Club History
For more than 25 years Past President Mike Peel singlehandedly maintained the website that he designed and built for the Club, www.bandbhac.org.uk
Members will be aware and grateful for Mike’s dedication and efficiency in keeping the news and results as up to date and fulsome as possible.
As from March 2026 the Club will provide members and the wider community with accurate, timely, and transparent information through the www.bbharriersac.org.uk site. The www.bandbhac.org.uk site contains a huge archive of results, photographs, and the long and broad social history of the club posted to it up to March 2026. This will remain as a vital source for all club members and will be updated to only cover archive material with links to this important material available from www.bbharriersac.org.uk
The Club wishes to express gratitude to Mike and to recognise the importance of his website as a vital source of information for such a long period.
The following links can be used to take interested parties down memory lane:
Results (2000 to 2025): Cross Country; Road Running; Track and Field
Press Releases (2000 to 2022)
Did you know? (biographies of Past Presidents and notable news on club members)
History of the Club, the Club 5, Cross Country, Mob Matches, and the Club Cry
About Mike Peel:
Mike became a member in January 1974. He competed at all distances from 100m to the London to Brighton (54 miles), and ran 60 marathons including 24 inside 3 hours. He is also a member of that select group called the ‘The Ever Presents’ (formed in 1995). All 45 EP’s had run every London Marathon (first run in 1981) up to that date. He has a best credited time of 2hours 40mins. Mike ran his final marathon in the thirty-second London in 2012, the same year that he carried the Olympic torch through Crystal Palace Park.
Born (11 January 1942) and educated in Beckenham, Mike has two sons and one grandson. He started work as a draughtsman before joining the computer industry in 1963/4 – at that time there were only four computers in the whole of London. He is still involved with computer work and is currently webmaster of more than a dozen websites.
Amongst his many jobs at Blackheath & Bromley, he has been:
- Track handicapper.
- Cross-Country handicapper.
- Organiser of the Ted Pepper Memorial race for the first 7 years – the final event had over 400 finishers, all club athletes with no unattached runners. At its time, it was one of the biggest events in the south-east area’s athletic calendar.
- In 1974, following the death of Jack Simms, he computerised and ran the club’s membership list for many years. He then oversaw others running it prior to Steve Hollingdale taking over. It is the basis of the current CAMS system.
- Produced the menus and table plans for over 20 years of Club Dinners.
- Produced the summer and winter fixture cards for 16 seasons, all at no cost to the club.
- For 30 years he made the Punch for every Punch Bowl Night.
- Produced Club T-shirts & Sweat-shirts with Garry Botley 80’s & 90’s.
- Started Track Suit fund for youngsters/officials along with Polo-shirts, Sweatshirts & Caps in 2001.
- Resurrected the annual Paperchase in 1977, organising and leading it for 30 years.
- From 2001 to 2019 decorated every Marathon Supper with own memorabilia and also MC’d the event.
- Also arranged and installed the Clubhouse Christmas decorations for over 20 years.
- Running the bandbhac website since its inception in 1999. The site has more than 1400 pages and is one of the biggest in the athletic world.
- Designed and produced promotional literature (flyers, business cards, Feather Flags).
- Elevated to the VP’s in 1978 and organised their supper for 9 years.
- Elected President in 2001/02.
- In 1999 he became Steward of the club, only finishing in May 2018 (albeit with a three year sabbatical), due to the proposed re-development of the Club property.