The 4 Pillars: What Drives Us

It can take a while for any business to figure out what really makes it tick – and that’s definitely true of us. After five and a half years of putting on running events, we’ve realised that four key principles have quietly but clearly become the backbone of everything we do at Blast Running.

We call them our Four Pillars. And they shape every event we organise:

1. Community Building

At the heart of Blast Running is our community. Whether you’re a seasoned runner chasing a PB or joining your first ever 5K, you’re part of something bigger. Our events are friendly, welcoming and local – we see familiar faces at every start line, and love welcoming new ones too. You don’t need to be fast, you just need to turn up.

2. Actively Inclusive

Inclusion isn’t just a buzzword to us. We are proud to see a near 50:50 male:female split at most events, and we welcome non-binary runners too. As a mainly female event team, we’re especially passionate about making sure women feel confident and seen. That’s why we provide free sanitary products at our toilets, offer female-fit T-shirts, show female runners in our social media, and have loads of amazing female marshals cheering you on.

We’re always learning – a recent post from a neurodiverse runner gave us fresh insight into how we can be more welcoming. We keep our event sizes manageable – even our biggest events (like our recent 20 miler with 650 runners) are divided into waves to avoid overwhelming crowds. No starting guns or PA systems means no sudden loud noises, and we keep stimulation to a minimum. If there’s something we can do to help you feel more at ease on race day, just ask.

3. Charity Fundraising & Awareness

From our very first event in September 2019, we’ve made a donation to a local or Scottish charity. Since then, we’ve given over £20,000. In 2024, we started giving runners the choice to increase the minimum £1 charity donation when signing up – and we’ve been overwhelmed by your generosity. It’s true: runners are the best.

4. Environmentally Mindful

Being environmentally mindful isn’t a tick box exercise for us – it’s part of our DNA. We’ve taken practical steps from the very beginning, including:

  • Investing in reusable timing chips

  • Using 300 reusable water cups at aid stations

  • Reusing race numbers for our monthly Meadows 5K (except August!) until they wear out

  • Acting as a collection point for Shoe Share Malawi

  • Designing medals from wood, glass or ceramic (UK-made with wooden clasps)

There’s always more we can do, and we’re open to your ideas. We’re in this together.

At Blast Running, we’re here to put on great events – but even more than that, we’re here to build something meaningful.

Thanks for being part of it.

Fiona Hall