Our Running Community
Our community completely free to join. It’s made up of new couch to 5k graduates, 10k, half-marathon, marathon, and even ultra marathon runners! In the group we have trained mental health first aiders and mental health champions.
Worried that you can’t yet run 5k? That’s ok. Some of our sessions are accessible runs so you can test yourself. And we run regular couch to 5k courses to get you started.
We encourage people, no matter how experienced or inexperienced, to feel comfortable chatting and sharing life while we run. Talking about mental health – the good, the bad, and the ugly, is normal for us.
Our running and social activities
Join us on Mondays at 7pm for our 5k social #RunAndTalk session and on Fridays for our “school run” run (2-5k). Details of our next runs, where to meet and how to sign up can be found on our page on the Run Together site.
If you’re coming for the first time, please drop the team an email on running@ascensionsouthampton.co.uk
Other activities include:
- beginner running courses to get you started
- monthly men’s run and social
- occasional family running activities
- signposting to local, relevant mental health services where required
- community socials
- invitations to other Ascension community activities and events
What we are, and what we’re not
We’re sociable. We’re friendly and warm. We love to talk and spend time with others. We’re compassionate. We care for the people around us, whether we know you well or we’ve yet to meet. We hope that our community encourages wellbeing. We’re inclusive. This is a community where everyone’s welcome. We listen to each other. We’ll work to remove as many barriers as possible, so that anyone can be a part of the group.
- We’re a social running community with a focus on wellbeing and mental health.
- We welcome all runners (age 16+) who can comfortably run a 5k distance, and chat while they’re running.
- Our #RunAndTalk sessions are not about personal bests, racing, or competitions, they’re about running and talking together. We can point runners in the direction of running clubs who can support them in their training and races.
- Our Mental Health Champions are trained in mental health first aid.
We do not diagnose, or offer treatment for mental health issues. We can point you in the direction of people who do.
How we’re funded:
We are extremely grateful for the funding provided by Southampton City Council’s Community Chest grant which has enabled the training of more run leaders and mental health first aiders to support our activities, and the Hope Beyond Grant received from Allchurches Trust which has further supported the development of our team of run leaders and mental health first aiders, and the role of a project coordinator for 1 year.
