Committee & Contacts

General Enquiries

If you have any other enquiries please feel free to contact the committee members below or our webmaster regarding the website.

David Buffham, Club Chairman  (LiRF Qualified )   Chairman@pontelandrunners.org.uk
Sue Heppell, Club Secretary  (LiRF Qualified )        Secretary@pontelandrunners.org.uk
Matthias Schmid, Club Coach  (LiRF Qualified )      Coach@pontelandrunners.org.uk
Chris Heppell, Club Treasurer  (LiRF Qualified )      Treasurer@pontelandrunners.org.uk
Webmaster                                                                Webmaster@pontelandrunners.org.uk

Committee & Leaders

Ponteland Runners Committee consists of Chairman David Buffham,  Secretary Sue Heppell, Coach Matthias Schmid and Treasurer Chris Heppell.  All the committee are LiRF qualified leaders.  In addition to the committee members we also have 2 additional leaders, Chrys Hudson and Chris Wright.

Chairman – David Buffham LiRF

David took on the role of Chair at the AGM in 2012 and has watched the club grow in 2012 since we made an effort to advertise and push a web presense to help find new members.  David is a keen racer,  being present at many local runs each year.

Secretary – Sue Heppell LiRF

Sue started running over 20 years ago to assist fitness for playing squash.  The squash has stopped but the running still continues.  A keen swimmer, cyclist and runner Sue has completed Cycle Sportives, triathlons, & Running races.  Sue has played both squash and tennis for local teams in the past.  A triathlon with open water swimming and perhaps olympic distance are Sue’s next challenges.

Coach – Matthias Schmid LiRF

Matthias is the club coach.  He organises the majority of the Monday training sessions for club members.  Matthias’s whistle is well known,  and hated, amongst the members,  but he will encourage and help you improve your running whatever the standard your currently at.

Treasurer – Chris Heppell LiRF

Chris supports Matthias in running the clubs main Monday night sessions.  Chris has been running regularly for the last 25 years.  Also a keen Road Cyclist and recently a beginner swimmer Chris completed his first triathlon in 2011 which had been an ambition for a couple of years,  but Chris has to learn to swim first so he could complete the triathlon. Chris enjoyed 5-a-side football, squash and Mountain Biking in the past but now concentrate on Running, Road Cycling and Swimming.
I’m LiRF ( Leadership in Running Fitness ) qualified, thanks to support from England Athletics and TBSF ( Tony Blair Sports Foundation ), and L2 Cycling Coach qualified, thanks to support from British Cycling and Tyneside Vagabonds ( my cycling club ).

Leader – Chrys Hudson LiRF

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Leader – Chris Wright LiRF

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Recent Posts

Club Open Evening and Couch to 5km 2025

We will be hosting our annual open evening on Wednesday 9th April 2025 at 7pm at Ponteland Leisure Centre car park. If you are interested in joining our club to meet new people and improve your fitness, just turn up, as there is no better time! 

This will also be the start of our annual 10 week programme which will end on Wednesday 11th June by running our very own 5km with the rest of the club. We’ll then follow this with a celebration of your achievement. We also hope you’ll join us in further run sessions and races as you will be a Ponteland Runner!

The programme is fully supported by experienced UK Athletics Run Leaders and will involve a weekly session with our leaders on a Wednesday evening at 7pm. 

If you are interested please sign up via our membership form.

We meet at 7pm in Ponteland Leisure centre car park.

Couch to 5k Questions:
I can’t run at the moment, how will I be able to join your weekly session?  The programme is designed to start with walking, gradually building up to 5km after the 10 weeks.

What’s involved each week? You should be aiming to do three sessions a week, so two additional sessions from our weekly Wednesday evening.

How long are the sessions each week? We meet for up to 60 mins each Wednesday.

What if I can’t make every session in the 10 weeks? That’s absolutely fine if you can’t make all 10 sessions, please speak to our leaders when signing up to let us know.

For further details please contact us via our Facebook page or by email running@pontelandrunners.org.uk

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