Herne Hill Harriers athletics club have organised a relay run on bank holiday Monday to mark south London’s unique Olympic heritage and to encourage local communities to participate in the sport. 
The run, which features an original 1948 Olympic torch, will start from the Herne Hill Velodrome, home of the Harriers until 1930s and the last remaining sports venue from the 1948 London Olympics to be still in use, finishing at Tooting Bec Athletics Track at approximately 1pm.
The torch will be received by Lord Terrence Higgins, Herne Hill Harriers’ club patron and a member of the Great Britain athletics team in the last Olympic games held in London. A selection of Olympic athletes will be present also.
The relay route is approximately 4.8 miles long and will be run by young members of the local athletics club as well as pupils from St Jude’s School in Brixton and Henry Cavendish School in Balham.
Herne Hill Harriers, who have had a number of local athletes go on to complete in the Olympic games including long jump specialist, Jade Johnson, will also be providing training and opportunities to try various athletics events during the day including running, jumping and throwing.
A programme of one mile fun runs has also been put together by the local athletics club to celebrate south London’s unique sporting heritage and to provide opportunities for the local community to participate and learn more about the sport.
The programme begins with ‘Come and try it’ coaching for young athletes (age 9+) from 11.15 at Tooting Bec Athletics Track. At noon a team of church members & local schoolchildren will run with an original 1948 Olympic Torch from Herne Hill to Tooting Bec.
The relay starts at the Herne Hill Cycle Velodrome (venue for the 1948 Olympic Track Cycling and a former home of HHH), continues via Brockwell Park, the South Circular Road and Tooting Bec Common, to the Athletics Track. There it will be received by HHH Club Patron and 1948 Olympian, Lord Terence Higgins.
During the afternoon there will be a series of One Mile Community Fun Runs for anyone to participate, plus an Elite Men’s Mile at 2pm and an Elite Women’s Mile at 2.30pm. Entries on the day, further details from nigel.stone@southwark.anglican.org