A COMMUNITY running group has won a regional award for best Group of the Year.

Team Caterpillar, a Richmond-based group that was born out of supporting beginners at their own level, was named Run Together Group of the Year in the England Athletics Awards for Yorkshire and Humber.

Team Caterpillar will now progress to the UK-wide finals with an official ceremony to be hosted in 2021.

Founded in 2019 by Dionne Torkington-Craven, Team Caterpillar was set up to provide a supportive route into running without the pressure of races and targets.

She said: "I wanted to create a community where the focus was on getting active and supporting each other, not on how fast anyone can run or how far. We try to offer something for everyone from Couch to 5K coaching to support towards completing half marathons."

14 Team Caterpillar members joined together to nominate the club, with the awards submission compiled in secret.

"I had no idea they’d all been plotting between themselves – they gathered quotes, video clips and photos without me having any idea! I couldn’t believe it when our video came up on the screen, we wouldn’t have won without them and I’m so grateful for all the support they give me to keep Team Caterpillar going."

Alongside encouraging members to get active, Dionne has hosted a number of fundraising events - even during the 2020 lockdown periods. Collectively the group raised £170 for national food bank provider Trussell Trust, and most recently their October Mental Health Challenge raised £500 for Samaritans Northallerton.

‘Almost all of our members are local people - so if we can support community projects as well as enjoying each others company and getting active then it’s a win-win. It’s a huge achievement that our efforts have been recognised by England Athletics.’

If you’d like to find out more about Team Caterpillar then please head to their Facebook page. All sessions are free to attend and meet at The Station, Richmond.