Inclusive running clubs – how your club can be a disability ally
‘Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.’ Liz Fosslien
I truly love this quote and it helps me think about the makeup of lots of different communities I’m part of. Who’s not at the table? Who, even though they’re at the table, are we not hearing from? Can we bring our whole selves to our community?
I commonly see the word inclusion bandied around in the running community. But what truly makes a running club inclusive? My experience has been that a lot of so called “inclusive groups” – aren’t.
For example in the past, I once turned up to a running club for a long run for my marathon preparation. The running club was advertised as “inclusive”. I asked about their ‘pacers’. The slowest pacer they had was around 6:00 pace. I was running around 7:30. That’s not inclusive.
I encourage clubs to think about what they really mean when they use word, “inclusion”. Inclusion accounts for all paces, all backgrounds, all gender identities and disability. Clubs that are upfront about their culture and limitations to inclusion avoid awkward situations for people who might not fit in.
Inclusion to me is about allowing me to turn up as I am and removing barriers to participation.
In a running context things I think about are:
- Location
- Gear
- Pace
- Age / Ability
- Culture
Location: where is training held? Is it near public transport? Is it safe if I come alone or have to walk to my car or Taxi / Uber. Have you thought about accessibility of your venue if someone is a wheelchair user, what about the lighting and acoustics for people who are hard of hearing or low vision? Consider how accessible your social venues are too.
Gear: What if I don’t have the right clothes or shoes? Does your merch fit me (is it all male sizing, does it go big enough or small enough?) What does membership cost? What happens if someone can’t afford it? Some organisations have a membership option that supports less financially able members.
Pace: An inclusive club welcomes all paces, even walkers. A good way around this is timed sessions. For example, setting a 30 or 60 minute out and back time is a way to help everyone feel like they can be themselves.
Age / Ability: What’s the age range of your group? Have you got people of different abilities (new runners / experienced runners), what about people with disability?
Culture: What else do I need to know about your group? Have you got a drinking culture for example?,
It’s not bad to set limits for your club to run within your team’s capacity. However, carefully consider what it means to be inclusive and how you can make changes to actually be inclusive, or be upfront and honest where you can’t be inclusive.
How can running clubs work towards being more inclusive?
Be open to communication and flexibility. Consider including a statement on your website/socials like, ‘Need to discuss something with us? Please touch base with …’.
Information is key: Give people an idea of how your training sessions are run so they know what to expect, or know where they might need to make adjustments or modifications.
Support newcomers. Pair them up with someone, touch base with them after the session. Seek feedback. If someone doesn’t come again, touch base. Ask them what you could do differently, what didn’t work for them? You could do it anonymously.
Get trained up as a sighted guide with Achilles! Runners/walkers who are blind/low vision love seeking out other opportunities to run. Achilles Melbourne is always happy to support your running club to be more inclusive.
Get in touch with us at melbourne@achillesaustralia.org.au or follow us on Facebook/Instagram for more tips on how your club can be more inclusive.