Biscuit Town Run Club
Nominated for Cultural Contribution sponsored by M&G Real Estate, Local Hero sponsored by Green Park, Community of the Year sponsored by Hilton Reading and Putting Reading on the Map sponsored by the Purple Turtle and Jacobs the Jewellers.
A pair of pals and the running club they started have been nominated in four categories, with each nominator citing the friendliness the duo have promoted.
Biscuit Town Run Club was created by Jamie Willcox (left) and Stevie Coe (right) and is now in its second year. Just a handful of people turned up at first but 66 attended a recent meeting.
The club’s nominator for the Cultural Contribution award, sponsored by M&G Real Estate, said: “They’ve created a community of runners that’s inclusive, welcoming and community building.
”Several groups of people have collectively run at different events including the Bologna half and full marathon. Friendships have been forged along the way, with a real focus on the club being inclusive not exclusive.”
The pair have been put forward for the Local Hero award, sponsored by Green Park, “for creating Biscuit Town Run Club and growing it to what it is today.
“I started going with a friend but knew (as a newer ‘runner’) that I'd be going slower,” said their nominator.
“From people slowing down to stick with me at the back, or always coming back to a high-five from Stevie or Jamie, I've never met a friendlier bunch who were genuinely encouraging without the formalities of official ‘club’ status.”
“I'd also nominate the guys that run Biscuit Town Run Club (BTRC) for an award themselves,” says their nominator for Community of the Year, sponsored by Hilton Reading.
“Without the rules and regulations of an official running ‘club’, BTRC has cemented itself as a staple of Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings at Blue Collar Corner,” they added. “It's become a weekly social fixture. Integrated with another local hero, Blue Collar Corner, it feels like the perfect mish-mash of what makes Reading awesome.”
The club and its founders were also put forward for Putting Reading on the Map, sponsored by the Purple Turtle and Jacobs the Jewellers. Their nominator said the club had created a “great community … Their inclusive and friendly nature has meant all sorts of different people have been able to come together over their love of running and build new friendships.
“The founders, Stephen and Jamie, champion independent businesses around Reading and have introduced the run club members to bar/restaurants/events that they may have never heard of before.”