The Metropolitan League, also referred to as the Met League, is a

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 ...

league in South East England formed of clubs from around

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the home counties. Formed in 1966, it is one of the oldest leagues in the country. There are five league fixtures held in various locations between October and February. Male and female athletes aged 11 upwards compete at each fixture and there are six races which are categorised as * under 11s, * under 13s, * combined under 15s and under 17s, and * seniors and veterans. The senior and veterans races also include divisions one, two and three. The league as a whole is the largest in numbers in the UK, after the North Eastern Harrier League.

History

The league was founded on 23 March 1966 when eight of the major London athletic clubs met at the Primrose public house in

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

to discuss cross country competition. All clubs signed up and the first fixture was held in October that year at

Hainault Forest Hainault Forest Country Park is a Country Park located in Greater London, with portions in: Hainault in the London Borough of Redbridge; the London Borough of Havering; and in the Lambourne parish of the Epping Forest District in Essex. Geograp ...

. Nine clubs entered over 260 athletes in the two races: one for seniors and juniors, the other for youths and boys. For the first five years there were only four matches per season but this expanded to five in 1971.

Competition format

Athletes are awarded points dependent on their finishing position in the race. The higher the position, the more points accrued. For senior men, the total points from the top 12 athletes at a club make up their 'A' team score. The next 12 athletes to finish at that club (i.e. positions 13–24) count towards the 'B' team. For senior women only six athletes make up a team. At the end of the season, the team with the most points is declared the champion. Guest runners are allowed to run for a small surcharge.

Race venues

The five venues are decided before the start of every season and these races are hosted by the member clubs. Whilst these can vary year on year depending on availability for the last few years these have been

Claybury Claybury Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Woodford Bridge, London. It was built to a design by the English architect George Thomas Hine who was a prolific Victorian architect of hospital buildings. It was opened in 1893 making it the Fifth ...

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

and

Trent Park Trent Park is an English country house, together with its former extensive grounds, in north London. The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as the Orangery) are Grade II listed b ...

Clubs

Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets Athletics Club Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets Athletics Club (VPH & TH AC) is an athletics club in London in Tower Hamlets, East London, United Kingdom. Competitions For competitions, in Track and Field, VPH competes in Division 2 of the Southern Athle ...

Highgate Harriers Highgate Harriers are a UK Athletics club based in North London. Their home track is Parliament Hill, London Athletics track. They compete in the Southern Athletics League Division 2 East and the Metropolitan Cross Country League. Night of the ...

Thames Valley Harriers Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) is an athletics club founded in 1887. It is based at the Linford Christie Stadium, in West London, England, which is named after member and Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Linford Christie. In track and field, TVH ...

Woodford Green and Essex Ladies Hillingdon Athletics Club Barnet & District AC Herts Phoenix Trent Park Running Club

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers are a UK athletics club based in Hendon, north west London. Their home track is Copthall Stadium. History Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers was founded in 1890 and amalgamated with Barnet Ladies in autumn 1986. The club qua ...

Ealing Eagles Running Club

Honours

Clubs

Since 1966, Thames Valley Harriers have won the most men's titles, a total of 33. Since 1994, Highgate Harriers have been the most successful women's club, winning the trophy on 21 occasions.

Athletes

Julian Gentry of Newham and Essex Beagles holds the most individual titles, a total of eight. These were won consecutively from 1989 to 1996. Svenja Abel (Highgate Harriers) has won the women's title four times, in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010.

References

{{reflist Cross country running competitions Cross country running in the United Kingdom Athletics in London Sports leagues in London 1966 establishments in England