English National Cross Country Championships

English National Cross Country Championships
English National Cross Country Championships
Frequency	annual
Country	England
Inaugurated	1876
Organised by	English Cross Country Association

The English National Cross Country Championships is an annual English cross country running 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[1] 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.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Past winners

Year	Location (m/w)	Men's Senior team	Senior Man	Women's Senior team	Senior Woman	Note/Ref
1876	Buckhurst Hill	declared void (32 ran)		not contested
1877	Roehampton	Thames Hare & Hounds	Percy H Stenning (Thames H&H)	not contested
1878	Roehampton	Spartan Harriers	Percy H Stenning (Thames H&H)	not contested
1879	Roehampton	Thames Hare & Hounds	Percy H Stenning (Thames H&H)	not contested
1880	Roehampton	Birchfield Harriers	Percy H Stenning (Thames H&H)	not contested
1881	Roehampton	Moseley Harriers	George A Dunning (Clapton Beagles)	not contested
1882	Roehampton	Moseley Harriers	Walter George (Moseley H)	not contested
1883	Roehampton	Moseley Harriers	George A Dunning (Clapton Beagles)	not contested
1884	Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield	Moseley Harriers	Walter George (Moseley H)	not contested
1885	Manchester	Liverpool Harriers	William Snook (Birchfield H)	not contested
1886	Croydon	Birchfield Harriers	J E 'Flyer' Hickman (Godiva H)	not contested
1887	Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield	Birchfield Harriers	J E 'Flyer' Hickman (Godiva H)	not contested
1888	Manchester	Birchfield Harriers	Edward W Parry (Salford H)	not contested
1889	Kempton	Salford Harriers	Edward W Parry (Salford H)	not contested
1890	Sutton Coldfield	Salford Harriers	Edward W Parry (Salford H)	not contested
1891	Prenton, Birkenhead	Birchfield Harriers	James Kibblewhite (Spartan H)	not contested
1892	Ockham	Birchfield Harriers	Herbert A Heath (South London H)	not contested		^[a]
1893	Redditch	Essex Beagles	Herbert A Heath (South London H)	not contested
1894	Blackpool	Salford Harriers	George Crossland (Salford H)	not contested
1895	Wembley	Birchfield Harriers	Steve Cottrill (Thames Valley H)	not contested
1896	Water Orton	Salford Harriers	George Crossland (Manchester H)	not contested
1897	Trafford Park	Salford H & Manchester H	Sidney Robinson (Northampton & County AC)	not contested		^[b]
1898	Horton, Northants	Salford Harriers	Sidney Robinson (Northampton & County AC)	not contested
1899	Wembley	Highgate Harriers	Charles Bennett (Finchley H)	not contested
1900	Rotherham	Finchley Harriers	Charles Bennett (Finchley H)	not contested
1901	Leicester	Essex Beagles	Alfred Shrubb (South London H)	not contested
1902	Lingfield	Highgate Harriers	Alfred Shrubb (South London H)	not contested
1903	Haydock	Birchfield Harriers	Alfred Shrubb (South London H)	not contested
1904	Wolverhampton	Highgate Harriers	Alfred Shrubb (South London H)	not contested
1905	Lingfield	Highgate Harriers	Albert Aldridge (Highgate H)	not contested
1906	Haydock	Sutton H & AC	Charlie J Straw (Sutton H & AC)	not contested
1907	Colwall	Birchfield Harriers	George Pearce (Highgate H)	not contested
1908	Newbury	Hallamshire Harriers	Arthur Robertson (Birchfield H)	not contested
1909	Haydock	Birchfield Harriers	James Murphy (Hallamshire H)	not contested
1910	Derby	Hallamshire Harriers	Fred C Neaves (Surrey AC)	not contested
1911	Taplow	Hallamshire Harriers	Fred N Hibbins (Thrapston H & AC)	not contested
1912	Haydock	Hallamshire Harriers	Fred N Hibbins (Thrapston H & AC)	not contested
1913	Wolverhampton	Birchfield Harriers	Ernest Glover (Hallamshire H)	not contested
1914	Chesham	Surrey AC	Charles Ruffell (Highgate H)	not contested
1915-1919 cancelled due to the World War I
1920	Windsor Great Park	Birchfield Harriers	Charlie Gibbon ^[c]	not contested
