Rebel Runners Medway have been creating quite a buzz since they formed less than two years ago and now it is rare to find a race in Kent without them being seen and heard. Medway Messenger athletics correspondent ALAN NEWMAN has been finding out about the noisy neighbours in conversation with their chairperson, Jenny Baldock.

Alan Newman: When and how did the club form?
Jenny Baldock: I was running with a few friends in the latter part of 2013 and joined Darren Bridge at his first half marathon at Ashford in November that year. On the first freezing cold Saturday in January 2014, half a dozen of us met for a run and decided that Facebook would be a good way to plan our training and races.
We called our page Rebel Runners and invited around 25 running buddies to meet up for regular run nights each week. Numbers grew rapidly and within four months the response had encouraged us to register with Run England and I became our first qualified Leader. Six months later we were UK Athletics affiliated and now have more than a dozen Leaders in Running Fitness and 300 plus members!
At this time we became part of the Run Kent project, whose aim is to grow the informal recreational running market for beginners in Kent. We completed our first successful C25K group for total beginners in September 2014, with 28 graduating. We have since run two further C25K specific sessions with equal success.

AN: Why Rebel Runners. Are you trying to start a revolution?
JB: The name is a bit tongue in cheek but it gets us noticed. We are unlike most clubs in that we truly embrace all runners from ‘couch to 5k’ up to elite. Rebel Runners was suggested by Darren, along with others names from the group but that got the most votes. While we were known as Rebel Runners, a photo appeared in the Medway Messenger after the Paddock Wood half marathon. We added Medway so that people would know where we were from.
In hindsight, if we’d known where our passion for running would lead us we may have chosen a different name but we were already well established with that name when we applied for affiliation and it sets us apart from the other running clubs.

AN: Tell us about your membership.
JB: We can offer membership from 83p a month! All members must pay £10 for social membership and can optionally add £12 for UK Athletics individual registration if they wish to compete. Students and children (over-11) are free. We hold our well attended ‘couch to 5k’ courses twice a year and membership fees fund Run Leader courses, equipment, affiliation fees and track hire. At the end of 2014, we had 85 competing members – we now have 170. Our youngest is 12 and we have 18 junior members.

AN: And what about the training?
JB: We meet for evening runs all over the Medway towns and support our local parkrun at Great Lines Heritage Park most Saturday mornings. This is where we met charismatic Run Director, Tony Giles, one of our keenest members.
Once a month we use Medway Park track at Gillingham for speed/endurance. Run routes, ability levels and other details are posted on Facebook and the club website.
A typical training week might see Mondays at Medway Park from 7pm, 5k/7k routes for all abilities.
Tuesdays would be at Horsted from 6.30pm, 7k/9k routes, for improvers and advanced runners.
Wednesdays at Dockside, Chatham from 6.30pm for beginners and improvers and this lasts 40 minutes, and then, also at Dockside from 7.30pm, for 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back (currently known as the Chatham Hill challenge) for improvers and advanced.
Fridays at Rochester Esplanade, the Two Bridges run followed by a coffee in Rochester for all abilities.
Saturday we take part in the Great Lines parkrun and on Sundays there is often a race somewhere.

AN: What are the club’s best achievements?
JB: We had 80 at the Medway 10k this year and Eloise Smith, Lisa Bacon, and Bridie Fry were first, second and fourth individuals, won three age categories and first team prize – our first such success and in our home race, too.
We also won the Demelza Club Shield at the Leeds Castle 10k in September and made the dreams come true for two lucky members in the club ballot for the Virgin Money London Marathon places in 2016.

AN: And you are a social club?
JB: We certainly have a sense of fun. We run a #RebelSpotted game each month. Rebels can get spotted while out running (but only if in club kit and not at a club run) and the winner gets a bottle of fizz.
‘Rebels on Tour’ is another favourite. We have had Rebels in club colours photographed at The Great Wall of China, The Kremlin and the Golden Gate Bridge. Many of our runners run for charity so there is always a quiz night or raffle tickets to buy.
When our local parkrun was closed one weekend. we deployed Rebels to parkruns far and wide. We covered every age category in the results as 76 members and two dogs visited 34 parkruns, ran 380km and clocked 7,480 road miles, plus two boat trips.
The club regularly go on road trips to events. The 2014 Brighton Marathon saw 28 Rebels competing, with 20 running their first marathon.
Looking ahead, we will be present at the Las Vegas Half-Marathon, the Paris Marathon and there are 10 with places in the Virgin Money London Marathon next year.
We launched our in-house club championship in October with 137 affiliated members registered to take part. With 12 events across the year, including distances from 5k to marathon, there’s something for everyone.

AN: Any unusual incidents happened along the way?
JB: Perhaps the wardrobe malfunction suffered by Sara Beaney who had arrived at the Brands Hatch 10k with two odd shoes – different makes, colour and sizes! She did not manage a PB that day in the shoes she had to borrow.

AN: How would you describe the club in three words?
JB: We posted this on our running group forum and the most popular response was ‘one big family’.