By Andy Inchley

The 137^th running of the National cross-country championships at Parliament Hill would struggle to be any further removed from the 136^th running at Weston Park last September.

Last September’s race – which was highly unusual due to the postponement from February – was run on a lovely late summers day around grassy parkland at a stunning rural venue near Telford. Amy and I were the only club representatives that day and thoroughly enjoyed the outing (without the kids!). read more

Eastern Athletics XC and British & Irish Masters’ International XC

by Pete Mackrell

Last Saturday was evidently a day for dirty running. Close to home, 10 members completed the Dirt Half whilst further away, 10 more were competing in cross country. Of those, a hardy bunch of eight men and one girl made the trip over to Keysoe to participate in the Eastern Athletics Cross Country Championship.

The Eastern Athletic Association is a curious thing; it consists of the geographically diverse counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. It organises various events including an annual cross-country championship which dates back to 1937 (for the men, women have been included from 1992!). It used to be a high-profile event and it has some high-profile former winners, however in recent years it has fallen from grace somewhat, participation has dropped and some years it wasn’t held at all. This seems a shame, although perhaps it’s inevitable with so many events on the calendar. read more

Chiltern Cross Country League 18/19

Fixture 2 – Teardrop Lakes

An unusually dry Autumn in the run up to the LBAC’s home fixture of the campaign meant that there was none of the usual boggy or slippy conditions on the course at Teardrop Lakes.

Warm, bright sunshine greeted those setting up the course early in the morning (huge thanks to all those involved!) and when the Juniors arrived it was looking like a lovely day for running.

Thanks also to those who gave up their time to marshal the races, standing out there for the entire day but still giving big cheers to all those in Purple and Gold. read more

Chiltern Cross Country League – Fixture 5 – Campbell Park

Another Chiltern Cross Country League season comes to an end and once again we are pleased to maintain our position in Division 1. As mentioned at the recent AGM, it wasn’t many years ago that we would never have dreamed of even reaching Division 1 so we must give ourselves a pat on the back for staying up there with the big boys.

Part of the reason for this is how the club has grown and we are now no longer reliant on one particular age group to pull us through. The ladies team in particular has strengthened so much that we can still put a good team out despite missing a number of key runners. read more