Latest news


17th October

We have been approached by the 'Save the Roseburn path' group who have asked us to submit an organisational response to Edinburgh Council's consultation on the proposed tram route along the existing Roseburn path cycle route.
The committee have tentatively approved doing so as, among other reasons, we feel it is an important local route for runners. Our position will be that we oppose the proposed tram line using this route.


If as a signed up member of the club you are comfortable with us doing so on the club's behalf, you do not need to do anything. If you are uncomfortable with us doing so, please let us know by emailing info@werunclub.co.uk before the 30th of October. We will read any objections should they come in and the committee will make a reasoned decision. Should we not receive any objections I will personally lodge our response on the 31st.
Thanks all.

6th October

Mandy Scott Qualifies to Represent Scotland!






Encouraged by her friends at West Edinburgh Running Club, Mandy Scott chose to back her own exceptional ability and step onto the national stage by entering the trials to represent Scotland at the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International in Leeds this November.
Wearing the pink and navy vest of WERC, Mandy needed to finish in the top three in her age category to earn the right to swap it for the iconic saltire blue and represent her country.
Visibly shaking with nerves on the start line, she wasted no time once the race began, setting off with purpose, running strong and focused among some of the best veteran athletes in Scotland.
The course was brutal: three laps of wet, muddy, storm-battered grass. But with every lap, Mandy looked stronger. The gap between her and her competitors steadily grew, and each time she passed her supporters she even managed a half-smile!
As she crossed the finish line, no one dared say it just yet…
"Did Mandy just qualify for Scotland?"
She didn’t just qualify...she bloody won!
Mandy finished first in her category and will proudly represent Scotland on November 15th at the Masters International in Leeds.
From @everyone at West Edinburgh Running Club,
Massive congratulations, Mandy! We could not be more proud, and we hope you don't mind us sharing the credit...Just a tiny bit!

1st october

A few days ago we launched issue 1 of a monthly newsletter for our members. We are really excited to have this space to share with you all the exciting updates from the month in this fun format. Big thanks to El, our social media and communications lead, for pulling it all together. Check out issue 1 by clicking the image below:


28th September

I finally get to share a secret with you!
On Saturday 4th October, the incredible Mandy Scott, will be taking part in the "Scottish veteran harriers club team trial for the British & Irish masters XC champs 2025"!

Mandy is a brilliantly talented runner and dedicated member of our coaching team. Anyone keeping an eye on the club championship standings knows she is an incredible force within the club.

Mandy will run a 6km cross country course at 12pm on the day, in Tollcross Park. If she were to finish in the top 3 of her age group then she will qualify to be part of team Scotland in the aforementioned XC champs.

Whether she makes the team or not, and I for one think she's in with a shot, we are so proud of her for giving it a go. It's an incredible achievement to even have the confidence in your abilities to step up on that stage. Special thanks goes to Claire Gilchrist for encouraging Mandy to give it a go.

And yes Mandy...the club is going to pay your £5 entry fee!

So...I have a proposal for which I have been given Mandy's blessing to bring to you all.

We should go cheer her on, right????

You will likely know that Tollcross has a parkrun! I am proposing that any of our members who are keen head through early on the Saturday ready to run the Tollcross parkrun at 9.30 am and then after a coffee and cake, we head back to the park for the start of the race at 12pm to cheer Mandy on.

Anyone keen to join, comment on the Facebook post or speak to Alan at club and when we know who is up for it we can arrange transport plans.

Let's show Mandy the support she deserves!

 https://scottishmastersathletics.webnode.page/products/scottish-veteran-harriers-club-team-trial-for-the-british-irish-masters-xc-champs-2025/

17th September

Not long until the Men's and Women's Health 10k at the weekend!
For those who want to meet up before the race, cheer each other on, and socialise in the pub afterwards, here are the key details that worked for us last year:
  • Meeting point for the race - Men at 8:45am - Women at 10:15am
We will meet outside of the Usher Hall and walk up together to the bag drop.
  • If you want to cheer on your fellow runners
We suggest that female club members meet on Lothian road, outside of the Usher hall at 9.50am to guarentee seeing the men coming down Lothian road.
After the men's race, male club members should head to the corner of the Western Approach Road and Roseburn Street to cheer on the ladies in the last mile of their race.
  • If you want to socialise afterwards
We have the Roseburn bar, specifically the back bar, hired out from 12.30pm for drinks, toasties and banter.




