OUR FIRST NIGHT
Wow...Just...Wow. Last night, the 11th of January 2024 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!