Meet the team

Lisa Adcock

Liaison Coordinator

I support our Club Coordinators and their amazing volunteer teams across the Fitmums and Friends network, helping them deliver safe, enjoyable and inclusive sessions that reflect our values and the things that make Fitmums and Friends special. I’m there to offer guidance, share best practice and help clubs overcome challenges, develop and thrive. One of the best parts of my role is getting out and about visiting our clubs and seeing volunteer teams grow in confidence and flourish. And, as a keen runner myself, I love that my role gives me the chance to lace up my trainers and run in different places and with different groups along the way!

Angie Eary

Communications Lead

I help tell the Fitmums and Friends story and share the amazing things happening across our clubs, programmes and wider community. I look after our social media, write press releases and help plan and deliver campaigns, making sure we celebrate the people, activities and achievements that make our charity special. I also love photography, so you’ll often spot me with my camera at events and sessions, capturing those moments that bring our community to life. I love that my role means I get to meet so many of our members, volunteers and partners — and share their stories with the wider world.

Sam Barlow

Founder and Chief Officer

As the founder of Fitmums and Friends, I’m passionate about making sure our charity continues to grow without ever losing the community spirit at its heart. I support our ever-growing network of clubs, programmes and partnerships, while making sure we have the right structures, people and systems behind us to do things well. I’m lucky to work alongside an incredible team of staff and volunteers, and a big part of my role is making sure they feel valued, supported and proud of what we achieve together. Most importantly, I’m always looking for new ways to reach more people, help them become more active and connected, and keep the Fitmums and Friends magic at the heart of everything we do.

Barrie Cracknell

Lead Coach

I coach both our adult members and junior athletes, as well as supporting our fantastic team of volunteer coaches. I help organise sessions, coordinate staffing and training, and make sure our coaching is safe, consistent and delivered to a high standard. I also get involved in our events and love being part of the wider athletics community. Outside Fitmums and Friends, I’m an England Athletics Official, sit on the regional council and volunteer as a guide runner. I’m lucky that coaching and athletics are such a big part of my life, and I love being able to share that passion with our members, young athletes and volunteers.

Ally English

Volunteer Administration Support

I give one day a week to Fitmums and Friends, supporting the central team with a whole range of behind-the-scenes jobs that help keep the charity moving. I look after the events calendar on our website, help organise our cross-country events, support our 10 to Teens sessions and lend a hand wherever I’m needed. Alongside my Fitmums and Friends role, I work part-time and am also an England Athletics Official, giving my time to officiate at track and field events. I love being involved in athletics in lots of different ways, and it’s great to be able to combine that passion with supporting the Fitmums and Friends community.

Heather Gibson

Programme Coordinator – Together in Grief 

I lead our Together in Grief programme, supporting adults through bereavement with gentle walks and yoga, alongside our Forest Project, which provides support and connection for bereaved children. I work closely with our partners, volunteers and participants to bring these sessions to life, from organising and promoting the programmes to helping create welcoming spaces where people can come together, feel supported and know they’re not alone. It’s a privilege to be part of something that can make such a meaningful difference at a difficult time in people’s lives.

Laura Gulley

Project Coordinator

I lead on a number of our programmes, including SocialEYES, our Menopause Programme and Dragon Boat, each supporting people in different ways to be active, connected and feel part of a community. SocialEYES provides accessible fitness activities for people with sight loss, while our Menopause Activity Programme helps women navigate what can be a challenging stage of life through movement, support and connection. Our Dragon Boat programme brings men and women affected by breast cancer together through activity, friendship and teamwork. I love the variety of my role and, most of all, seeing how these programmes can help people feel stronger, more confident and less alone.

Vickie Hillier

Deputy Chief Officer

I support the charity across all areas of our work, and I love the variety that comes with my role. No two days are quite the same, and alongside supporting our people and projects, I also look after all things technical within the central team — helping to keep our systems, website and technology working smoothly behind the scenes. One of my favourite things is hearing the stories of how being part of a local Fitmums and Friends club or project has made a real difference to someone’s life — whether that’s helping them become more active, make new friends, find confidence or simply feel that they belong. It’s a privilege to see the difference our community makes every day.

Denise Robinson

Project Support

I provide administration and project support across the charity, helping to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes. I manage our shop orders, support our junior athletics sessions and organise our trustee meetings and all the administration that goes with them. We’re a small central team, so I’m often called upon to turn my hand to whatever needs doing — and I love the variety that brings. I’m also a Fitmums and Friends member and can often be found running with one of our lower-mileage groups. Being part of the charity both behind the scenes and out in the clubs means I get to see first-hand what makes our community so special.

Julia Sutton

Finance Lead

I look after all things finance for Fitmums and Friends, from paying the bills and keeping our finances on track to providing the financial information we need for grants, funding and good decision-making. It might not always sound like the most exciting part of charity life, but good financial management is what helps make all the amazing things we do possible! I love knowing that the work I do behind the scenes helps our clubs, programmes and volunteers continue to make a difference in communities across Yorkshire.

Tony Sutton

Trustee

I truly value Fitmums and Friends’ core principles: I believe in the benefit of physical activity, but the real power of Fitmums and Friends is its inclusivity, welcoming environment and breadth of activity on offer, which I find truly inspiring.

Sue Lee

Trustee

I love the inclusive approach of Fitmums and Friends and the fact that there is something for everyone: running, walking, cycling, even singing; and everyone, regardless of ability, truly is welcome and supported.

Alasdair Hunter

Trustee

I joined Fitmums and Friends to take up running and meet new people after relocating. It’s been a great journey as a runner, leader and trustee as we strive to provide a place where members can be supported, grow and be their best selves while having a lot of fun along the way!