“Kenilworth Runners has grown from a handful of friends in the mid‑1980s into one of Warwickshire’s best‑known, friendliest running clubs, with more than 300 members and races that attract thousands of runners each year”
How it all began
The story starts with four local runners – Ted, Joyce, Lynn and Robin – who kept bumping into each other at races up and down the country. From Robin’s first Two Castles Run, they were hooked: every weekend meant another 10K somewhere in the UK, and it was increasingly common to spot familiar Kenilworth faces on the start line.
After the Weston Half Marathon, the group decided it made more sense to share transport than keep meeting by chance at races. Back in Kenilworth, Ted had noticed more people running around town, so he placed an advert in the Kenilworth Weekly News inviting anyone interested to a meeting at the Kenilworth Working Men’s Club.
That first club night, on Thursday 6 March 1986, brought 12 people together in the upstairs room of the Working Men’s Club. A committee was formed on the spot, Robin sketched out the first club logo, and the group agreed on regular club nights: Tuesday and Thursday – days which still anchor the club week today.
Early days: Cakes, Carnivals and Cross‑Country
Like many grassroots clubs, money was tight at the beginning, so members did whatever they could to raise funds. They ran stalls at village fetes, sold cakes, even took turns selling chips at Kenilworth fireworks to keep the club going. There was time for fun as well as running: five‑a‑side football, a club sports day with sack races, three‑legged races and wheelbarrow races, and letters to neighbouring running clubs to set up friendly competitions.
Kenilworth Carnival became another stage for the club’s creativity. Members turned up three years running with a giant running shoe, a giant spider and even a bicycle built for three – all paraded through the town in full fancy dress. It was a very visible way of saying that Kenilworth Runners was part of the community, not just a group that disappeared into the lanes in the evening.
On the racing side, the club’s first cross‑country outing as a team was to Uttoxeter in 1989, and the Dovedale Dash – charging down a hill and through the River Dove – quickly became a favourite. In classic Kenilworth fashion, most runners ploughed straight through the water while Carol and Lynn stayed dry by tip‑toeing across the stepping stones.
Spreading their wings: Holland and Twinning
As the club grew, members didn’t just travel across the UK – they headed abroad. One early trip was to Holland for a half marathon organised through a sports travel company, which took place in the same period as the Zeebrugge ferry disaster and an infamous storm in the North Sea. The race went ahead, the ferry crossing was memorable, and the tales still surface on club nights today.
Kenilworth’s civic twinning opened up further running opportunities. Since the 1980s, the town has been formally twinned with Bourg‑la‑Reine in France and Eppstein in Germany, supported by exchange visits and host families in each location. Club members built links with running clubs in both towns, raced abroad — including in the year Euro Disney opened — and later hosted visiting runners in Kenilworth. On at least one occasion, overseas runners joined Kenilworth Runners in the Cotswold Hilly 100 relay, making it a truly international team effort.
Races that define the club
Two races have become especially closely associated with Kenilworth Runners: the Two Castles Run and the Kenilworth Half Marathon.
The Two Castles Run is a 10 Km race between Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle that now attracts around 5,000 runners and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful 10Ks in the country. Originally organised by Kenilworth Rotary Club; race organisation has now passed to Kenilworth Runners. It has been run for over 40 years and is a major fixture in the Warwickshire Road Race League as well as a significant fundraiser for local charities.
Closer to home, the Kenilworth Half Marathon – now paired with a 5K – offers a scenic route through the heart of historic Kenilworth, and by 2026 the race will have been held 26 times. Results archives show strong performances from local club runners and visiting athletes, cementing its status as a go‑to autumn race in the Midlands.
Relays and Club League
Relays have always been part of the club’s DNA. Kenilworth Runners was one of the first clubs beyond Stratford‑upon‑Avon AC to be invited to the Cotswold Hilly 100, a 100‑mile road relay, and over time the club became a dominant force in the event. Local sports reports record Kenilworth Runners making a “clean sweep” of the men’s A, men’s B and women’s trophies in one edition, and note that the club has taken overall victory multiple times, including an 11‑wins‑in‑14‑years streak.
Other informal club events sit in the Club’s history such as the Resolution Relay and the Crackley Cracker. Today the club operates a Club Handicap League each year accessible to all members for friendly intra club competition.
Today’s club
From that original meeting of 12 runners at the Working Men’s Club, Kenilworth Runners has become an established road and cross‑country club with more than 300 members and training led by qualified coaches and run leaders. The club now caters for everyone from complete beginners to county‑ and national‑standard athletes, with a strong youth section from age 12.
In 2024 Kenilworth Runners became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity number 1206878), formalising a long tradition of giving back. Surpluses from the Kenilworth Half Marathon and Two Castles Run are donated to local charities and voluntary organisations, continuing a fundraising thread that runs all the way back to cake stalls and chip vans in the 1980s. Four decades on, the club is still built on the same simple idea that brought Ted, Joyce, Lynn and Robin together: running with friends, helping each other improve, and using that shared enthusiasm to support the wider community.