Diary of a CIC DECEMBER 2025: THE JOURNEY SO FAR AND THE NEXT CHAPTER

Back in the Spring edition of DOACIC I shared that we’d been doing some deep thinking about future of Peak Running, and how we keep supporting the amazing community around us with the limited resources we have.

Part of that reflection has been about going back to our roots — the passions and values that sparked this whole thing in the first place — and looking at what we’ve learned over the past nine years.

A lot has changed in that time, both for us and in the world around us! So, in this edition of DOACIC, I’ll take you through that journey – the thought process, the lessons and, most importantly the plans for the next chapter.

Why I started Peak Running

Our little enterprise was born out of my desire to help people improve their lives through the simple act of going outdoors and putting one foot in front of the other.

I felt it should be something that enriched people’s lives for many years to come, not just about chasing fast times, longer distances or medals. With health, mental wellbeing and self-confidence all being at least as important as the physical fitness gains.

This belief that came from my own lived experience – from seeing the amazing things that any “ordinary” person can achieve over time if they set their mind to it. And from watching too many in the running community pushing too hard, too soon. Regularly ending up injured and frustrated because they’d followed advice that wasn’t quite right for them.

Much of the advice out there was well intentioned. But, especially with the rise of the internet, the amount of it instantly available was becoming overwhelming. And mostly aimed at growing social media followings and selling products rather than helping individuals. As a result, there was more and more contradiction and confusion about the best formulae for running faster or further.

So, the idea with Peak Running was to strip all that back and to focus on the basic things that help us thrive as human beings. These being:

Time and space: finding the time and space - physically and mentally – within your already busy life to do something for you.  

Health: Putting your long-term health first, rather than smashing ourselves into the ground in pursuit of short-term goals or kudos.

Enjoyment: Approaching it in a way you genuinely find enjoyable, for you.

While these are all equally important, if I were to single one out as most important, it would be the enjoyment. Because you’re much more like to find space for something in your life if you enjoy it. And you’re less likely to take risks with your health if it might stop you doing the thing you enjoy.

Experience and observation over the past 30-odd years has shown me that running (and any other outdoor pursuits for that matter) is something people usually enjoy most when three aspects come together in someone’s life - in a kind of Venn diagram

Of course, we can’t have all the above all the time. But finding opportunities to bring two or more of them together regularly makes the magic happen.

So, in a nutshell, what I set out to do with Peak Running was to (i) bring people together enable them to feel they were part of a community, (ii) show them wonderful places to explore, and (iii) equip them to have their own adventures.

A formula that, as well as enriching lives, can lead to people achieving things they didn’t previously believe possible because of improved fitness and/or skills.

What we’ve learned along the way

Having looked back at the ‘why’ and what I believed back then, it turns out not much has really changed. If anything, those ideas have come even more solid.

But wow! We’ve learned a heck of a lot along the way. And the experience has shaped how we see things now and the plans for the future.

There’s way too much to unpack everything here, but here are the big takeaways.

Organising Races

Since the early days, organising races was part of what we did – for three main reasons: 

1. To bring the community together in person.

2. To give people opportunities to challenge themselves, have a bit of an adventure, and see what their improved fitness and knowledge could help them achieve.

3. To generate funds to support our mission – helping as many people in our community as possible to enrich their lives through being active outdoors.

 I think we’ve done a pretty good job of the first two!  We built some fantastic events that brought people together and inspired countless achievements.

But the third one has proved a lot tougher than it might have looked from the outside. Staying true to our values as a social enterprise means we’re not about chasing profit, but the effort, time, and mental energy that goes into organising events and managing the risks involved is huge compared to what they bring in.  It can leave us feeling stretched thin and without enough capacity to focus on the community work that was the main point in the first place. 

Plus, we noticed that many people saw us as an events company that did a bit of community work on the side, rather than a community organisation that happened to put on a few events. Something that didn’t sit quite right.

While maybe we could have predicted it, the truth is that the events industry has changed massively since we started.  Covid, the cost-of-living crisis, rising costs, more red tape, and the rise of big commercial operators have all made things much harder for small, non-profit organisers like us.

Changes to the world around us

Since I first sent a form off to Companies House in 2016 to register Peak Running as an entity, lots has changed in lots of ways.

The amount of people out running on the trails, hills and moorland in our area has increased massively. Be that recreationally or taking part in fell, trail and ultra running events.

It’s been wonderful to see lots of people who’ve been part of our community progress on their own journeys in that world. And for many of those to become an inspiration to others who were perhaps nervous about stepping out of their comfort zone.