1921	Doncaster	Birchfield Harriers	Wally Freeman (Birchfield H)	not contested
1922	Hereford	Birchfield Harriers	Harry Eckersley ^[d]	not contested
1923	Beaconsfield	Birchfield Harriers	Joe Blewitt (Birchfield H)	not contested
1924	Doncaster	Birchfield Harriers	Cpl Bill M Cotterell (Royal Corps of Signals)	not contested
1925	Hereford	Birchfield Harriers	Cpl Bill M Cotterell (Royal Corps of Signals)	not contested
1926	Wolverton	Birchfield Harriers	Jack E Webster (Birchfield H)	not contested
1927	Crewe/Luton	Hallamshire Harriers	Ernie Harper (Hallamshire H)	Middlesex Ladies	Anne M A Williams (Littlehampton Ladies)
1928	Leamington/Chigwell	Birchfield Harriers	Jack E Webster (Birchfield H)	Middlesex Ladies	Lilian D Styles (Littlehampton Ladies)
1929	Beaconsfield/Perivale	Birchfield Harriers	Ernie Harper (Hallamshire H)	Middlesex Ladies	Lilian D Styles (Littlehampton Ladies)
1930	Sheffield/Wolverton	Birchfield Harriers	Wally B Howard (Kettering Town H)	Westbury Harriers	Lilian D Styles (Littlehampton Ladies)
1931	Kettering/Epsom	Birchfield Harriers	Jack Potts (Saltwell H)	London Olympiades AC	Gladys Lunn (Birchfield H)
1932	Wolverton/Coventry	Birchfield Harriers	Alec Burns (Elswick H)	Birchfield Harriers	Gladys Lunn (Birchfield H)
1933	Alderley Edge/Warwick	Birchfield Harriers	Tom Evenson (Salford H)	Airedale Harriers	Lilian D Styles (Haywards Heath Ladies AC)
1934	Dudley/Kettering	Birchfield Harriers	Sam Dodd (Wirral AC)	London Olympiades AC	Lilian D Styles (London Olympiades AC)
1935	Beaconsfield/Longbridge	Belgrave Harriers	Frank Close (Reading AC)	London Olympiades AC	Nellie Halstead (Radcliffe H & AC)
1936	Alderley Edge/Chidwell Row	Birchfield Harriers	Jack Potts (Saltwell H)	Small Heath Harriers	Nellie Halstead (Radcliffe H & AC)
1937	Stratford-upon-Avon/Perry Barr	Birchfield Harriers	Herbert D Clark (York H)	Birchfield Harriers	Lilian D Styles (London Olympiades AC)
1938	Reading/Luton	Mitcham AC	Jack Holden (Tipton H)	Birchfield Harriers	Evelyne Forster (Civil Service AC)
1939	Worsley/Rugby	Belgrave Harriers	Jack Holden (Tipton H)	Birchfield Harriers	Evelyne Forster (Civil Service AC)
1940-1945 cancelled due to the World War II
1946	Leamington Spa/Cheltenham	Belgrave Harriers	Jack Holden (Tipton H)	Birchfield Harriers	Pat Sandall (Birchfield H)
1947	Apsley/Oxford	Sutton H & AC	Archie A Robertson (Reading AC)	Birchfield Harriers	Ruby M Wright (St Gregorys Ladies AC)
1948	Sheffield/Sutton Coldfield	Belgrave Harriers	Sydney Wooderson (Blackheath H)	Birchfield Harriers	Ivy Kibler (Birchfield H)
1949	Birmingham/Worsley	Sutton Harriers	Frank E Aaron (Leeds St Marks AC)	Birchfield Harriers	E Johnson (Airedale H)
1950	Aylesbury/Parliament Hill	Sutton Harriers	Frank E Aaron (Leeds St Marks AC)	Birchfield Harriers	Avery Gibson (North Shields Poly Ladies AC)
1951	Richmond/Tadcaster	Sutton H	Frank E Aaron (Leeds St Marks AC)	Ilford AC	Phyllis Green (Ilford AC)
1952	Great Barr/Perry Barr	Victoria Park AAC	Walter Hesketh (Manchester A & CC)	Ilford AC	Phyllis Green (Ilford AC)
1953	Reading/Birmingham	Birchfield Harriers	Gordon Pirie (South London H)	Birchfield Harriers	Diane Leather (Birchfield H)
1954	Birkenhead/Aylesbury	Bolton United H & AC	Gordon Pirie (South London H)	Birchfield Harriers	Diane Leather (Birchfield H)
1955	Bedford/Leeds	South London Harriers	Gordon Pirie (South London H)	Ilford AC	Diane Leather (Birchfield H)
1956	Warwick/Sutton Coldfield	Sheffield United H & AC	Ken Norris (Thames Valley H)	Ilford AC	Diane Leather (Birchfield H)
1957	Parliament Hill/Enfield	South London Harriers	Frank Sando (Aylesford PMSC)	Ilford AC	June Bridgland (Southampton AC)
1958	Birkenhead/Winton	South London H	Alan F Perkins (Ilford AC)	Highgate Harriers	Roma Ashby (Coventry Godiva)
1959	Peterborough/Birmingham	Sheffield United H & AC	Frederick Norris (Bolton United H & AC)	London Olympiades AC	Joyce Byatt (Hampstead Heath H)
