2026 Charities

The River Gipping Trust
Stowmarket ASD Saturday Clubs
My WiSH Charity

Trail Runs – what are they all about

During the summer months on a Wednesday evening, the club organises local trails in surrounding villages. They take place on a mix of trails, footpaths and tracks and some have a small element of road running. You follow a pre-planned route using a set of clear written instructions, so no map reading skills necessary.

Starting and finishing at a pub the routes are usually about 4 miles and 6 miles and take in countryside that you would not normally see. Members usually run in small groups so everyone gets a chance to do a bit of navigating and enjoy each others company. With written instructions you can run at your own pace with people of a similar ability.

To join in just turn up and sign in.

The trail runs are always in aid of charity, so we ask for a suggested donation of £3 per person per run, or whatever you can afford. In 2025 our trail runs raised over £2,000 split between three charities.

HISTORY

The first Strider trail run was organised by Chris Gladwell in June 2007. Chris came up with the idea to run a route around Felsham Bell in order to fundraise for a personal charity, but this was embraced by other Members who then began to offer up routes and invite others to join them as a social event. Each year both old and new runs are added to the calender and subsequently funds raised are distributed to nominated charities at the end of the Summer.

If you have a favourite trail run that you would like to share, do get in touch with Mike & Bob via trailruns@stowmarketstriders.org.uk, as we always love to explore new routes.