The Polytechnic Harriers is an athletic club with long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996. The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897. The club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

.Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers'' History of the club 03-07-2007''
In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club that evolved from Surrey AC, and it is now known as Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers (Kingston & Poly). The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are still contested annually at Kingston & Poly's home track - Kingsmeadow. The

Polytechnic Marathon The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the g ...

is no longer held, having been superseded by the London Marathon. Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the

British Athletics League The British Athletics League is a men-only track and field team competition in the United Kingdom. For women there is the completely separate UK Women's Athletic League. Launched in 1969, the British Athletics League in 2013 had five different di ...

and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016. Among the notable athletes who ran with the Club is

Harry Edward Harry Francis Vincent Edward (15 April 1898 – 8 July 1973) was a British runner. He competed in the 100 and 200 m 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and won bronze medals in both events, becoming the first black person to gain Olympic medals ...

, Britain's first Black Olympic medalist. The Club's archives are still held at the

University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

References

Sports clubs in London Athletics clubs in London Athletics clubs in England 1883 establishments in England {{athletics-club-stub