ABOUT NFR
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Newcastle Frontrunners is Newcastle’s biggest inclusive running club which welcomes all sections of the community, with an emphasis on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer + (LGBTQ+) communities and their allies. We have around 190 active members and we are part of the global family of running clubs, the International Frontrunners network.
The club was founded in 2011 under the name of Northern Frontrunners with the intention of operating in Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham, but Sunderland sessions did not take off as planned and Durham never started. The club changed its name to Newcastle Frontrunners in 2017 and introduced a new kit and logo. The club has gone from strength to strength since its foundation and enjoys a diverse, mixed ability membership with something for everyone.
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We use Gosforth Leisure Centre as our base and offer sessions up to 3 times a week, which includes: Strength & Conditioning, Run Development, Tempo Runs, Long & Easy Runs. To help get the most out of your running, we offer runs that suit all abilities, which are generally split into 6 pace groups on a Wednesday, with fewer groups on the other training days. We have a full range of abilities from absolute beginners to advanced competitive runners, who undertake half-marathons & marathons.
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There are always England Athletic trained Run Leaders and Coaches on hand to lead the groups and to guide and advise you individually. Every week there will be 1-2 qualified Run Leader(s) assigned to look after your running group with the Coaches facilitating and leading all sessions as well as supporting individuals with their own goals and aspirations.
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Newcastle Frontrunners are award winners too! Over the years the club has been recognised regionally and nationally with the club being named “England Athletics North-East Club of the Year” part of the England Athletics Volunteer Awards in 2017 and recently the club won “Athletics and Running @home Award – North East” and runner-up in “Athletics and Running @home Award - National” in 2020. In 2025, we have also been nominated at the Gaydio Pride Awards for Sports Club Of The Year.
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We are not just about running, we like to socialise and eat cake too!
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On the last Wednesday of every month we hold our monthly social after our Rainbow Runs where we enjoy some food, drink and the opportunity to connect. Also, we always have some delicious cake made by our members to tuck into it after our runs.
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Throughout the year we organise club trips to local parkruns and other UK Frontrunner events as well as national races and international race trips which may be part of the club's annual Grand Prix.
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Additionally, we organise regular social events including our social walks, golf, bowling and nights supporting the LGBTQIA+ scene in the North East.
Meet The Coaches
We have several fully qualified coaches ready to help with your running goals.
- All part of the yearly membership fee -
ALLEN DICKINSON-DEANE
A runner for several years and a coach since 2017, I see my role as supporting runners to achieve their goals, whatever they may be. Just getting out there running is brilliant and everyone has different needs and motivations to achieve that.
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A keen advocate of Strength & Conditioning to help runners prevent injury, I always include S&C exercises in training plans - I know how much it has helped me & it can be fun!
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When not coaching I’m happy to tackle any kind of run, pretty much anywhere, the more the unusual the better, including circumventing Uluru, a midnight half marathon in Iceland, and running Hadrian‘s Wall. Ideally there’s a coffee and cake at the end.
RUSSELL DICKINSON-DEANE
I just love running, everything about it. It not only means I can indulge my passion for cake, it helps my mental health enormously. I’ve been a UKA Event Group Coach for Endurance Running since 2015, and I am passionate about helping people improve their running - be that developing a more efficient technique, better nutrition, or running further or faster. We are mainly a road-running club, so I also love to introduce runners to other disciplines - trail, fell, cross-country and track running.
Outside of the club I’m a qualified UKA Timekeeper for track events, a Run Director at parkrun, and a Regional Councillor at England Athletics. Get in touch if you would like my support on meeting your goals.
STEPHEN GARBUTT "STEVIE G"
Having ran with the club since 2014, I qualified as a Leader in 2015 and Coach in 2019. I love running and all of the benefits it has to offer any runner; a healthier lifestyle, setting yourself goals to achieve, as well as the social aspect of it!
Within the club I lead many of our tempo runs and our long slow Sunday runs (always a good excuse to go on an explore and find new places to run!) but
I also put training plans together for runners who might be targeting a race or a run, helping them to set achievable and challenging goals for themselves. I aim to help runners improve their overall fitness, run further and faster, and feel like more confident and accomplished runners.
Contact Us
Newcastle Frontrunners,
C/O Gosforth Leisure Centre,
Regent Farm Rd,
Gosforth,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3HD