11th September

3rd September

CROSS COUNTRY SEASON IS STARTING

OCTOBER 11th 2025 in LIVINGSTON
Lindsays District XC Relay Championship in Livingston is happening on Saturday October 11th.
This is the first of a few muddier events included in our club champs.
This involves teams of 3 (women) or 4(men) running 4000m legs around a muddy area of Livingston. This will be a great club event with loads of runners from clubs all over Scotland.
Entries cost an est. £7 per athlete, AND you do also need to be an individual member of Scottish Athletics to enter. Membership costs £24, but gets you a £2 discount on most race entries through the year too. See link in the comments.
The committee are currently discussing the possibility of subsidising the entries, and I will let you know if this is possible at a later date.
Entries are submitted collectively by the club before 25th September so we need to start planning!
email info@werunclub.co.uk or comment on Anna's Facebook page to get on the team! (Everyone welcome, no matter your pace)

2nd September

We have an Instagram page! Head over to @westedinburghrc on Instagram to see all the fun and adventures we are having at the club.

6th August

Message from Dom (Vice-Chair)

It’s no secret that Alan Jeffrey and I feel incredibly lucky and proud to have a such a committed and dedicated membership at West Edinburgh RC. You guys continually support our endeavours, volunteer your time, share what we’re doing well (and where we can improve) and, of course, represent us positively in your club kit across the country (and beyond).

Many of you will know Piotr Stępień well - most likely from his cheery and enthusiastic disposition, especially in race photos! He has been an incredible ambassador for the club since joining, living our values 100 percent.

His company has made a generous donation to the club further securing our financial position, for which we are extremely grateful. 

So on behalf of the entire WERC membership, the committee, myself and Alan, thank you Piotr!


2nd August

UPCOMING CLUB CHAMPS RACES 

The Club Champs calendar is in full swing. It has been great seeing so many be involved. Just a reminder of the next few races that are coming up in case you haven’t signed up yet!  

The next races are:

Edinburgh Womens and Mens 10k 21st September 2025

Great Scottish Run Glasgow HALF Marathon 5th October 2025

Scurry Hermitage and Braids 5k and 10k 23rd November 2025 *** The Scurry team have kindly given us a discount code for members to use - please message myself or Alan Jeffrey or email info@werunclub.co.uk to request it***

23rd July


Plan for tonight's relay and social

- Meet between 6.30pm and 6.40pm at Community Garden, North (University) side of the Meadows. See image. Please be on time to save us panicking!

- Bring club kit to wear for the race but also something warmer to wear for the social gathering after. I will have a few pieces of spare kit. If you have spare kit, consider bringing for your team mates.

- Bring a bag with some food and drink for the social. Whilst the club may supply a few bits and pieces, this is a bring your own picnic style gathering. Obviously you are welcome to share with each other! 

- Come speak to me (Alan) so I can mark you as present and introduce you to your teammates if necessary. WE ARE REGISTERING YOU WITH THE ORGANISERS, DO NOT DO THIS YOURSELF OR IT WILL CONFUSE THINGS.

- Stay with your team mates and make sure you know what leg of the relay you are running. Get into the starters pen when instructed.

- Listen to the race briefing so you understand the format. It can be quite chaotic!

- RUN! And cheer on your team mates 

- After the prize giving 🍍 we will find somewhere comfy in the meadows to sit and enjoy each other company.

See you tonight!!!!!

19th July

WERC continues to grow!



With over 100 members only 3 months in to our 2025/2026 season, communication with our membership is only becoming more challenging.

With that in mind, we are pleased to announce that Eleanor Hope is joining the WERC team as "Social Media & Communications Lead".

Eleanor will be responsible for leading on, and developing, our member communication, marketing and information across digital platforms such as social media and our website.

Eleanor is a valued member who has shown commitment to the club and it's community since she joined. 

We are super excited to have her on board and get her up and running.

9th July


SUMMER SOCIAL and CLUB CHAMPS RELAY

Just a wee reminder in 2 weeks time the Sri Chinmoy 3x1mile relay is happening in the meadows! We have had a brilliant response so far with 12 teams but it would be great to see even more join this really fun event. If possible please let us know ideally by MONDAY 21st to give us chance to organise teams🙏

Email info@werunclub.co.uk or post on Anna's pinned post on the Facebook page and we will get you in a team.

Following the race, we will be staying in the meadows for a summer social and would love to see as many there as possible!

8th June


I have a fun new opportunity to tell you about! 

West Edinburgh Running Club are looking for a social media and communications lead to manage and support our information & member communication across digital platforms.

