Mixed Ability running project about to start!

“It’s RUN-TRUST-IC” is the name of the latest Erasmus+ Sport Small Collaborative Partnership we are pleased to be involved with! The project is led by ASD Liberavventura, a running and canoeing club in Brescia (Italy), and includes also The Municipality of Valencia (Spain), Atelier Europeo (Italy) and Fédération Française Handisport (France).

The aim of the project is to spread the culture of sport as a vehicle for social inclusion, which well aligns with the Mixed Ability ethos and Manifesto. Practically, the project intends to facilitate the inclusion of visually impaired and blind participants, as well as others facing barriers to participation, into community running clubs, providing also active training for club members and runner-guides along the way.

A big part of the project is represented by the involvement of ‘experts with lived experience’ in the co-production of educational resources that can be used to raise awareness about the barriers that still exist in community sports, and facilitate the entry point for other potential participants who thought that physical activity, and running in particular, wasn’t for them!

After a first stage where the organisations will carry out a context analysis, IMAS will provide some Mixed Ability training in Bradford, facilitating the exchange of experiences and opinions amongst the partners. The project will then move to a practical stage in Brescia to familiarise with an already successful project that has changed the running scene in Lombardy. The big aim, though, is to have participants with and without disabilities trained to compete in the Valencia half marathon by the end of year 2!

IMAS is really excited to work with other organisations who have a large experience both in sport and in education, as we all want to make sure we can remove whatever barrier still exists between people and their sports passions. An we are also thrilled to have the opportunity to add running and walking to our offer of Mixed Ability sports!

For more information and keep up to date with developments, please follow “IT’S RUN TRUST IC” on Facebook!