Adult Running Club

Clane AC - Adult Running Club
Caters for both recreational and competitive male & female Adult athletes

Achieve your goals within a club structure, while enjoying a sense of camaraderie in a fun, sociable environment.
Access to our social messaging group for arranging runs, getting training updates and other relevant information.
Be part of a large, dedicated, well established, local 'Fit4Life' group with access to ‘tried and tested’ training plans all year round.
Benefit from help & experience from our ‘seasoned’ members.
Use of the club track at the designated open club training times.
Proudly represent your club and community in the now well recognised "Orange & Black" adult Clane AC colours at nationwide organised walking events, road races & fun runs.
Annual Membership includes Athletics Ireland Insurance cover and eligibility to enter all Athletics Ireland events throughout the country. (Please note: Athletics Ireland memberships runs from 1st January to 31st December, regardless of what date you register. All memberships are due for renewal at 1st Jan each year – even if members were registered mid way in the previous year.)
Flexible training options. i.e Members are free to join in on as many or as few sessions as they like, to suit their life schedules. (However, if you are part of a dedicated training programme such as the C25K, it is expected that you complete your scheduled training given to you weekly by your leader, in your own time, otherwise, you will fall behind.

From your 1st 5km to your 1st marathon and anything in-between!

Why join Clane AC Adult Running Club?

Believe, Commit, Turn Up - Clane AC... be part of it!

We are located at:
Clane Athletic Club Track
To the rear, right hand side of:
SCOIL MHUIRE COMMUNITY SCHOOL
PROSPEROUS ROAD
CLANE
CO. KILDARE
W91 PD79

Our 200m outdoor training facility has become the hub of Clane AC adult running club training sessions.

Summary of Adult Running Club training:

If you would like to join the running club and can already run approx 5km, or feel you have enough fitness to keep up with the track training and Strength & Conditioning classes, new members are welcome to join the club at any time during the year. We cater for complete beginners in our January C25K.

If you are unsure about joining our running club, you are welcome to drop up on a Monday or Wednesday during our adult track training to observe from the side-line.

Introduce yourself, explain why you are there, and grab a quick chat with one of our coaches to answer any questions you may have, before you commit to joining.

Please note though, you will only be able to observe the session and not participate, as you are not insured to train with us unless you are a registered Athletics Ireland member.

Our coaches:

The Adult Running Club have a diverse group of enthusiastic members who have been running a long time and can pass on their experience. Some of these members kindly volunteer to lead our training sessions.
This provides the back bone of the Adult Running Club and ensures the continuity of the success of the club.

If you feel you have something to contribute, and would like to volunteer to lead a club track session or want to be involved on the Running Club core team, the club wholeheartedly welcomes this.

We also hire guest professional coaches to take a block of sessions with our members throughout the year, at no extra cost to our members. They will take you through mobility and strength & conditioning and running mechanics on the track.

Training Categories:

Complete Beginner Runners

Couch to 5km
- complete beginners running programme
Typically takes place in the New Year in January to February
We currently only run one C25K programme a year.

Our 2025 January 7 week Couch to 5km programme - TBC
Due to the weekly incremental blocks of training, latecomers hoping to join midway through the 7 week Couch to 5km programme cannot be accommodated.

Progressor Runners - can already run approximately 5km

Adults who can comfortably run approx 5km, or feel they have enough fitness to keep up with our strength & conditioning classes or track training are free to join the club at any time.

5km-10km - progression group
This is for C25K graduates & intermediate runners.
Leader led group runs are dependant on the availability of our volunteer running club leaders.

But members are free to arrange their own group run via our social messaging - It is a great opportunity to meet as a group or buddy up with a fellow member.
Members can meet up at the track and head off as a group.
(Max distance in Winter evenings due to darkness
- 9km approx around the village of Clane, some running may take place on the track)
(Hi-Vis Jackets are compulsory when out in the dark for the duration of the dark Autumn/Winter months)

Track Training sessions

Strength & Conditioning
Interval training
Fast 5km training
Open track training (Clane Athletic Club members only)
Group runs

Open Run - 5km+ maintenance running & further distances.
This is an open non leader led leisure run "Meet & Run" group
- arranged by members via social messaging.
Any time, any place, any distance!

