News
Please order before end of 16 December.
Final pickups from the Club House before Christmas will be:
Thuersday 18 December training session, and Friday 19 December session before 6.15pm
Later orders can still be collected from Wargrave before 25 December.
Please ensure the name you would like under the Reading AC logo is clearly indicated.
If you want additional engraving such as season personal bests, please indicate when ordering and will cost £3.
Enter via the Club Champs Group on the Spond App
Entry deadline 11:00pm on 20 September 2025.
Entry fees:
1 event £4
2 Events £5
3 Events £6
Quadkids £5
Reading AC Club Championships open to all Reading AC members. U13 and above.
U13 athletes may either enter the Quadkids competition or the Club Championships.
U7, U9 and U11 athletes may only enter the Quadkids competion.
Electronic timing
The provisional timetable will be updated when final entrie are known.
Provisional Field Timetable
09:45 Javelin U13, U15 B&G
10:00 High Jump U17+ (M&W)
10:05 Vortex U7QK
10:15 Long Jump (Standing) U7 QK
10:20 Vortex U9 QK
10:30 Long Jump (Standing) U9 QK
10:35 Shot U11 QK
10:45 Long Jump U13 QK
11:00 High Jump U13, U15 (B&G)
11:00 Javelin U17+ (M&W)
11:10 Long Jump U11 QK
11:20 Shot U13 QK
11:50 Discus U13, U15 B&G
12:30 Shot U17+ (M&W)
13:30 Discus U17+ (M&W)
14:00 Long Jump U17+ (M&W)
14:20 Hammer All ages
15:00 Long Jump U13G, U15G
15:00 Shot Put U13B, U15B
16:00 Long Jump U13B, U15B
16:00 Shot Put U13G U15B
Provisional Track Timetable
10:00 50m (U7 & U9 Quadkids)
10:25 75m (U11 & U13 Quadkids)
11:05 75m (Club Champs)
11:20 400m
11:50 800m
12:25 400m hurdles
12:35 600m
13:10 150m
13:50 100m
14:40 300m
15:00 1,500m
15:25 200m
16:05 4x100m
Once again, our club kit is now available to pre-order via the Joinin Shop on LoveAdmin.
The kit features our unique lion logo on all items of clothing and the lion 'watermark' on the back of standard competition vests and wrapped around the side of the Technical short and long-sleeved T-Shirts.
Athletes T-shirts are red and coaches/ team managers T-shirts are royal blue, whilst all of the hoodies are royal blue. Coaches and Team managers kit is set at a lower price. When you click 'checkout', you will have to choose who the hoodie is for and which size to order using the size form. You can still cancel your choice after you have clicked on 'checkout' by deleting the item from your basket before you finally make the payment.
We currently have a reasonable stock of crop tops, standard vests and ultra-light vests in the clubhouse, so you can pop in any Tuesday evening to try and buy via card reader on the spot or talk to Julie Rayfield or Charlotte Webb on a Friday. The standard vests (with lion logo) come in full back or racer (X) back choices. The Epic Ultra-light vests (no lion logo) all come with racer backs. You can pay for any of the vests and crop tops either on LoveAdmin or by card reader in the clubhouse.
All of the T-shirts and hoodies need to be ordered via our Joinin Shop before midnight on Wednesday 1st October so that we can have the order ready to hand out in time for Christmas.
If you have problems ordering your kit on LoveAdmin, contact Sarah Ball on sarah_ball@live.co.uk
Members should feel free to pop into the clubhouse on Tuesdays to try on a few sizes before ordering.
We look forward to seeing our kit on display at many winter competitions and during training sessions,
The Palmer Park track resurfacing is now complete and the track is now open for training on Tuesday & Thursday evenings 5:30-8:00pm, Friday 5:15-6:15pm and Sunday mornings 9:00-12:00pm.
The resurfaced track has been completed with the high performance Polytan Rekortan PUR system, the same surface used for the Diamond League meetings in Doha, Qatar and the Décastar meeting in Bordeaux, France.
Most of the track has been replaced like-for-like. However, the 110m hurdles start and finish lines have been reset so they are compatible with photo finish.
The infield long/triple jump runway and pit have been re-vamped and training can now commence again in this area.
The first meeting at the new stadium will, appropriately, be the delayed club championships from 09:45 to 5:00pm on Sunday 28 September. The provisional timetable is to follow.
Photos are courtesy of Reading Borough Council.
We’re saddenned to announce the recent passing of Len Twort at the age of eighty-four.
