This year we’ve supported Admiral Insurance in Cardiff to take forward their workplace running group, and they’ve gone from strength to strength…
“At the beginning of 2019 one of our senior managers wanted to see if we could set up a Couch to 5k course for Admiral, having become a keen runner herself, progressing from a novice to exercise and a bit overweight, to running the London marathon! She credits running with helping keep her weight and fitness sustainable and wanted to share it.
Admiral already had an informal run club at lunchtimes but nothing for beginners, so a few of us joined in and launched Couch to 5k in February, with support from Run Wales, and one of us had already coached C25k outside of work and was able to bring in that experience.
The first group saw about 20 new runners complete the 9 week course to a continuous 5k run, which they did in the pouring rain and celebrated with cake and a completer’s T-Shirt!
Since then the group have consolidated their prowess, reaching 10k; our Swansea office has followed suit, and we are launching courses in Newport and a satellite Cardiff office also.
Runners are supported by LiRF coaches (Admiral has paid for staff to take the qualification) and keen everyday runners from Admiral who want to help.
Some of the “graduates” have already earned medals in the Cardiff and Swansea 10ks!
The benefits are huge – camaraderie, encouragement and giving people a dose of outdoor energy in the middle of the day.
Our next course was oversubscribed with a waiting list and there is a great buzz and sense of community spirit around it, it fits really well with Admiral’s friendly and supportive culture and contributes a lot to our Active Community which celebrates sport and activity.”
Charlotte Bennett, Admiral
If you’d like support to help get a running group going at your workplace, check out our Workplace Running page and get in touch!