Club History
With no athletic club in Lewes a few parents with a handful of others got together in 1984 to form a club so that their youngsters and others wanting to run had somewhere to enjoy athletics. A meeting was arranged in the Lewes Town Hall from which emerged a small committee of five to get the show on the road. Peter Masters was elected to chair the group of novice but willing volunteers.
Early decisions were taken to ensure that it would be an athletic club and not just a running club and that the club colours would be taken from the Lewes Coat of Arms. The club’s logo was based on the ‘ammonite’ statue then just erected to the entrance to the Cuilfail Tunnel. Crucially it was decided that it would be a community club for all ages and abilities.
In 1984 the committee of novices also organised two fund raising events the Lewes Downland 10 mile race, and the Easter Monday Fun Run. These events are still going strong today and now form a successful and well liked part of the Sussex athletics calendar.
In the early days the handful of club members met and ran from a car park in Lewes. After the first year this progressed to booking the local school gym and running on the school grass track with all the humps and bumps and rabbit holes. At the time of using the grass track club membership had grown to around one hundred. Now there is a membership of around five hundred and still growing all enjoying the benefits of an all-weather track and a club room with fitness facilities constructed with funds raised by the club.