Penistone Footpath Runners

Juniors

No pain, no gain

The club has a very popular junior section, taking boys and girls from the age of 12 to 17. Up to 2022, the club took juniors from age 8, but lack of availability of coaches qualified to take the younger age group forced a change. From January 2023 a new club for children aged 8 to 11 has been set up under the England Athletics "Funetics" programme. Anyone interested should contact Suzanne McGill.

For juniors from their 12th birthday contact Bob Innes, Junior Secretary, if your son or daughter is interested in joining the club.

For most juniors, the club is something they attend every Tuesday evening, all year round (with breaks for school holidays) where they get some exercise with friends. Sessions are structured to maintain interest and safety, catering for a wide range of ability.

All the coaches and coaching assistants have up-to-date DBS checks, as required by England Athletics.

Competing

All juniors are encouraged to join in organised events, including the local track and field league, indoor athletics league, cross country league and off-road races. In particular, the Junior Trunce is very popular, taking place at the same time as the senior race in Oxspring, 9 times a year.

The Winter Handicap League

The club organises a Winter League based on a series of handicap races for all the juniors in the club, and other ad hoc races in the summer.

Awards

Prizes are given out at the annual presentation evening.

  • Trophies for the top three in the Winter Handicap League and certificates for all participants
  • The Winter League trophies, unhelpfully named but awarded for general performance in internal and external competitions
  • The Track and Field trophies, awarded to the juniors (under 11 and under 17) who showed the largest improvements across all track and field events
  • The Coaches' Award, awarded for attitude to training and effort.

Past winners of awards

Track & Field

For many years, juniors represented the club in the South Yorkshire Track & Field League and the Indoor League at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. Results are all available on the British Athletics Power of 10 service. The club withdrew from track and field after the 2022 season as a result of dwindling interest. Any juniors who do wish to compete in track and field can do so in conjunction with other local clubs.

Club Records

The club keeps extensive records for track and field events for each age group, with certificates awarded at the annual presentation evening for records broken during the previous year.

There are also records for the Junior Winter Handicap races.

Cross Country

Juniors have represented the club in the South Yorkshire Cross Country League each year. The events take place in parks around the county. Anyone interested should contact Bob Innes. Results are all available on the British Athletics Power of 10 service.