Popular national event is back following a one-year break due to the pandemic with more than 1000 teams set to compete in Berry Hill Park

The Saucony English Cross Country Relay Championships return for the first time since 2019 this Saturday (November 6) in Mansfield with a total of 1048 teams from around the country competing for honours in one of the traditional curtain raisers to the winter domestic season.

Last year’s event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic and entries are down a little this year – especially in the young athletes’ age groups – yet there are still more than 1000 teams for the 15th consecutive season.

First held at Crystal Palace in 1985, the event moved to Berry Hill Park in Mansfield in 1989 and has remained there ever since. Growing in popularity, the entries reached an all-time high in 2017 with 1283 teams in action.

What are the secrets of success for this event? Geographically, the central venue in Nottinghamshire is a place many clubs can reach without too arduous a journey. The undulating course is challenging and picturesque but not too gruelling.

The organisation is slick and the busy 10-race schedule with so many teams mean there are simply lots of athletes, which helps create a terrific atmosphere. Short legs for athletes ensure the racing is fast and furious and spectator-friendly. In addition, the focus on teams and not individuals is undoubtedly part of the event’s winning formula.

Clubs battle fiercely for honours, too, but it is relatively low-key compared to the bigger prizes available later this winter, which means athletes can use the event to ease into their season on the mud.

Entries are down a little this year but Ian Byett, secretary of the English Cross Country Association, says: “We are still delighted with all the uncertainties around that so many teams have entered again this year.”

It is also a relief that Berry Hill Park is available for use, too, as there has been a question mark over its future in recent years. Last winter Mansfield Harriers regained the right to use the synthetic track and pavilion in the park for the first time since 2012. The good news coincided with the club’s 100th anniversary too.

READ MORE: Mansfield Harriers return to Berry Hill Park

A total of 201 senior men’s teams and 155 senior women’s teams are entered but the pandemic is perhaps to blame for the fact the under-13 girls age group is set to feature 79 teams compared to 122 in 2019. This decline is mirrored across the other young age groups.

“With Covid protocols to try and observe this could be a blessing,” says Byett. “With Mansfield Harriers and Mansfield District Council now working in harmony, arrangements this year have gone well and the ECCA looks forward to getting the show on the road for another year.

“The Association is delighted to be back organising great cross country running and events are bound to be very competitive.”

Timetable – Saturday November 6
10.45am U20 women (3×2.5km)
10.57am U17 women (3×2.5km)
11.26am U13 boys (3x2km)
11.50am U13 girls (3x2km)
12.15pm U20 men (3x3km)
12.40pm U17 men (3x3km)
1.06pm U15 girls (3x2km)
1.30pm U15 boys (3x2km)
1.50pm Senior women (3x3km)
2.40pm Senior men (4x5km)

Results from 2019 included:

Senior men: 1 Leeds City; 2 Cambridge & Coleridge; 3 Bedford & County
U20 men: Shaftesbury Barnet; U17 men: Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow; U15 boys: South London; U13 boys: South London

Senior women: 1 Aldershot, Farnham & District; 2 Leeds City; 3 Cambridge & Coleridge
U20 women: Wolverhampton & Bilston; U17 women: AFD; U15 girls: Vale Royal: U13 girls: Wolverhampton & Bilston

Results from last month’s English area cross-country championships are in our member-only AW Clubhouse. For the North of England results click here; South of England click here; and Midlands click here.