Social Activities

St Albans Striders have numerous events throughout the year. These are communicated on this website, through our facebook group, and at announcements on Tuesday / Thursday evenings.

Key regular events throughout the year are as follows:

Annual Awards Dinner

Our annual awards dinner is the event of the year, normally held in November. A chance to dress up and spend the evening with fellow Striders, with a 2 course dinner and an evening celebrating our successes over the year. Be prepared for lots of dancing!

Award Categories are:

• Strider Of The Year
• Male Athlete Of The Year
• Female Athlete Of The Year
• Most Improved Male Strider
• Most Improved Female Strider
• Volunteer Of The Year

The annual dinner has been held at various locations including the OA’s Rugby Club, Sopwell House, Luton Hoo Walled Garden, and Aubrey Park Hotel.

Pub Crawls

Join your fellow striders on Pub Crawls through St Albans, a great way to make friends in the club. Pub Crawls are normally held on a Friday night starting @ 7 – 7.30pm. Updates as to location are posted on facebook for those wanting to join later in the evening. We usually hold one during the summer and one before christmas.

Striders’ Weekend Away

The 2021 weekend away has been postponed until June 2022 at YHA Ravenstor in the Peak District.

As a general guide the weekend away last year came in at £84.50 per head (including meals). We generally have a relaxed Friday evening followed by a local parkrun on Saturday and variety of Saturday afternoon activities ranging from cycling, walking, water sports, sight-seeing or even just chilling! A Saturday evening Social and a gentle Sunday morning group run for those who are up to it, round up the weekend before heading home around lunchtime.

Check out these comments from previous weekends away:

'The weekend away was fantastic, brilliant value for money and great company. Good accommodation and the food laid on was great.’

‘Everything about it was excellent. The right amount of planned activities with options for those of us that prefer cake to 10K trail runs!’

‘Fast becoming my favourite weekend of the year. A great way to get to know new friends and I wouldn’t miss it for the world!’

‘I was a little apprehensive as I didn’t know many people and didn’t know what to expect. I needn’t have worried, I felt really welcome from the first minute and now have loads of new Striders friends. It flew by. Roll on next year!’

parkrun tourism

Every month or so, the club nominates a local parkrun to visit. This is a good opportunity to try a new event whilst guaranteeing several friendly faces and a nice coffee and chat afterwards.

Third Thursday

After the Thursday runs, the club chooses a local pub to take over and pack with sweaty runners. Even if you are not currently running, come along for a beer and a chat. A great opportunity for new members - just introduce yourself and we'll make you feel at home. You'll be swapping details of your latest injury before you know it! Check the calendar and facebook pages for locations.

Tea night

The first Tuesday of each month, the club provides tea and cake after the training session, usually at the track building. Bring along a bake of your own if you like, or just enjoy Tony's legendary carrot cake. Chat to other like-minded runners and compare stories.