We anticipate the role will include the following tasks, though the dynamic nature of the club, and your expertise in the area may see the mutually agreed role and responsibilities evolve (for example, the recruitment and managing of sub-groups for individual projects):

  • Writing posts for our social media platforms and website.
  • Scheduling posts via social media scheduling tools 
  • Moderating online discussion
  • Monitoring social media for likes, comments, notifications etc and responding appropriately 
  • Devising campaigns for expanding likes, followers and reach 
  • Adding content and information to the website 
  • Communicating with the WERC committee on social media issues 
  • Assisting with other social media projects that arise
We are looking for dedicated and passionate members of the club to apply, who are able to meet the following skill-based requirements:
  • Commitment to WERC's values. 
  • Ability to work within WERC's Safeguarding & other policies and guidelines. 
  • Experience of using Social Media in a work setting 
  • Good written communication skills, with accuracy and good attention to detail. 
  • Ability to think creatively when sharing content. 
  • Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team and motivated to work as an individual.
  •  Ability to deal in a professional manner when communicating online – remaining calm, balanced, and neutral. 
  • Volunteers will need their own equipment (Laptop/Tablet, broadband etc).   
We anticipate this role may involve around 3 hours per week of dedicated time, though this may change at certain times when projects demand.

If you are interested please fill in the below form. If you have any questions or wish to know more information before filling in the form, please speak to one of your committee members (Alan, Dom, Rhea, Martin and me 🙂). 

Thanks 
Kathryn 
Club Secretary


19th May

And we have three coaches! A couple of weeks ago (sorry for the delay in posting!) Stuart, a valued member of our coaching team, successfully gained his Coaching in Running Fitness qualification...meaning he's a fully qualified running coach! 

This brings Stuart's core qualification in line with Dom and Alan's, meaning three fully qualified coaches on the team.

We look forward to seeing how Stuart develops in his coaching...and how he helps us develop the club.

Well done Stuart.

18th May

Hoodies are on sale! Orders are open until the 1st of June and can purchased here




28th April

EGM 

Dear member

As previously communicated, we are required to elect a new Club Secretary to the West Edinburgh Running Club committee.

Club member, Kathryn Sykes, has received two nominations to take over the role. Kathryn has been a valued and positive member of the club for almost a year now, joining in our first six months, and she brings knowledge of committee and board processes. The Secretary role is a core and crucial position on the club's committee and we are extremely excited at the prospect of having Kathryn on board, shaping the future of the club. 

In order to formally elect Kathryn we need to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) with our membership to conduct a vote.  

The meeting will take place on Thursday 15th May 2025 at 18:15 at Saughton Park (just before our weekly training session). 

To elect a new committee member, we need at least 25 members to vote, so it’s essential that as many members as possible attend this brief meeting.

Many thanks for your help and support. We will share reminders of this meeting at our training nights and via social media closer to the time.

21st April

Each year as part of our Scottish Athletics affiliation we receive a guarenteed London Marathon entry for one of our members.

One of the criteria to be selected is that you must have entered the official ballot and not been successful.

The ballot opens this Friday 25th April. The odds of being successful are fairly low...but they get much better when you consider the second chance you get from being a member of WERC.

https://www.londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon/enter-ballot

9th April

*Exciting opportunity to be on the West Edinburgh Running Club Committee*

**CLUB SECRETARY**

- West Edinburgh Running Club is looking for a highly organised member with strong communication skills to join our committee as our Club Secretary, one of the core mandatory board roles.

- The Secretary provides administrative support to ensure the club's operations proceed smoothly. This can entail arranging meetings, taking minutes and distributing key documents. Their role also includes ensuring everyone implements what was agreed at meetings.

- Importantly they often act as an initial point of contact for prospective members, the wider running community and the general public. 

*Notes of interest should be completed by filling out the linked Google Form by 28th April 2025. Should you want more details of the role prior to submitting, contact Alan Jeffrey or Dom Godfrey by privately messaging on FB or through email at info@werunclub.co.uk. 

**All members of the WERC committee are signed up members, therefore this opportunity is extended only to those with a valid 2025/2026 membership

30th March


All of your coaching team have the basic required first aid qualification as part of their initial training and license...but basic isn't how we do things at WERC! 

Today, on a Sunday no less, your coaches worked hard, looked a bit silly, and had plenty of laughs as they skilled themselves up on a sports-specific first aid course.

We take your safety seriously and we were happy to do it. We've come away feeling more knowledgeable, confident and with some great ideas to make sure we can all do what we love...safely.

22nd March

NO THURSDAY SESSION THIS WEEK (27TH MARCH).

INSTEAD...THE SESSION IS ON WEDNESDAY 26TH AT 6.30PM. SAME PLACE. SAME TIME. DIFFERENT DAY.

That doesn't mean you are free on Thursday. See the post below for details of our online AGM!

7th March

Notice of West Edinburgh RC Annual General Meeting on Thursday 27 March 2025 at 18:30

I am writing to give notice of the West Edinburgh Running Club Annual General Meeting which will be held on Zoom on Thursday 27 March 2025 at 18:30. 

To access the meeting, members should check their emails or the facebook page for the Zoom link and passcode. If you can't find it, email info@werunclub.co.uk 

10th February

Friday 7th February saw our runners swap their Nike trainers for high heels as we descended upon the Royal Scots Club for food, dancing, speeches and pass the parcel to celebrate our first birthday. 


