What is the 3-Counties League

The 3 Counties league is a local league of 12 teams.  The beauty of the 3 Counties league is that there is no pressure and there are plenty of fun runners taking part.  The distance of each race is never more than 5 miles and there isn’t a race clock in sight.  The post race social includes a roll, a cake and a cuppa (much more useful than a medal).

It’s great not knowing beforehand whether you will be changing in an International Sports Centre (like ours) or a cow shed!  The suspense continues until you are out on the course, sometimes trampling knee deep through mud, other times running along a pretty country track.  Hills may be a feature but nothing too strenuous.  Part of the fun is finding out whether the showers are still hot when you get back!  (The other part is………....have they got any showers?)  All in all an exiting way to spend a Sunday morning, supporting your running club at the same time. 

-Questions Frequently Asked About Cross Country-

Will I need special clothing and foot wear?

A club vest is essential as part of the rules, but what you wear with it is up to you and dependant on the weather e.g. gloves, thermals, long sleeved tee shirt, tracksters etc.  Off road running shoes or studded trainers are certainly beneficial but normal trainers are worn by many of the runners.

 What is a cross country course like?

The routes will be on grass, tracks, shingle paths, and mud but definitely no roads.

 How long are the races?

Each race distance is approximately 4.5 to 5 miles.  All race organizers have agreed the distances will be no longer than 5 miles.

 I am not a fast runner, is it worth me coming?

YES!!!  The beauty of cross country is that you are running for your club, how fast you go is irrelevant.  Placing is important right down to the last scorer in each of the teams.  You may be the 200^th runner to finish, but if the runner behind you is the last scorer of his team then he will score 201, pushing up their points score.

 How does the scoring system work?

Men and women all run together but score for their gender.  The first 7 men and the first 3 women score for their team.  Two of the men MUST be vets and one of the women MUST be a vet.  So, imagine a race where the first 7 men and the first 3 women are Harriers (with the requisite number of vets).  The placings for the men are totaled (1+2+3+4+5+6+7 =28) and the placings for the women (1+2+3=6) and the two scores are added together, so our score for the race would be 34.  Then, if the next few runners to cross the line were also Harriers, even though they wouldn’t score for the team, they would be ensuring that the next runner to score for another team would have a far higher number.  The team with the lowest score wins.  The more Harriers we get running in each race the more chance we have of pushing other scorers further down the line.  (If this isn’t clear on paper, ask a coach to explain it to you.)

 How can I get to races if I don’t drive or don’t want to travel on my own?

Runners will be invited to meet at the club so that we can car share.

 How do I enter?

A sheet will go up on the notice board in due course for you to put your name on to register for the league.  Before each individual race another sheet will go up asking for names of people going to that race. 

 We will meet at the club at 9.10am for car sharing or at the venue at 9.30am.  There will be a notice on the board nearer the time to advise of the arranged meeting place.

 And finally ………………………

3 Counties Cross Country league is for ALL runners; fast, slow or intermediate.  The bottom line is that they are fun events with a great feeling of camaraderie and NO PRESSURE. 
 

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