Leading the Way: Our Run Leader Qualification Journey

by Becky Morris

On a lovely sunny February morning, Elle, Becky C and I completed the final assessment to become qualified run leaders. Ran by England Athletics, the Leadership in Running Fitness Course is designed to prepare you to be a qualified run leader and provide a safe and enjoyable running experience. The course covers risk assessment, warm-ups, cool downs, and how to lead sessions that make running enjoyable for all abilities. There’s a bit of e-learning, a webinar, and then a remote practical activity, which we filmed (Oscar worthy may I add!). We filmed warm-ups then our designed sessions three times over, which was surprisingly hard work. Thank you to Maddi for supervising us and Rick for volunteering to be in our video.

Obtaining this qualification was funded by Bird Outdoors' Community Fund, for which we are all grateful!

Editors note:

Firstly a massive congratulations to our three qualified run leads 👏 !! These qualifications were funded through our Community Fund. One of our core values at Bird Outdoors is;

Community growth & volunteer development
We invest in our volunteers’ learning and skills to strengthen our community and empower everyone to contribute confidently.

We established our Community Fund in the summer of 2025. Thanks to donations from social event attendees and fundraising events, we are able to organise training opportunities that help our volunteers develop new skills and grow within the community. Access to community funded places will be given to both volunteers of Bird Outdoors and anyone where the financial contribution would be a barrier to them being able to attend.

If you would live to know more about our Community Fund and how you can access or contribute to it please message us on our socials or email on info@birdoutdoors.com