Penarth and Dinas Runners was born in May 1988 when two people; one from Penarth, the other from Dinas Powys wrote to the local newspaper to see if any local runners would be interested in forming a club. They were both fledgling runners and were inspired by watching the London Marathon on TV.

The response was outstanding, almost twenty people came along to the first session and so Penarth and Dinas runners came into existence!

The first year proved a great success and the club went from strength to strength attracting runners of all abilities in the area and club teams won a number of prizes at races.

The club was based at Cogan Leisure Centre in Penarth from where routes of between 5 and 11 miles were plotted. Members would slot into one of the groups and run a route. Eventually, this evolved into formalised sessions that still take place today, now Monday evenings. These sessions are designed so that runners of all abilities can take part, mix together and are enjoyed immensely by all of our members.

1991 saw the darkest moment in the history of the club when one of our members was tragically killed in a fell relay race. To celebrate her life and preserve her memory, the Carol Matthews Relays (now know as Cosmeston Relays) was created and is now a well established and supported part of the running calendar in South Wales where the proceeds are donated to charity. Carol is still fondly remembered by our members.

In 1998, we celebrated 10 years as a club with the T shirts boldly emblazoned with – “Still Knackered after all these Years” – a play on the Paul Simon song and our club logo a Knackered Dragon.

In the first year the club was formed the committee was determined to show we could add to the South Wales racing scene by contributing a race, which was supported by Scandia Carpets of Cardiff, and took place round the streets of Penarth. The event was a huge success and the following year prizes were presented by Lyn Davies.

This race evolved and, in 1994, Chandlers Wine Bar and Restaurant and the Leisure Centre in Cogan took over the sponsorship and the well respected Chandlers Penarth 10K was born. This race run until 2000 when the growth of traffic and Sunday shopping made the race untenable due to concerns about runner safety.

Undeterred, the club has worked hard to reinstate a club race and in 2006 the first Porthkerry Plod took place (see our race section for more details).

Still the club goes from strength to strength and will celebrate 20 years in 2008. And, with all that has occurred in our history we’re all “still knackered”!!!