About Us

The race is presented by Thames Hare and Hounds, a cross-country and road running club based on Wimbledon Common.

We are the oldest cross-country club in the world, having been founded in 1868. In October 1867, members of Thames Rowing Club staged the Thames Handicap Steeplechase No. 1. The runners gathered at TRC's headquarters – the Red Lion Hotel in Putney – and were taken by bus to Beverley Bridge, from where the race was held over 2¼ miles of the roughest and boggiest parts of the Common. The idea for the event came from the rowers' desire to find an activity to keep them fit during the winter months. Almost a year later, in October 1868, affairs had become more formalised and the fourth of these steeplechases became the inaugural run of "The Thames Hare and Hounds". Since those days, we have retained the Common as our home, for many years being based at the King's Head in Roehampton village and, since 1975, at our current clubhouse on the edge of the Common.

In that time, we have won honours at a national, regional and local level, including the National Cross-Country Championships, the Southern Cross-Country Championships and the Surrey League. However, we are proud to be a club that caters for runners of all standards and host numerous club handicap, inter-club and mob matches during the season, as well as a range of social events.

Running over the Common is also fundamental to the ethos of the club and gives us over 150 years of continuity stretching back to those distant, mid-Victorian days when the rowers first emerged from the water and made their way up the hill from Putney. Many of the features of the Dash for the Splash course are ones that were included in that very first run in 1867. You will quite literally be running in the footsteps of history.

To learn more visit our website.