Membership

Join us 2024

Details: Category: Membership

Join us

Harpenden Arrows is a social and friendly running club. Whether you just want to run to keep fit or you’re after some friendly competitive rivalry to see if you can push yourself that little bit further, you’ll be more than welcome at our running club.

Some people find the thought of joining a running club a little daunting. Don’t be put off – our Membership Secretary and all the committee members, are there to help you out and make sure that your first club sessions work for you.

Who can join?

All members must be over the age of 18 years old, according to our club rules and affiliation. Whatever your standard of fitness, you’ll find other people in the club who are about the same standard as you. All we ask is that you can run for at least 30 minutes and 12:30 minute/mile pace or faster*. Our slowest group runs for 3 miles, with other groups running from 5 to 8 miles on club nights.

Everyone is welcome to try us out before joining. Please contact our membership secretary (details below) for more information.

New Members Invitation

Details: Category: Membership

Are you thinking about joining our club but not sure if it's for you? Or do you fancy trying out a club run with other new joiners to check you can run ok?

If you haven't been to a running club before or are fairly new to running, we understand that running clubs can seem a little intimidating and people are unsure if it’s right for them. Harpenden Arrows is a really friendly club that welcomes all sorts of runners!

A club such as Harpenden Arrows is ideal for people who’ve run by themselves in the past but want the support you can get from running with others, or people who've finished a learn to run course and are interested in taking their running further.

If you'd like to come along one night (please email our Membership Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. first) we will:

- Give you an introduction to the things we do at the club and how we organise our club runs

Affiliation Info

Details: Category: Membership

Club Affiliation
Harpenden Arrows affiliates with organisations which give benefits to the club and its members.

England Athletics (EA)
The EA is the new governing body for athletics in England. They are primarily responsible for international level competition but clubs must be affiliated if they want to compete in regional or national running, cross-country or track & field competition. Affiliation also provides insurance for us to hold our own races should we choose to do so as well as discounts off coaching courses and other club training. We are affiliated for competition in road running, and cross country.

With EA, any races with a EA Race Permit offer discounts (around £2) to registered EA members. And many ARC permit races do accept EA affiliation.

In addition, members get vouchers and a 10% discount at Sweatshop.

EA membership is optional but recommended. To become a member, individuals must pay £16* per year in addition to the club membership fee – just select the option on the membership form to make your wishes known. The EA year runs 1st April to 31st March, after which your membership has to be renewed. The club passes this fee to the EA as responsibility for registration lies with clubs. Each registered member should receive an England Athletics membership card with a unique number (URN) and license number. The URN should be used when entering races.

Club Nights

Details: Category: Membership

Running with the club – regular club nights

The club meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 19:25 – usually in the upstairs room at St George’s School Sports Centre (SP102). As we meet on the grounds of an active boarding school we are obliged to ask our members and other visitors to the site to read the information towards the bottom of this page on Safeguarding Children.

Parking is available in the first car park on the left as you enter the site - please see the yellow area on the map below. To reach the meeting point please follow one of the green routes shown below.

We get anything between a dozen and 40 people on an evening with a range of abilities from new runners right through to ultra marathon runners. We divide up into groups depending on pace (speed) and distance that people want to run. In each group there is at least one run leader who will be responsible for getting you back home in one piece.

Running and Mental Health

Details: Category: Membership

The benefits of regular running have often been shown to go beyond just physical fitness. Our mental well-being is just as important as our physical condition - perhaps in some ways even more important.

Thankfully, over the last few years, mental health has become something that we are able to talk about. Everyone has mental health but some of us suffer from mental ill health which needs to be talked about, supported, and understood. It is nothing to be ashamed of and something that will often require help from professionals or sometimes just needs someone to listen. Listening is the most underrated level of support that each one of us can provide. Never judge what is going on ‘behind the smile’. Just do your best, be kind and keep an open mind.

Happily, at Harpenden Arrows we have a Mental Health Ambassador, supported by England Athletics. Jillian Russell is your club contact and is always available to offer you support or provide contact details for organisations that can help you. Please never feel as though you are on your own.

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