Your safety is our priority. Please read the following information to make sure you are familiar with HRC’s health and safety arrangements.
Health and Safety Policy
Our Health and Safety Policy sets our the measures that we take to ensure our members are safe during training and club runs. We also have a designated Health and Safety Officer, who takes responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the policy and offering advice to the Committee on health and safety matters. The duties of the Health and Safety Officer are set out in the Health and Safety Policy.
Risk Assessments
Before each activity or club run, the coach or run leader will make an assessment of any risks that are likely to be encountered and these will be communicated to members.
Where at all possible, action will be taken to remove or reduce the risks to an acceptable level. If this cannot be achieved the activities may be cancelled or postponed, for example, when there are adverse weather conditions, and especially if an amber or red warning has been issued by the Met Office.
To underpin our approach to risk assessment, the following formal risk assessments relating to specific club activities have been documented:
These risks assessments are reviewed and updated (as required) on an annual basis.
In addition, formal risks assessments are prepared for other events (cross country events, summer 5k series etc) that are organised by HRC. These risk assessments will be documented and made available as part of the event documentation.
Medical conditions
Junior members are required to provide details of any medical conditions, including injuries or serious allergies when they join the club. These details are then held on the EA portal and will be confidentially shared with junior coaches to ensure they are aware of, and can respond appropriately to, any issues that occur during training activities. We encourage junior members (or their parents/carers) to ensure that the medical information held on the EA portal is up to date, and that HRC is informed promptly of any new conditions if and when they arise.
Senior members are not required to disclose details of medical conditions when they join the club, but are encouraged to: a) add and keep up to date any relevant medical information on the EA portal; and b) promptly inform HRC of any medical conditions that could impact on their running, as well as any medicines that they might need to take (e.g. inhalers).
We won’t turn anyone away because they have a medical condition, but we need to be aware of it. If you rely on medications, such as asthma inhalers it is your responsibility to have them available. Run Leaders or Coaches may be willing to look after them while you train, but they can’t administer them.
If you have a more serious medical condition, please complete the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) before you run.
Safety during training and club runs
Apart from considering any medical conditions, as stated above, there are some simple rules that we ask all members to consider when training and running with the Club. These are covered in Safety Tips for Training Sessions and Club Runs, but the following points are especially important:
- Hi viz vests must be worn, especially during the winter months so you can be seen by other road users. If you have head or body torches, we encourage you to use these too.
- If you are ill or injured, think very carefully about whether you are well enough to run. We all get the occasional sniffle, that’s annoying but not debilitating. But if you have a hacking cough, don’t try to pretend that it’s just a sniffle. You’ll probably make your illness worse and last longer by running, and you are putting the rest of the group in a difficult situation if you get worse during the run. The same goes for injuries – you have to decide whether your muscles are just tight because of the hill session you did two days previously, or whether you have an actual injury that needs to be rested. If you have a minor injury or illness but think you’re okay to run, please inform the Run Leader or Coach at the start of the session and make sure that they are happy for you to take part.
First Aiders
Most of our coaches and run leaders have undertaken First Aid training and will be able to provide basic first aid care if there is an accident during a training session or club run. A list of the trained First Aiders is located here.
Incidents and accidents
If an accident occurs during training or a run, irrespective of how serious the accident was, an Incident/Accident Form must be completed and submitted.