Meet the Leader - Gareth
Gareth has gained near-legendary Rogue status! Our very own Bearded Wonder first started running at his secondary school, doing cross-country and track events. From there he drifted away from running in favour of 5-a-side football and then rugby, where he spent thirteen years playing rugby for Ripley Rhinos, ‘gracing’ the centre or wing. He is a keen cyclist and rides nearly every day, including regular commutes, social rides and mountain bike adventures.
His running journey started when he got fed up with taking his bike out to support his wife Martine’s running, as she was in the middle of a ‘run everyday’ monthly challenge. He decided that he’d better have a go at running with her, rather than slowly cycling along with her. Since then, he has been bitten by the running ‘bug’. Within a few months, Gareth developed a passion for helping others, trained to become a Jog Derbyshire Coleader, before undertaking his UK Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness course shortly after.
Gareth has run with a number of local clubs over the last few years and still retains his membership of Smalley Road Runners. As a founder member, and now Chair, of Rogue Runners Ripley, he is a well-known and very recognisable member of the local running community. He has completed a variety of races in 2021, including The Belper Rover, Holbrook Hill Race and Weaver Hills Fell Race. There’s a common theme here, he loves a hill! Not only does he enjoy hills, he also enjoys nothing more than a muddy trail run and has, somehow, managed to instil his passion for this into others, leading weekly longer runs in the Amber Valley area, but also further afield. Gareth also competes regularly in cross-country events with our friends at Smalley Road Runners. He is currently developing training plans to assist others prepare for the 2021 London Marathon, having entered the virtual version himself. He has also encouraged his children to enjoy their running and is a keen supporter of our local Junior parkrun.
