UNIQUE ATHLETICS CLUB

Road Runners Club

Historical race reports and videos

Road Runners Club Archives

Welcome to the digital archives of the Road Runners Club (RRC), a storied institution tracing its roots back to 1952. Born from the triumph of the inaugural London to Brighton race of 1951, a pivotal event amidst the festivities of the Festival of Britain, the RRC emerged under the guidance of Ernest Neville, organizer of that historic race and the club’s inaugural president.

Today, the RRC remains a beacon of inclusivity and support, embracing members of all abilities and aspirations, with a wealth of resources and advice to nurture runners on their journey to excellence. Explore our digital repository and discover the achievements and milestones that define the legacy of the Road Runners Club.

RRC Historical Race Reports

Prior to the publication of Roadrunner the RRC communicated with its members with regular Newsletters.

1952 Newsletter

001 December

1953 Newsletters

002 April
003 May
004 August
005 October
006 November
007 December

1954 Newsletter

008 January

The John Jewell Film Archive

John Jewell was a Past President and a very significant figure in the history of the Road Runners Club, and also in the development of road running in general. He was largely responsible for developing reliable and accurate modern techniques for measuring the length of road courses, which is a very difficult business.

Throughout his life John was an active supporter of athletics events, particularly road running, and he took his cine camera to many races around the world, building up a collection of significant historical interest. After his death the entire collection was passed to the UKA Museum at Birmingham, but the RRC paid for it all to be digitised to ensure its conservation and also make it available to the running community.

These films were recorded by on an 8-mm cine camera which had a tiny frame size, so the technical quality is not brilliant, although many figures can be recognised. The films were not recorded with sound.

The first London to Brighton Race, in 1952, was organised by the newly-formed Road Runners Club. The winner was Derek Reynolds.