FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Are you interested in running and are aged between 8 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"?
The club holds organised training sessions for Juniors. The sessions are run by UK Athletics qualified coaches who have all been CRB checked. The club also has achieved full “Clubmark” 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 meets twice a week:- On Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. and on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.00pm both at the Bungay High School Sports Hall (unless advised otherwise). Training is generally outside during the winter so you need to consider the weather when coming out to run!
How do I join and what does it cost?
To join the club simply turn up to training with a good pair of trainers. 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 £5.00 for the year from 1st January. There is a special offer for Family Membership- 1 parent & up to 3 children or 2 adults & up to 3 children. Click Here. There is a weekly attendance fee of £1, in addition to 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 a good 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 your goals. The juniors are well looked after by our coaches who adhere to our club's "Club Welfare Policy". UK Athletics give guidance to coaches on how a training session should be run.
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 (2.4856miles)
• If you are under 15 years the furthest you can race is 6,000 metres (3.7284 miles)
• If you are under 17 years the furthest you can race is 10,000 metres (6.2140 miles)
Running at a young age
Q. I was interested in involving my child in running as she runs everywhere, all the time! She has enjoyed running since she was physically able and participates in lots of running activities at school. Unfortunately she is only 5 ½ yrs old and so is too young to join your club. Nobody has been able to enlighten me as to whether she shouldn’t be running so much at an early age but I would like to encourage it as an excellent form of stamina and strength building exercise as she is very tall and slight, excellent for running!
A. Children naturally want to run and it is good to encourage them to do so, but you have to be careful not to push them as this will lead to burn out and dis-interest. I can offer you the following advice for young children:
1. It is good to encourage them to participate in sporting activities.
2. Try not to encourage specialism. Many sporting champions changed sport in their mid to late teenage years. It is good to expose them to as many different sports as possible.
3. Children naturally run then stop for a short while, then go again. Try to follow their natural tendencies. Longer continuous running has no proven beneficial effect for pre-puberty children and will lead to boredom and dis-interest.
4. Observe the running. Lack of form or technique usually indicates tiredness, so encourage rest/recovery. While recovering, restlessness usually indicates they are ready to go again. I try not to used fixed rest intervals, but instead prefer to use the natural signals.
5. It's all about enthusiasm. Try to encourage or accommodate any desire to run, but equally don't push. You want to give them enough to keep the enthusiasm, but hold them back a little bit, so that they don't overdo it.
6. Try to praise participation, rather than performance, in potentially competitive situations.
Important Contacts:
Welfare Officer: Paul Seary 01986 896824 (h) or 07767 875156 (m) paul@krc.co.uk
Junior Coordinator: Tom Pullinger 01379 608906 (h) or 07717 712209 (m) tvpullinger@btinternet.com
Junior Coaches: John White 01986 896594(h) or 07712 836209 (m) johnfrederickwhite@yahoo.co.uk
Christine Muttit 01508 518683(h) or 07503 165626 (m) potty1@btinternet.com
Sue Potter 01502 716153 (h) or 07780 707972 (m) susanpotter57@hotmail.com
Tom Pullinger 01379 608906 (h) or 07717 712209 (m) tvpullinger@btinternet.com
