Welcome to East London Runners Website
Wanstead Leisure Centre
Redbridge Lane West
Wanstead
London E11
Established 1982Introduction
East London Runners is one of the oldest clubs in the area. We are a fairly small club with membership currently standing at around 70. There is a wide range of running abilities and we will try to help all new runners and pair you up with people of similar ability. The easiest way to learn about the club is to come along on a Wednesday evening and run with us! We’ll arrange for a running partner to accompany you on your first runs until you become familiar with the routes and you find others who naturally run at the same pace.
London Marathon
The Club has had a long relationship with the London Marathon. We’ve been involved with organising a drink station in Poplar High Street for many years and we always get a number of club members regularly running and training for the marathon.
Cross Country
The Club is a member of a Sunday Cross Country League, consisting of 5 races (one a month) during the Autumn/Winter season. Most races are held in Hertfordshire. The ladies' section in particular has obtained some excellent results with individual and team medals for the past few years in both the league and Essex Championship races.
Local Races
We also compete in a number of local races, anything from 10km to 20 miles and beyond, and you’ll often find a number of members relaxing and socialising after their Wednesday run in the bar at the Leisure Centre.
Getting Started
The best source of information about the club is simply to ask existing members. Most people arrive a few minutes before the 6:50pm start on a Wednesday evening. Feel free to pop in and ask anything you like about the club.
The best way to see if the club suits your needs is to come and run with us! If you’re not used to running with others you might find the first couple of weeks difficult. The pace tends to be more consistent when there’s a group, but persevere and you’ll soon see improvements.
Club Nights
The Club has two main evenings, Wednesday at 6:50pm at Wanstead Leisure Centre, Redbridge Lane West. This is a 6-7 mile run from the centre on pavements or off-road paths surrounding the centre depending on light and weather conditions. The run commences after some club announcements. Please ask at the reception for the room where we usually meet.
The second evening is Friday at 6:45pm at Walthamstow Running Track in Chingford Road, Walthamstow.
This is a speed session using the running track. There are a number of workouts available. See Track page.
You don’t have to be a speed merchant to attend the Friday evening track session. It is an excellent way of increasing speed and there will be people on hand to guide you through some sessions if you're unfamiliar with track work. Please check on a Wednesday evening that the Friday session is going ahead.
There is also a Sunday morning session, consisting of a run of about 10 miles. This usually takes place in nearby Epping Forest in mixed terrain, and is followed by a cup of tea in a local cafe. It can be glorious during the summer months and atmospheric during the winter. Great training for the cross country fixtures that the club participates in.
Club Membership
Club membership is £18 per year. Memberships commences from July.
The first few times you run with Club there is no obligation to join. Please feel free to come to one of our training sessions and try us out. If you want to then join please see one of the committee members.
On arrival at the club you should receive a “New Runners Pack”. This contains information about the club and some of our regular routes.
The membership fee pays for our use of a meeting room and post run showers. It does not entitle you for full membership of all Leisure Centre activities such as the weight room or fitness clubs. These are available from the front desk.
Please ask anyone at the club if you would like more information on membership.
Club Kit
The Club has an official team kit, red with white club name lettering. There are a number of items available, vests, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts and sweatshirts. There are usually a number of these available in the meeting room on Wednesday. Prices are very competitive, please ask for details from one of the committee members.
Contact
Contact us by email here:
Entrance to the Sports Centre is in Redbridge Lane West. Please ask at the reception where we meet.
