BADRAT Membership.
What’s it all about….
It's been a while since we could run and chat through BADRAT runners club membership (as I type this we have just come back to running after a long winter and 3 months of Covid-19 lockdown).
What club run options are there? Club kit – what is there and where do you get if from? Who are our new partners and what do they offer? What is the difference between BADRAT membership and England Athletics affiliation with the club?
We’ll try and set out a load of the details below – we hope it helps!
BADRAT club runs - fun, friendly and often fotographed!
Running: membership gives you access to all of our volunteer led club runs. As a club we offer three runs a week as standard, and these are:
Tuesdays – Trail runs of c.10k generally up in the Quantocks, this to continue as last year unless weather drives us back into town. Led by Pete and James, our very own mountain goats, you're guaranteed a great run with spectacular views, varied trails and undulating flats.
Wednesdays – North Petherton based but this year offering both the usual 10k option for mixed ability, but also Kerry’s new ‘Back to Badrat’ option which entails shorter, accessible runs for both new(ish) runners and those wanting to come back after a break or injury…or who just don’t want 10k that evening. Terrain is largely road and paths, but with trail thrown in too where we can.
Thursdays – Run largely from Northgate Car Park and generally over a c.10k distance either through town, along the Parrett or out through Chilton, Wembdon and the surrounding lanes. We also hope to head back to Puriton for some runs along the coast path, especially over the summer.
One of our running routes out towards Wembdon/Chilton Trinity/Perry Green
We also offer weekend running options, though with less regularity as it comes down to our volunteers’ availability. Many of our run leaders and members offer out their own runs* through our social media platforms for other members to join in on if they want company or more run structure (*dependant on current rules related to group events and lockdown in the context of Covid-19). The club also lay on occasional events such as the popular ‘not-the-‘ local race series, a highlight being ‘Not-The-Bridgwater-Half-Marathon’ Sunday run in 2020.
We also do club special events and these are free for members, including to date cake, Christmas treats and medals! Highlights have included our Christmas run and BADRAT 1st Birthday 10k event.
Wooden medal and credit from our BADRAT 1st Birthday event - April 2021
There is also a whole lot of '-ish'. It's a BADRAT thing apparently!
Social Media: We do our best to keep all of our members updated on developments, announcements, runs and all-things-BADRAT through our social media platforms. These include Strava, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Look out for our graphic partner posts, motivational quotes, weekly run updates and breaking club news.
Affiliated club: as a UK Athletics Affiliated running club you can rest assured that running with us means you're insured, there are safeguarding measures in place and club runs will be led by (increasingly!) trained run leaders (LiRFs).
Affiliation also means you as members can become EA affiliated BADRATs. This offers all sorts of exciting opportunities and benefits, especially for those of you who enjoy road racing events. You can find more details about the benefits of EA affiliation with BADRAT through this link.
Club Kit. We have two sides to club kit here at BADRAT. First off, club vests and shirts. These were designed by us and are ordered semi-regularly when members have a requirement. They are a premium running vest/shirt made through the team at Scimitar using recycled fabrics which are breathable and wicking.
We also have a club shop through local company Jual (North Newton). There is a range of kit including hoodies, vests, shirts, caps and other items. We wanted a varied and accessible range of competitively prices items so everyone can feel part of the BADRAT pack.
Events: As a club we want you to develop your running, enjoy your running and become better in whatever way that means for you (better can be pace, distance, form, more social etc). We’d love you to come and join us at local events too as well as our club runs, and we’ll do what we can to notify you of events that are going on and how you can get involved.
Running events (it’s not all ‘races’!) are a fun way testing your progress, running in new company, motivating you for training and development and are just – from our experience – jolly good fun! To date we have 12 BADRATs attending the Tough Runner Exeter 10k in April 2021 and 14 (and counting!) members tackling Weston Super Half in October 2021. There will be more to follow and we’d love you to join us!
We also enter virtual races as a club, and have enjoyed team outings at the White Star Running Lockdown Frolic and Halloween Frolic in 2020.
The BADRAT team during the WSR Lockdown Frolic event 2020.
Discounts from Partners: we are proud that we can offer our members a range of discounts and member benefits with a range of Partners who support BADRAT. These include discounts on sports physio treatments, running shoes and gear from market leading companies, reflective wear, head torches, nutrition, local events and more....and with more to come!
So who’s on board so far? We have…
Sportsshoes.com – 10% discount and free postage.
Inov-8 – 20% discount across their amazing product range.
Revvies – 20% off everything over £15 and £8 starter pack with free shipping.
Runderwear – 15% off non-sale items.
Running Reborn – 10% off of platform membership based on Shane Benzie’s book ‘The Lost Art of Running)
Enertor – 10% off your first purchase.
The Crescent Clinic (Taunton) – 10% off of all treatments from their expert team.
Unilite – 30% off of non-discounted items (great for headtorches for winter club runs!)
The Ultramarathon Running Store – 10% off.
Proviz – 20% off of all products.
Flanci – 10% off of products.
Chelston Direct – 10% off.
Outdoor and Cycle Concepts – 15% off in store and on-line. The group include Cotswold Outdoors, Runnersneed and Snow+Rock.
Channel Events – 10% off of event bookings.
We hope that's a handy summary!
BADRAT is always growing, developing and trying things out. Keep tabs on our website, social media and club run discussions for all of our updates and developments!
Please ask us if you have any questions or want more information
Team BADRAT.