TEENAGE girls who enjoy running but have that sense of impending doom when winter approaches and the evenings darken now have nothing to fear following the creation of a new run club exclusively for them.
See Her Run is designed to provide a safe, non-competitive and inclusive environment for girls in Years 10 to 13 who are graduating from “Couch to 5k” or who want to run outside for at least 30 minutes at any pace.
Ceri Tinley, who leads the women-only group Jersey Girls Run, said a supportive group for younger female runners was “missing” from the Island’s sport scene.
She said there were already ten members signed up, with more expressing interest, and emphasised to parents and girls that the sessions were open to runners “of all paces”.
Mrs Tinley also stressed the importance of fresh air and exercise for mental health at a time when the waiting lists for Jersey’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service are growing.
The free-to-attend group follows in the footsteps of Run for Kezia, which took place for the final time last Sunday, and aims to create an inclusive environment for runners as well as raising awareness of sport’s mental-health benefits. Run for Kezia is a fundraising event in memory of 14-year-old JCG student Kezia Mason, who took her own life in 2022.
Mrs Tinley has been able to form the volunteer-led group following a successful application for nearly £5,000 from the Supporting Sport Fund.
She said an “inclusion fund” would also help participants whose financial situation makes it difficult for them to buy running kit or trainers, which can be expensive.
“While there are plenty of adult run clubs, the Island felt that it was missing something like this, and the only running for under-18s was competitive,” Mrs Tinley told the JEP, explaining that the new club was targeted at girls who had completed the “Couch to 5k” initiative and wished to continue their running.
“We wanted to do something different for teenage girls by encouraging them to run twice a week while spending time together,” she said. “We have done a fair bit of market research with girls and decided these were the years that were lacking [facilities], and we have designed the times, locations and format of the runs around their needs, to make it work for them.”
She said See Her Run’s seven-strong committee had already been in touch with PE teachers at schools and were planning to attend school assemblies to promote their runs.
With winter fast approaching and the days getting shorter, the dark itself can become a barrier to female runners who wish to run after school or work but find it unsafe.
Mrs Tinley said that she hoped that running together could help eliminate that sense of weariness or fear when running alone.
“For girls, it’s really important that they are together and feel safe; that they feel confident to go out and run with a group and get some fresh air.
“We hope this will remove any barriers to running and regular exercise, and the Jersey Support in Sport Grant will allow us to help anyone finding it difficult to get involved,” she continued.
See Her Run will also fund training for any female runners aged between 18 and 25 who wish to become leaders in running fitness and could help lead the weekly runs.
Get involved
Runs take place at 4.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a safe bag-drop facility available. Those seeking free membership can sign up at seeherrun.org while women wishing to become run leaders should contact admin@seeherrun.org
