Three friends have been holding a fitness club to promote health and wellbeing.

Joe, 27, Sam, 26, both originally from Cardiff and James, 27, from Barry started the Running on Empty fitness club at the end of 2023.

Their mutual love for running motivated each other to create a community based on support and gaining confidence while exercising. The running club gets together on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Locations differ but usually Thursday evenings are hosted at The Knap and Sunday mornings are located at Whitmore Bay, outside of Marcos Cafe.

Running on Empty promotes inclusivity, inspiration and smashing personal best goals.

On creating the running club, Sam and Joe said: "When moving to Barry we were inspired to work with each other by sharing our running experiences. The running club was a natural progression from our weekly meet-ups.

"The fact that we can share this and help people get involved is important. There is a perception of running that it is gruelling and horrible but we want to change that."

They added: "We had realised we had all been a part of running groups, beginner, intermediate and, sort of, pro that made us feel demoralised.

"The support aspect of the group was definitely at the forefront of our minds when creating the community. We needed support to be prominent in our messaging. We operate a ‘no-one left behind’ policy where we encourage our runners to hang back with people if they see others dipping behind and we ensure we uphold this stance ourselves too. That way nobody is left on their own. We want it to be for everyone’’.

The founders believe in personal bests being an important value and don't see the club as competitive, but as a way to grow and build confidence.

"The runners’ goals could start small but we have seen, in a short space of time, all members of our community smash their goals within a couple of weeks. For us, the future of Running on Empty is making sure people are progressing. We are also looking to welcome a lot more people and hold events in the near future’’.

Both have their own personal goals too. Sam is training to take part in South Wales Iron Man in September and Joe is constantly achieving fitness goals and working harder than ever on his Street Wear brand, Incognito Clothing.

Everybody is welcome to join the club, including furry friends. Running is one of the most accessible exercises especially because it doesn’t need (much) equipment. The exercise promotes healthier sleep, better energy and elevated mood. If you would like to see more of this community group's progress and success, you can head to their Instagram page @runningonemptyrunning.