaches.

How do I join and what does it cost?

To join the club simply turn up a Tuesday evening with a good pair of trainers, the Junior Membership Form and �8.00! Although generally we let you try it for a couple of weeks first to see how you get on before asking you to join officially.

Annual membership for Juniors is only £8.00 for the year to 31st December. There is no weekly attendance fee, only the annual membership fee!


	What do I need to do while I'm there? All we ask is that you enjoy yourself, keep smiling, listen to the coaches and stick to our Junior Code of Conduct

What can I expect from the coaches?

The coaches ensure that the training suits the runner's ability and they will help you improve and achieve you goals.

The juniors are well looked after by our coaches who adhere to our club's "Club Welfare Policy". UK Athletics also produce a Junior Sport Factsheet for coaches and a Checklist for coaches that show how a training session should be run. As part of it's successful ClubMark application the club has also produced details of the Junior Section Coaching Sessions and Standards for the Junior athletes.

As well as coaching juniors on a Tuesday evening, many of the coaches have also worked in local schools and have coached the Mid Suffolk District Athletics Team at the Suffolk Youth Games.

I fancy running a few races, are there any I can do?

On just about every weekend of the year you will find a race of some description somewhere in the area. Most are for "seniors" (people over 15 or more, depending on the race distance) BUT many of the clubs who organise these races hold Junior Races or Fun Runs with the main race. The junior or fun runs are usually no more than 2 miles and there are usually prizes for the winners and medals or mementos of some sort for all the runners.

There are strict UK Athletics rules about how far juniors can race.

If you are under 13 years the furthest you can race is 4,000 metres (2.4855 miles)
If you are under 15 years the furthest you can race is 6,000 metres (3.7283 miles)
If you are under 17 years the furthest you can race is 10,000 metres (3.7283 miles)

We have a full race diary on our website that lists all the local senior races. If there is a fun run or junior run linked to the senior race the details will be included in the remarks section for the race.