Nobody finishes alone
Every run has a leader at the front and a sweeper at the back. The sweeper runs the pace of the last person there, and the group regroups at every junction on the route sheet.
0K / Start
Four starts a week, every pace covered, and a sweeper at the back of all of them.
Meridian Line is a road and towpath club. We leave from [set your start point], we finish where we started, and we tell you the route before we run it. The line down this page is the route: follow it and you pass everything you need to decide.
First run free Starts this week 4 Pace bands 4:15 to 7:30 per km Bag drop [set your start point]
2K / The pack
Three rules, and we actually keep them
The route is published first
Distance, surface, climb and turn list go up before the run, not after. If you want to bail at 5K you can see exactly where the route passes back through the start.
Pace is a band, not a boast
We run in bands from 4:15 to 7:30 per kilometre. Walking sections are in the plan on the long run, not an admission of anything.
5K / Routes
The four routes, one for every start
Profiles are drawn from the route sheets. Full turn lists, surfaces and bail-out points live in the route book. Sample street names ship with this demonstration; swap them for yours in one file.
7K / The week
Pick a start. That is the whole sign-up.
Every row below carries a link that loads the run into the entry form at 30K. Sample week Replace the times and meeting points with yours.
| Day | Off at | Meeting point | Distance | Pace band | Put your name down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 06:10 | Meridian Steps, [set your start point] | 8.0 km | 5:15 to 6:30 per km | Take this one |
| Wednesday | 18:30 | Lockgate Bridge, [set your street] | 6.4 km hills | 5:00 to 7:30 per km | Take this one |
| Thursday | 06:10 | Meridian Steps, [set your start point] | 10.0 km | 4:15 to 5:45 per km | Take this one |
| Saturday | 07:30 | River gate, [set your park] | 16.2 km long run | 5:30 to 7:30 per km | Take this one |
10K / Membership
Dues, printed where you can see them
Run with us three times before you decide anything. Dues cover insurance, route marshals and the club vest. Set your own figures in the brackets.
Drop in
[set your drop-in fee] per run
- Any published run in the week
- Route sheet by email the night before
- No commitment and no account
Full season
[set your annual dues] a year
- Every run, every week, including the track night
- Club vest and race number transfer
- Coached sessions at [set your track]
- First run free, then dues start the month you join
Reduced
[set your reduced dues] a year
- Identical to full season in every respect
- Students, under 18s with a guardian, anyone out of work
- Ask by email. We do not ask for proof.
13K / Pace desk
Give it a distance and a target. It prints the splits.
Even pacing, no negative split trickery. Kilometre by kilometre to 10K, then every 5K. This is the table we read out at the start.
| Marker | Split | Elapsed |
|---|
| Marker | Split | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 5:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 km | 5:00 | 10:00 |
| 3 km | 5:00 | 15:00 |
| 4 km | 5:00 | 20:00 |
| 5 km | 5:00 | 25:00 |
| Marker | Split | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 5:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 km | 5:00 | 10:00 |
| 3 km | 5:00 | 15:00 |
| 4 km | 5:00 | 20:00 |
| 5 km | 5:00 | 25:00 |
| 6 km | 5:00 | 30:00 |
| 7 km | 5:00 | 35:00 |
| 8 km | 5:00 | 40:00 |
| 9 km | 5:00 | 45:00 |
| 10 km | 5:00 | 50:00 |
| Marker | Split | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 25:00 | 25:00 |
| 10 km | 25:00 | 50:00 |
| 15 km | 25:00 | 1:15:00 |
| 20 km | 25:00 | 1:40:00 |
| 21.1 km | 5:30 | 1:45:30 |
| Marker | Split | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 25:00 | 25:00 |
| 10 km | 25:00 | 50:00 |
| 15 km | 25:00 | 1:15:00 |
| 20 km | 25:00 | 1:40:00 |
| 25 km | 25:00 | 2:05:00 |
| 30 km | 25:00 | 2:30:00 |
| 35 km | 25:00 | 2:55:00 |
| 40 km | 25:00 | 3:20:00 |
| 42.2 km | 11:00 | 3:31:00 |
16K / Run leaders
The people at the front and the back
Names and qualifications are yours to fill in. Keep the pace line: people choose a run by who is leading it.
[set leader name]
Tuesday 8.0 km, front group
[set the two lines that make this person real: what they coach, how long they have run, what they are like at 06:10 in the rain.]
[set leader name]
Saturday long run, sweeper
[set the two lines that make this person real. A sweeper bio should say plainly that they will run 7:30 per km all morning and mean it.]
[set leader name]
Wednesday hills, track night
[set the two lines that make this person real, plus the coaching award you actually hold.]
21K / Race calendar
What the club is entered for
We travel to races together and we pace each other through them. Sample entries below; set your dates and your races.
-
[set the date]
Lockgate 10K
Flat, two laps, chip timed. Club meets at the bag drop at [set the time].
10 km road
-
[set the date]
River Half
Towpath and road, one climb at 14 km. We pace the 1:45 and 2:00 groups.
21.1 km road
-
[set the date]
Cement Works Relay
Four legs of 5 km. Teams are drawn out of a hat the week before.
4 x 5 km
-
[set the date]
Meridian Marathon
Club coach leaves at [set the time]. Sixteen week build starts in the winter.
42.2 km road
26K / The briefing
Before your first run
Slower than the slowest band and we will still start with you. The bands run to 7:30 per kilometre, which is a nine minute run and walk mile. The sweeper stays with whoever is last, every time.
Nothing. Run three times before you pay anything at all. After that it is [set your drop-in fee] a run or [set your annual dues] a year, and the reduced rate is there without a conversation.
Bag drop is at [set your start point] and it is watched by whoever is not running that morning. Take your keys and phone with you on the long run; the loop passes the start at 8 km.
We run lit roads and the towpath only when it is light. Reflective vests are in the bag at the start and you can borrow one. Two leaders carry lights, front and back, and the route sheet lists every crossing.
You get a reply with the meeting point, the route sheet and the name of the leader for that run. Nothing else. There is no app, no streak and no leaderboard.
30K / Club entry
Put your name down for one run
One run, no account, no login. We reply with the meeting point and who is leading.
- runs@meridianline.example
- Phone
- [set your phone]
- Start point
- [set your start point], [set your town]
- Reply time
- [set your reply promise, for example: before the next start]