Cross Country | Burnden Road Runners

Team pictures from the Cross Country runners at Burnden Road Runners

If you haven’t tried Cross Country

Want to Experience the unknown

Are you in your Comfort zone?

Let’s Improve together

What can Cross Country do for me

If you want to improve as a runner, keep running injury free and be race ready for the new season ahead. Welcome to Cross Country

Cross Country is a great way to carry on your training through the winter months
Cross Country strengthens the legs and core muscles you never knew you had
Cross Country gives you the confidence and belief to run on different terrain
Cross Country is a great way to supplement your road running
Cross Country can relieve your Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) depression

Here is some information to let you know which leagues we take part on, how to enter and score level on how I and some internet blogs have perceived the effort involved for each event. Hopefully this can give you an idea of what to expect. But then again you might want to try the event for yourself and let me know how you score the event. We can update the score levels to help your fellow runners.

League Cross Country

Burnden take part in the following Cross Country leagues which run between October and March every year.

The entrance fee into the league covers all races. This is excellent value for money even if you only take part in one event.

Each event is a marked course and well marshalled.

We always try and put a few mens and ladies team together for each event.

You do not have to do all the events in the series but if you are in with a shout of an age category prize then you must at least have entered 3 of the 4 races.

Cross Country is open to all abilities where you will see the majority of the Northwest running clubs taking part. You will see all standards of runners taking part in Cross Country from veterans, to newcomers to competitive runners wanting to do their best or beat their teammates. They all have two things in common with the aim to enjoy themselves first and secondly to get fitter and stronger for next season.

See the individual League names for more a detailed league format (see tabs above)

If you are still reading. First of all well done I think you are seriously considering putting your name down for at least one Cross Country event in the winter calendar.

So dig out your cross country spikes or trail shoes it’s time to get them dirty.

What you will need to bring

Trail, fell shoes or cross country spikes

Wellies

Waterproofs

Warm gloves

Hat

Change of warm clothes

Burnden Vest with race number

Championships

You will also have the opportunity to put on the Burnden Vest for the following Championship Events. These events normally require teams of 6 for men and 4 for ladies to make up 1 team. We encourage all newcomers and more experienced runners to take part in one of these events as the events are are great way to get to know your fellow members in a social environment and experience what it is like to run with 300 plus other runners of all abilities and ages.

National Cross Country Championships
Northern Cross Country Championships
Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships
British Masters Open Cross Country Relay Championships

Directions to events

see websites

RED ROSE :http://redrosecrosscountry.co.uk/fixtures/

SOUTH EAST LANCS: http://selcc.co.uk/fixtures.html

SUNDAY LEAGUE: http://www.stevesaunders.co.uk/openingframe.htm

You will be familiar already with most of the teams and runners that enter the Red Rose league. So don’t be surprised if you are running next to a friend or acquaintance from another running club. All varieties of runners from newcomers, to veterans and front of the race competitive runners take part in this local league.

Number of Races: 4

Race Number: to be issued at the start and worn on the front of club vest. To be used for all 4 races. Loss of race number will be £2 to replace

START TIMES

Women: 13:35pm

Men: 14:15pm

DISTANCE

Women: 5,000m

Men: 10,000m

TEAMS AWARDS

Senior Women: 4 to count per team ‘A’, ‘B’ teams

Vet Women: first 3 to count ‘A’, ‘B’ teams in each age group

Senior Men: first 6 to count ‘A’,’B’ teams

VET Men: first 3 in each 5 year age group

AGE CATEGORIES

Senior: less than 35 years of age

Women: VET 35, VET 40, VET 45, VET 50, VET 55, VET 60, VET 70 +

MEN: VET 40, VET 45, VET 50, VET 55, VET 60, VET 70 +

Leigh Sports Village

Normally good conditions which makes the conditions more of a trail race then cross country. Good start to the calendar and for newcomers

Footwear

You can get away from trail or fell shoes if the weather has been dry leading up the event.

Experienced Runners

cross line with a grimace face

murmur: Oh, that was a fast one!!!!

Newbies

cross line with smiling face

murmur: Really enjoyed that

Leverhulme Park

A good XC course with a bit of everything. Lacking mud but still very enjoyable. Watch out for stream crossing

Footwear

I think it’s time to invest in some Cross Country spikes

Experienced Runners

cross line with smiling face

murmur: Loved the course

Newbies

cross line with smiling face

murmur: So this is what they mean by cross country

Central Vale Park

Challenging cross-country conditions

Footwear

I think it’s time to invest in some Cross Country spikes

Experienced Runners

cross line with smiling face

murmur: now that’s cross country

Newbies

cross line with smiling face

murmur: Oh dear, I can’t believe I have just done that!!!!!

