ADULT ATHLETICS AND RUNNING
Adults at Vale of York
Coached sessions, access to a track, and races worth training for. No waiting list, and no need to be fast. All welcome.
Three ways in
Most adults arrive by one of these routes. None of them asks you to be quick, and none of them is a beginners’ group you are expected to graduate out of.
If your child trains with us
Train while they train
On Monday evenings at Tadcaster and Saturday mornings in York the club runs junior and senior athletics at the same time on the same track. Many of our adult members started by standing at the side of a session and deciding they wanted to take part.
It also works the other way round too. If your child is on the junior waiting list, there is nothing stopping you starting now. We prioritise all juniors whose parents train and compete with us.
If you already run
Coaching and a track
If you do parkrun and have wondered what the next step is, this is it. Sessions are coached rather than just organised, paces are set from a recent race time, and there is all-weather track work on Mondays at Tadcaster and Saturdays at York.
There is a big difference between training with a purpose and simply going out for a run with company.
If you are over 35
Race your own age group
Masters athletics means competing against people your own age rather than chasing twenty five year olds. The Yorkshire Vets (YVAA) series runs across the year, on road, country and fell.
Our head coach is a national M55 decathlon champion, and club members have won Northern Masters titles from these same sessions. The coaching comes from people who still compete themselves.
How the adult side works
There is no waiting list for adults
Junior places are limited but the adult side is not. If you want to start, you can start.
Vale of York is an athletics community rather than a running club, which in practice means coaching, access to a track, and events beyond the road. Some members compete in track and field through the summer, some race cross country through the winter, some do the Tuesday evening road race league, and plenty just come to the sessions and enjoy being coached so they can improve at their own thing.
Sessions are led by England Athletics licensed coaches who are Enhanced DBS checked. Everyone trains together regardless of pace, and nobody is left behind.
If you are not sure which sessions to choose, say so when you get in touch and we will help you work out what’s right for you.
The details
- Sessions
- Monday evening track at Tadcaster, Wednesday and Thursday at the Bubwith circuit, Saturday morning track at York
- Racing
- Tuesday evenings April to July for the York and District road league
- Who for
- Any adult, any pace. Masters, parents and existing runners. Those who want to get into track and field
- Waiting list
- None for adults
- Membership
- Senior athletics £14.50 a month. Off-track membership £40 a year. University of York Athletics Club students £25 a year
- Included
- England Athletics registration, so you can race
- Coaches
- England Athletics licensed and Enhanced DBS checked
What your membership includes
Three things beyond the coached sessions that adults tend not to know about.
A discounted gym
Members get discounted gym membership through the club’s partnership with Selby Leisure Centre.
Online coaching, included
We use VDOT for endurance coaching, which means training plans and customised sessions that sync to your Garmin or Apple Watch. The software and the online coaching are part of your membership, not an extra.
Small groups
Groups are normally capped at twelve, so a coach knows your name and you get to know everyone you train with.
The adult week
Four coached sessions, plus racing on Tuesday evenings once the road league starts in the spring.
MONDAYS, 6.30 TO 7.30PM
Track at Tadcaster
Juniors and seniors on the same track at the same time, on the school track at Tadcaster Grammar.
WEDNESDAYS, 7.00 TO 8.00PM
Intervals at Bubwith
Paces set from a recent race time. Intervals through the winter, more sociable once the racing season is on. Juniors from 12 upwards train alongside the seniors, in separate groups.
THURSDAYS, 6.00 TO 7.00PM
Circuits at Bubwith
Strength and conditioning to music, every exercise with an easier and a harder version. Ten week blocks.
SATURDAYS, 10.00 TO 11.30AM
Track at York
All weather track at the University of York from September to May, outdoors at York St John over the summer. Juniors and adults together, for athletes who are competing.
And on Tuesday evenings from April to July, members race the York and District Road Race League. 10k, hosted in turn by clubs around York, no selection, you enter the ones you fancy. Road racing →
Parents already here
You are at the session anyway. You may as well be training rather than watching.
parkrunners
Coached sessions, set paces and a track. The bit that a Saturday 5k on its own cannot give you.
Over 35s
Yorkshire Veterans racing across road, country and fell, against your own age group.
Come and try a session
Tell us roughly what you do at the moment. There is no waiting list, no trial fee, and no obligation to keep coming.
Ask about joining