Ocean Grove Harriers turn 40 this year.
The club was founded back in 1985 by Phil Emery OAM, who is well known in Ocean Grove for his work in establishing the Shell Road sporting facility and the refurbishment of the Dunes and surf life saving club through his role with Barwon Coast.
It started when Phil and a couple of his mates decided to have a run on a Saturday morning and developed into a community running/walking group who meet every Saturday at 7am come rain or shine at the adopted ‘clubhouse’, which is the toilet block near Ocean Grove boat ramp.
Phil was the self proclaimed Grand Master of the group and brought his unique brand of humour and principles of inclusivity and community. They started out as the ‘Hangover Harriers’ perhaps as a nod to the state of the runners early Saturday morning, but was changed to Ocean Grove Harriers in the early 2000s.
Sadly Phil passed away mid 2023, after a three-year battle with prostate cancer, but the group continues to thrive – continuing Phil’s legacy – it now has 84 members.
There are no membership fees and anyone is welcome to join whether they run or not. There are also five fun events during the year, most of which involve competing with a partner in some way and three now involve walkers. The fifth event is the prestigious Pub to Pub.
If you want to join, head to the boat ramp at 7am Saturdays.