It was a great night with lots of laughter and celebration. A huge thank you to Stuart for organising everything and to Rhea for baking the incredible cake!

31st January

Today we reached a milestone we never dreamed of only a short year ago...100 members. Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this incredible success.


9th January


And with that...we are one year old!
What a crazy first year it's been. Tonight, despite the ice and extreme cold dozens of our most dedicated members (we only have dedicated members!) came out to celebrate with a recreation of our first ever session - a three person team relay.


After an incredible workout we were treated to some custom cupcakes from our incredible safeguarding officer (and club baker). Thanks Rhea!

Here's to another amazing year!

7th January



It is with great excitement that we can announce the next exciting step on the West Edinburgh Running Club journey...Our annual Club Championship!

Watch our promo video for all the details

13th December 

Well done Piotr!


As an affiliated Scottish Athletics club with a membership between 40 and 180 people, we are allocated one guaranteed entry to the London Marathon for 2025.

We asked those who would be keen to run, but didn't have a place, to enter a small ballot that would see one lucky winner receive the prize of having to run 26.2 miles!

That lucky winner in our first year is....Piotr Stępień. We are really chuffed that Piotr, a member of the club for a good few months scooped the entry. Piotr is a huge supporter of WERC, having represented the club in the kit at many races already, and always has a smile for the race photographer. 

His positive and smiley attitude, and club spirit, makes him the ideal person to represent us on one of running's biggest stages.

Go smash it Piotr.

9th December

Well done Valerie Willis!




Val, one of our most fervent supporters completed her Leadership in Running Fitness qualification this weekend.

Val is joining the coaching team in a slightly different capacity, at least at first, by focusing on supporting Dom to ensure the sustainability of our weekly morning social run, Early Risers Club. 

Val has already shown her commitment to the group by planning routes, encouraging participation and being a consistent presence before dawn! Her positive and smiley attitude made her the ideal candidate to help us grow this important part of the club.

Thank you Val and we look forward to seeing how ERC develops with your help, and of course, how you develop as part of the coaching team.

24th November


We are excited to announce that our club is eligible for a place in the 2025 London Marathon through our club's affiliation with Scottish Athletics.

To give everyone a fair chance, we will be holding a ballot for this coveted spot. 

To qualify for the ballot this year, you must be able to demonstrate the following:

First claim membership with West Edinburgh Running Club since 1st September 2024.

Must commit to running the London Marathon on 27th April 2025 (not transferrable to another person).

Must agree to pay the £69.99 London Marathon entry cost, if successful.

This year, the entry requirements for the club ballot are minimal however these will be revised next year.  Next year, entry requirements will include showing evidence of a rejection email from the main ballot following a personal entry. 

To add your name to the ballot this year, please complete and submit the form below by Thursday 12 December 2024. 

The winner of the draw will be announced by Christmas.

Best of luck to all entrants!

28th October



And Anna joins the coaching team!

An incredible running weekend for Anna who after winning 3rd female at Path of Condie Half Marathon and scooping the team prize for the club alongside the incredible Jan Anderson, completed her Leadership in Running Fitness course to join the coaching team!

That brings our coaching numbers up to 7...a far cry from when it was just Dom and I back in January. Why do we need so many? Everyone at WERC is a volunteer and thus sometimes work, family and friends have to be prioritised on a Thursday night, and of course there's sickness too. A robust coaching team made up of a diverse and passionate group of our members will ensure the sustainability of the club into the future and ensure we can have a session every week, as outlined in our constitution. 

It's also really important that all of your coaches and leaders get to join in the running sometimes, so we can see the club from the perspectives of the members and make changes where necessary.

Well done Anna, you are going to be great!

21st October


As previously announced, tickets for the WERC social night celebrating the club’s 1st anniversary on Friday 7th February 2025, will be available for purchase starting this week at club.

Tickets are priced at £20 per person and include music, food, and a disco at the Scots Guards Club, Haymarket. Full details can be found a few entries down, dated 1st October.

Tickets can be purchased by cash at the beginning of Thursday’s training night from Stuart Leslie or Susan Macleod.
Unfortunately we cannot use the card payment service for this due to the high fees.

Alternatively, you can email info@werunclub.co.uk or drop Stuart Leslie a Facebook DM where he will take your name and transfer the payment to the club’s bank account:

Name: West Edinburgh Running Club
Sort Code: 80-22-60
A/C Number: 26525361
(Do not do this without talking to Stuart first, or you may be charged but not be allocated a ticket)

Currently, this event is exclusively for club members. However, if capacity permits, tickets may be offered to non-members at a later date.