Now that you are part of a large established Meet & Run group, just pop your message up on our social messaging app with your time and place, and meet up with similar paced individuals and run for a chosen distance, go back when you are done! Very popular!!

(Hi-Vis Jackets are compulsory when out in the dark for the duration of the dark Autumn/Winter months.)

Long run at the weekend
- open leisure run for those who want to run a further distance in a nice location but in a group setting. (Safer & more encouraging)

This long run had organically settled on Saturday mornings with a large group who run in 5km loops of Clane starting from 8am.

However, with the popularity of parkrun and other Saturday events, our recent members survey indicated that the vast majority of members would prefer a Sunday morning long run instead.

- so if you would like to arrange a Saturday or Sunday morning run, just put a call out on the social messaging a day or two before and see what interest you get! This club is for everyone. Get involved!

Morning Runs:
Unofficial morning week day runs are organised frequently between our members, usually the evening before, via our social messaging.
***Meet up time is usually after school drop off between 8am-9:30am, the meet up locations can vary however***

Other Club interests
Our members also participate in variety of other activities to complement their weekly training.

Our members regularly sign up for:
- Volunteering at our local parkruns
- Irish Mountain Running association events
- Mondello 24
- Duathalons
- Other cycling events
- Triathalons
- Gaelforce Events
- Donadea 50km
- Orienteering events
- Dublin Marathon
- International Marathons
and whatever else pops up throughout the year.

Where do we train?

We meet at the track and go from there.
In Winter, we train on the track or around Clane on the lit pathways but in Spring/ Summer meet up locations may vary.
Locations include: Donadea, Ballinafagh lake, Monread, Prosperous, Maynooth/Kilcock greenways, the Curragh & Phoenix park.

Supporting Parkrun Ireland

Castletown House Celbridge parkrun is postponed indefinitely, until the issue with their public parking access is sorted out.

Clane AC encourage its members to participate in weekly parkrun events, which take place all over Ireland and the rest of the world!

Couch to 5km

Our 2025 Couch to 5k group.

Couch to 5km training on the track

You do not need to be able to run to start this plan, but a realistic expectation is that you do need to have a very basic level of fitness to participate in our beginner C25K running programmes.
i.e be able to walk briskly but comfortably for at least 3km.

How many sessions do you need to do a week to succeed with the Couch to 5km running programme?
....THREE sessions a week is required at least.
Commitment and regular frequency is the key to success.

The C25K running group moves forward weekly through the programme, for the duration of 7 weeks, and members will fall behind if they don't keep to the structured training plan that is set out for them each week.

The first two sessions can be run with the group on the scheduled training evenings, and you will be expected to do your third run, by yourself, on Friday or over the weekend.

We are unable to hold C25K training up to stay back for members who have not kept to the scheduled 3 sessions a week training plan, nor can we take on new members half way though the programme...it is not fair on the rest of the group who are working hard to progress & the volunteer leaders who are giving up their time to be there for you.

Our 2025 Couch to 5km group just before their 1st 5km run in Royal Canal Kilcock parkrun on 1st March 2025

How do we communicate?

Clane Athletic Club adult running club have a dedicated Whats App group. We do not use ClubZap for communicating with the Adult Running Club although you are welcome to join the Clane AC ClubZap app for our general club announcements.

The Adult Running club Whats App group is where you will get all the up to date training information, changes to training times, call outs for group runs and any other announcements for the Adult Running Club.

When you register via the Athletics Ireland, unfortunately there is no function to select to automatically add you to the clubs Whats App group.

So, once you register and turn up for your first training session with the Adult Running club, please ask one of the coaches to add you.

You will not be added by our coaches unless you specifically ask them, as not everyone wants to be added to the Whats App group.

This Whats App group is strictly for registered Clane AC members only