GENERAL INFO ON TRAINING SESSIONS:
Massey Ferguson Runners is a friendly club with members of all ages and abilities - everybody is made to feel welcome

We train every Wednesday evening, meeting at the Xcel Leisure Centre on Mitchell Avenue, Coventry, CV4 8DY at 6.30pm for a 6.45pm start. Each week we do something different - hill work, speed work, relays or longer runs interspersed with fun challenges along with way. The local roads, business parks and University of Warwick are perfect for training as they are well lit and virtually traffic free. Come along and see what it's like!

Lockers (£1 coin required), changing facilities and showers are available for members on Wednesday nights, and there is ample free parking. For more information on the Xcel Leisure Centre click here.

Post-training refreshments are enjoyed by many hungry & thirsty runners at the Massey Ferguson Social Club on Broad Lane. For details click here.

FANCY SIGNING UP?

MFRC is a section within Massey Ferguson Sports & Social Club, so to be a member of the Running Section you need to become an Associate Member of the Sports & Social Club.

Joining is easy: the fee for 2013 is £8 for the Social Club plus £17 for the Running Section, which includes the £10 England Athletics Registration Fee.

Printable application forms are available from the following links:
Associate Membership of the Sports & Social Club - click here
Membership of MFRC - click here
Please print off and hand completed forms to any of the committee members, along with your fee.

CLUB VESTS

We run in the distinctive "Red & White Quarters" and these are available to buy from Sheila Dunn, priced at £16 each.

ENGLAND ATHLETICS AFFILIATION & REGISTRATION

The Club is affiliated to England Athletics and every member is registered with them. Membership is £10 per year (included in your Running Section fee) and registered members receive a membership with their unique registration number. You may sometimes need this number when entering races and selecting the affiliated fee, to prove you are a bona fide running club member.

For more information on England Athletics click here.

The Club was formed on the 21st of November 1977 and was originally called
“Massey Ferguson (Coventry) Road Runners and Joggers Club”.

It was conceived by Terry Lawson who gathered together runners from the Massey Ferguson Company, forming a team to race against other firms in the Coventry region.  Runners who competed in these races represented the companies for which they worked, rather than any running club that they may have belonged to.

The first ten members of the Club and their membership numbers were:

1 Terry Lawson

2 Brian Lucas

3 Wal Cunningham

4 John Evans

5 Tom Barnes

6 Terry Neam

7 Norman Croston

8 Terry Brown

9 Trevor Ratcliffe

10 Dave Timms

To enable the Club to compete in an official capacity, it had to be registered and have its own running vest/colours.  The MF vest was designed by Terry Brown who chose the now famous “Red & White Quarters” as it was totally different from the usual hoops and/or stripes of the other clubs.  This made it easy to spot a Massey runner, both at the start and throughout a race.

The Club entered the Birmingham Invitation Cross Country League in 1980.  This is the strongest League in the UK with clubs like Tipton, Birchfield and Coventry Godiva Harriers competing four times a year, throughout the winter season.  Additionally, the Club has taken part in the Warwickshire, Midland and National Championships.

On the 7th of October 1981 the Club changed its name to Massey Ferguson Runners Club and thrived for the next two decades with membership peaking at around 220 male and female runners.  Training took place on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings and it was not unusual to have a pack of between 50 and 80 runners training together.

All this training was not without reward and the Club has a great record of results, both for individual and team events.  It can also boast some fine athletes who have appeared in the Red & White Quarters over the years, including some who represented their countries:
e.g. John Peavoy - Ireland , Graham Patton – England, and Dave Long who competed in two Olympic Marathons and the 1991 Marathon World Championships in Tokyo.

As mentioned above Terry Lawson, supported by his wife Linda, was the founder of the Club over 30 years ago and he set up a committee which met on a monthly basis.  Over this time the Club has seen many changes and weathered many a storm, including the loss of the Sports Pavilion through fire and the closure of the Coventry Plant.

Despite these setbacks, the committee still meet every month. Club members train and compete in races on a regular basis and MFRC hosts three well-supported races every year.

If you would like more detailed information on the Club’s history, please contact Terry Harvey who has lots of old magazines, newspaper clippings, race results etc.