The National Running Show Community Grant Scheme is a funding initiative that provides £500 to £1,000 to grassroots running groups across the UK. Launched in 2020, the scheme aims to get inactive individuals moving, foster healthy habits in young people, and improve overall mental and physical wellness through running.
It is designed for local running clubs and community organisations that champion social inclusion and work to remove barriers to participation. Ultimately, the funding serves inactive individuals, youth, and underrepresented groups.
Q&A with Eloise and Aston, community leaders and members of Roots.
When and why was Roots formed? What sparked the idea?
Roots began in January 2025, but its story really started long before that. A few of us had spent several years training together at a local obstacle course facility. We'd built strong friendships, shared challenges, and become a close community through our love of getting outdoors and moving together.
When the facility sadly closed, we didn't want to lose those connections or stop doing something we loved. Some of us tried more traditional gyms, but quickly realised they weren't really for us. We loved being outdoors, getting muddy, moving in different ways, and sharing those experiences with other people. There weren't many accessible outdoor training spaces offering that kind of experience.
We also recognised that money had been a genuine barrier for many of us. Training at specialist facilities could be expensive, and we started questioning whether it really needed to be. When we stripped everything back, we realised that what we loved wasn't the fancy equipment, the facilities, or all the bells and whistles. We didn't need fluorescent lights, expensive memberships, or the latest kit. What we really wanted was fresh air, muddy trainers, the freedom to move outdoors and, most importantly, the people we shared those experiences with.
Between us, we already had a wealth of skills, knowledge, ideas, and resources. By pooling what we had and working together, we realised we could create something we loved without it costing a fortune. There would always be some costs involved, but we could keep them manageable and remove the financial barriers that prevented people from taking part.
So we started meeting in parks, fields, and green spaces around Ipswich, taking turns to organise sessions and runs, sharing whatever equipment and knowledge we had. It was simple, collaborative, and completely free to attend.
We owe a lot to the friendships, encouragement, and skills we developed during those earlier years, and particularly to the person who brought us together in the first place. His influence is still felt in the way we train, share knowledge, and support each other today.
As Roots grew, we realised we were creating something that went far beyond training. It was about access, connection, and belonging, and recognising that we didn't need to wait for someone else to create the kind of community we wanted to be part of.
Nearly a year later, we were offered a regular Saturday home at The Playground, an outdoor activity and obstacle course venue near Ipswich. What made this even more special was that The Playground was on the very same land where we'd spent years training together before the original facility closed.
The generosity, trust, and support of The Playground's leadership gave us the facilities and structure to develop Roots in ways we couldn't have achieved alone, while allowing us to protect our commitment to free community movement. Their willingness to support what we were trying to build has been invaluable.
Our Thursday trail running club followed in December 2025, bringing the same values of inclusion, accessibility, and shared experience to the trails.
What began as a group of friends finding a way to keep training together has grown into a community that welcomes people from all walks of life.
At its heart, Roots is about reclaiming movement, sharing what we have and showing that fitness, friendship and belonging shouldn't depend on how much money you have.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting set up?
Probably believing we could do it! We had a strong community and plenty of enthusiasm, but no permanent home, limited equipment, and volunteers who had to fit everything around work, family, and other commitments.
What helped was understanding that "community-led" doesn’t mean unplanned or unsafe. Instead, it means people sharing responsibility, knowledge, and ideas while ensuring the right support and safeguards are in place. For instance, our run club is led by an England Athletics-qualified Leader in Running Fitness (LiRF), and we are excited to have additional qualified leaders joining the team. We also have full insurance arrangements for our activities and follow strict safety procedures, including DBS checks where appropriate.
Finding a home at The Playground was a major turning point. Their leadership generously welcomed us into an established outdoor venue and provided the framework for our Saturday sessions. Operating as Playmakers under the venue’s arrangements - including its insurance - made a genuine difference to what we could achieve.
Ultimately, we’ve learned that you can be grassroots, resourceful, and collaborative without compromising on practicalities. You don’t have to be polished or commercial to build something truly worthwhile.
It’s clear that inclusion is a core value for the club. How did that become such a deeply rooted part of your culture?
It came from our own experiences. Many of us had struggled to find fitness spaces where we felt comfortable, understood, or included. Sometimes that was about cost or ability; other times it was the culture, expectations, or pressure to perform.
We wanted to create something different: a place where people could turn up exactly as they are. You don’t have to be fit, fast, confident, or have the right kit to belong. Some of us are neurodivergent, some are returning after an injury or illness, and others are experienced runners who simply want to enjoy being outdoors with good people.
We encourage everyone to pace themselves, rest, walk, or adapt the activities to their needs. Nobody gets shouted at to push harder. We celebrate showing up and supporting each other, not just pace or distance.
This peer-led culture matters enormously. Everyone brings something to the table: experience, practical skills, encouragement, ideas, or simply a willingness to welcome someone new. This shared ownership doesn’t replace qualified leadership where it’s needed; it sits alongside it. The more people embody these values, the stronger Roots becomes.
Inclusion wasn’t an extra feature we added later. It is the very reason we created Roots in the first place.