We're looking forward to celebrating this milestone with as many of you as possible!🥳

11th October



Congratulations to Keith Stewart on his first night coaching after successfully completing his LiRF qualification last Sunday. Keith is a day one WERC member who is predominately known as the "fast one" but also for his amazingly positive personality, his love of running (and competing!) and the support he gives his fellow club mates.

We are super excited to see how Keith develops as a coach, and grateful for his help.

1st October


It's our birthday and we'll WERC if we want to!🥳🎉🎊

With all we've achieved as a club, it can be easy to forget that we have only been around since January this year. In that short time, thanks to all of our members, we have made an amazing and positive impact on Edinburgh's running community.

That's something to celebrate and as we look to 2025 and our first anniversary, we realise that we have to mark this incredible milestone.

**This is your save the date for our 1st birthday party**

Join us for an evening of food, drinks and music on Friday 7th February 2025 at 7:30pm at the Scots Guards Club, Haymarket.

Tickets are priced at £20 each, with the club subsidising a portion of the cost. Tickets includes:

  • A private party room with a well-stocked bar
  • A meal with options of chicken curry with rice or macaroni and cheese plus a selection of cold sandwiches and mini pies
  • Music from a resident DJ
  • Witnessing the coaching team try to dance
Please save the date and let us know in the Facebook comments if you plan to join the celebrations!  

We hope as many members as possible can join us.

Tickets will be on sale soon - Watch this space!

23rd September 2024



Well that was something else! 

With the club only being 9 months old and less as a fully affiliated club we were not in a position to offer a club championship this year...but we didn't want to miss out on the fun, competitive atmosphere that comes with turning up as a club to achieve local race.

One of our members Tom suggested the Men's and Women's 10k as a good race for members of all abilities to target, whatever their racing experience. A downhill start, known roads, big crowds and a Murrayfield finish were his cited reasons. And he was right! What an event.

Around 40 club members, some who have never raced before, turned up in their shiny new kit and absolutely smashed the race. It was raining PBs with incredible runs from our members, everyone walking away proud of their achievement (PB or not!). 

Most importantly their positivity and support from the club to their fellow members was astonishing. Dom and Alan, the founders of the club both said that coming down Lothian road to cheering WERC members was one of their favourite moments. Not just of the race, but their whole WERC experience. 

In-fact it was excellent that the Men's race was at a different time than the Women's as it allowed the men to get to the final corner to see the female contingent of the club storm past. It was lovely to repay the favour of support that was shown to them earlier in the day.

We were even approached by a Metro Aberdeen runner who wanted to tell us how amazing he thought our club was, our positivity shining through...and I quote "Everyone is so positive, cheering each other on. That's what a running club should be". 
For full disclosure, his daughter is one of our members, but that only makes the compliment more authentic.


After the race it was off to the local pub where we had our first ever WERC social. After some amazing but tough efforts people were happy to take the load off, share stories and drink copious amounts of alcohol (and munch on surprisingly good cheese and ham toasties). It was a lovely moment to see the "community" part of our values set come to life.

Amazing runners of ALL abilities. Incredible positivity. Today was a day where we really lived our values 

Thank you, from the committee, coaching team and co-founders, to every single member of West Edinburgh Running Club, whether you ran today, cheered us along (big thanks to Alison and her son for the chocolate and cheering!) or wished everyone well on Facebook. Our values of inclusivity, quality and community shone through.

What a club.

8th September 2024



This weekend  (Saturday 14th September) we are "organising " a WERC parkrun get together at Holyrood parkrun.  We picked this event as it is a good trial run for the Mens/Womens 10k in a couple of weeks.  It has big uphill (like the 10k) and also a big downhill (like the 10k).  It tends to be a fairly busy, but friendly event which replicates the 10k.  The only difference is that parkrun is only 5k!

Never done parkrun before?  You will need to register for a barcode.  I have put the link below.  You will need to bring this barcode with you either in paper form or digitally on your phone.

Once you have finished the run you will be given a token which you will get scanned alongside your barcode and later in the day you will get an email with your time and finishing position.

All parkruns in Scotland start at 9.30am - we are suggesting we meet at around 9.15 in the park - at Queens Drive.  You can't miss it - look out for all the people!

We hope to see a few of you there both newbies and regulars.

29th July 2024

Club kit orders are open once again. The deadline to order is August 16th and the order form can be found by...

5th July 2024

Last night saw the inaugraul event of our (hopefully!) yearly club challenge...ONE HOUR TO THE TOWER.



With Corstorphine hill so close, it would be rude not to force our runners up and down it on regular occasion, so we designed an event to do just that.

A personal challenge, not a race, runners are given one hour to see how many times they can get up and down from the base to the tower. Loads of runners managed 3 times, 2 times and 1 time up and down but who did the most?

Well, the record as of 2024 is...3.9 times...with the runner in question, Oliver Girdham, being only 60 seconds behind getting down for a fourth lap! Let's see you break four next year Ollie.



