Club History

Orpington Road Runners is an England Athletics Affiliated running club located in Orpington, just outside London. 

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Orpington Road Runners was formed in 1985 by David Cross with Gillian and Alan Else. Their aim was to attract like-minded people wanting to run together on Tuesday evenings. This was at the time of the first great running boom – the London Marathon was attracting new participants to the sport. In the early days, only about ten or so people gathered under a lamppost by a local pub. No lavish changing facilities to offer, just an opportunity to gather and enjoy a modest Tuesday night run.

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The Club ethos has always been one of fellowship very few rules and entry requirements.  After a year or two, we became ‘official’ and affiliated to county and national athletics associations. This enabled our members to get cheaper race entries and the discounts on running kit. A Committee was formed and a modest annual subscription (three pounds!) was charged, but we were determined to keep the Club friendly and welcoming. We have continued to grow since 1985, but Tuesday evenings are still the most popular of which we have run every single one.

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Club membership now stands at nearly 400 paid-up members, with regular weekly attendances of 100+ yellow Shirts. Swarms of yellow shirts departing from the same site near the Buff P.H. every Tuesday are a common sight for those in the area.

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With membership growing almost daily, sometimes it can be difficult to put names to all the faces you will see. As a member you would be afforded many opportunites to get to know everyone, from our tuesday night club runs, to our social events and our active online community. 

The Club provides a great running experience to its members. Our attendance and performance times in events has improved quite considerably over the last few years, with the club winning the Kent Grand Prix, most recently in 2018 for the Men, with the Women's team finishing second in the same year.

Our main aims remain – simply – to provide safe, interesting and challenging running, together with advice and most importantly companionship whenever we meet.