I’d like to think we’ve played a small part in this increase locally. But there’s lots of other factors at play too. Not least the massive advancements in kit, technology and resources out there. Things that have made it much easier for people to feel able to head out there themselves, without the support of a guide or coach.

These advancements are fantastic on one hand, as they’re enabling many more people to enjoy the benefits of exploring the great outdoors. But are also a threat for those that make a living in the ‘outdoor’ industry.

Joining Forces with Jog Derbyshire

When they decided to close at the end of 2022, Community Sports Trust CIC (known as Shift Together in its latter years) approached us about taking on the role of supporting the Jog Derbyshire network of community jogging groups.

It made perfect sense for us to continue their work – which was funded by Derbyshire County Council – as our ethos and goals aligned well, and it meant the initiative could continue to thrive.

Since then, lots of good things have come from that move. However, as is often the case when two well-established names come together, it’s been challenging for everyone to understand how the pieces fit.

By design, Jog Derbyshire groups operate quite independently, which is brilliant because it means they can shape things to suit their own communities. But it also means that some people still see Peak Running and Jog Derbyshire as totally separate entities.

For many participants, that distinction might not matter much. But, for us, it’s important to make the connection clear. And for everyone to understand that there’s one shared mission.

Words matter, and so do first impressions

We’ve become increasingly aware that the term ‘running’ (and putting the word Peak in front of it) can be off putting for those at the beginning of their physical fitness journey, especially if they don’t know us well.

And that the word ‘Jog’ can also be off putting for both newbies to the world of physical activity that may perceive jogging too hard for them, and experienced runners that may not want to be seen as merely joggers.

The truth is that we’ve always been strong advocates of walking, either to help build the foundations for running, or in its own right. And we’ve always - and sometimes quite evangelically - preached the value of jogging. Because, quite simply, you can’t run before you can walk AND jogging is just low intensity running and not really about speed. 

Plus, many people who have become part of the Peak Running and/or Jog Derbyshire communities over the years have shown us that they want purely walking and hiking activities. Because they provide an accessible way for those that can’t run to get involved AND can also be enjoyable for those that can but want to enjoy things at a more leisurely pace sometimes.

So, whilst it’s really only semantics, what people perceive from their first contact with our name, website, socials etc., is important for us. We’ve therefore been giving a lot of thought to how our names and branding can better reflect what we’re all about.

Mental health & wellbeing matters a lot

Way back in the last century – a long time before the idea of Peak Running came about - I realised that getting out for a run or walk was really good for my head as well as my body. I noticed that, no matter how stressed, anxious or mentally drained I felt from work (of a very different type back then) or other things that life threw at me, getting outdoors for some exercise always lifted the weight.

I became an advocate of its mental health benefits and when Peak Running came to life 20-odd years later, it naturally became an important part of the equation.  And led to what became referred to as ‘Trail Therapy’.

The Covid pandemic really reinforced things. As, during that period, I think many of us realised that simply being able to get outside for some exercise was not just a pastime but actually a lifeline. And how essential to our wellbeing it was to have the freedom to explore beyond our immediate surroundings, and to spend time with people outside of our ‘bubble’ (remember them!).

The downtime of lockdown also sparked a curiosity to explore and understand more about the reasons these factors are so important to us. And how we can weave those lessons into what we do to support our community going forwards. 

Personal impact

Those of you that know me well, will know that Peak Running was a passion project that I hoped would make a positive difference for people, not for personal gain.  But, such is the “don’t do things by half” part of my personality, before I knew it, I’d thrown my life at it, and it had become a full-time pursuit – and more!

It turns out that there’s a big issue with driving so hard in pursuit of a passion though – one which is common with founders of small businesses. It becomes all-consuming and something that you can’t switch off from. Because there’s always more you could do, and a multitude of things to worry about.  

As a result, the passion that was your ‘escape’ to help keep your mental wellbeing on an even keel becomes your main source of stress and anxiety too.

I recognised a while ago that this was becoming a reality for me, which is kind of ironic really - when much of what we were doing was designed to help people with their mental wellbeing.

So, I had consciously started working towards reducing my workload and handing much of the control to others. Something that I hoped would enable the enterprise to live on for many years to come without reliance on me. As well as helping me get a better balance in life, maintain my health, and retain the passion.

The process sounds easy but, to be honest, it’s really hard in reality. Because, while I’m still seen as one of the leaders of the organisation, I’ll always feel the weight of accountability for its success on my shoulders. And others will look to me to provide energy and direction

I’ve therefore been pondering on how long I wanted to continue at the helm of Peak Running for a while.  And a recent climbing accident, which resulted in a triple leg fracture that has put me out of action for an extended period, really brought that question into focus.

