The English National Cross Country Championships is an annual

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

event which takes place in late February following the regional championships (Southern, Midlands and Northern) which all take place on the same weekend usually in late January. The event is the oldest national cross country championship in the world, having been first run in 1876. The English, Welsh and Scottish National Cross Country Championships are all usually held on the same day.

Format

There are categories for senior men and women, junior men and women, U17, U15, U13 and club teams. The course is 12 km for men and 8 km for women and the fact that the distances for senior men and senior women is different has recently been a topic for discussion and review. Following a review of various surveys the English Cross Country Association voted to keep the race distances at 12 km for the senior men and 8 km for the senior women for the 2019 championship. The event is organised by the English Cross Country Association and currently sponsored by Saucony UK. As well as individual competition, senior athletes represent their athletics club for points scoring and team awards. Club teams consist of six senior men or four senior women.

Venues

The venue for the English National Cross Country Championships is not fixed and is usually hosted in turn by the regional associations. The men's and women's venues were held at different locations until 1995, when both were held at the same venue for the first time.

History

The first championship in 1876 was known as the 'National' and was declared void because all 32 runners went off course. The women's event was first held in 1927. The senior event winners are shown in the table. Up to 1994, the women's event was run separately at a different location from the men's race.

Winners

;Notes

References

{{English and British National Champions

External links

Official SiteUK AthleticsEngland Athletics
Athletics competitions in England Cross country running competitions Athletics team events Recurring sporting events established in 1876 1876 establishments in England Cross Country Cross country running in the United Kingdom National cross country running competitions