Dear Loftus and Whitby AC,
My name is Neil Baxter, and I’m a social scientist with a special interest in running.
I’m writing in the hope that some of the members of your club might be kind enough to support my latest research project, by completing a short survey.
As a bit of background, a few years ago I conducted a big study of British runners with the University of Warwick. The results were published in a book: Running, Identity and Meaning.
My new project extends this research by exploring race/event experiences in detail, as well as the broader state of running in 2025.
The big challenge for me is that I’m self-funding the research. I’m not affiliated with any commercial entity, and the whole project is fuelled only by my enthusiasm and deep interest in running!
As a result, I’m heavily reliant on the generosity of the wonderful British running community to make it happen. So, I’m writing in the hope that you’d be kind enough to forward/post details of the survey to members of the club to see if they would like to participate.
The survey only takes 5-10 minutes, and once the data has been collected and analysed, reports will be available on my website, www.runningstudies.co.uk (where you can also find out more about my work).
You can access the survey here:
https://runningstudies.co.uk/
If you have any questions about the research or my background, please let me know.
Thank you very much for your time and attention – and happy running! 
All the best,
Neil
Dr. Neil Baxter
www.runningstudies.co.uk