East Cheshire Harriers and Tameside AC: Running in the Hills

East Cheshire Harriers and Tameside Athletic Club were founded in 1887, one of the older running clubs in Greater Manchester, and they operate from Copley Playing Fields in Hyde in the east of the borough of Tameside. The terrain around Hyde and the surrounding Tameside area is characterised by the rise of the Pennine foothills – the land climbs steeply from the Tame valley toward Mottram and Broadbottom, and the hills toward Longdendale beyond. This is ideal cross-country country, and the club’s cross-country section benefits from training on exactly the kind of terrain they will race on in Northern Athletics competitions through the winter.

The club competes across the full range of Northern Athletics disciplines – track in summer, cross-country in winter, road relays and road races through the year. The junior section is active, with a competitive junior cross-country team that has a reasonable record in regional competitions. For adult runners in the Tameside, Hyde, Denton or Romiley areas looking for an athletics club rather than a purely social group, East Cheshire Harriers are the natural option. Copley Playing Fields are accessible from Hyde Central station on the Glossop line, and the club runs training sessions on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings through the season.