1960	West Bromwich/Morden Park	Derby & County AC	Basil Heatley (Coventry Godiva)	Ilford AC	Joyce Byatt (Hampstead Heath H)
1961	Parliament Hill/Sheffield	Derby & County AC	Basil Heatley (Coventry Godiva)	London Olympiades AC	Roma Ashby (Coventry Godiva)
1962	Blackpool/Wolverhampton	Derby & County AC	Gerry North (Blackpool & Fylde AC)	London Olympiades AC	Roma Ashby (Coventry Godiva)
1963	Cambridge/Richmond Park	Coventry Godiva	Basil Heatley (Coventry Godiva)	Mitcham AC	Madeleine C Ibbotson (Longwood Ladies)
1964	Leicester/Bury	Portsmouth AC	Mel Batty (Thurrock H)	Bury & Radcliffe AC	Madeleine C Ibbotson (Longwood Ladies)
1965	Parliament Hill/Birmingham	Portsmouth AC	Mel Batty (Thurrock H)	Maryhill Ladies AC	Pamela Davies (Selsonia AC)
1966	Sheffield/Watford	North Staffs & Stone HAC	Ron Hill (Bolton United H & AC)	Maryhill Ladies AC	Pamela Davies (Selsonia AC)
1967	Norwich/Blackburn	Portsmouth AC	Dick Taylor (Coventry Godiva)	Barnet & District AC	Pamela Davies (Selsonia AC)
1968	Sutton Coldfield/Coventry	Coventry Godiva	Ron Hill (Bolton United H & AC)	Cambridge Harriers	Pamela Davies (Selsonia AC)
1969	Parliament Hill/Aldershot	Tipton Harriers	Mike Tagg (Norfolk Gazelles)	Barnet & District AC	Rita Lincoln (Essex Ladies AC)
1970	Blackpool/Blackburn	City of Stoke AC	Trevor Wright (Hallamshire H)	Cambridge Harriers	Rita Lincoln (Essex Ladies AC)
1971	Norwich/Wolverhampton	Shettleston Harriers	Dave Bedford (Shaftesbury H)	Coventry Godiva	Rita Lincoln (Essex Ladies AC)
1972	Sutton Coldfield/High Wycombe	Tipton Harriers	Malcolm Thomas (Thames Valley H)	Cambridge Harriers	Rita Lincoln (Essex Ladies AC)
1973	Parliament Hill/Rawtenstall	Gateshead Harriers	Dave Bedford (Shaftesbury H)	Cambridge Harriers	Joyce Smith (Barnet Ladies AC)
1974	Sheffield/Leicester	Derby & County AC	Dave Black (Small Heath H)	Barnet & District AC	Rita Ridley (Essex Ladies AC)
1975	Stopsley/Parliament Hill	Gateshead Harriers	Anthony Simmons (Luton United AC)	Cambridge Harriers	Christine Tranter (Stretford AC)	^[e]
1976	Leicester/Blackburn	Gateshead Harriers	Bernie Ford (AFD)	London Olympiades AC	Ann Ford (Hounslow AC)
1977	Parliament Hill/Stoke	Gateshead Harriers	Brendan Foster (Gateshead H)	Sale Harriers	Glynis Penny (Cambridge H)
1978	Leeds/High Wycombe	Tipton Harriers	Bernie Ford (AFD)	Sale Harriers	Mary Stewart (Birchfield H)
1979	Stopsley/Runcorn	Gateshead Harriers	Mike McLeod (Elswick H)	AFD	Kathryn Binns (Sale H)
1980	Leicester/Rugeley	Tipton Harriers	Nick Rose (Bristol AC)	Birchfield Harriers	Ruth Smeeth (AFD)
1981	Parliament Hill/Colchester	Tipton Harriers	Julian Goater (Shaftesbury H)	Sale Harriers	Wendy Smith (Hounslow AC)
1982	Leeds/Carlisle	Tipton Harriers	Dave Clarke (Hercules Wimbledon AC)	Sale Harriers	Paula Fudge (Hounslow AC)
1983	Stopsley/Warwick	AFD	Tim Hutchings (Crawley AC)	Sale Harriers	Christine Benning (Southampton AC)
1984	Newark/Knebworth	AFD	Eamonn Martin (Basildon AC)	AFD	Jane Furniss [Shields] (Sheffield AC)
1985	Milton Keynes/Birkenhead	AFD	Dave Lewis (Rossendale H & AC)	Crawley AC	Angela Tooby (Cardiff AC)
1986	Newcastle/Leicester	Tipton Harriers	Tim Hutchings (Crawley AC)	Sale Harriers	Carole Bradford (Clevedon AC)
1987	Stopsley/Bexley	Gateshead Harriers	Dave Clarke (Hercules Wimbledon AC)	Sale Harriers	Jane Shields (Sheffield AC)
1988	Newark/Leeds	Birchfield Harriers	Dave Clarke (Hercules Wimbledon AC)	Birchfield Harriers	Helen Titterington (Leicester Coritanian)
1989	Epsom/Birmingham	Tipton Harriers	Dave Lewis (Rossendale H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Angie Pain (Leeds City AC)
1990	Leeds/Rickmansworth	Valli Harriers	Richard Nerurkar (Bingley H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Andrea Whitcombe (Parkside Harrow)
1991	Luton/Birkenhead	Bingley H & AC	Richard Nerurkar (Bingley H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Andrea Whitcombe (Parkside Harrow)
