2 October 2026

Yes, you can walk a run club. At Hills Run Club, walking one lap is a complete run, the coffee afterwards counts just as much, and there is no pace you need to hold to belong. Plenty of people come along and walk the whole thing, plenty run one lap and walk the next, and nobody asks which you did. If you have been putting off joining a running club because you do not run, this is the article that says what you were hoping it would say: walkers are welcome here.

What walking a run club actually looks like

Both of our regular runs are laps, which makes them ideal for walkers. You start with the group, move at your own pace and finish back where you began, with the coffee and the conversation waiting either way.

The Thursday Morning Run happens every Thursday at Glenhaven Oval, 78 Glenhaven Road, Glenhaven. We meet at 5:45am for a 6:00am start. You can walk the 2.5 km lap and stop there, keep going for a second lap, or mix running and walking as you go. Afterwards the group stays for coffee and a sweet treat.

The Tuesday Night Run happens every second Tuesday at Castle Hill Showground, Castle Hill, under the lights. We meet at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start. Enter via Doran Drive, the entrance closest to the metro, take the first left and follow the road to the lit oval, where the group meets at the large shed with plenty of parking around it. There you can walk the 3 km lap, or two.

One lap is a full run, not a lesser option

The distances at our runs are options, not totals. One lap is a full run on its own, the same way it is for the person jogging it. You are not doing the warm-up version of someone else's session. You are doing your run.

Will I be the only one walking?

No. Walkers are welcome at every session, and the club was built for people with no pressure to be fast or experienced. Some of our regulars walk every lap, some run and walk in the same outing, and some started walking and now run. You will not be chased, timed or asked how fast you went. The only thing we ask is that you show up.

If the worry underneath this question is really about being the slowest person there, we wrote a whole article on whether you need to be fast to join a run club. The short answer is no. And if running itself is the part you are unsure about, that is okay too. We have covered whether a run club suits people who do not like running, and walking a lap is a perfectly good place to start.

Run, run walk or only walk, the choice is yours each time

Nothing is fixed when you register. One Thursday you might walk the whole 2.5 km lap, the next you might run the first stretch and walk the rest. On a Tuesday night you might feel like the 3 km lap at a stroll after a big day. The lap format means you decide as you go, lap by lap, and a walk is never a failure. For many members, the walking is the point: it is the pace that lets you actually talk to the person next to you.

How to join as a walker

Running with the club is free, and joining takes two small steps:

• Make a free HRC+ account. HRC+ is the club's free membership program, and it is how you register for runs, keep track of events and access partner offers and giveaways.
• Register for the run you want on the runs page. Every run is registered individually, so sign up for the specific date before you come.

That is it. Wear whatever you would happily walk in, come at your own pace and stay for the coffee. If you want the fuller picture of what a first run feels like, our guide on how to join a running club walks through it step by step. You can also find us on Instagram at @hillsrunclubau to see the community before you commit.