Avon Tempo Running Club has marked its first anniversary, celebrating a year of rapid growth and member personal bests .
Meeting at Bitton AFC, the club was founded to bridge the gap between casual running groups and more performance-focused clubs, offering a structured approach to training in an inclusive environment.
In its first year, Avon Tempo has grown from a grassroots idea into a fully-fledged England Athletics-affiliated club, delivering over 100 consecutive training nights to date and a community of nearly 40 members.
This milestone comes after Bristol was named “Europe’s running capital,” with more clubs per person than any other city, highlighting the strength of the city’s active fitness communities.
The club operates two weeknight sessions: Tempo Tuesday’ sessions focus on threshold work, intervals and progression runs to develop endurance and sustainable speed, while ‘Technique Thursdays’ centre on speed, combining drills, hill sessions and speed endurance to improve form and efficiency.
The structure has already produced notable results for Avon Tempo’s members in recent months, including: two England vest qualifications, 15+ personal best results since January 2026, alongside strong race performances across the UK and overseas.
Members range from parkrun novices, to first-time marathoners and experienced racers.
Chris Palmer, who co-founded Avon Tempo in 2025, said: “Our first year has been focused on proving that we can create a structured, ambitious training environment that can still feel welcoming and accessible for all abilities.
“In a region recognised as Europe’s run club capital, there are some fantastic running clubs across Bristol. Creating our own was incredibly exciting, because we felt there was ample room for a club that sits between purely social running and traditional athletics environments.”
A defining part of the club is its training location on the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, giving members direct access to a flat, tarmacked and traffic-free route that allows uninterrupted sessions and consistent training. Starting and ending at Bitton AFC clubhouse, the sessions often end with a post-run drink and a catch-up.
“The railway path has become central to who we are as a club,” Palmer added.
“It gives us a really unique environment where runners can fully focus on their session, whether that’s hitting threshold reps, building back after injury or working on technique, without constantly stopping for roads or traffic.”
“The only real requirement is a willingness to turn up and give it a go”, Palmer said.
For more information, email avontempo@gmail.com or follow @AvonTempo on social media to join one of the weeknight sessions.