About us   Welcome to the Harriers section of the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club, fondly known as ‘The Blues’   The Club first began in 1870 as a gymnastic club, and in 1897 the rowing section was born. It wasn’t until 1980 that Geoff Fanson and Barry White founded the present day Harriers section. We are pleased to say that both men are still actively involved in the club, and that the club membership has now grown to almost 200 members and that we are now affiliated to the South of England Athletic Association, which is in turn a member of the UK Athletics Association. This has been a fantastic achievement, and one that we are immensely proud of. The club also has its own resident cricket and skittle team so you see; the Bideford Blues is a lot more than just a running and rowing club. We are extremely proud of our reputation for being a friendly and family orientated fun club. A club where children and adults of all abilities can enjoy athletics, whatever their standard. Our membership consists of a wide range of ages from 8 to 80 years old, with a mix of both male and female runners.   The Bideford Amateur Athletic club owns the clubhouse on The Pill.  The clubhouse has a bar, toilets, showers, games room and changing rooms. The various sections i.e. the Harriers and the Rowing club pay their annual subscriptions to the club which in turn, insures the building and looks after the property maintenance as well as running the bar and the mini bus. The bar is open most evenings, and the prices are very reasonable and any profits go towards the running of the club.   FOR ROOM HIRE CONTACT TRACEY ON 01237 479068 (After 6.30pm) The Harriers organise several annual events, the biggest of which is the very popular Bideford Half Marathon, usually held in March, which attracts a field of up to 800 runners and which provides a large source of the clubs annual income. A couple of months later is the Bideford 10k, again a popular race as the course is very flat, allowing the possibility of a personal best time. Then there is the New Years Day Run, which covers the two bridges route and presents a fine opportunity to shake off the headache from the previous nights celebrations. At Easter we have the Good Friday relays (where every runner wins an Easter Egg) and a ten-mile race is currently in the stages of being re-introduced and is tentatively planned for September.  These events all raise a substantial amount money for the Harriers, and every year the club makes contributions to local charities. As well as all this we have a series of Handicap races in the summer in which everyone gets the opportunity to become a winner. The handicap course is approximately 5 ¼ miles long. Runner’s set of at staggered times with the slowest first with the idea being that everyone finishes at about the same time. There are normally six races in the series and you are required to compete in four in order to qualify for the overall competition.   The club also participates into the Westward cross-country league.   As you can appreciate, all these events take a lot of planning and organisation and without the members of the club and their families becoming involved it would be impossible for any of then to be completed successfully. Even if you don’t fancy running a race, there is always a place for you on race day, whether it be as a marshal, drinks provider or timer, and don’t forget that just because you have an injury you don’t have to miss out, race volunteers are always required and we encourage your active participation in the club.