Growing a club this quickly without losing control

From a small start to something much bigger

Redway Runners began in 2011 with the expectation that around 15 people might join.

What followed was something very different. Within a few years, the club had grown to over 1,800 members, driven by a strong sense of community, regular events and a social side that kept people coming back.

It’s the kind of growth many clubs hope for, but it also brings a different level of responsibility behind the scenes.

Making sense of growth at scale

With Thrive4Grassroots supporting the day-to-day running of the club, there is now a much clearer picture of how everything fits together, even at that scale.

Instead of needing to piece together information or rely on individual systems, the team can see what is happening across the club more easily, which helps them stay on top of things without second-guessing.

That clarity becomes more important as numbers increase, because small gaps can quickly turn into bigger issues when multiplied across a large membership.

Creating a smoother experience for members

For members, being part of the club now feels more straightforward and consistent.

Joining, staying up to date and keeping information accurate all happen in a way that feels easier to follow, which removes a lot of the friction that can otherwise build up in a fast-growing club.

That consistency helps maintain the sense of community that attracted members in the first place, even as the club has expanded far beyond its original size.

A more balanced way of running the club

Behind the scenes, the club now operates with a stronger sense of balance, where responsibility does not sit with just a few individuals and everything does not depend on constant input to keep moving.

There is less need to chase, check or correct, and more confidence that things are happening as they should.

This makes the workload feel more manageable, even with a large and active membership base.

Time going back into what the club is there to do

With fewer demands on time from background tasks, the focus has shifted back to running, events and community activity.

“With plenty of support during the transition phase, we have seen immediate improvements to some of the most mundane tasks. Thrive4 has given us much more control over what we do.” - Martin Lawrence, Chairman and Administrator at Redway Runners.

That sense of control allows the team to put their energy into the parts of the club that members experience, rather than everything that sits around it.