Seamus Crossan on sustaining the community ethos of STAR Running Club during the pandemic
Nothing stops STARS from running - not even COVID-19 by Seamus Crossan, Star Running Club - Founder and Chairperson
STAR Running Club - we're the friendly club.
That's what we do, we're a bunch of friends who meet up, run, train together, and socialise.
No-one ever has to run alone, and no-one is ever left behind. It's our community spirit that has been at the heart of this club since it was first founded in 2015.
Our club boasts a membership of all abilities, but it's the coming together at the weekly training sessions that motivates us all to keep improving, smashing goals, and achieving sporting ambitions we never thought were possible.
On March 12, 2020, the club announced they were temporarily suspending official STAR runs in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a tough decision to make, but an easy one at the same time. The health and safety of our members had to be our number one priority.
Little did we know that a year later, club runs would still be suspended.
The world changed. Shops and pubs closed, people were asked to work from home, and the words, ‘social-distancing’ entered our vocabulary. We couldn't run together in person anymore, but the outdoors was still available and we could still RUN. And we were going to keep on running.
STAR runs a members page on Facebook. It's always been a useful place to arrange sessions, share training tips, and celebrate achievements through stories and pictures. I knew that some of our members were struggling for the motivation to get out, as they’re not used to running alone, so I decided to come up with something to help our runners stay healthy and active while incorporating some fun into their daily exercise
We started with our Star Bingo, a series of unusual mini challenges for members to complete while out running, while also raising money for local charities. The reaction from club members to the Star Bingo board was fantastic. They included: run in fancy dress, run to another Star member’s house and take a picture of them waving out the window, and spell the word STAR using the street names that you pass.
We also included activities to keep members on track with their training, with sprint sessions, 6 a.m. runs, hill reps, and running in the rain. We encouraged members to share pictures of each challenge as they ticked them off, which in-turn, motivated other members. We had one of our male members out running in a wig and wedding dress at 6am - I think he got a few strange looks.
There was plenty of healthy competition involved too, as everyone wanted to be the first to complete the Bingo board.
We followed this up with a second Bingo Board, which was equally as competitive as the first, but this time members completed the board in teams. It was extraordinary to see teammates come together plotting to make sure they got to finish the board first.
STAR also encouraged members to sign up for a team challenge. Each team had a mix of runners of all abilities and we set challenges like, ‘run a mile as fast as you can’.
It’s important to everyone at Star that we stay strong both physically and mentally, so we’re keeping in touch and supporting each other the best way that we can. We want everyone to stay safe so members have been encouraged to stay as close to home as possible and abide by all the social distancing restrictions.
I am so proud of the effort being made by all our members not only in running but also through their charitable efforts. The club made a collection and donated a number of goods to organisations such as the House in the Wells, Foyle Valley House, Strand Foyer, Belmont Cottages, and Donal Casey Court.
The club is also currently fundraising for the Foyle Hospice. This is keeping us all together as a group, even though we cannot physically be together, we’re still working together on the things that are important to us.
We hope to be back out on the road running together as a group in our trademark red shirts very soon.