2 October 2026

Run club etiquette comes down to three things: nobody judges pace, you register before you come, and the coffee afterwards counts as part of the run. That is the whole code. Most of the nerves about a first group run come from imagining rules that do not exist. At Hills Run Club, a free community running club in the Hills District of Sydney, the real expectations are simple: turn up a few minutes early, treat people kindly and, because every run is registered in HRC+, sign up before you arrive.

Nobody judges pace, not even a little

The biggest fear about a first group run is being the slowest one there. Here is the honest answer: nobody is timing you, and nobody is watching your watch. A group run is not a race. People start together, spread out naturally and end up in whatever bunch moves at their pace.

It helps that the runs are built so nobody has to keep up. Every run offers two distances as options, you pick on the day, and one lap is a complete run in itself. Walkers are welcome at every run.

• Thursday Morning Run: 2.5 km or 5 km
• Tuesday Night Run: 3 km or 6 km

If the pace worry is the thing holding you back, we have written a whole piece about it: do you need to be fast to join a run club?

Register before you come

The one rule we do insist on is also the easiest. Running with the club is free, and every run is registered in HRC+, our free membership program. You make your free account, register for the run you are coming to, and that is it.

It matters more than it sounds. Your registration tells the crew to expect you, so someone looks out for you at the start, and it keeps the runs smooth for everyone. You can see every upcoming run and register at hillsrunclub.com/runs/. There is no need to ask permission or to know anyone first. The registration is the hello.

Show up a few minutes early

Group runs start on time, and the unwritten etiquette is to arrive with a few minutes to spare so the first hello happens before the first step. Here is where and when.

• Thursday Morning Run: meet 5:45am for a 6:00am start at Glenhaven Oval, 78 Glenhaven Road, Glenhaven.
• Tuesday Night Run: every second Tuesday, meet 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start at Castle Hill Showground, under the lights. 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.

If you cannot see anyone when you arrive, walk towards the biggest cluster of running shoes and say hi. Someone will ask if it is your first time, and someone will introduce you around. That part takes care of itself.

The coffee afterwards is part of it

After the Thursday morning run, the group stays for a coffee and a sweet treat. This is not an optional extra bolted onto the run. It is the second half of it. The running gets people in the door; the coffee is where people actually get to know each other, where plans get made and where new runners stop feeling new.

You do not have to stay, and nobody will chase you if you have somewhere to be. But if you are nervous about whether you will belong, staying for the coffee is the part that settles it. Ten minutes of conversation does more than any training plan.

The unwritten rules at a glance

A few small courtesies

There is no rulebook, but a few habits make every run better for everyone.

• Say hello at the start, especially to anyone standing on their own.
• Let faster runners come past rather than running two or three abreast.
• Ask people how their week went, not how their splits looked.
• Cheer the people finishing after you. It costs nothing and it means everything.
• Leave the watch face at home if it makes you anxious. Nobody needs to see your pace.

And if you are wondering what the whole first morning actually looks like, hour by hour, our guide to how to join a running club walks you through it.