We were treated to ice cold water and some home baking from Rhea and Anna...exactly what you needed after an hour of hill "torture".




Well done everyone.  Can't wait for 2025.


Check the facebook page photo album for more pictures!

27th June 2024


Over summer we would like to introduce another string to our bow in the form of...The Early Risers Club. This weekly social run will start at 6am sharp from Saughton park, waking you up with a gentle paced 6-7km run. The aim is to get back for 7am. This won't be the same day every week, so keep an eye on the Facebook and the upcoming sessions page.
This is exclusively for paid up members, so remember to sign up!

14th June 2024

It is with great pleasure that we can announce…


🥁🥁🥁🥁




Our application to affiliate with Scottish Athletics, and thus become a real proper grown up running club, has been SUCCESSFUL! This makes West Edinburgh Running Club officially Edinburgh’s newest running club!

This is an historic day in the life of the club. Dom and I would like to mark this special occasion by thanking the club for their support, and most importantly their belief in us, as we have taken on this amazing, and sometimes overwhelming journey:

- Thanks to the coaching team; Daphne, Stuart and Jan for their commitment, hard-work, talent, and positivity that has allowed so many people in the club to achieve and exceed their goals over the last six months.

- Thanks to the committee; Rhea, Alice, Susie, Stuart and Tom for the advice, support and knowledge that allowed us to take this idea Dom and I had and turn it into something real, tangible, and most importantly sustainable. Your dedication to the club and its members got us here and will ensure the club continues for years to come.

- And thank you to the membership. Those of you who signed up early, not knowing how the club would be developed. You gave us confidence that we could achieve these lofty goals, and the motivation to meet the standards you rightly expect of us.

- Lastly, member or not, thank you to everyone reading this, whether you come every week, join us sporadically or if you’re thinking about joining us in the future. Thank you for caring about the development of this club…and watch this space, because we’re just getting started!

So, what does this mean for the club? We have lots to tell you, but we’re not quite there yet! We are pulling together a communication that will go out next week to our members detailing how the news will affect you, and what happens next! In the comments below you are more than welcome to ask any questions, but rather than answer here we will incorporate the answers into next week’s formal communication.

From the bottom of our hearts. Thank you. We are so excited about the future of the club and hope you are too.

Alan and Dom

Chairs of (Scottish Athletics affiliated!) West Edinburgh Running Club

5th June 2024

 Club race!

We are thrilled to share details about our inaugural club event.

We've received some fantastic suggestions for future events from our members. For our first event, we are hoping to see a huge turnout from West Edinburgh Running Club at the Men's 10k Edinburgh and Women's 10k Edinburgh on Sunday 22 September 2024. We are treating this race as a club event and hope that as many of our members as possible will register to participate and then join us afterwards for a social gathering at a central location.


This well-established 10k race is suitable for all skill levels and abilities, beginning in the city centre and finishing at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, nearby our home ground! With different start times for each race, you'll have the chance to support our club members and cheer them on from the sidelines, whether you're warming up for the race or cooling down after your run.

 With our new club kit now ordered, we can showcase our club and proudly run in the colours of Edinburgh's newest running club!


Please remember to choose West Edinburgh Running Club as your club when registering!

This race is open to all levels of experience. If you're keen but apprehensive because you've never participated in a race or haven't run this distance before, please reach out to Alan or Dom. We're here to help you reach your goals and ensure that everyone has the chance to enjoy the event!


9th May 2024

 MERCH MERCH MERCH! 



Hot off the press - we’ve just had our kit design approved by Scottish Athletics and are now taking orders! Super exclusive. Super awesome. Super (erm) pink and blue! We’re really chuffed with it and hope you like it too!

We have both vests and tee’s available in a variety of different sizes (and by variety, the ones you’d normally expect to see!). Both the vest and tech tee will be £20 and should be available by the end of June.

What do we need from you?
1. Fill out the order form using the link below, remembering to submit it to us before the deadline
2. Transfer the relevant amount to the WERC bank account (details in the link)


🏃‍♀️‍➡️ 🏃‍➡️ 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ ORDER DEADLINE = SUNDAY 2nd JUNE 2024 🏃‍♀️ 🏃🏻 🏃‍♂️


23rd April 2024


Last week, on the 18th of April we had our very first AGM! With around 40 people online, it was an incredible turnout and feedback has been great. It was amazing to see how much passion and love people have for this club...and it's only been three months. Dom introduced everyone to the three core values that are driving the development of our club, exemplified by all the runners who have joined us on a Thursday evening:


Please see the club documents page for the minutes, which should be uploaded in the next few days, but I wanted to share with you three main things that were agreed on at the AGM:

1. Your committee was elected

We are so lucky that so many people have volunteered to support the growth of our wonderful club. At the AGM we officially elected the following committee members to exciting roles within the club:


2. Scottish Athletics affiliation was agreed

It is our club ambition to become a fully affiliated running club, with all the benefits that brings. Dom took us through all the benefits, many of which are outlined below: 


We then had a vote on whether this was the direction we wanted to take as a club...and it was unanimous! 100% of the club voted yes to apply for affiliation!

