ABOUT US
Crystal Palace Fun Runners was founded in 1981 to provide a fun and inclusive local friendly club for runners from beginners to experienced ultra runners. We are an England Athletics affiliated club. The club supports local charities by organising the annual Dinodash and members volunteer at the London Marathon and other running events.
We aim to make it easy to start and develop the type of running that suits you. Whether you are young/old, male/female, looking for a way to get fit or if you’ve been running for years, you can fit straight in. We run in groups and each group will leave no one behind. You can start with a speedy walk, you can finish running at speed, doing a marathon or just jogging around the parks with good friends. The key is doing it together and at conversational pace.
We run regular track and hill sessions on Monday nights. We keep the schedule up to date with details.
Once a month we also slow down for a social in a local pub. We have special events at Christmas, a summer barbecue and after the London Marathon. The point is that running not only makes you fit but provides an enjoyable way to exercise with a group of friends.
WHEN & WHERE WE MEET
We meet Monday & Wednesday evenings at 6:55pm for a 7pm start on the gravel path to the right of Crystal Palace station exit.
CLUB RUNS & PACES
MONDAYS we have two sessions available:
Road runs including beginners’ session: pace group runs including a gentle run (or run/walk) at your own pace for people who are new to running or returning after a long break, led by our Run Leaders. The beginners’ distance is flexible, up to 8km (5 miles). Please note there isn’t generally a fast group run on Mondays due to the technical session.
Technical session: for all standards of runner. These sessions work by time not distance, so we all start and finish together regardless of ability. We’ll run either on the CP NSC track (when open), a local hill or a loop of CP park (in the summer), led by our Coaches. Meet warmed up for a 7pm start. Location depends on session but will be entered on the Schedule and shared on Facebook/WhatsApp in advance.
WEDNESDAYS we offer:
Road runs: distances between 8km – 12km (5 – 7.5 miles) with shortcut options. We try to keep each run to about 1 hour. See the Schedule for the routes.
We have groups running at 8min/mile (5min/km), 10min/mile (6:15min/km) and >12 min/mile (>7.30min/km) with options for other paces if we have enough leaders.
All groups re group on the run and no one is left behind. Please wear fluorescent/bright coloured clothing in the dark and give way to other pavement/road-users.
Time Trials: (first Wednesday of every month). A timed run round our 8km (5 mile) summer route or 6km (3.75 mile) winter route with a staggered start. Slower runners start earlier, so we all finish at the same time. Please remember it’s just for fun and roads are busy – be careful of pedestrians and cars all the way around. Meet at CP station warmed up. Instructions will be on the Schedule.
We have group leaders who are certified Leaders in Running Fitness (LiRF) with England Athletics.
