'Team', 'run' and 'far' are three words unlikely to win you many points in a lockdown scrabble game but put them together and you have Team runFAR – the family-run group behind the community running champions and serial charity fundraisers who are based in Poole, Dorset.

runFAR's founder is Julia Bradley, who started a community running group in 2015 in her home town of Oakdale because, as she says: “Having a running buddy (or two) can make the difference, especially on a distance run when that voice inside your head's telling you to stop, you’ve had enough!”

Social media soon magnified this singular aim and Oakdale Runners now boasts more than 600 members, many of whom have gone from couch-to-5K to marathons and even ultra-marathons. Four years ago, Julia was joined by her husband Paul as co-founder of Team runFAR, then their children became involved and in 2019 the family raised over £6,000 for Target Ovarian Cancer.

By now the die was cast and runFAR was actively promoting the benefits of running: “For the mind, body, and soul”, to the online community through their social media presence. The pandemic may have postponed those enjoyable group runs but runFAR has never been more active with their continuous challenges like Daily Steps; Monthly Distance; Bite-Size; Commemorative and Celebration; Target Ovarian Cancer and even Annual Total Distance awards.

Each challenge is marked with a bespoke medal that has the word RUN as its colourful background. There is a medal of the month to target and some medals can even be tailored to reflect your exact achievements. You do not have to run every step to qualify. These are virtual challenges for the whole family and all abilities. You can run, jog, walk, cycle, row, or swim. You can even 'Jeff'.

Who/what the heck is Jeff? The term "Jeffing" refers to the training technique founded by Olympian, Jeff Galloway. His method uses intervals of running and walking to help beginners and more experienced runners reach their running goals. 

So, if you are looking for a virtual distance challenge with a first-class support team of avid, seasoned runners; daily Strava boosts; Instagram motivation, and Facebook updates, culminating in a cleverly designed medal that Team runFAR describes as “bodacious bling", visit the runFAR website 

Or you could just go back to that lockdown scrabble game to fill the time until things improve!

Image: Team runFAR on Facebook