Burnden Does Cross Country
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)
The following is taken from my own experience and reading other runners blog pages. After each race this year we can update these comments, so let me know what your thought of the events!!
Ideal for Newcomers
- NEW for calendar : North West Sunday Cross Country League: 5 Races.
- Red Rose League : race 1 and race 2
- South East Lancs : race 1 and race 4
For the more experienced
- Red Rose League : race 3 and race 4
- South East Lancs : race 3
- North West Sunday Cross Country League: Beacon Park
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.
HOW TO ENTER
You can email me with the following information.
Red Rose League
I need to enter your details onto the https://www.race-results.co.uk website
First Name, second name, Date of Birth
South East Lancs
First name, Second name, Vet category
NorthWest Sunday League
First name ,Second name, Date of Birth
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 the Events
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
NORTHEN MASTERS CROSS COUNTRY : http://northernmasters.co.uk/event/nmac-xc-champs/?instance_id=131
Northen Masters Cross country Championship Sunday 1st February - entry form here
Red Rose League
Red Rose League
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
SPECIAL MEMENTO
All athletes who are entered by their team manager and do at least one race will get a 50th anniversary running buff.
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 +
2021 Season Calendar
Saturday 2nd October - Leigh
Saturday 16th October - Bolton
Saturday 13th November - Todmorden
Saturday 4th December - Rossendale
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?
Northwest Sunday
North West Sunday Cross Country League
This is the first year we as Burnden are going to take part in this exciting league. We are not concerned about times, we are running for positions.
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
2019/2020 Calendar
This year will be the first time we have taken part in this event. So the following writeups have been taken from our friends at Lymmrunners. (https://lymmrunners.org.uk/nw-cross-country-league-201112/)
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.
South East Lancs
South East Lancs
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 +
2019/20 Season Calendar
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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
National Cross Country Championships
National Cross Country Championships
When
Saturday 22nd February 2020
Start: Senior Ladies: 13:35pm
Senior Men: 15:00pm
All day Event
How Long
Distance: 8k ladies
12k men
Scoring
Score: men 6 to score
Ladies 4 to score
Where
Wollaton Park
Nottingham
Entry and Closing Date
closing date 10th January 2020
Entries : 1st November 2019
Please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to participate
Qualification
(1) Only Clubs affiliated to England Athletics (EA) may enter, checks will be made and all athletes listed MUST be registered also with EA.
(2) All athletes must be First-claim members of their club. Athletes who do not qualify for team competition may enter but must be clearly indicated on the online system. Athletes will be allowed to change their first claim club after the closing date on condition that: i) He / She has been a entered by the closing date by their former First Claim Club, ii) England Athletics have approved the change of First Claim Club, iii) The request to change the First Claim Club, and confirmation by EA, has been received by the Championship Secretary by 12:00 on the Friday, two weeks and one day before the competition (7th February).
