Our Junior Section meets on a Monday and a Thursday evening 6-7pm in Elgin (locations vary depending on the season). All training is displayed on the MRR Juniors closed Facebook group. You can request to join this group if your child wishes to attend training. Juniors are welcome from 9 years upwards. Children can try out the club for a few sessions before they commit to joining. Parents are asked to email juniorsmrr@gmail.com in the first instance to make arrangements for their child to attend training and join the FB group.
The emphasis of junior training is to improve the fitness of our young runners (or mini Yella’s as we like to call them!) and help build their stamina so they can naturally improve their running. We want all our young athletes to enjoy their running and enjoy coming to training.
Newcomers will be put into a group with a qualified coach and given training appropriate to their needs and ability. Progress within the group, or into another group, is a result of their efforts and determination. Regular attendance at training is the best way to improve running ability.
We tend to run outdoors on paths or parkland, and train outside all year round. Training will be cancelled if the weather is particularly bad or conditions unsafe. We ask all juniors to wear a high viz top during the dark nights.
Our training tends for focus more on middle distance, endurance and cross-country running. We encourage our young runners to participate in local running events, such as forest runs, the North District cross-country league, Pinto runs etc, but this is not compulsory and we understand some children prefer not to race. For the enthusiasts there are District and National Cross Country Championships, as well as the Scottish mid-trail championships.
Throughout the summer we practise some track and field events, and juniors have the option to participate in the RAM Athletics League should they choose to. Again this is for 9 years upward and there are 3 meets at Inverness track during the summer. The keen athlete also has the opportunity to participate in District, National and Schools championships. For the track & field specialist there is now the opportunity of Indoor competition in Aberdeen during the winter months.
Competition is within age groups starting with U11 years (must be 9 yrs.), U13, U15, U17, U20 and then seniors. There are both male and female sections within each age group.
In order to compete athletes must be registered with a club and also with Scottish Athletics and wear a club vest (purchased from the club). All information is given to athletes as and when they are ready for competition.
Moray Road Runners are committed to providing a safe environment for children/young people under the age of 18. Essential to this commitment, is to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to protect children/young people from the inappropriate use of their images in resource and media publications, on the internet, and elsewhere.
Photographs can be used as a means of identifying children and young people when they are accompanied with personal information, for example, – this is X who is a member of Hometown Athletic Club who likes Westlife and supports Manchester United. This information can make a child vulnerable to an individual who may wish to start to “groom” that child for abuse.
Secondly, the content of the photo can be used or adapted for inappropriate use. While this is rare in athletics, there is evidence of adapted material finding its way onto child pornography sites. Athletics Clubs and County Associations therefore need to develop a policy in relation to the use of images of children/young people on their web sites and in other publications.
When assessing the potential risks in the use of images of athletes, the most important factor is the potential of inappropriate use of images of children.
All our Coaches and helpers are PVG checked and most have been trained as a Level 1 Jog Leader or Coaching Assistant.
Head Coach
Stuart Paterson: UKA Level 2 Athletics Coach
Gareth Jenkins: UKA Level 2 Athletics Coach
Jog Leaders/Coaching Assistants
- Carolyn Rattray: Coaching Assistant
- Lawrie Currie: Coaching Assistant
- Katja Blunden: Coaching Assistant
- Graham Stephen: Jog Leader
- Elspeth Jenkins: Jog Leader
- Gareth Jenkins
- Colin Green
- Rob Aylward
- Grace Whelan
Guidelines Parents Consent 3 Guidelines Day Pass 2 UKA photographic policy for stadiums and clubs (2017)