MAVERICK RUN PROJECT ISLE OF MAN – Runner’s World, Feb 2026 issue
Emily Mylchreest, 27, has lived on the Isle of Man for most of her life. Despite this, when she launched the Maverick Run Project from her home in the fishing town of Peel in April 2024, one of her main goals was to make some friends.
‘Most of my old friends have left the island,’ she explains, describing the traditional trajectory for young Manx people, to head to the mainland to go to university and never look back. ‘It’s quiet, green, and safe here. You grow up perhaps a little bit naïve to the real world, because the island is so simple and remote. A lot of older teenagers are desperate to get off, go to uni and reinvent themselves.’
She did the same thing, heading to Durham University and being fast tracked to become a Geography teacher, quickly landing a job at a Co-op Academy in Greater Manchester. ‘Even Durham felt relatively sheltered, so Manchester was a shock for me as a 21-year-old,’ she says. ‘The behaviour in the school was quite difficult and I really struggled, especially as I was so close to the age of the kids. I couldn’t seem to command that respect.’
She was promoted to another school where the students were even tougher to handle, but a move away from Manchester to Glossop in the Peak District meant that spending more time outdoors was a lifeline. She had joined a traditional running club, Cheshire Harriers, where she says she felt a bit of imposter syndrome. It was another group, called Manchester Outdoors, that made her more interested in getting onto the trails. ‘It was a running community that also did a bit of climbing, a bit of cycling, to get people from the city outside more. I met some amazing young people there.’
One new friend was starting to lead a branch of the Maverick Run Project in the Peak District. A spin off from Maverick, the company that puts on a large number of annual trail races across the UK and beyond, the Run Project puts on weekly off-road jogs in around a dozen communities. There’s also an app to keep the social side going online. When a combination of soul-destroying commutes to her school and a relationship breakup prompted Emily to return to the Isle of Man for a reset, she brought the MRP concept with her.
Over the past year a rotation of around 20 regulars has met on a Wednesday evening to explore trails all over the island, which is a designated UNESCO Biosphere. They also do a fortnightly Sunday morning ‘Roots run’, beginning and ending at one of the three branches of the Roots coffee mini-chain, and get a team together for Race the Sun, an annual relay race around the entire island.
‘The club is warm and social and friendly and community-focused, and everyone is welcome. It’s all about just having nice time,’ Emily says. ‘It’s not about the speed, it’s about the conversations that you have when you’re on the run.’
WHAT THEY SAY
‘My dad and I joined MRP at the end of last Summer. Every week is a different route, very relaxed and super social. The dark winter nights were a challenge but with head torches and good company, Wednesdays have become the highlights of the week. No matter what the weather or day we have had, me and my dad always come home smiling.’
– Emilia and Oliver Steriopulos
‘It’s a group I’ve grown incredibly close to. No matter the weather, trail conditions or hills, when that midweek run rolls around, you know it’s going to be all smiles and laughs. It’s a pleasure to be part of such a brilliant group of people – a real mix of personalities and backgrounds that you’d never expect to find together, all brought together through running. You just can’t beat it!’
– Kieran Rowley
