Summer Couch Graduation

Graduation Group Couch to 5KM

The Summer Couch to 5KM crossed the finish line on Tuesday 6^th September, after completing 26 of the 27 runs of the programme.  Unfortunately, we had to miss one run due to the severe heatwave, but this didn’t stop the group reaching their personal goals.  We were privileged to welcome Tom Beasley CEO from Active Gloucestershire, Farook Mota GL1 Runners, Ash from Gloucester Sports, and Mary Hutton CEO NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board to join us and present the awards at the event.  The evening started with the normal RAMP warm up session followed by the final 5KM run and cool down session to complete Wekk9Run3.  This was followed by the presentation of certificates and awards at the event. 

Couch to 5KM Awards

The crew completing the Couch to 5KM course, all graduated with flying colours and now have decisions to make about their next steps in running, which we are sure they now have the bug for, and look at continuing to improve on their current achievements.  At the same time, we presented medals and certificate to members who have progressed to complete the 5–10KM distance, and recently took part in the Cheltenham running festival on Sunday 4th September to celebrate completing the distance in a live event.  We had a couple of additional awards to present to recognise outstanding achievements for the most improved runner in each category, Couch to 5KM and 5-10KM.  

Helen Acock

The award for the couch to 5KM course went to Helen Acock who is a  who improved week after week and has found a passion for running.  She was always enthusiastic about the group and never gave in when the going got tough, especially during the warmer runs.  However with pure determination she developed her technique and took every challenge within her stride.   Helen is now going to work on strengthening her distance at 5KM  before looking to extend her distance in the future and move towards her next goal of completing a 10KM event with Team H8H2023 next year.

Maxine Bailey

The next award for the 10KM category went to Maxine Bailey, who like Helen has excelled in the group and is now training towards becoming a run leader and putting something back into the group.  Maxine started her journey with the Couch to 5KM and has now joined as a regular runner of the early morning 10KM group.  Her performance over this distance has improved week after week and her stamina at this distance continues to develop.  What next for Max? no pressure but don't be surprised if she joins the training team for the Tewkesbury Half Marathon in May 2023!

5-10KM Awards

With the summer course over we are launching our Autumn course and will also open up opportunities for graduates to join the early morning 10KM crew.  With all our events completed for the summer season we are now focusing on next year and plan to grow the team to take part in the Tewkesbury Half Marathon, Gloucester, and Cheltenham 10KM events.

Congratulations to all the crew on their achievements and special thanks to our guests who presented awards on the evening.