Getting Started
Contact
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Facebook pageAddress
c/o Wanstead Leisure Centre
Redbridge Lane West
Wanstead
London E11 2JZ
Established 1982
Introduction
Chairman - Frank Brownlie - tel 07763 590454
East London Runners was founded in 1982(see Club History Section). We are a growing Club with membership currently standing at around 100. 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. You are welcome to try us out for 3 visits before committing to join.During the summer months we run where possible off road but nothing too muddy. Parks,forest and towpaths etc. During the darker nights we stay to the road.Club Membership
Club membership is £18 per year. Memberships commences from 1st April and runs until 31st March the following year. If you join during the year then we will calculate an appropriate amount.
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, toilets 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.
You can download a membership form hereGetting Started
The best source of information about the club is simply to ask existing members and nowadays the internet especially this website! Most people arrive a few minutes before the 7.00pm 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. Full details of the week's run including a Map of the route are posted on the website Notice Board on the Sunday or Monday prior to the run. The run commences after some club announcements. Please ask at the reception for directions to our Meeting Room.
The second evening is Friday at 6:45pm at either Walthamstow Running Track in Chingford Road, Walthamstow or Ashton Playing Fields, Woodford Bridge.There is a fee to pay at the Track of approx £3.50 per session.Please check the Notice Board section of this website each week to see the actual location of the weekly track session.
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.In fact it is most popular with our runners who are Marathon Training.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 or Hainault Forest in mixed terrain, and is usually 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.
During the months of January to April we normally hold longer runs for those training for the Spring Marathons including London.These runs are held on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, depending on individual circumstances.
Details of all of these runs can normally be found on the East London Runners group page on Facebook and on the Notice Board Session of this website a few days before the relevant Sunday.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.
History of East London Runners
In the late 70s and early 80s there was a noted local race-walker called Roger Mills, who was a member of Ilford AC. He raced in the Tokyo Olympics where he finished in 10th place. He was a regular member of the UK squad. He won a Bronze medal in European Championships in Rome in 1974.
1974 European Championships Rome, Italy 3rd 20 km
1980 Olympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 10th 20 km
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 37th 20 km
About this time a "jogging" boom was turning into a "running" boom. Starting in the USA it quickly spread to the UK. The New York marathon was imitated by the London Marathon which started in 1981. In about 1982 Roger opened a running/sports shop in Wanstead High Street called....Athletic East. There was a well-known chain of shops in the USA called Athletic West, so we guess that this was East London's/the UK's answer. Roger's first shop was a tiny, narrow shop in the little parade just by the George Public house. It was from this shop, in 1982, that a group would meet on a Wednesday evening to go for a run and East London Runners was born, organised by Roger. The popularity grew so much that we moved to Wanstead Leisure Centre in about 1983/4, where we have been ever since.
The early to mid 1990's saw the Club at it's peak in terms of numbers with over 200 active members and 104 runners one Wednesday evening when the pre run meeting had to take place in the Centre's Gymnasium.
Today the membership is around 90 active members with an average of 40 running each Wednesday.Local Races
We also compete in a number of local races, anything from 5km to 20 miles and beyond, and you’ll often find a number of members relaxing and socialising after their Wednesday run in the upstairs bar at the George Public House in Wanstead High Street opposite the entrance to Wanstead underground Station.
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, around the 20 mile point in the race, for many years and we always get a number of club members regularly running and training for the marathon.
The main Marathon training takes place from early January each year and there are opportunities to train with other members of a similar standard. With Epping Forest on our doorstep a lot of the training can take place off road.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.
Map
Entrance to the Sports Centre is in Redbridge Lane West. Please ask at the reception for directions to our meeting room.
