Our main club run is at 7:30pm every Wednesday
You can Find us at The Nevill Ground, off Warwick Park, Tunbridge Wells.
We have a number of training sessions throughout the week and many social events throughout the year.
Take a look at our promotional leaflet if you want to know more.
Further information can be found on our Facebook or Instagram pages
Alternatively you can contact us directly if you have any questions
Find us
The Harriers’ headquarters is at the Nevill Ground off Warwick Park in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5ES.
The ground is at the end of Nevill Gate, off Warwick Park – upstairs in the pavilion.
Main club night is Wednesday at 19.30
Join us
The membership year is from April
| First claim membership * ** | £50 |
| Student or unwaged membership * ** | £30 |
| Second claim membership (EA first claim membership with another club) * | £26 |
| Associate membership | £5 |
| * pro rated to end of March | |
| ** join in Jan-Mar as first time club runner, get EA and TWH until following March for same price |
The benefits of joining the Harriers as a member are listed below.
| First claim includes £16 England Athletics competition licence fee allowing you to compete for the Harriers |
| Cheaper race entries and discounts at many running shops |
| Interval training by UKA LiRF coaches |
| Subsidised track sessions at top class facility |
| Subsidised circuit training sessions |
| Club house at the Nevill with hot showers and a bar |
| Five organised training sessions per week to motivate you |
| Advice from experienced runners, coaches, physios and sports masseurs |
| Encouragement at races throughout the year on all surfaces and all distances |
| Free to enter club races |
| Frequent social events and club bar for Members and Associate members |
| A welcome into a team of over 200 fellow Harriers |
Too slow, too busy?
We have runners of all speeds. If you can comfortably manage five miles in under an hour, you’ll be fine, otherwise find out about our beginners group run by one of our former members. You’re welcome to attend as many or as few sessions as you like – no-one will be counting. Our oldest member is in his 80s, a number are well into their 70s and quite frankly, 60 is the new 50! All these members run regularly on a Wednesday night and still compete for the club. We’ll make sure you’ve got someone to run with when you first start and that you get to meet the regulars.
Junior Members
We do not have a junior section, the club is only open to over 18s. We can allow junior members aged 16 and over on a case by case basis, please see our club rules section for more details.
Still not sure
Come along to a Wednesday club run and try it out. You can run with us for three sessions before you decide. Meet us at the Nevill Cricket Ground Pavilion, off Warwick Park Road, at 7:20pm and ask for George Harris (Chairman), John Hepner (President) or any other friendly Harrier. After the run there are ladies and gents changing rooms with hot showers, and many people stay for a drink and chat in the bar. We look forward to meeting you, but in the meantime if you have any questions, drop us a line.
Club Nights
Whether you’re looking for an early morning mudfest or a sociable evening canter, there’s a Harriers training session to suit.
The following runs are organised each week, but if they don’t fit the bill, there will almost certainly be other members out and about with whom you can link up. If you’re not ready for these distances yet, take a look at the beginners group, Sarah’s Runners.
Main club night – Wednesday at 19.30
6-7 miles, normally with a 5 mile shorter option
Routes vary each week, on the road in the winter and off-road in the summer
Starts and finishes at The Nevill Ground, off Warwick Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5ES
Full use of the Nevill Ground’s changing and showering facilities. Drinks and snacks are available in the bar afterwards
Track session – Monday at 19:30
A track interval session at Tonbridge School track, typically taking 1h15min including warm-up, drills, intervals and stretching
Sessions run by UKA LiRF/CiRF coaches
Session costs £2 to cover cost of hiring track
Speed session – Tuesday at 19:00
Interval sets, different each week, but typically taking 30 minutes plus warm up and warm down
On road in the winter on Wheatsheaf Way off the Shipbourne Road behind the Sainsbury’s Local 19:00 start ; on grass at Tonbridge School lower fields in the summer
Yoga for runners – Thursday at 19:00
Working on body strength these group sessions are designed to be challenging but fun; a whole body work out with emphasis on the core and the muscles used in running
These sessions are held over Zoom
Session costs £3
Club History
The Tunbridge Wells Harriers, going strong since 1982, has over 250 adult members with a full range of abilities. Some have completed marathon majors, others represented Kent or their country, and all enjoy the camaraderie that a thriving running club has to offer.
So how did it all start?
Although a club called Tunbridge Wells Harriers was founded in the late 19th century and existed until the 1930s, the origins of our club go back to the early 1980s.
Tunbridge Wells Runners was formed by a small group of individuals who had trained together for the first London Marathon in 1981. After the marathon, they continued with their training runs and officially formed a club in June 1982.
Having used various locations around Tunbridge Wells to meet up for training, in 1985, the club moved to its first club base, the Tunbridge Wells Borderers Sports Club at St Marks Recreation Ground on the Frant Road.
As the club grew, cross country, track and field, and triathlon were added to its original road running.
In 1997 members voted to change the club’s name from Tunbridge Wells Runners to Tunbridge Wells Harriers. The club’s colours also changed from gold vests and blue shorts to the ‘deckchair’ vests of blue and yellow vertical stripes we still use today.
In 2006, the club moved to its current base at the Nevill Ground off Warwick Park, sharing the pavilion and grounds with Tunbridge Wells Cricket and Hockey clubs.
Since its inception, the club has supported and promoted running in the local community and staged its first half marathon in January 1983, with 53 runners using a variation on the current course with a start near the Wellington Hotel in Mount Ephraim.
Over the years, the half marathon has grown to become a fixture within the local community and has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities.
The race in 2023 saw several participants from the original race return to support the 40th anniversary event, which continues to use an almost identical route to the original race, although now with runner numbers in the thousands.
The club also has an excellent record hosting of cross-country events, promoting club events, league meetings, county championships and the British Veterans Championships.
Each September the club organises The Eridge Park 10 Trail Challenge, a favourite off-road run through an historic deer park and ancient woodland. The scenic and challenging race came first the Runner’s World UK’s Best 50 Races of 2009 listing and in 2010 was honoured to be hailed as the ‘Best Race in the World’ by the Observer newspaper.
With a focus now mainly on road, cross country and trail running the Club continues to flourish. Its members successfully take part in races at all distances, including being regular winners of the Kent Grand Prix Series for road running, the Kent Cross Country League and the historic South of the Thames Cross Country Races, as well as numerous area and national events.
The club offers a full calendar of training, racing and social activities. Its members have access to track, road and trail training and the club also hosts an annual handicap series and as well as club road and cross-country championships. There are also social runs, like the Bluebell Run and regular off-road ‘hashes’ in the summer.
