In most walks of life you have just the one Captain. Get on a plane and there’s one Captain, it’s the same if you go on board a boat and there can only ever be one Captain of a football, cricket or rugby team.

But that’s not the case with the Thomas family – James and Liz – because they are both Captains.

And before you think there’s a bit of a power battle going on in their Cirencester home, there’s not, because James is captain of the men’s section of Cirencester Athletics Club and his wife is captain of the ladies’ section.

“We’re in our second season as captains,” said Liz. “It’s something we enjoy doing. It’s busy but we like being involved and giving back to the sport and the club. We’re happy to do it as long as the club want us to.”

Fair play to them because both James, who was brought up in Chedworth, and Liz are fairly recent converts to the joys of all things running and only joined Cirencester AC three years ago.

“We initially got into running through James’ mum, Louise Abbott,” said Liz, who met 33-year-old James when they were students at Hartpury College.

“She was a member of Cirencester-based club Running Somewhere Else, so we joined them and were there for two or three years.

“James had done a bit of running but I’d never run before. Running Somewhere Else were a really friendly club.”

It was their desire to take part in the Gloucestershire Cross-Country League that made them switch to Cirencester AC, and their roles as captain mean they are full-on at this time of year when it comes to the cross-country.

“It’s our job to organise the teams,” said Liz, 29. “The men’s team have six runners and the women’s team have three.

“They have separate races, with the men’s races over nine or 10 kilometres and the women’s races over about 6K.”

So what makes cross-country so appealing?

“It’s very grassroots and it’s something we do for the love of the racing,” said Liz. “It’s muddy, you have to navigate streams, jump logs; it’s just exciting.

“It’s different from a road race which tends to be all about times. With cross-country, to get around is an achievement.”

The men have done rather better than just get round this season, recently winning a silver medal at the county championships near Bristol.

And once the Cirencester runners – male and female – have completed the course, there’s always a reward for them at the finish line.

“We always take cakes and plenty of food for everyone,” laughed Liz, “that’s the main reason we do it and probably why everyone comes!”

It’s not, of course, and if you think James and Liz put their feet up once the cross-country season is over, you’d be very wrong.

That’s because once the clocks go forward and the daffodils are in full bloom, their minds start focusing on something else.

“We love fell racing,” chuckled Liz.

Now you can tell by the name that fell racing isn’t something that’s for the faint-hearted, but what exactly is it?

“It’s a stripped back version of a trail race and it’s getting more and more popular,” said Liz, who is originally from near Stratford.

“There’s a start and a finish but along the way you have to meet different checkpoints.”

So far, so good… that doesn’t sound too bad.

“The checkpoints tend to be on different peaks,” laughed Liz. “We took part in the Brecon Beacons fell race in the summer and the ascent was 5,000 feet!

“The race was over 19.5 miles and there were eight checkpoints. James came 8th in three hours 21 minutes and I was 53rd in five hours 15 minutes.

“You have to meet all the checkpoints in a certain time limit or you are disqualified.

“You have to navigate your way round and sometimes you do look up a hill and think, ‘Really, up there?’ or down a hill and think, ‘Really, have I got to get down there?’!”

And while it’s clearly tough and uncompromising, Liz says she prefers the fell racing even to the cross-country.

“Yes, probably,” she said, “because of the views. It’s tough and tiring but it’s worth it when you get to the top.

“Cross-country is more competitive, it’s short and sharp.”

No pain, no gain is the mantra of many a sportsman and woman, of course, and one of the big aims for James and Liz in their roles as Captain is to encourage more people to race.

“We’re trying to get more people to take up running and just enjoy it,” explained Liz. “It’s really important for the next generation. It’s all about trying to get people involved.”

And the first ever Cirencester Parkrun, which took place recently at the Royal Agricultural University, will certainly help to encourage more runners – James and Liz were volunteers at the event – and there are no shortage of big races on the Cirencester AC calendar, including the 10-mile Chedworth Roman Trail and the Summer Sizzler in Cirencester Park.

In addition James and Liz are organising an off-road eight-to-10 mile race to replace the Autumn Assault – “It will be a slightly more fell style race,” Liz said.

Clearly James and Liz are totally committed to the club that have become a big part of their lives, so what makes Cirencester AC so good?

“We’ve got nearly 300 members and we’ve got a strong junior section,” said Liz.

“We’re quite an old, established club now and the club are very supportive whether you’re competing in triathlons, fell races, trail races, on the road or in ultra-marathons. They’re a really good club.”

And in case you think James and Liz talk about nothing but running, think again.

“We’ve just got a puppy,” laughed Liz. “He’s a Labrador crossed with a springer. His name is Iolo (pronounced Yollow) and we’re going to do to canicross with him!”