It's neither an athletics club nor a running group; it's not designed or intended to replace membership in any affiliated organisations. The newly launched RUN:EA membership scheme driven by England Athletics (EA) aims to harness the power of six million runners, many of whom have not (yet) joined an EA-registered club or a RunTogether running group.

According to Statista Research Department figures published on 7 May 2024, around 6.2 million individuals in England engaged in running as a sports activity in 2023. This demonstrates an increase from the previous year, with approximately 5.9 million individuals running in 2022. However, running participation peaked at more than 7 million during the COVID-19 restrictions of 2020, when we were all advised to take our 'daily exercise'.

RUN:EA was officially launched at EA's stand at the National Running Show at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre last weekend (25-26 January 2025) and is open for individual membership at £30 per annum (£2.50 per month). England Athletics says: "Our new individual running membership, RUN:EA, offers runners of all abilities everything they need to enhance their running journey. For just £30 a year, your membership gives access to a like-minded sporting community, expert advice, exclusive offers, and discounted event entry."

According to FAQs on the RUN:EA website, membership is aimed at individual adult (over 18) runners who are not members of a club or do not wish to be a member at this time. RUN:EA membership will enable otherwise unaffiliated runners to enter EA-licensed races at a discounted fee but cannot be used for club or team events, track and field events, or off-road and cross-country events – you must have a club membership for that.

Once you are a member, you can access benefits from within your member dashboard. Benefits include discounts from partners like SportsShoes.com; Garmin watches; Shokz headphones; Coopah training schedules and SIS gels and hydration products. New members who join before 5:00pm on Monday 3 February 2025 will be entered into a draw for prizes from Shokz, SIS, Kukri, and Great Run Company.

This is an ambitious initiative by EA to provide a home for less competitive individuals who run but do not intend to join a club or organised group, at least not now. Access to EA coaches for advice is offered and there's a dedicated RUN:EA Strava Club to connect runners and to help build this new community.

For more information and to get started with RUN:EA click here.

Photo courtesy of Mircea Iancu on Pixabay