Why start a new club?

Tony was given a free place for a race that was sponsored by his company and gave it a go (Reading half marathon) - Whilst training, he used to trace the route in a car to track the distances on the odometer! (Garmin wasn’t a thing then). He got the bug and continued running for a few years and Ann would see him on streets sometimes calling him a “Daft Eejit" for doing it. A while later they bumped into each other whilst Ann was actually running…she had caught the bug.

There were no local clubs which were beginner friendly, so he decided to create one and Ann joined in to help
and their venture began

Tony coded a basic website, asked the council to run through some stretching exercises, read up on training plans, put a poster & telephone numer in the waterpark hut and placed an advert in the local papers to see if anyone was interested. Surprisingly they got a great response so started the Sunday Morning Runs.

Chorlton Runners Launch

One morning during that first year whilst driving to Chorlton Waterpark in torrential rain and freezing winds, Ann and Tony looked at each other hoping no one would turn up, but there were over a dozen people huddled together under a bike shelter, waving and smiling, waiting for them! There was no going back.

By 2006 they had so many new members they added the midweek Tuesday Night Run, originally meeting at Chorlton Library. When that was outgrown Mark and the staff at the Bowling Green Hotel welcomed the club in 2008 and it quickly became the spiritual home of Chorlton Runners.

The Club Grows

As it expanded, club members with specific running goals and interests started running together.

The Black Sheep Hill Runners was established in 2013 while the Hill Reps group started in 2014, helping people build strength and fitness even on the small hills in Chorlton.

In 2015 Track Friday was introduced with our own coaches leading each session. The club has been competing in many XCountry leagues since October 2015. These include UNi XC Relays, Northern & National XC Championships, Northern and National Relays, and the Greater Manchester XC championships.

In 2014 the club affiliated with England Athletics meaning the members could represent the club officially.

There are dozens and dozens of people who have been instrumental in helping the club grow and without their dedication it would not be the success it is today. If we wrote a list of their names, the site would need more many more pages!

The Future

Some recent successes have been winning divisions of MACCL and UK master championships and many others.
We hope to provide support, encouragement and challenges for all members, to spur on our elites who want to find their absolute limit, to those in the club who just want to be able to jog a steady mile. And above all else, to make every member feel welcome and part of our community.

We have so many special memories from many years of training runs and races, but also of the social events, the friends made, the friends lost, and members’ marriages and babies born.

We look forward to many more years of Chorlton Runners history.

Tony and Ann