All-women running club creates 'safe space'

Last year there was a big increase in the number of people taking up running, with women accounting for 80% of that

A women's running club set up so members could have a safe space to exercise, particularly during the dark winter months, now has more than 250 members.

Sarah Meenan, who set up Runclub in February 2024, said it had sessions in Hagley, Worcestershire, and Kinver, Staffordshire, with runs open to all levels of fitness, as well as plans to expand it into more areas.

She said the club began after another woman saw her running and asked for help, support and coaching.

"As busy mums, we started running at 05:30, and running together meant we were safer during those dark hours. From there, she asked to bring a friend, then another friend joined and the club was born," she said.

Ms Meenan, 38, from Hagley, is ex-military and said exercise had always been part of her daily routine.

The mother-of-three now works in the public sector and runs the club in her spare time.

Her time in the Army, from age 16, "shaped me into the woman I am today", she said.

Sarah Meenan said not every woman felt confident out running

"It taught me discipline, resilience, and awareness, qualities that naturally make me feel more confident and capable when I'm out running, but I'm very aware that not everyone feels that way," she said.

"Many women don't feel safe running alone, and that's exactly why I created this group. I wanted to offer a space where they don't have to second-guess their safety or feel vulnerable."

She said she wanted to empower other women, so they could run without fear, feel supported and build confidence.

Women could get intimidated by men in clubs, she said, adding: "You have to look a certain way."

And she said many women were going through different changes, such as menopause, peri-menopause, or were getting back in the swing after having children.

"This is a bunch of women all in the same boat, trying to do something positive for their physical and mental health," she said.

Sport England reported in November 2024, that running participation had grown by about 300,000 over 12 months, with women made up more than 80% of that increase.

Ms Meenan said the club tried to ignore harassment from men, but that it was "completely inappropriate"

Ms Meenan said female runners still got abuse, "always from men".

"This includes things like honking horns, shouting from car windows, comments from pub doorways, or shouting as we pass," she said.

"As a club, we try to ignore it, but it's completely inappropriate, and we don't understand why some men still think this is OK, or why they behave this way towards women who are simply out running."

In the winter, the women mainly do road running because of dark and wet conditions, but summer runs take them into the hills and across fields.

Making streets safer

All-women groups have also been set up in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but asked whether the need for women's spaces was growing, Ms Meenan said: "I don't think the need has ever changed, which is sad.

"Women have always needed a safe space because we are vulnerable - especially at night and when running alone."

Northbrook Athletics Club in Coventry held a Street Harassment Awareness Run on Thursday, to raise awareness of harassment of all runners.

And West Mercia Police, which covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, could deploy undercover officers to help make streets safer for female runners, chief constable Richard Cooper has said.

The group has runners from a range of backgrounds and ages

The club runs five days a week in Hagley and four days a week in Kinver and is set to expand. Ms Meenan hopes to set up sessions in Bournheath and Barnt Green, in Bromsgrove, and Bridgnorth in Shropshire.

Because there are so many members, there is always someone to run with, Ms Meenan said, adding: "No-one is ever left on their own."

The club has a Christmas run on 23 December, and beginners and over-60s sessions starting in January.

Ms Meenan said the over-60s sessions were not just running, but also included quick-pace walking and gentle jogging.

She said the club had members in their 60s doing 5K, 10K and 15K runs and one woman aged 74 was running.

"There might be women who want to do a little bit more and do quick-pace walking and gentle jogging, or ladies who are ex-runners who could do a bit of gentle jogging," she said.

"It's so good for your mental health, being out with a group of women in the fresh air."

The club's Instagram page shows runners going out in all weathers