How do you handle mixed abilities in the club?
Our approach is simple: no one gets left behind. Our Thursday trail runs are about enjoying the outdoors together, not chasing the fastest time. People run at a pace that works for them, and we regroup regularly at the ends of longer stretches, road crossings, corners, and path junctions so that different speeds still feel like part of one group. We never leave anyone behind at the back by themselves; the community, as a collective, is great at making sure everyone is enjoying the run. If we have slower runners, the whole group moves slower.
With more leaders, we hope to offer dedicated tail runners, walking opportunities, and longer routes - giving people greater choice without losing the sense of being together. We want everyone to finish feeling they’ve shared the experience, whatever their pace.
Do you have an example of how the club has already benefited an individual, group or family?
One of the most rewarding things has been watching people who arrive not knowing anyone become close friends. They now arrange runs together outside our regular Thursday sessions, discover new routes, and encourage one another to try things they might not have attempted alone. Some have even shared that they hadn’t realised how much they needed these social connections until they came along to Roots.
While running brings people together, the relationships don’t stop when the run ends. Our community has grown far beyond a weekly activity into a genuine support network. Members now share camping trips, quizzes, social evenings, and other adventures. Everyone contributes what they can - from food and kit to skills, knowledge, and time - and those shared experiences are exactly how trust grows.
Our community kit swaps have also helped people get hold of running and outdoor equipment that might otherwise have been unaffordable. We don’t believe that access to movement, friendship, or the great outdoors should depend on having the latest gear.
We’ve received so much lovely feedback from our members. While we don’t have just one "big story" to tell, it’s the smaller, everyday things people share with us that demonstrate the difference Roots is making. People tell us they find themselves doing more than they thought they could - not because someone is shouting at them to push harder, but because they feel comfortable, encouraged, and supported to challenge themselves on their own terms. Others keep coming back because Roots feels unlike anything they’ve experienced before, offering a completely non-judgmental, inclusive atmosphere and the freedom to participate in their own way.
Can you tell us more about how the grant from The National Running Show will be used?
The grant will go straight back into making Roots safer, more inclusive, and more sustainable. We have costed our spending plan and verified that it aligns perfectly with the funding available.
A key priority is developing our volunteer run-leadership team. While we started with just one England Athletics-qualified Leader in Running Fitness, this grant will fund training for two additional run leaders and provide further development for our current lead. This will allow us to share responsibility and reduce reliance on any single volunteer.
We will also invest in disability inclusion training, outdoor first aid qualifications, first aid supplies, and spare headtorches. These resources will ensure more people can participate confidently, especially during our darker evening runs. Any remaining funds will secure a storage solution, providing easy access to our shared equipment and kit swap.
Our regular sessions remain entirely free. While we welcome optional donations - reinvesting every penny into equipment, community initiatives, and practical barriers to participation (like refreshments for our trail cleans) - this funding allows us to enhance our offer without ever making participation dependent on payment.
What impact will that have on your community?
The biggest impact will be removing barriers while strengthening the club's practical foundations. Having more qualified run leaders means greater continuity, more shared responsibility, and the scope to welcome more people safely. It also brings us closer to offering diverse running and walking options tailored to different needs and ambitions.
Inclusion and first aid training will help our volunteers make thoughtful adjustments and respond confidently when people need support. Additionally, providing spare head torches and access to shared kit removes a simple but very real financial barrier.
This grant will help us grow as a club where people feel welcome and cared for, all while preserving our core ethos: free activities, shared responsibility, and a community built around connection rather than consumption
What is the future vision for the club?
We want Roots to be a permanent, welcoming part of life in Ipswich: somewhere people know they can come to move outdoors, find friends, and feel they belong. Our immediate plans include establishing Roots as a Community Interest Company (CIC), growing our qualified volunteer leadership team, and developing our base and community equipment library.
Our core community movement sessions will remain free, with optional donations reinvested in the group. A CIC structure will give us greater opportunities to access funding, build partnerships, and develop additional projects sustainably while protecting that core promise. Any future paid or pay-what-you-activities will support our wider community mission, not replace the free sessions.
There is an environmental side, too. As a Trash Free Trails community hub, we want looking after our local trails to be a natural part of enjoying them. Community trail cleans bring people together to care for these spaces, share knowledge, and experience a different kind of collective achievement. Through regular trail cleans and environmental projects, we aim to expand our trail runs, walking opportunities, and outdoor adventures.
We also want to preserve the social side: the camp-outs, shared meals, quizzes, and informal moments when people trade skills and become friends. Our blue-sky dream is to develop Roots into a recognised outdoor movement and wellbeing hub, with more free and low-cost groups across Suffolk led by trained volunteers and community champions.
To achieve this, we would love to build partnerships with local organisations, social prescribers, and health services. We envision a community fund to remove financial barriers and, one day, a welcoming physical space with a shared kit, skills workshops, a kettle on, and muddy boots by the door. We can imagine an annual Roots weekend celebrating movement, nature, and connection - creating a model that other towns could adapt. Not a franchise, but a movement.