The Running Times – July 2026 edition

Inside this issue:

• Welcome from the chair
• Congratulations to our new beginners!
• Join our sessions on Thursdays
• Don’t forget the Northgate track sessions
• Become a Run Leader
• Volunteer Spotlight
• Tony’s Ultra remarkable achievement
• Focus on the Juniors
• From the Captain
• Social secretary team
• Remembering Jack
• Kirton 5
• Send in your stories

Welcome from the Chair

Welcome to the first edition of The FRR Running Times.

The idea for this newsletter came from a combination of discussions at committee and feedback from members.
We realised that there are so many great things happening across the club that not everyone gets to hear about. From junior achievements and race results to coaching developments, social events and volunteering, there is always something going on within FRR.
As your new chair, I’m delighted to help launch this initiative as another way of strengthening communication, celebrating achievements and helping members feel connected to the wider club.
This newsletter aims to help bring those stories together, celebrate the achievements of our members and keep everyone connected to the wider club. Whether you’re training for your first 5k, chasing a personal best, volunteering at an event or supporting fellow runners, you are an important part of what makes Felixstowe Road Runners such a special club.

I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to this first edition. The newsletter will only be successful if it reflects the breadth of activities and experiences across the club, so please continue to share your stories, achievements, photos and ideas with us.

A particular thank you goes to Dom for agreeing to take on the role of Editor-in-Chief and for pulling together this inaugural edition. We’re fortunate to have members willing to volunteer their time and skills to help improve how we communicate and celebrate the club.

This newsletter is being introduced as a six-month trial, with editions planned every two months.
At the end of the trial period, we’ll review how useful members have found it, how well it helps us share news across the club, and whether it remains sustainable for those involved in producing it.
As this is very much a new venture for FRR, we’d love to hear your feedback. Let us know what you’ve enjoyed, what you’d like to see more of, and any ideas for future editions. Our aim is for this to be a newsletter created by members, for members.

I hope you enjoy reading this first edition of The FRR Running Times.

Happy running,

Alastair Read
Chair
Felixstowe Road Runners

Congratulations to our new beginners!

Our nine week beginner course reached it’s final session on June 9 with several participants completing the programme.
We look forward to seeing them at future club sessions to continue their running journey.

The FRR coaching team offers a variety of sessions each week.
Tuesday nights – meet 6:45pm at Brackenbury Sports Centre
Our main club session.
All abilities welcome.
Interval based at a various locations around Felixstowe.
Expect big numbers and the opportunity to push your comfort zone!

Join our sessions on Thursdays

Thursday daytime – meet 11am at Brackenbury Sports Centre.
Aimed at those who work shifts/flexibly or as an alternative to running in the dark during the autumn/winter months.
All abilities welcome.
Interval-based at a various locations around Felixstowe.
Expect a smaller group with a social vibe!

Don’t forget the Northgate track sessions!

Monthly track sessions at Northgate School, Ipswich.
Usually Wednesday evenings 8pm – 9pm due to the track availability.
Open to all abilities.
Keep an eye on the FB page or website calendar for announcements on forthcoming dates – the track is due to be resurfaced over the summer so sessions may be limited.
A great opportunity to run on a track with exact distance intervals and occasional “Golden Mile” challenge events.

Don’t forget there are also junior club sessions on Wednesday evenings – contact Dylan or Tom for more info – junior.coaches@frr.org.uk

Become a Run Leader

We are always looking for new Run Leaders to join the coaching team.
It would involve doing a Leader in Running Fitness qualification, online which the club will pay for.

If anyone is interested or would like a chat about helping with club sessions please contact Ian – headcoach@frr.org.uk

Volunteer Spotlight

This edition’s Volunteer Spotlight goes to Jo Whelan.

For at least the fifth year running, Jo has hand-delivered road closure information leaflets to local residents and businesses affected by the temporary road closure for the Richard Bennett Felixstowe Coastal 10.

This important task covers more than 150 properties, helping ensure those affected are aware of the event and the associated road closures. It also forms a key part of the statutory process required to secure permission for the public highway closure.

Much of the work that makes race day possible happens behind the scenes, but Jo’s commitment and reliability play an important part in helping the event run smoothly each year.

Thank you, Jo, for your continued support and for always going the extra mile. It is greatly appreciated by everyone at FRR.

Know a member or volunteer who deserves recognition? We’d love to hear from you.
Please send your nomination, along with a brief explanation of their contribution, to our newsletter editor for consideration in a future edition of The Extra Mile.

Tony’s Ultra remarkable achievement!

