General Cross-Country Information
There are a number of cross-country (XC) competitions where entry is coordinated through the club. The events take place through autumn and winter. The relays and league entry fees where we will have a representative team(s) are paid by the club. The rules of cross-country leagues do vary, some have additional entry fees for each participant. In an ideal situation, the club would like to have teams in many leagues but that does require local volunteer coordinators/managers for each league. We also need sufficient numbers of participating members for team results. All participants must also have paid for their England Athletics registration via Vegan Runners UK for the current year i.e. 1st claim for the club. Any registered member who would like to be considered for any of the events below should in the first instance e-mail the Cross Country Secretary at veganrunners@talktalk.net.
1. Cross Country Leagues (Area)
In the autumn/winter of 2022/23 Vegan Runners UK fielded senior teams in the North Midlands XC League and previous the Gwent XC League in 2021/22.
For season 2023/24 we will have male & female teams in the North Midlands XC League and through our affiliation, with the Sussex County Athletic Association we can participate in the Sussex XC League. The Vegan Runners South-East of England Regional Rep will be co-ordinating our entries in the Sussex XC League. If we enter any other leagues, members in those areas will be informed.
Ideally the club would like participants to commit to all fixtures otherwise as many as they are available. If you are EA registered for Vegan Runners UK and a resident in either Notts, Derbys, South Yorks, Staffs, Lincs, Leics, Northants, Rutland, or Cambs, you are eligible to compete. Participants do not need to register, when you finish you are given a positioning disc that you return to the VRUK Team Manager who records your name and position disc. The North Midlands XC League has four fixtures for the 23/24 season ( 14 Oct – Markeaton Park, Derby; 11 Nov – Wicksteed Park, Kettering; 2 Dec – Shipley Park, Heanor; 13 Jan – Berry Hill Park, Mansfield). The Senior/Masters Women’s event (6K approx) starts at 1.50 pm and the Senior/Masters Men’s event (10K approx) at 2.20 pm. Vegan Runners UK plans to have a shelter at the North Midlands fixtures. For more details on the North Midlands XC League visit this website.
If you are interest please e-mail Peter Simpson on veganrunners(at)talktalk.net.
2. South of England Regional Cross Country Relays – 21 October 2023
This event is normally held on Wormwood Scrubs, West London on the 3rd or 4th Saturday in October. There are facilities at the Linford Christie Stadium (hosted by Thames Valley Harriers). It is a championship event so the standard of competition is normally high. The club aims to raise teams of members who can compete so the club needs to know your level of achievement in the months leading up to the event, in particular over short distances like 5K, 10K, and/or off-road. Seniors and Masters / Vets are part of the same team. The senior women’s event is 3 legs of 3K (approx) and the senior men’s event is 4 legs of 4K (approx).
At the 2022 event held on 22 October, our women’s team represented by Lydia Kirk, Julia Szajdzicka & Tessa Killingbeck finished in a respectable 32/41 complete teams. Our strong men’s team represented by Dean Evans, Darren Comeau, Marc Mullen, and Alex Robertson finished 12/29 complete teams, our best result in the 4 years the club has been competing in the event. Full results of the Relays can be found here.
Unfortunately, the club can only affiliate with one regional association. for information on the South of England Athletic Association go to http://www.seaa.org.uk/index.php/events/cross-country
3. English National Cross Country Relays – 4 November 2023
Our Vegan Runners UK women’s team of 3 (Clare Coombes, Katie Bonner & Claire Evans) finished the 2022 National XC Relays at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield 102/125 of the complete teams, a creditable performance in a highly competitive event. Each leg was 3K. The men’s team (Andy Eades, Allan Shaw & Clive Buck), one runner short of the required 4 finished 176/198. Each leg was 5k or 2 laps. The recent rain had only dampened the course otherwise conditions resulted in faster times and mud-free bodies. For results and other information on the English Cross Country Association go to http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/category/relays/results-relays/.
The venue for the 4 November event is again Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, Notts.
The English National XC Relays is a championship event so the club will need competitive members for the 2023 event, ideally, men need to be running under 21 minutes for a 5K and women under 27 minutes for a 5K although the distance for the senior women’s event is 3K (1 lap), the men run 2x 2.5K laps. All runners need to be registered by Vegan Runners UK with England Athletics so any members with ‘Club Membership Only’ need to pay the additional £17 via Vegan Runners UK. If you are EA registered by another club you can only run for that club unless you switch clubs well in advance of the event and pay the EA admin fee.
There is no distinction between master and senior categories, all compete in the same event. The women’s event normally starts at 1.50 pm and the men’s event at 2.40 pm. Given the time of year, it does get dark quickly towards the end of the men’s event, another reason for limiting the times of our men to 21 minutes. Junior events are held prior to the senior events.
There are 4 legs for a senior men’s team and 3 legs for a senior women’s team. In 2019 we managed to raise 3 men’s teams and 1 women’s team. There are other age-group relays for runners under 20 years starting from 11 am. Runners need to compete in their age group if there is enough interest for a team.
Team entries are paid by the club and the order of runners is confirmed a day or two before the event. We also need some runners in reserve as cover for withdrawals so not everyone interested will necessarily get a leg to run. The closing date for entries by the club is normally the 2nd week in October so the club needs to hear from interested members by a date to be specified later in the Summer preferably earlier and e-mail the Club Cross Country Secretary at veganrunners(at)talktalk.net. Vegan Runners UK normally has a shelter at this event.
