About HRR

Halstead Road Runners began life in 1985 when a group of like-minded individuals decided to jump on the trend at that time and form the club.

We are a very friendly club who welcome anyone no matter what your age or ability. We have a very mixed membership of abilities from marathon runners to Mr & Mrs Average who want to keep fit, shed a few pounds while making new friends in the progress. Running is a great form of exercise and you will love the freedom of the open roads and countryside while running with friends.

The club organise training sessions and races throughout the year for members as well as promoting a wide variety of events from road, cross country, triathlon and trail running. The club are affiliated to the Essex County Amateur Athletic Association, the South of England AA and UK Athletics. All paid up members are covered by public liability insurance. As an affiliated club we also receive two highly sought after London Marathon places!

The club operates from Courtauld Sports Ground, Colchester Rd, Halstead. We meet on Wednesday nights at 19:00 for a 19:30pm start, and undertake a structured weekly training plan catering for all abilities. Wednesday is our main meeting night and includes club announcements, race results, etc. In the summer warmer months (we can wish!!) we like to have runs and “out & back” runs round the beautiful country lanes, which there are plenty. We also hold a summer handicap series which consists of 6 runs of between 5~10k starting and finishing at local pubs. These are very sociable events with many members enjoying food and a drink after the race- and why not! The series is great fun, each runner trying to beat their previous year’s times, the overall winner being the greatest improver. Friends and family are also welcome to these evenings.

We also meet on Monday and Friday nights at 18:00. These are normally steady paced runs of around 4~8 miles, different ability groups. Also Sunday morning informal runs, on and off road are often arranged ad-hoc. The club also competes in the NESS & Essex cross country leagues over the winter, comprising of 6 races of about 5 miles. Cross country are a great stamina builder and a different discipline to the consistently paced road running. Many members compete, and the varied terrain and extra bit of effort to power your way through the mud can be very fulfilling!

We welcome new and returning members! You are under no obligation to join immediately and would encourage you to try-before-you-buy for a month or two to see if it’s what you want and are looking for. Our membership secretary is contactable at [email protected] or via our contact form-on this site. But if you are just after an informal chat, you can contact either of our club captains Bec Gilroy and Matt Biggin, or email us.

At present we are no longer running a junior section. This is due to no longer having a qualified coach available. We are hoping this will only be a temporary matter.

We look forward to seeing you soon!