About us
Athletics and Running is LSE’s one-stop-shop for all things road, track & field, and cross country. Whether you enjoy a casual weekend 5k or won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, we have something for you. We’re an AU Gold Star club, hosting training sessions throughout the week and putting on a jam-packed social calendar.
As a member, you’ll have access to a 7-day-a-week schedule of expertly designed training, tailored to all abilities and disciplines. You can attend 5 days a week, once a month, or just whenever you feel like a run. It’s completely up to you, and there’s absolutely no tryout. Anyone can join! We also host weekly socials (at a minimum), including watch parties, brunches, and pres for Sway!
Most importantly though, we’re here to make your time at LSE amazing. We want to think we’re a fun group to hang out with, and we're happy to offer help in settling into university life. Our committee members are just a message away at all times, and we pride ourselves on being open to all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you have, even if they aren’t A&R-related, and even if you’ve never run in your life!
Membership
Competitive Membership (£65)
The competitive membership gives you access to our entire training schedule at no extra cost, including easy/campus runs, track sessions, long runs, and cross country. If that wasn’t enough, we pay entry to all competitions throughout the year (Road races / cross country / track meets), and heavily subsidise travel and accommodation for our tours.
Social Membership (£15)
The social membership with A&R gives you access to all training, socials, and partnership events that we organise! However, it does not include entry to any competitions or races that we take part in.
Competitive Trial Membership (£10)
NEW THIS YEAR! If you're a social or prospective member curious about racing and our competitive fixtures, the trial membership covers entry to a single competitive fixture, allowing you to experience competing before committing to a full competitive membership.
What does training look like?
- Monday & Wednesday (Track sessions): Track sessions are every Monday from 6:00-8:00pm and Wednesday from 4:00-6:00pm, held at Paddington Recreation Ground Athletics Track. We mainly do interval sessions led by our Athletics Captain, who disseminates workouts via our centralised Google Sheet. However, feel free to suggest different workouts to him!
- Tuesday & Friday (Easy/campus runs): Our easy/campus runs are held at varied locations, usually nearby campus and along the Thames. The run will primarily be led by our committee members and will typically be in the morning or evening, providing accessible running to those who want to squeeze one in before or after class/lectures.
- Thursday (Hill session): Hill sessions are a great form of training. We hold joint, coached sessions with our partner Serpentine on Thursday at Primrose Hill at 7:00pm.
- Saturday (Parkrun): We will occasionally participate in Parkruns all across London (Examples include Battersea or Burgess Park). They are a great way to get a race effort or time trial in, or even just completing a 5k with friends!
- Sunday (Long run): We hold our long runs on Sunday at 10:00am at various parks in London, such as Hyde Park, Regent's Park, or even Victoria Park. Our long runs are tailored to your ability, making them accessible to runners of all levels. There will be different pace groups and options to complete 1 to 3 laps of the respective park available.
Beyond training, we top it off with social elements. This includes pub socials after track sessions, and even café stops after our Sunday long runs. This way, there will be plenty of opportunities to connect with friends and club members beyond running itself.
Competitions/Matches
We typically compete in LUCA cross-country and athletics fixtures, which happen around once a month. For races outside of LUCA, BUCS Cross Country Championships are a highlight of the season.
We also participate in road running races such as the Teddy Hall Oxford Relays and Hyde Park Relays, which are good fun. Later in the year, we also plan on participating in the FT Nikkei UK Ekiden for the first time in club history (Subject to qualifications).
Beyond local races, our club also takes on races internationally! This year, we will be entering the Split Half Marathon as a club in February 2027, which also doubles up as our overseas tour.
You’ll be able to participate in these if you have a competitive membership, since we pay entry fees to all competitions throughout the year and heavily subsidise travel and accommodation for these trips.
Aims
This year, we're focused on:
- Growing and diversifying our membership by welcoming runners of all abilities, from complete beginners to competitive athletes, and by using dedicated pace and ability groups so no member is excluded because of fitness.
- Lowering barriers to entry for social running by providing events and activities through collaborations with other run clubs or organisations, and keeping participation low-cost regardless of membership status.
- Increasing competitive participation in BUCS, LUCA, and LUSL athletics and cross-country fixtures, both through LSE and through our partnership with Serpentine Triathlon Club, supported by a low-cost trial membership for members wishing to try out for single races. After all, the best memories at A&R are made at the races that we compete in!
- Improving women’s representation across the club, with a particular focus on the competitive scene, through visible representation in our marketing, and pathways into competition designed with female members in mind.
- Supporting members from lower socio-economic backgrounds by keeping core activities open to all membership tiers, and signposting members to relevant SU hardship and participation funds.
- Collaborating more with other clubs and organisations such as Achilles Run Club (Supporting blind and visually impaired runners) and The Running Room (Raising awareness on injury prevention).
- Strengthening our online presence through social media platforms such as Instagram and Strava, to reach relevant audiences, and represent the diversity of our membership.
Contact Us
To join in, please DM us on our Instagram
