Chair to Anywhere

Chair to Anywhere is a 12-week programme designed by Fitmums & Friends to support people to start or get back into running. It uses the walking and running sessions at our friendly local clubs to ease you into running and help you build up your running ability at the pace that is right for you.

To further help you achieve your fitness goal, you will also benefit from:

• a welcome session led by our coaches to introduce you to the programme and explain what support is available and how you can ensure the best results
• a Chair to Anywhere Champion - a club member who has volunteered to support you through the programme to achieve your goal by sharing tips, helping you overcome any issues and generally cheering you on
• a programme handbook and diary to track your progress - you can take a look at these below

Ease into running in the new-to-running group

You don’t have to be able to run already to join Fitmums & Friends. We welcome all abilities including absolute beginners. If you are completely new to being active or returning after a break, you can start in the new-to-running group. This is a 1-mile walk-to-run group, which means that you can join in by walking and running at your own pace with the friendly support of a trained leader. Over time, you will gradually build up your running ability and find that you can run stronger and further.

Feeling stronger, running further

You can stay in the 1-mile group as long as you like. When you feel confident to move on to the next distance, this is possible because of the support systems used at club sessions which enable people with different paces to run together without fearing being left behind or finding the pace too slow. Every club offers run distances of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 miles. You can stick at a distance or progress through them at the rate that is right for you.

Running with others

If you have tried running on your own already, you may have experienced a period of initial enthusiasm which can soon wane as the effort becomes more challenging. Joining Chair to Anywhere and running with others can make getting started and keeping going so much easier.

A note about costs:

The welcome session and your first three club sessions are FREE. If, after this, you want to continue with the programme, then you will need to join Fitmums & Friends. Annual membership costs £36 if you join during April to September, or is reduced to £26 if you join during October to December. The membership year runs to 31 March, hence a reduced cost if joining in the second half of the year. If you need financial support to pay for membership or kit, please ask us about the Mike Barlow Memorial Fund which might be able to help.