Len was a renowned field official for Reading Athletic Club who was selected for the 2012 London Olympic Games to be the Chief of the High Jump.
Len passed-away very peacefully on 22 August 2025, one day after his eighty-fourth birthday which he celebrated with his entire family present. We wish his wife Linda and the wider family our thoughts at this time.
Len will be remembered at Reading Athletic Club for his kindness, dedication and his genuine interest in the development of so many younger athletes.
Len’s funeral will be a family event. His wish to be buried in his 2012 Olympics suit is being honoured by his family.
Rest in Peace, Len.
Please remember that Palmer Park track is closed for resurfacing which is expected to continue until mid July. All athletes should have already been contacted by their coach to confirm the temporary training arrangements. Alternative venues organised by the club include Blue Coat School, Sonning on Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings between 6pm and 8pm and Little Marlow Track near Marlow on Sundays from 10am til 12pm. Some coaches are still using the public areas in Palmer Park for some of their training sessions.
Sundays 10am - 12pm
Wycombe District Athletics Complex, Marlow Rd, Little Marlow, Marlow SL7 3RS
Tuesdays 6pm - 8pm
Thursdays 6pm - 8pm
Sonning Ln, Sonning, Reading RG4 6SU
Members keen to get the new club kit before the track closure in April should place there orders before 8 March.
Visit the Joined in store
We have now raised £3,214 towards our £5,000 target (or 64.3%) for a new equipment store at Palmer Park.
With the renovation of the stadium a couple of years ago we lost our dedicated equipment store and now share a space under the stand and have a locakble space for competition equipment. Additionally, we need to keep some equipment such as some of our vaulting poles in the clubhouse.
With the new equipment store, that most likely will be a repurposed shipping container, we will be able to have a dedicated locakable storage space and free up the clubhouse to make it more suitable for community activities.
If you would like to contribute towards our goal please either pay via the JoinIn website (click icon link below, then go to bottom of page to make a voluntary contribution) or just make a contribution on the card reader at the desk or in the clubhouse on training nights.
Click icon above to make a donation for the equipment store.
Congratulations to Jess Gibbon who was crowned senior women’s National cross country champion for a second time this past weekend with a ruthless display.
The victory mirrored her win from 2022 when the nationals was last held at the Parliament Hill venue.
Jess has enjoyed a very solid winter season, representing GB and England, along with a BB&O championship win as well as Hampshire and Oxfordshire League victories for the club, however this race just highlighted what an immensely talented athlete she is.
The Parliament Hill venue is regarded by most at the home of cross country, a true test of physical and mental ability with its punishing hills and always muddy terrain and Saturday was no different. For Jess however she almost made it look easy as she virtually had the race won after 5 minutes, after ascending the opening hill, she pushed into the lead and from there she just continued to push away and won with a huge 41 second margin to claim the senior women’s title once more and cement herself as one of the club’s best ever athlete over cross country.
Pleasingly Anna Godfrey, Abi Farnworth and Shirley-Ann Dix were also on hand to ensure the ladies fielded a team as they placed 29th. Anna enjoyed a very solid outing herself in a field of 830 finishers, she battled through the tough conditions to take 209th. It is also so good to see Abi back running regularly and she can be very happy with her efforts around the 8km course to finish 383rd whilst Shirley-ann closed out the scoring quartet when she crossed the line in 492nd.
It was very pleasing to see Isabelle Craven and Alyssa Wilson line up for the under 13 girls and the experience they will have gained from their race will hold them in great stead going forward. Isabelle placed well with a pleasing effort as she claimed 160th position, whilst Alyssa closed out her race in 233rd, both girls doing very well over one of the hardest courses in the country.
Disappointedly we did not field any athletes in any of the other age groups. With only 6 female athletes in action across 5 age groups, it is disappointing to say the least, particularly for such a huge and iconic race - the pinnacle of the season almost. The potential is without doubt there at the club to field athletes and teams in all age groups and to do very well even at this level, as club/team competition is such an important part and definitely played a part of our senior athletes who raced this weekend - none more so than Jess, who always was out racing for the club as a youngster and through to the senior age group, as part of a team and helped gain the experience she was able to draw on this weekend towards her emphatic victory.
It’s now confirmed that the Palmer Park track is expected to close from 14 April for two to three months for resurfacing. Unfortunately, this is a process that is carried out in warmer and drier conditions meaning it was not done during the winter.
Athletes with coaches should check with them what alternative training plans they have for that time and those that attend Friday sessions will have training out in the park while the track is closed.
When we return the track should be looking great, with the seats in the stand also being cleaned and fixed.