1992	Newark/Cheltenham	Tipton Harriers	Eamonn Martin (Basildon AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Lisa York (Leicester Coritanian)
1993	Parliament Hill/Luton	Bingley H & AC	Richard Nerurkar (Bingley H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Gillian Stacey (Bromley Ladies AC)
1994	South Shields/Blackburn	Blackheath Harriers	Dave Lewis (Rossendale H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Paula Radcliffe (Bedford & County AC)
1995	Luton	Blackheath Harriers	Spencer Duval (Cannock & Stafford A)	Parkside Harrow AC	Katy McCandless (Parkside Harrow) AC)
1996	Newark	Bingley H & AC	John Nuttall (Preston H & AC)	Parkside Harrow AC	Alison Wyeth (Parkside Harrow)	^[f]
1997	Havant	Tipton Harriers	Steffan White (Coventry Godiva)	Leeds City AC	Andrea Whitcombe (Parkside Harrow)
1998	Leeds	Bingley H & AC	Dominic Bannister (Shaftesbury Barnet H)	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	Mara Myers (Parkside Harrow)
1999	Newark	Tipton Harriers	Justin Pugsley (Birchfield H)	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	Angela Newport (Basingstoke & Mid Hants)
2000	Stowe	Tipton Harriers	Glynn Tromans (Coventry Godiva)	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	Tara Kryzwicki (Charnwood AC)
2001	Durham	Bingley H & AC	Mike Openshaw (Birchfield H)	Sale Harriers Manchester	Liz Yelling (Bedford & County AC)
2002	Bristol	Bingley H & AC	Sam Haughian (WSEH)	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	Liz Yelling (Bedford & County AC)
2003	Parliament Hill	Leeds City AC	Matt Smith (Tipton H)	Chester-le-Street & District AC	Hayley Yelling (WSEH)
2004	Leeds	Belgrave Harriers	Glynn Tromans (Coventry Godiva)	Bristol AC	Birhan Dagne (Belgrave H])
2005	Birmingham	Salford H & AC	Glynn Tromans (Coventry Godiva)	Bristol & West AC	Hayley Yelling (WSEWH)
2006	Parliament Hill	Leeds City AC	Peter Riley (Leigh H & AC)	Charnwood AC	Elizabeth Hall (Herts Phoenix)
2007	Sunderland	Leeds City AC	Frank Tickner (Wells City H)	Winchester & District AC	Liz Yelling (Bedford & County)
2008	Alton Towers	Leeds City AC	Tom Humphries (Cannock & Stafford AC)	Winchester & District AC	Liz Yelling (Bedford & County)
2009	Parliament Hill	Newham & Essex Beagles	Frank Tickner (Wells City Harriers])	Charnwood AC	Hatti Dean (Hallamshire H)
2010	Leeds	AFD	Andy Vernon (AFD)	Charnwood AC	Stephanie Twell (AFD)
2011	Alton Towers	Leeds City AC	Steve Vernon (Stockport Harriers & AC)	Charnwood AC	Louise Damen (Winchester & District)
2012	Parliament Hill	Leeds City AC	Keith Gerrard (Newham & Essex Beagles)	Hallamshire Harriers	Gemma Steel (Charnwood AC)
2013	Sunderland	Morpeth Harriers & AC	Keith Gerrard (Newham & Essex Beagles)	AFD	Louise Damen (Winchester & District)
2014	Nottingham	Bedford & County AC	Steve Vernon (Stockport Harriers & AC)	AFD	Gemma Steel (Charnwood AC)
2015	Parliament Hill	Notts AC	Charlie Hulson (Sale Harriers Manchester)	AFD	Lily Partridge (AFD)
2016	Donington Park	Morpeth Harriers & AC	Jonathan Hay (AFD)	AFD	Lily Partridge (AFD)
2017	Nottingham	Tonbridge AC	Ben Connor (Derby Athletic Club)	AFD	Jessica Judd (Chelmsford AC)
2018	Parliament Hill	Tonbridge AC	Adam Hickey (Southend-on-Sea AC)	Sale Harriers Manchester	Phoebe Law (Kingston & Poly AC)
2019	Harewood House, Leeds	Leeds City AC	Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton AC)	Leeds City AC	Emily Hosker Thornhill (AFD)
2020	Nottingham	Tonbridge AC	Calum Johnson (Gateshead H)	AFD	Anna Moller (AFD)
2021 cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Parliament Hill	Southampton AC	Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton AC)	Leeds City AC	Jessica Gibbon (Reading AC)
2023	Bolesworth Castle	Leeds City AC	James Kingston (Tonbridge AC)	Charnwood AC	Sarah Astin (Belgrave Harriers)
2024	Weston Park	Bristol & West AC	Hugo Milner (Derby AC)	AFD	Niamh Brown (AFD)	^[6]