4. London Cross Country Championships – 18 November 2023
These championships are also organized by the SEAA so details can be found in the link under the SEAA XC Relays. Members who have lived in London or one of its boroughs for at least one year or have worked in London for at least a year are eligible for these championships, held at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath. It is not a relay so there is no limit on the number of runners i.e. 1 runner or as many as are interested can run, slow or fast. All runners must also be EA registered via Vegan Runners UK. The senior women’s event is 6K starting at 1.15 pm and the senior men’s event is 10K starting at 2 pm. The entry fee was £7 (tbc for the 2023 event) and should be payable to Vegan Runners UK either by bank transfer or PayPal, the club will e-mail the account details to interested members. The closing date for entries is early November so, Vegan Runners UK needs your payment by 1 November say. Members entered collect their numbers and chip on the day of registration.
E-mail Peter Simpson on veganrunners(at)talktalk.net if you are interested.
5. South of England Masters Cross Country Championship – 9 December 2023
These championships are also organized by the SEAA so details can be found in the link under the SEAA XC Relays.
The venue for the 2022 SEAA Masters XC Championships was held at Oxford AC at Horspath, Oxford. The timetable included the SEAA Inter-Counties XC Champs. The Master’s events are for runners over 40 years of age, men, and women. The age categories are V40-49, V50-59, and V60-69. Any V70+ men run the masters women’s distance of 6K approx starting at 11.45 am otherwise the master’s men run 10K approx (more like 9K by experience) starting at 2.10 pm. As normal all competitors must be EA registered for Vegan Runners UK. The entry fee was £9 (tbc for the 2023 event). Members entered collect their number and chip on the day of registration. In the December 2022 event, Colin Braybrook had to run for his 1st claim club in the V50 category otherwise Vegan Runners UK had no members running.
E-mail Peter Simpson on veganrunners(at)talktalk.net if you are interested.
6. English County Cross Country Championships – December 2023 / January 2024
Most English County Athletic Associations hold a cross-country championship for EA-registered runners who have been resident in the county for a minimum of 9 months or their county of birth. Anyone interested should look on their County Association website for details and arrange for their entry. Some counties have separate dates for junior age groups, seniors, and masters. The main date for this championship is normally the first Saturday in January. The entry form will likely ask for the team manager’s details but you can enter your own, follow the payment details and collect your number and chip on the day. It maybe useful to take your own tent.
7. South of England Regional (Main) Championships – 27 January 2024
These championships are also organized by the SEAA so details can be found in the link under the SEAA XC Relays.
The venue for the SEAA Main XC Championships is Beckenham Place Park, southeast London / Kent. Any EA registered members of Vegan Runners UK may enter but need to take into account the potential tough conditions, especially for the men’s race over a distance of 15K towards the end of the afternoon and fading light for the slower runners. Any member likely to finish over 1 hour 30 minutes is discouraged from entering or will need to complete 2 of the 3 laps within 50 minutes. The senior women’s 8K event starts around 2 pm and the senior men’s 15K around 2.50 pm. Master runners are also welcomed. The entry fee was £10 (tbc for the 2024 event) and should be payable to Vegan Runners UK either by bank transfer or PayPal, the club can e-mail the account details to interested members. The closing date for entries is mid December so, Vegan Runners UK needs your payment by the 2nd week of December 2023. Members will collect their number and chip on the day of registration. Vegan Runners UK plans to have a tent at this event.
E-mail Peter Simpson on veganrunners(at)talktalk.net if you are interested.
For a day at the SEAA XC races visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/399898826709250/search/?q=SEAA%20XC%20Champs showing VRUK at the January 2017 event.
8. English National Cross Country Championships – 24 February 2024 (tbc)
The venue for the 2024 ECCA National Championship will be at Weston Park, off the A5 in Shropshire (https://weston-park.com/visit/ ). In February 2023 they were held at Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire where we had many members participating. The ECCA Championships are open to all EA-registered members of Vegan Runners UK. Runners of a wide range of abilities enter although it is not suitable for complete beginners. The senior women’s 8K starts at 1.35 pm and the senior men’s 12K at 3 pm with junior events preceding. With longer daylight and shorter distance, there isn’t a time limit for the men’s race except that conditions are likely to be tough at this time of year. The entry fee is £11 (tbc for the 2024 event). For more details about the event and the English Cross Country association go to https://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/the-national-cross-country-championships/entry-procedure/. There is normally a link at the bottom of the entry procedure that allows members to personally enter. Vegan Runners UK plans to have a shelter or tent at this event.
E-mail Peter Simpson on veganrunners(at)talktalk.net if you are interested.
For members on Facebook go onto the Club Members group and visit https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10162727405185212&set=pcb.815408402220186 where a member took lots of photos of the course and our runners at the 2020 event in Wollaton Park, Nottingham.
For good conditions like at Harewood House near Leeds in February 2019 visit our Community group https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2416524478358721&set=pcb.2354813194551127
9. Open Cross Country Events
There are of course open events organized by local clubs or organizations that do allow non-registered runners to enter. Check your local club website or other online diaries of running events.