Watch this space for more details on the affiliation process. We are, fingers crossed, hoping that this process will be complete this summer!

3. We introduced our membership structure...and opened registration!

One of the key aspects of affiliation is that a membership structure is needed to cover Scottish Athletics fees and to sustain the development of the club. HOWEVER we have made it a constitutional objective to never create financial barriers for our runners. Therefore we have committed to offering an affordable membership structure, outlined above, that includes a subsidised rate and a free membership option for those who would be challenged to pay.

We want to establish an April-April membership cycle, therefore...membership is now live!  It would mean the world to us if you joined up and became an official member of the club. You can do so by clicking this link


Signing up now is super useful to us for our forecasting and planning for the year. It will also communicate to Scottish Athletics how committed our members are to affiliation. If you are able to sign up now, we would be so grateful.

HOWEVER Membership will NOT be mandatory until after affiliation. And better still, anyone signing up prior to club affiliation will be offered a full refund if affiliation is rejected or significantly delayed.

Thank you all for making our first AGM an amazing success. See you next year at the next one!

14th April 2024

On the week beginning the 15th April the weekly session will be on WEDNESDAY rather than the usual Thursday. Everything else remains the same...we meet at 6.30pm in Saughton Park, at the Winter Garden's car park. We start running at 6.40pm. We accept £2 cash or card donations to club funds, and as always this is optional. 

Everything the same...except the day. See you Wednesday 17th April.

But wait...why are we meeting on a Wednesday??? The post below, dated 5th April 2024 will explain everything.

5th April 2024

Our first Annual General Meeting (AGM) is happening! 18th April 2024 is the date, and it will be online using Zoom. This is a normal club night, and so there will be no session that evening...however watch this space as we will meet on another night that week (TBC). 

As we progress to becoming a fully affiliated Scottish Athletics club, with all the benefits that brings, we are holding our first AGM to set the course for the future. It is vitally important that we get a good turnout for this inaugural event...so please sign up below:

https://facebook.com/events/s/annual-general-meeting/1456307178296413/

20th March 2024



We continue to grow! The whole club is developing and expanding beyond our wildest dreams, and we need to adapt to meet these opportunities and challenges. One of the key developments, required to keep the club sustainable, is the ensure we have a large enough coaching team to support the membership, but also to allow coaches and leaders to take nights off, and even occasionally run with the group itself.

On that note, we are ecstatic to welcome Stuart Leslie to the coaching team. Stuart is a highly talented runner, having run at club level for close to 15 years. Whilst his coaching journey has just begun, he recently completed the Leadership in Running Fitness course, he will bring those years of experience to WERC and all of our runners will benefit. 

On a personal level, Stuart is a close friend of mine and one of the most ardent WERC supporters from the beginning. I am so excited to welcome him to the team.

10th February 2024


And two became three!
Dom and Alan are proud to welcome Daphne Ariana to the coaching team at WERC.
After a successful day at the "Leadership in running fitness course" Daphne is now a "Jog Leader" which means she is going to be an invaluable addition to our club, helping all of you get the most out of your Thursday evening session.
Welcome to the team Daphne!
If this has inspired any of you to take the leap into running coaching...we will always support you...so get in touch

29th January 2024


I know for a fact that several of our runners are prolific parkrunners, attending the free weekly timed 5k runs every week, come rain or shine. Parkrun is an amazing place where runners of all abilities come together every Saturday to socialise, exercise and compete (shame that didn't end with -ise). For many this ritual marks the real start to the weekend.

One of our groups most prolific parkrunners, Jenni Owens, has run (at the time of writing) 487 events. I believe most of these have been at the Cramond course where the flatness of the course is balanced by the horrendous winds.

Jenni has also been an enthusiastic supporter to Dom and I in setting up the club and her enthusiasm has been integral to getting this club set up. So enthusiastic is Jenni about WERC and parkrun that she was dismayed she couldn't yet select us as her official group on her parkrun results.

So she took matters into her own hands...and now she, and you, can run under the West Edinburgh Running Club flag as you smash your 5k PBS at parkrun on a weekly basis.

Attaching West Edinburgh Running Club to your parkrun profile is super simple and just a matter of following these simple steps:

Log into Parkrun account. 
Edit group. Type in west Edinburgh running club - click join

Told you it was simple.

Thanks Jenni!

