We have a very strong Junior section
who meet and train regularly.
Saturday mornings: We practice jumping, running and throwing events. These sessions are aimed at the beginner or developing athelete and the emphasis is on having fun. Juniors from the age of 8 years old are invited to come along to
Lockyers School in Corfe Mullen from 10:00 till 11:45am, just turn up!
The Tuesday session is for either distance running or sprinting. In the summer and good weather we meet at Lockyers but mainly train on Corfe Mullen Recreation Ground. In Winter the school hall is used for conditioning training and the distance runners move to road running in the Corfe Mullen and Broadstone areas.
On Thursdays we train at Ashdown track.
6pm to 7pm: field events; jumping, throwing and hurdling.
7pm to 8pm: we concentrate on sprint, middle and distance running.
We try to vary sessions to make them interesting and structure them to the athletes personal training.
During the the year we enter a number of competitions as a team, and there are many opportunities where we may suggest an athlete enters individually or may be selected for the county team.
In Summer our main team event is the National Young Athletes League (Under 13 to under 20) which have all the running, jumping, and throwing events. They provide very good competition for our athletes.
In addition, we have teams in the Wessex League (Under 11 & Under 20), South West Athletics League (Under 13 to Seniors), and Southern Mens League and Southern Womens League (Under 20 to Seniors). There are also open athletic meetings (where you enter as an individual), and school and county events where you compete to get into the county team representing your county at regional and national events.
The summer also sees the Time Trials organised by Poole Runners as an open event, with a 1 mile race for the under 15’s and a 5k run for those 15 or over. These are very popular, and the details are published on the events page.
In the winter there is Sportshall, which is the indoor version of athletics, which has regional and national competitions. There are also a number of cross-country leagues and events, including the Hampshire League, and national finals for the county team.
For 15 year olds and over, there is the Boscombe 5k Winter Series which Poole Runners organise as an open event.
Throughout the year there are various road races that we may suggest an athlete competes in.
At the end of the year, we have an annual presentation evening, where all our athletes are recognised for their acheivements. Whilst we have many talented people who compete at national level, and teams or individuals who have beaten competition from across the country, we strongly believe that every person is a member of the team and should be given the opportunity to do as well as they can at whatever they choose to do.
Every junior member who has represented the club during the year will be congratulated at this evening, as well as special awards for, amongst others, most promising newcomer (male and female).
The Young Poole Runner Of The Year award is presented to the club member who the coaches agree has set the best example of what the club stands for, based on such attributes as sportsmanship, team spirit, effort, and so on.
We also have a very special award, the Alex Buckley Trophy, presented to the athlete who has shown significant determination and effort and the right spirit without necessarily achieving the best perfomances.