Safety Guidelines for Club Training Runs (August 2007)

Members should be aware that they are responsible for their own health and safety at all times, whether running in a Club training session or not. Members running on their own, or in groups, other than during organised Club training sessions, should be follow the guidelines, as far as is reasonably practicable, for their own safety.

1. Before leaving Oaklands, the duty Coach, or other nominated member leading the session, should ensure that all those attending the session are aware of the route(s) that is (are) planned to be taken.
2. The session leader will be responsible for nominating a sweeper, to run at the back of the group at all times. For reasons of personal safety, particularly on dark evenings, the sweeper should be a man. By agreement with the session leader, the individual performing the sweeper role can change during the session. During efforts sessions, the session leader will ensure that the effort route is monitored so that no runners are isolated.
3. When running in anything other than an efforts session, members should keep together in a group, or groups, so that no individual member is more than 30metres from a main group at any time. The group should wait at regular intervals for the back runners and the sweeper to catch up.
4. If any member is having difficulty in maintaining the group’s pace, they should let the session leader know and the leader should arrange to review and, if necessary, re-plan the group’s make up and the proposed route.
5. If the group then splits into two or more smaller groups, to run at different paces, the session leader will be responsible for nominating a leader and sweeper for each group, and each group will then follow the guidelines.
6. As far as is reasonably practicable, routes with street lighting should be selected on dark evenings. If it is necessary to use a stretch of footway or road without full lighting, whether the lack of lighting is a temporary situation or permanent, groups should remain closely together, staying at the pace of the slowest runner until it is safe to allow the 30metres rule (2 above) to apply.
7. Members must take responsibility for their own personal safety by wearing items of light coloured or reflective clothing during runs on dark evenings.
8. If a planned route involves crossing a busy road, the session leader should ensure that controlled crossings, footbridges or underpasses are used by the group, whenever possible.
9. If any incident should occur, whether as a result of action by a third party, or an accident to a member, the member or members involved should call for the group to halt and all members should gather together until the session leader decides on the action to be taken.
10. Although members have the legal right to defend themselves, using reasonable force if necessary, any confrontations should be avoided. Having moved the group away from any incident site, the session leader should arrange for the Police to be called as soon as possible, so that any problems can be reported.

Est 1982