Our Club: FAQ
Bracknell Road Runners is a friendly club for runners living or working in or near Bracknell and the surrounding area. If you’re just visiting then we’d love to welcome you! We’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions below, but you’re thinking about joining and anything is still not clear then please just ask via the button below.
Our mid-week group sessions are usually for one hour. Depending on the pace group we may cover between 5 and 8 miles (8 to 13km). Interval sessions are similar, but since they include a structured warmup and cool down the overall distance will be shorter.
Weekend long runs can be anything from 1.5 to 3 hours and from 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km). These are advertised in advance so there should be no great surprises on the day! They are not races, and everyone will stick together with brief pauses for slower runners to catch up or get their breath back.
Check out our typical weekly schedule or the actual schedule for this week.
We get it, everyone wants to know they’re not going to be left behind. So don’t worry, we never leave anyone! But equally, quicker runners need to know if they’d be better off running with a speedier group.
Our Wednesday track/interval sessions are suitable for all paces, and from beginners to the experienced. See the question on track/intervals for more details on those.
Our group runs tend to be at 10 minutes per mile (6 mins/km) or faster. We’re a small club and aren’t able to provide as wide a range of pace groups as other larger clubs. But if you’re comfortable running at that pace for an hour then you’ll be able to join one of our regular group runs. We always make sure no one is left behind.
Are you looking to go faster? We have some members with sub-3:00 hour marathons so if you’re happy training at around 8 minutes per mile (5 mins/km) you’ll find a group that’s not too slow. You’ll probably enjoy our Tuesday evening speedier run, our Wednesday interval sessions or to hook up with some quicker members at the weekend. However if you’re already an elite runner looking to break course or national records then we can point you to one of the other great athletics clubs in the area.
Our home page gives the general structure of a typical week. We’re reliant on volunteer coaches and leaders, so we can’t guarantee all runs will happen every week, but there’s only a few we miss.
We post the schedule under This Week every Sunday evening so that you can easily refer to it. That’s got the start time and location of where to meet each day along with an idea of the duration and approximate pace of each run.
As a member you will also get an email each Sunday evening with the following week’s schedule.
If you want to try us out, just pop along and introduce yourself, or drop us a note here.
Our Wednesday track/interval sessions are suitable for all paces, and from beginners to the experienced. You don’t need any special kit, just what you would normally run in. We’re not training to be Olympic sprinters, these are sessions designed for all our club runners who might run anything from parkrun to a marathon.
The whole session lasts for an hour, but that includes a structured, coach-led warm up and cool-down stretches. The main set of intervals usually lasts about 35-40 minutes and is designed so that everyone gets a good workout. Because these are done in loops you can stop whenever you need to and no one is left out. The intervals vary from week to week to keep us all interested.
We use the Sports Centre track on roughly alternate weeks. Otherwise we’re in one of several local parks, so check the weekly schedule.
There is no charge for members for most of our group runs. You are welcome to join a couple of our group sessions prior to becoming a member to see if we’re right for you.
There is a small charge for the Wednesday open interval sessions. “Open” in this case meaning they are open to non-members also. Sessions at the Bracknell Sports and Leisure Centre track are £2 for both members and non-members, which helps towards the cost of hiring the track. Wednesday sessions held elsewhere are free for members, £1 for non-members. (There is also a 30p platform fee if paying online at RunTogether).
Annual membership is £38 (that’s for the current 2026-27 year). Membership runs from 1 April to 31 March. This includes the £23 we pay to England Athletics (EA) to support club and national programmes.
If you are already a fully paid up member of an EA affiliated club, you can join Bracknell Road Runners as a “second claim” member for just £15, as the EA fee is only paid on your first-claim club. You are welcome to transfer your first claim membership to Bracknell Road Runners, see the answer to the next question.
By becoming a member of Bracknell Road Runners, you will by default also become a member of England Athletics (EA). If you are already a member of another club with EA membership through them, then you have the option of remaining with that club. There is no problem in being a member of more than one club and many of our members are. It’s great for expanding your circle of running friends. However when you compete, it will be for your ‘first claim’ club.
You can transfer your ‘first claim’ club to Bracknell Road Runners through EA. The process for transferring is described on the England Athletics website and currently costs £10 payable to EA. Or you can contact our membership secretary for help. It can happen within a couple of days or sometimes take a few weeks to process as your current club has to approve the transfer.
Sorry, but membership is only open to those 18 and over. There are excellent athletics clubs in the area which are great for younger runners. We do occasionally allow under-18’s to join club runs, but only if accompanied by their parent/guardian who must already be a member and can vouch that the pace/distance is suitable.
Head over to our Club Kit page for a great range of performance clothing at very reasonable prices. You’ll see many members wearing these both at training sessions and at races. It’s a great way to recognise your fellow club members.
But while we’re very proud of our club kit, the club makes no obligation for you to wear it for training or racing*. Feel free to wear whatever is comfortable and appropriate for the conditions.
*The exception is if you are racing and wish to establish a club record for your distance/age group, then you are required to wear a club top (unless running for a charity).
You definitely do not need one to join our sessions. Your leader will ensure the pace is appropriate and that we all get back on time.
But most of us do wear running watches, for several reasons. We run at other times too and we want to track our progress. We want to keep a record. And we want to know if our training is working.
If you decide you want one, then it doesn’t have to be overly expensive. You can get a GPS running watch for under £100, though I guess most would spend in the £200-£300 range to get a mainstream brand and a decent selection of functions. For things to consider before buying one see the post on Choosing a Running Watch.