Congratulations to Tony Gavin, who set a new club record at the Five Rivers Ultra. Tony completed the challenging 100-mile route along the Suffolk and Essex coastline in a remarkable 21 hours and 36 minutes, earning an outstanding third-place finish.

A fantastic achievement, Fast Tony!

It was also great to see so many FRR members involved across the event, whether racing, volunteering, or supporting. Special recognition goes to club members Hayley and Dan for their hard work in organising and delivering the Five Rivers Ultra.

Focus on the Juniors

It’s been a really positive few months for our junior section, with numbers and engagement
continuing to improve. We’re seeing more young runners attending regularly, building confidence and, most importantly, enjoying their Wednesday evening sessions. Alternating coaching sessions between Tom and me has been great, giving the juniors a good variety of activities and training styles. The newer equipment purchased by the club has also been put to good use, allowing us to keep sessions fun, engaging and varied. One of the highlights of the year so far was the Felixstowe May Bank Holiday Fun Run. We had 16 juniors sign up, and every single one attended on the day. It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm and commitment from the group. Every junior should be very proud of themselves. Several even managed to complete more one-mile loops than they achieved last year, showing just how much progress they have made over the past twelve months. A huge thank you also goes to the committee for supporting the juniors’ entries and providing refreshments after the event. It helped make the day feel really special for everyone involved. We are still able to welcome a few more junior members to the club. If you know of a young person aged 8 to 14 who might enjoy getting involved, we’d love to hear from you. (We can consider a little younger after better assessing ability).
As the junior section continues to grow, we will also need additional volunteers to help support sessions and future events. You don’t need to be a fully qualified coach, and there are other ways people can
help. If you’re interested in volunteering, or know a junior who would like to join, please get in touch by emailing via juniors@frr.org.uk. Thank you to all of our juniors, parents, and supporters for helping make the junior section such a welcoming and enjoyable part of the club.

Thank You,
Coach Dylan.

From the captain

As we’ve moved into the hectic Summer months where we seem to have at least one race a week (and often two!) I hope everyone is enjoying their chosen events, I know I am. Several of us recently enjoyed the “A14 Track Challenge” at Northgate, a friendly competition against our local rivals (Jaffa, Stow Striders & Bury Pacers). By the time of publishing, 48 members will have taken part in the yearly Ekiden relay event too, I hope you’ve all enjoyed that one! The reason I highlight these two outings in particular is because we fund them for our members (we are able to do this off the back of our two very successful club races generating sufficient funds). Please note, there will be an “away” leg of the track challenge, to be held at the Bury St. Edmunds track in September. This will also be funded for you if you wish to compete. Not too long after that we will, once again, be thinking about cross country with the return of
the Suffolk Winter League competition. Guess what? We’ll pay for that too. Really, I just wanted to raise awareness of just how much stuff is out there in the racing sphere for you to enjoy as a member of this great club, and offer my thanks to the wider committee for the continuing financial support.

Social secretary team

We’re delighted to announce our new Social Secretary team: Debbie Catling, Carrie Kemp, Louise Cracknell, Samantha Kay Linassi, Samantha Fulcher and Sam Baxter. Please join me in giving them a very warm welcome and thanking them for volunteering to take on this exciting role. I’m sure they’ll bring plenty of fantastic ideas and organise some great social events for the club. We look forward to seeing the team bring everyone together with some more fantastic social events over the coming months. Good luck to our social crew and thanks for volunteering.

Remembering Jack

There were poignant tributes to our former coach Jack Carpenter at a recent Felixstowe parkrun when a 642 strong field turned out in his memory, with many dressed in orange, Jack’s favourite colour. Read more about the event here https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/26213312.felixstowe-parkrun-turns-orange-memoryjack-carpenter/

Kirton 5

Kirton kicked off the Friday Five series in style on 22 May. On a warm, almost summer’s evening, we were delighted to welcome a sell-out field of runners to both our junior and senior races. The atmosphere was brilliant throughout, and we received fantastic feedback from runners and spectators alike. An impressive 65 club members took part, supported by 40 amazing marshals, helping us deliver yet another outstanding event for the local running community.

A huge thank you to our race director, Peter Woods, and lead marshal, Daniela Elstone, for their excellent organisation. And an even bigger thank you to everyone who gave up their time to marshal so enthusiastically – these events simply wouldn’t be possible without you.

Send in your stories

Remember to send in your stories for inclusion in the next newsletter, which will be coming out every two months. Stories can be sent by DM to Dominic Bareham on the Facebook page