Built by runners, for runners

We built RunClub HQ because we couldn't find the tool we needed to run our own club.

The founder story

When we started our new running club, we spent months searching for software that could handle what should be simple: automated membership renewals, professional member onboarding, and communications that didn't look amateur.

Everything we found was either designed for gyms with thousands of members, too basic to be useful, too expensive for volunteers, or built in 2010.

We wanted to spend our time running and building our community, not chasing spreadsheets and bank transfers. The tools that existed would have cost us more volunteer time than doing it manually.

So we built RunClub HQ - the platform we wished existed.

Winchester Running Club has run on it ever since: members, subscriptions, renewals, events, records and the club website. Every feature solves a real problem we've experienced as volunteers, and the first club to feel a bad decision is our own.

Our ethos is simple: reduce the time and effort required to be a volunteer and a member, so we can spend more time doing the sport we love.

Matt Smallman

Founder, RunClub HQ & Membership Secretary, Winchester Running Club

Our mission

“Technology should serve the community, not burden it.”

We believe running clubs should look professional without making volunteers feel amateur.

Volunteers get their evenings back

Less admin, and the admin that remains is visible, shared across the committee, and done on a phone.

Members get a club that is easy to be part of

Easy to join, take part and stay — which is what engagement means when a runner says it.

Design philosophy

  1. Solve real problems

    Every feature exists because a volunteer somewhere needed it. We don't build for hypotheticals.

  2. Automate the boring stuff

    If a computer can do it, a human shouldn't have to. Renewals, reminders, payments - let the system handle it.

  3. Make it obvious

    Volunteers shouldn't need training. If something needs a manual, we've failed.

  4. Eat our own dog food

    Winchester Running Club runs on RunClub HQ — members, renewals, events, website and all. If it annoys us, we fix it that week.

Made in the UK

RunClub HQ is designed and built in the United Kingdom, with a deep understanding of how UK running clubs operate.

England Athletics integration, UK-specific payment providers, and support during UK hours.

Ready to join us?

Book a call and we'll set up a 90-day pilot, and see why Winchester Running Club runs on RunClub HQ.