12th January 2024


Wow...Just...Wow. Last night, the 11th of January 2023 saw the official launch of West Edinburgh Running Club with our first-ever training session. To say that we, Dom and Alan, the founders of the group, were blown away, would be a massive understatement. 


We would have been ecstatic to welcome five or six runners to our group, so imagine our faces when over fifty of you turned up with smiles on your faces ready to join us as we start the journey to building a strong running community in the West of Edinburgh. Saughton Park was ablaze with runners of all abilities in all manner of Hi-Viz gear as we ran an energetic paarlauf relay, making at least two new friends in the process. 


We were amazed to see EVERYONE give it their all. From the speediest of runners who have been pounding the pavements, trails, and hills for years to those for whom a visit to the club marked the start of their running careers, everyone found another gear and achieved more than they would have running alone.


Chatting to some of you afterward, and reading the Facebook comments this morning makes us so happy to see that people enjoyed themselves and felt supported and pushed to give it their all. Let's look at some highlights from the facebook page 

Brilliant first session- really enjoyed it. Thank you!

Thanks for a great session and what a lovely supportive group. I hope more beginners join too!

Absolutely fabulous session, great to see so many people smiling while working hard. Looking forward to the next one

It was EPIC. You’ve done such an incredible job of getting this started, well done

Lovely to be with so many like minded people of all abilities. Looking forward to next week

2nd this! Thanks so much Dom Godfrey and Alan Jeffrey and to everyone for being so friendly! had a great night really looking forward to the next one!

Alan and Dom, I really appreciate all the effort you have put into creating a running community in West Edinburgh. And what a brilliant first session with some super friendly people. Thanks so much!

What a great start for WERC! Thanks Alan and Dom for putting so much work in so we could all enjoy and benefit from it - looking forward to next week!


Dom and I will gladly admit that we got a bit emotional last night. It's been a long time since one of us casually remarked..."There's not much happening running-wise in the west. We could think about setting up a group". There's been a lot of admin, a lot of learning, and a lot of surprises (and a couple of unexpected barriers) in the run-up to last night's session but it was all worth it to see other runners share in our enthusiasm for the endeavor. 


And this is only the start! For those of you who came last night, thank you and we hope we've set the stage for a long relationship between you and the club. For those who didn't make it...

See you next week!

25th November 2023




We are beyond excited to share that we finally have everything in place to be able to let everyone know our start date for coached sessions. January 11th 2024 will mark beginning of West Edinburgh Running Club and the first session of what we hope is just step one on a journey that will last many years.

You'll find more about what to expect at these sessions and more about your coaches who look forward to supporting you on your running journey, but I thought I'd just take this opportunity to get you caught up ahead of that special date in January.

  • We meet every Thursday at 6.30pm 
    Our promise to you is that one or both coaches will be there every week ready to get you running! we know everyone is busy and rushing from work, getting the kids fed, and searching the house frantically for a clean pair of running shorts, so whilst we meet at 6.30pm, running won't start until 6.40pm.

  • Sessions are fully coached 
    Dom and Alan have been coaching for a few years now, both in group settings and 1-2-1. We will always come pre-prepared with at least one session focused on the running goals of the group. Some weeks we will split off and offer more than one session to suit the different needs of the group.

  • Meet at Saughton Park
    We will meet in the same place every week, and that's the Winter Gardens Car Park at Saughton Park, EH11 3BQ. That's the one beside the skate park. For those who use what3words look for \\\happy.news.note.

  • All abilities welcome
    West Edinburgh Running Club is for everyone. If you're a sub-3-hour marathon runner or you prefer to enjoy the scenery when you run, you are welcome at the club. We have two coaches who can offer different sessions to suit different needs, and large group sessions can be adapted so that runners of all abilities can benefit from the training. If you want to discuss how we can support you to feel comfortable, reach out before coming along, or grab us at the start of the session for a confidential chat. HOWEVER, please note that we can only allow runners over the age of 18 to attend, due to insurance reasons.

  • £2 Suggested Donation
    We have ambitions to extend our coaching team and develop the skills of our group, by offering paid-for training opportunities through Scottish Athletics to club participants. We hope to hire the Saughton running track to do some dedicated track training, which may be new for some of our group. Group trips for social runs and races on hired transport would be amazing fun. We would also love to be able to support participants who may struggle to pay for travel to races, kit, etc, should that be required. Therefore a little bit of club money could be super useful and we ask participants to donate £2 per session to contribute to this collection. HOWEVER, we will not accept money being a barrier to accessing our sessions. Money will be collected in a dignified way that will not highlight those who choose not to pay for whatever reason. You will never be asked why you did not donate on any given week and no record will be kept of who did, or did not contribute, ever. 
I think that covers all you need to know for week one in January. In the meantime please add yourself to the facebook page, check out the other sections of the website...and tell all of your friends!