Everybody is welcome
Serpentine is one of the largest running and triathlon clubs in Britain. We pride ourselves to be a very diverse and inclusive club. We have a wide variation of ages: a few juniors, many young people, a few in their eighties and everything in-between. Although we are large, we retain a friendly, small club atmosphere and always welcome newcomers.
The Club was founded in 1982 by a group of runners training for that year’s London Marathon. Soon after, club members started to enter more and more competitions, across London, the UK and sometimes beyond. Our club member Hazel Paterson wrote a brilliant account of the club’s early days called ‘Serpentine Running Club – the First Ten Years‘ in 1992.
While our roots are in road running, our members now take part in all sorts of sports loosely related to running. We compete in road races all year round. In the winter, we also participate to cross country races taking part in two leagues, as well as in the County and National Championships; In the summer, our women’s and men’s track & field teams compete in the Southern Athletics League, the Southern Vets League, and the Rosenheim League.
The other major focus of the club is triathlon and multi-sports. Our members compete in every distance and discipline (many only ever compete in duathlon, aquabike or aquathlon). You will often spot Serpentine colors at Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, Ironman and even extreme triathlon races in the UK and abroad. We also proudly participate in the British Triathlon London League in the summer.
We encourage everyone to participate into running and/or triathlon and multisports. While several members have competed at international level for England and other nations in running, track & field, duathlon and triathlon competitions, we also have a very active beginners’ group. We offer training sessions that cater to every ability and ambition.
Because of our central London location, we welcome many members from overseas. We are very sociable, and many of our training sessions and other events end up in the pub.
Our Coaches and Run Leaders
Serpentine has a large membership but very few hard-working, unpaid running coaches who have earned accreditation from our sport’s governing body – UK Athletics. Therefore, we encourage members to become coaches, coaching assistants or run leaders.
Details of our run leaders and our running coaches can be found via this page.
Details of our triathlon coaches can be found via this page.
Club Policies, Welfare and Code of Conduct
The Serpentine Running and Triathlon Club takes the welfare and wellbeing of its members very seriously. We are obliged through our affiliation to various governing bodies to implement the policies and procedures that they have established as necessary in addition to club specific ones.
Please see the following links to:
- Members’ Welfare and Wellbeing
- Health and Safety Policy
- Members’ Code of Conduct
- Club Inclusion Policy
On the 1st December 2024, the club has transitioned to the Serpentine Running and Triathlon Club, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and a charity registered under number 1207174. This change was voted for by members at a Special General Meeting on 20th November 2023.
You can view the constitution of the new entity here.
Club Trustees and Committee Members
The names of each of the trustees and committee members, their contact details can be found here.
Members’ Benefits
Serpentine Club members enjoy discounts in many shops and services. Check out the discount page (member only) to see what discounts your membership can bring!
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