Innovation: Running Experience

Germany

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (physical exercise, lifelong learning)

• Participation in society (voluntary activity, social connectedness)

Promoting physical activity for people of all ages is one of the best ways to engage people with actively ageing throughout the life course. However, it is commonplace that most people do not meet the recommended levels for physical activity, typically 30 minutes of moderate exercise such as brisk walking or cycling, given the sedentary lifestyle that prevails across European societies.

A lack of physical exercise is associated with an elevated risk of a range of health conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and several types of cancer so there is always a need for social innovations that get people moving whether be small scale and local or international and large scale.

Running Experience is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation based in Hamburg that is dedicated to the promotion of health, physical exercise and building stronger social bonds across the city. It focuses particularly on the more deprived neighbourhoods of Hamburg where access to sports clubs and activities are particularly limited.

In partnership with local people and neighbourhood organisations, Running Experience develop exercise and sports programmes for people of all ages that are appropriate and fun for all participants. These include gymnastics for seniors classes and sports activities in the park when local festivals are celebrated.

Running Experience fund and support motivated participants to become licensed coaches of the German Sports Federation and integrate them as volunteer instructors in the wide range of activities that they have developed. The small team at Running Experience is funded by several charitable foundations, local businesses as well as individuals who can join for a €60 membership fee.

In collaboration with partner organisations, Running Experience are seeking to develop a professional and education qualification for the volunteer trainers that recognises their achievements as part of the systematic transfer of knowledge and capacity building to maintain the operation of exercise and sports programmes. Although Running Experience has only been operating since 2009 and is a small organisation it was recognised through the Office of the Chancellor’s award programme for social projects in 2013 for their achievements so far and future promise.

In relation to active ageing, Running Experience promotes both voluntary activity and lifelong learning for the coaches it supports into running the exercise and sports programmes that it develops with local people and organisations. The primary aim of Running Experience is to promote physical exercise and healthy lifestyles for people of all ages and it seeks to build stronger social connections in communities that are relatively deprived by making sports and exercise more accessible and fun.

Websites

Running Experience

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