About Northampton Road Runners
Founded in 1981, Northampton Road Runners (NRR) began with an advert in the Chronicle and Echo calling all local runners. 76 runners answering the call, NRR quickly became a community hub for runners across Northampton.
The club’s first home was the United Trades RRC at the junction of Balmoral Road and the A508, a building now replaced by flats.
At this time the training sessions included:
- Wednesday: 8 to 10-mile runs
- Friday: 5 to 6-mile runs
- Sunday: Long slow runs starting at 9am
Our kit has always been claret with a gold sash, reflecting the town’s own colours.
A Growing Club
As the club grew, we moved to the Moulton Sports Centre in the early 2000s, with around 80 members at the time.
The centre, which was attached to a local school, offered a small meeting area and a bar. Post-run socials often took place in the Telegraph pub, and our regular training sessions continued on Wednesdays and Fridays.
During this period, NRR organised the popular Moulton 10k – a summer road race taking runners from Moulton Road to Pitsford village, looping back via Specs Lane and the infamous ford followed by a steep hill.
A New Chapter
In 2013, when the school became an academy, the venue was no longer available. This prompted our move to The Obelisk Centre in Kingsthorpe, a working men’s club with a function room, a bar, ample parking, and access to local roads and fields.
This new venue suited our growing club.
From this venue the club organised two free runs called the Obelisk Obble and the Asterix Amble. Mostly trail based and open to friends at local clubs.
In 2019, we organised the Hollowell Hill 5 – a challenging hilly road race starting from the Hollowell Steam event field. Unfortunately, the 2020 race was cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Adaptability Through Lockdown
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, NRR thrived. We kept our members engaged with virtual events and challenges. By the time restrictions lifted, our membership had grown to around 130 runners. However, the lockdown had taken its toll on The Obelisk Centre, which could no longer provide the facilities we needed, prompting our next move.
Our Home at the University of Northampton
In 2022, we relocated to the University of Northampton’s Riverside campus.
The new venue allowed us to expand our reach to the wider Northampton community, offering access to the university’s facilities, including a gym and the Waterside Bar for post-run drinks and social events. Since moving to the University, our membership has doubled.
In 2022 we were proud to be named England Athletics Running Club of the Year for the East of England.
A Club for All
Northampton Road Runners celebrates members achievements focusing on effort just as much as speed and distance. We are known for our mass participation at races, our inclusive training ethos as well as making friends and supporting each other. Our formal annual awards, and summer informal award celebrations, reflect the diverse achievements of members across all distances and speeds.
Today, Northampton Road Runners continues to be a friendly and inclusive club for runners aged 18 and up, with a growing and active group of members through the generations including many over 50s. Our male/female split is approximately 50/50. We support our runners with strength and conditioning programs, club-only events, and exclusive offers. We provide a variety of running sessions every week, including:
- Racecourse runs
- Local pub runs
- Weekend long runs
- Daytime runs
We also offer occasional beginners’ groups social events and track sessions, ensuring there’s something for everyone. We help our members find others to run with at a similar pace, so no-one runs alone. All of our club nights are informal, with planned local routes to suit all abilities.
Visitors can easily register online to join us for a run. Join us, and be part of our friendly, social, and inclusive running community.