13 October 2026

If you are looking for a run club near The Gables, the answer is two meeting points inside the Hills District: Glenhaven Oval on Thursday mornings and Castle Hill Showground on Tuesday nights. Hills Run Club is a free community running club, and both of those suburbs sit within the district it runs in. There is no fee and no fitness test between you and a group run, only a free HRC+ account and a quick registration before you come.

A free club for the Hills District

Hills Run Club runs in the Hills District of Sydney, NSW, and everything it puts on is free. Nobody pays a membership, nobody is chasing a qualifying time, and nobody is asked to prove how far they can go before they are welcome.

That matters most in newer parts of the district, where a lot of people arrive not knowing anyone local yet. A weekly run gives you a fixed time, a known place and familiar faces, which is a much easier way into a neighbourhood than knocking on doors. If you have moved into The Gables or Box Hill recently, the club's two runs are a straightforward place to start.

The two weekly runs, side by side

Choosing between Thursday morning and Tuesday night

The Thursday Morning Run is the early one. The group meets at 5:45am for a 6:00am start at Glenhaven Oval, on 78 Glenhaven Road in Glenhaven, and plenty of people stay on afterwards for coffee and a sweet treat. It is a good first run if you would rather get it done before the day takes over, and it repeats every Thursday, so the rhythm is easy to keep once it is in your week.

The Tuesday Night Run meets every second Tuesday at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start at Castle Hill Showground, under the lights. Running on a lit oval after dark feels different from a morning lap, and our look at what the Tuesday night run feels like is worth a read if you have never run under floodlights before.

The simplest way to decide is by your week. If you want something that lands on the same day every time, take Thursday. If evenings suit better, or you would rather start running once the day is off your shoulders, take Tuesday and accept that it comes around every second week rather than weekly.

Where to find the group when you arrive

At Glenhaven Oval, the group gathers near the oval ahead of the 6:00am start. The address to put in your maps is 78 Glenhaven Road, Glenhaven.

Castle Hill Showground needs one turn once you are through the gate. Enter via Doran Drive, the entrance closest to the metro, take the first left and follow the road to the lit oval. The group meets at the large shed, and there is plenty of parking around it.

Both meeting points sit inside the Hills District, so your trip from The Gables or Box Hill stays local either way. If you are not sure where to stand on your first morning, the club's minute by minute walk through your first Thursday at Glenhaven removes the guesswork.

One lap is a full run

The distances at both runs are options, not totals. The Thursday Morning Run offers 2.5 km or 5 km, which is one or two laps of a 2.5 km loop. The Tuesday Night Run offers 3 km or 6 km, which is one or two 3 km laps.

That means one lap is a complete run, not a shortened version of a real one. People stop after one lap because that is what suited their week, not because they ran out of ability. Walkers are welcome at both runs as well, so you can come along at your own pace and still be part of the group.

Free to run, registered in HRC+

Running with the club is free, and every run is registered in HRC+ so the club knows who is coming and what to expect on the night or morning. It takes a couple of minutes, and once you are set up the routine is the same for every run afterwards.

1. Make a free HRC+ account at hillsrunclub.com/hrc-plus/.
2. Register for the run you are coming to, so your name is on the list.
3. Check the runs page for what is coming up next.
4. Arrive a few minutes before the meet time so you can find the group without rushing.

Upcoming runs include the Thursday Morning Run on 15 October and the Tuesday Night Run on 20 October. If you want to understand what the account keeps track of, our guide to what your HRC+ dashboard remembers explains it.

Your first weeks, and where to follow along

Most people start with one run a week and let the habit settle before adding the other. A Thursday morning plus a Tuesday night is a steady pair, and why the Thursday and Tuesday rhythm works breaks down what that does for you over a few months.

If you are coming from Box Hill, our piece on running in a growing suburb is written with your side of the district in mind. Once you have been along a few times, the club's Instagram account, @hillsrunclubau, is where run reminders and photos show up between runs. Everything you need to get started sits on the runs page, and your free HRC+ account covers both runs.