Marl Pits

A favourite with the spectators!! Did I forget to mention the mud

Fell vs Cross Country?

Footwear

I think it’s time to invest in some Cross Country spikes

Experienced Runners

cross line with smiling face

murmur: loved it. We will be talking about Marl Pits for years

Newbies

cross line with smiling face

murmur: Is it OK for a grown person to cry?

One of the oldest Cross Country leagues in the country and is still popular with with clubs across the NorthWest including clubs from Manchester, Oldham, Bolton, Bury, Clayton and Chorley. This league tends to attract the cross country enthusiasts who don’t mind to tough it out in the January and February weather.

Number of Races: 4

Race Number: to be issued at the start and worn on the front of club vest. To be used for all 4 races. Lost numbers are £1 to replace

START TIMES

Women: 13:40pm

Men: 14:20pm

Distance

Women: 8,000m

Men: 10,000m

TEAMS AWARDS

Senior Women: 4 to count per team ‘A’, ‘B’ teams

Vet Women: first 3 to count ‘A’, ‘B’ teams in each age group

Senior Men: first 6 to count ‘A’,’B’ teams

VET Men: first 3 in each 5 year age group

AGE CATEGORIES

Senior: less than 35 years of age

Women: VET 35, VET 40, VET 45, VET 50, VET 55, VET 60, VET 70 +

MEN: VET 40, VET 45, VET 50, VET 55, VET 60, VET 70

Heaton Park

Plenty of undulation on a not so muddy course. Autumn conditions

Did I mention the uphill finish!!

Footwear

Trail or spikes shoes? Depends on the weather

Experienced Runner

cross line with smiling face

murmur: not bad

Newbies

cross line with smiling face

murmur: not as bad as first thought.

Heaton Park

Different running club host and a slight change of course

Tandle Hill

This is as tough as they come, depending on the weather, the ground can be frozen or very muddy but then you can get freak weather at this time of year and be sunny.

Soul searching….

Experienced Runner

cross the line with a grimace

Murmur: Why?

Newbies

cross the line with a grimace

Murmur: Why?

Yarrow Valley Country Park

First time of racing this course last year. Feedback from all teams were very encouraging. Not very muddy and very runnable.

Experienced Runner

cross the line with smile on face

Murmur: this is why I enjoy cross country

Newbies

cross the line with smile on face

Murmur: I done harder trail races than this if I take my time

First of all this is NOT an individual event

This is a TEAM event were everyone's position count

The first 6 men and first 3 women to finish from each team contribute to the team's overall score. Runners finishing outside of these places still help by pushing down other team members' placings. So it really is a club effort!

Currently there are around twenty clubs of all sizes who take part in the league and compete to be Mens and Ladies team winners at the end of the season.

At the end of each event the club hosting will invite all runners to enjoy some tea, coffee, sandwiches and biscuits in some sort of community hall, all for the princely sum of 50p. This creates a nice atmosphere to get to know the other teams while the event results are calculated.

Note: most of the events are in the Merseyside area so allow a little bit of extra time to drive down the East Lancs or M62. Is there any traffic on the roads Sunday Morning?

This is the best bit. All men and ladies start at the same time, there are no split start

Times.

START TIMES

Start time: 10:00am

Day: SUNDAY

DISTANCE

Roughly : 9K to 10K depending on the event.

TEAM PRIZE ONLY

Winners for Men

Winners for Ladies

Clarke Gardens

This is like an extended park run and is a lovely introduction to cross country. There are no toilets near the start. Full guide here.

Runcorn Town Park

Has a bit of everything in it; it is twisty, some-time muddy, runs through woods and open grass and has the infamous ski slope.

Beacon Park

The most challenging of the courses, this starts at the top of Beacon Fell and runs up and down and around it a few times. The views are breathtaking. The car parking next to the start is limited but there are other car parks nearby..

Birchwood Park

The muddiest of all races, the course takes in all the bad bits of Forest Park in Birchwood, if it was not for the mud it would be a fairly easy course.

Croxteth Park

Few of us at Burnden did run this event as a guest to see if we liked. We did …..

The course is a two lap course which is pretty flat terrain under foot, to mix it up a bit the course run through some woods on the parameter of the park with a small water crossing.

Arrow Park

I actually remember running at Arrow Park as a teenager. I have just looked at the map of the course and the course is pretty much the same. Running on the parameter of the field, Depending on the weather and underfoot conditions will give you all you need to know about running on grass.