Summer outruns

Throughout the spring and summer, when we have lighter evenings, our usual Wednesday run moves from Melton to the villages in the surrounding area.  The usual routine is to meet outside a village pub, run for an hour over the local footpaths and then most runners stay for a drink afterwards.

These runs are sociable and run as a group, regularly stopping at stiles, junctions, etc, to keep everyone together. So that everyone gets a good, enjoyable run we will usually split into two groups, allowing those who want to stretch their legs and go a little further and/or faster to do so. As with all our runs, they are led by our members, so if you have a suitable route to suggest for the future, let us know.

Below is our Outrun Schedule V2 (as at 23rd April)

Date Outrun Run Lead Run Support
1st May Grange Garden Centre John Houghton Katie
8th May Burrough Hill Simon Bottrill ?
15th May
22nd May
29th May
5th June Redmile Paul Jacobs
12th June Three Club Challenge Wreake RC
19th June Tilton on the Hill Amelia Fisher
26th June Grimstone/ Bison Bash John Houghton Katie Houghton
3rd July Hose Rich Gray ?
10th July
17th July
24th July Ashby Arms Hungerton Sandy Barnacle Alan Barnacle
31st July South Croxton Helen Plant Mark Stonely
7th August Joy Cann 5 LRRL LRRL
14th August Handicap Race Chris Genes
21st August Scalford David Brooke
28th August Hoby? Cake Run John Houghton Katie Houghton
Date?? No Watch Race Venue TBC Chris Genes
Date?? TBC Long Clawson Ian Bickle
Date?? TBC Saltby/Waltham area Lou H Nikola DR

Checklist in preparation for an Outrun.

  1. Chose a date that is of your choice. Ideally plan in pairs – one to lead the longer route and the other to lead a shorter route.
  2. Chose a village pub that will open on the date and ask if they are prepared to host us after the run (20-30 runners on average). We usually arrive in the pub between 8:15-8:30pm
  3. Are they serving food that evening.
  4. Use one of our tried and tested routes (available below)
  5. Devise your own route, either from local knowledge and/or using an Ordnance Survey map for route planning.
  6. The longer route should be around 6 miles with the shorter route around 4-5 miles.
  7. As we always run in a group together a single route is acceptable as we re-group at regular intervals.
  8. Prior to the date it is advisable to walk/run the route yourself just to make sure that there are no issues – diversions, livestock we need to be aware of, overgrown areas (such as nettles) etc.
  9. Greet everyone prior to the run and provide a brief overview.
  10. Enjoy your well earned beverage in the pub afterwards

We do also have a few special runs that form part of our summer programme – the “No watch” race and club handicap are always fun evenings, as is the 3 club challenge that we hold with Barrow and Wreake.  More details of each will be announced in due course.

Below is our 2023 schedule of Outruns:

Date Venue Long Route Leader Short Route Leader
26th April AGM N/A N/A
3rd May The Grange Garden Centre Katie Houghton John Houghton
10th May Stag & Hounds Burrough On The Hill Simon Bottrill Dan Giblett
17th May The Wheel Branston David Brook Katie H-H
24th May Carrington Alms Ashby Folville Katie Hill Anthony Ison
31st May TBC Katie H-H John Houghton
7th June Redmile Paul Jacobs TBC
14th June Twyford TBC Simon Bottrill Dan Giblett
21st June No Watch Race – venue TBC Chris Genes
28th June Grange Garden Centre Three Club Challenge TBC
5th July Long Clawson Andy Nicholls Ian Bickle
12th July Asfordby Vicki Lowe Abi Arnott
19th July Tilton/Launde Amelia Fisher Dan Giblett
26th July Knossington Mark Stonely Helen Plant
2nd August Joy Cann LRRL Race
9th August Thrusington Vicki G Liz G
16th August Handicap Race – venue TBC Chris Genes
23rd August Whissendine Andy Hart Julie Ashby
30th August Cake Run. Venue TBC Katie H-H John Houghton

Here are a selection of some of our Outrun Routes:

A selection of our favourite routes are on the routes page.

An archive of Neil’s outrun blogs over the years can be found here.