Notes

^ Tie between Birchfield Harriers and Essex Beagles, in the subsequent run-off Birchfield won by 35 pts to 43 pts
^ Tie between Salford H and Manchester H
^ race won by Joseph Guillemot (guest)
^ race won by Joseph Guillemot (guest)
^ Guest D Nagle (Guinness AC) 1st
^ Nnenna Lynch (Oxford University AC) 1st – disqualified non-registered foreign athlete

References

^ ^a ^b Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and results, pages 73. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
^ "ECCA decides on National Cross Country Championship Distances for Senior Men and Women for 2019 | English Cross Country Association". 21 May 2018.
^ "Past Winners". English Cross Country Association. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
^ "Past Winners (senior men)". English Cross Country Association. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
^ "Past Winners (senior women)". English Cross Country Association. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
^ "Niamh Brown and Hugo Milner win English National titles". Athletics Weekly. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.

External links

[6] Tie between Birchfield Harriers and Essex Beagles, in the subsequent run-off Birchfield won by 35 pts to 43 pts

[7] Tie between Salford H and Manchester H

[8] race won by Joseph Guillemot (guest)

[9] race won by Joseph Guillemot (guest)

[10] Guest D Nagle (Guinness AC) 1st

[11] Nnenna Lynch (Oxford University AC) 1st – disqualified non-registered foreign athlete

[GS-1] Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and results, pages 73. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.

[2] "ECCA decides on National Cross Country Championship Distances for Senior Men and Women for 2019 | English Cross Country Association". 21 May 2018.

[3] "Past Winners". English Cross Country Association. Retrieved 11 August 2022.

[4] "Past Winners (senior men)". English Cross Country Association. Retrieved 11 August 2022.

[5] "Past Winners (senior women)". English Cross Country Association. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2022.

[12] "Niamh Brown and Hugo Milner win English National titles". Athletics Weekly. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.

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