I’ve therefore decided to step down as a director and relinquish my formal involvement with Peak Running CIC at the end of this year.

In the short term I’ll be taking some time to focus on my rehab and some, long overdue, personal admin around the house etc. And, longer term, I hope to be back out and about in the great outdoors with friends doing the things I love, and – as I had been for many years prior to Peak Running – involved in the running/jogging/hiking/walking community as a volunteer in various ways.

Basically practicing what I preach and gaining enjoyment from the people/places/adventure paradigm explained above.

My personal plans don’t really alter the strategy for the future of the enterprise though, which will be taken forward by my very capable colleagues, Lucy Bartles, Joy Walton-Power and Chris Frost as explained below.

The template for the future 

So………… bearing all the above in mind, and us having talked to lots of people out there in our community about it, here’s an outline of the strategy going forwards.  

Community Commitment

The work to support and develop our community will be front and centre of what the organisation does, to address the perception that it’s primarily an event organiser. 

As explained back in March, this will be done by scaling back on the breadth of things the organisation does, particularly the number of races/events that are organised under the Peak Running name.

Although we are endeavouring to keep the legacy of what we’ve created alive through partnering with other organisers, and supporting local groups and individuals that share our ethos in hosting the kinds of events that appeal to members of our community. 

Group Development and Support

This backbone of the offering going forwards will be the support role to the Jog Derbyshire groups and the community focused activities that come under the ‘Trail Therapy’ umbrella, such as bRUNch Club, Feel Good in the Forest, Walking Talking Tuesday and Men’s Movement.

The aim is for all these activities to remain free or very low cost to participate in, delivered by licensed volunteer leaders. And for any surplus funds, including profits that are generated from race/events etc. will be used on:

• Expanding, and developing the knowledge and skills of, the volunteer workforce - who we see as the most important people in delivering our mission.

• Initiatives to enable more people to participate in these activities, particularly those from harder to reach communities - which we can only do thanks to our volunteers. 

• Enabling groups to improve and expand what they do, such as including walking only and/or activities in green spaces.

Exercise by Referral / Social Prescribing

A better system for supporting people with health conditions to become more physically active is something that we’ve been working on behind the scenes on for a while, in conjunction with various partner organisations.

A key part of this is moving from a system where referring people to gym or pool-based activities for a set number of sessions is the norm, to one where they are supported to become members of community-based activity groups such as those organised by Peak Running/Jog Derbyshire. 

The benefits of doing this are obvious to us, but there is still a lot of work to do to make it happen. So, it will need to be key part of the focus going forwards.

Training and Education

Investing our efforts and resources in the knowledge and skills of our volunteers, and participants – many of who we hope will be future volunteers – remains a key part of our strategy for the future. Quite simply, because it’s essential for the other parts of the strategy to succeed.

Going forwards this will include courses and material that will be available to help develop our volunteer workforce, and potentially paid for courses and material available to members of the public.

As is the case already, it will involve a mixture of activities that are delivered directly by ourselves (such a co-leader) and facilitating access to training by external providers (such as run leader, first aid and mental health first aid). 

Names and branding

For the reasons mentioned earlier, we’ve been pondering for a while whether the names Peak Running and Jog Derbyshire are right for the future or are off-putting for much of our target audience going forwards.

While some ideas have been kicked around, no firm decisions have been made as yet. And, given the changes in the organisation – i.e. my leaving – it’s sensible that this be something that’s developed further by the team, in consultation with the community, in the new year.

Future Leadership

As mentioned above, my colleagues Lucy Bartles, Joy Walton-Power and Chris Frost, will continue as the operational leaders of the organisation.

So, notwithstanding the fact that we’d being going through a period of evolution anyway, it will be business as usual for Peak Running and Jog Derbyshire for the time being.

Thank you!

Many thanks for reading this – much longer than intended – edition of DOACIC.

I felt obliged to give you guys and explanation of what’s going on and, as it’s been quite a journey over the past nine years, it’s hard to distil things down into a few words.

Finally, I’d like to say a huge heartfelt thank-you to all the wonderful people that have helped and supported me during my own journey with Peak Running over the years. It’s been a blast and so rewarding in a multitude of ways. Not least to meet and become friends with lots of inspirational people, and to watch many friendships blossom between people that have met through our various activities.

It's not a goodbye from me though – just a change in role. As I intend to remain part of the community, and hope to be back as a participant and volunteer as soon as my creaky old body allows it!

Have a great Christmas and best wishes for 2026 and beyond.

Andy

#diaryofacic