Tooting running club for safety-conscious women in need of funding

A running club proving particularly popular with women who welcome the safety of numbers is in danger of folding because of a lack of funds. 

The Tooting Run Club uses the facilities at Tooting Bec Athletics Track at Tooting Common and attracts 100-150 people to in-demand Monday morning sessions, which cost only £5 per person. 

It launched in March 2022 and about 70 per cent of its regulars are women. The club has 1,800 followers on Instagram and also runs a social street running session on Wednesdays around Tooting. 

But the current deal to use the Tooting Track expires in March as a one-off council grant runs out and the club is now frantically trying to come up with ways of raising funds. 

Club leader Tahir Shams said: “We don’t charge any of our runners to train with us and keeping TRC free for the whole community is an important part of our vision.  

“The coaching is all provided free of charge by Herne Hill Harriers [the athletics club to which they are affiliated], so our main cost is track hire which runs into thousands of pounds a year.  

“Wandsworth council have kindly covered these costs for the current year but we do need to have a conversation with them soon about what happens next year.  

“In our recent survey, feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Runners reported high satisfaction levels, and improvements to their physical and mental health and have been able to expand their social circle with many new connections and friendships being formed.”

But safety as well as the social side are equally important. Dilly Cumbers, one of the runners at the club, said: “As the evenings start to get darker, being able to exercise after work in a safe environment becomes even more important, and I’m so thankful to have this great club here in Tooting.” 

Another supporter of the venture is Andrew Duncan, who helped out in a fund-raiser on Sunday. He said: “The club gets so many young single women into running. They no longer feel safe going solo on the streets of south London. 

“The Tooting Bec Track allows them to meet and train under friendly expert supervision in a safe place and has proved very popular.” 

Mr Duncan is a publisher behind a box-set guide for runners create by Herene Hill Harriers runner Nastasha Lodge, who donated royalties from it to the Run Club.  

She said: “Herne Hill have given me so many opportunities over the years and Tooting Run Club is an amazing initiative and contribution to South-west London, giving more people the opportunity to run. This feels like a great way to give back to the running community.”

Pictured top: Race day at Tooting Run Club (Pictures: Tooting Run Club)