WEYMOUTH boasts a proud sporting history, and the Weymouth St Paul's Harriers have long been part of this.

In existence from the mid-1920s, the running club was established after three groups merged into one, and from there on out performed strongly in road, track and cross country. Newspaper headlines from the 1930s prove just that, from "St Paul's Club has a fine season" to "Weymouth Harriers in good form".

One of the most prolific runners of the decade was Fred Damon, who is pictured with the host of trophies he was awarded one year. Among them were the Loyalty Test Cup, the Weatherall Cup, the Major Groves Cup and the T. G. Copp Cup. The Loyalty Test Cup was presented to the runner who was considered by the committee to have put most effort into club activities during the year.

Yet perhaps the most sought after trophy of the era was the Hambro Cup, the challenge for which was "open for competition between civilian clubs in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency." The course, of four to five miles, was decided by the current holders of the cup, who would also select the date and time of the race. Teams would consist of nine men, and the race was judged on a point system. Weymouth St Paul's Harriers, who competed regularly against Dorchester YMCA, won the Hambro Cup on several occasions, including in 1929, 1931 and 1933. The award was presented by Colonel Angus Hambro, well known in the county as a Conservative MP from 1886, and as a Unionist MP from 1910 to 1918.

The Second World War saw the club's activities temporarily suspended, but when members returned from active service a new committee took over. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the Harriers grew from strength to strength, with the Ladies and Juniors sections also gaining momentum.

However, several factors, include the decline of athletics in schools and a shortage of quality coaches, meant more experienced athletes gradually moved to other, more specialised, clubs. Yet young Harriers continued to excel well into the 1990s, with prolific runners including Lee Manvell and Martin Cheeseman. An article from 1998 notes the excellent performance of these two boys, alongside Chris Stanton and Jenny Egan, at the National School's Combined Events Championships in Hull.

A development came in 2000, when it was reported that Weymouth St Paul's Harriers and Dorchester Athletic Club combined their men's teams to compete in the Southern Men's League. The decision was regarded as "the first step in developing a closer link between the two clubs."

In 2001, Weymouth St Paul's Harriers received a £5,000 grant under the Awards For All scheme, with which javelins, junior starting blocks, hurdles and a high-jump landing area were among the items purchased. Club secretary Elizabeth Kitching said: "All this, together with our expanding band of coaches will enable us to train more young and old athletes this year."

It seemed the Harriers were back on form, and later that year rumours of a club development plan were released, with hopes unveiled of upgrading the site to an all-weather surface. It was also announced that UK Athletics had an all-weather track for the Weymouth and Dorchester area on their list of new projects.

These days, Weymouth St Paul’s Harriers and Athletics Club (WSPH and AC) remains open to anyone aged eight to 80 who wants to train or compete. The running club holds regular sessions and competitions in road running and cross country, as well as ongoing coach to 5k courses and nine-week training programmes.

Athletics training sessions are arranged by age group, and all abilities are welcome. Road running sessions are grouped by ability.

For more information or to get involved, visit http://www.wsphandac.co.uk/athletics/

With thanks to Lyn Cordier, whose father was a prominent runner in the Weymouth St Paul's Harriers, and David Bucke, whose work on the history of the Weymouth Harriers was highly informative.