13 September 2016

The British Athletics Cross Challenge is back for the 2016/2017 season and is bigger than ever after record high levels of participation during last year’s event.

Prestwold Hall, Loughborough will host the finale at the UK Inter Counties on 11 March 2017 for the very first time. The event also incorporates the trials for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda, so will have an added incentive alongside the chance to become the British Athletics Cross Challenge champion. With Dewi Griffiths (coach: Kevin Evans) and Kate Avery (Tony Simmons) securing the senior titles at the Final last year, can they retain their titles or will someone else achieve the domestic honour?

The Cross Challenge series will open at Teardrop Lakes in Milton Keynes on 12 November, which will be hosting a fixture for the third consecutive year. With European under 23 cross country champion Jonny Davies (Rob McKim) opening his Cross Challenge season there last year, the event provided the perfect warm-up for the Reading athlete ahead of a successful winter season. 

Liverpool will once again host the popular fixture at Sefton Park on 26 November, acting as the trials for the European Cross Country Championships which will be held in Chia, Italy in December. There were a record number of entrants for the event in 2015 with athletes coming from across Europe to be part of this much-loved fixture. The event also contributed to another successful outing for the British Athletics team at the Euro Cross, where they won nine medals, including three individual medals, just a fortnight after the trials.

Antrim returns to host the third fixture of the series in January, and the first of 2017. The event in Northern Ireland returned during last year’s series after a one year absence but will once again take place at CAFRE, Greenmount Campus.

Blackweir Fields in Cardiff will play host to the fourth fixture, a week after a trip to Antrim. After the visit to the Welsh capital, the leader boards across the age-groups will be starting the take shape, with double points on offer at the finale in Donington, deciding who will be the Cross Challenge winners over the 2016/2017 season.

Fixtures for the 2016/17 British Athletics Cross Challenge series:

12 November 2016 – Teardrop Lakes, Milton Keynes

26 November 2016 – Sefton Park, Liverpool – incorporating the Trials for the European Cross Country Championships

14 January 2017 – CAFRE, Greenmount Campus, Antrim

22 January 2017 – Blackweir Fields, Cardiff

11 March 2017 – Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, on Saturday 11th March – incorporating UK Inter Counties Championships & IAAF World Cross Championships

More information regarding the Cross Challenge, including entry forms, can be found on the Cross Challenge pages of the British Athletics website. These can be located here: http://www.britishathletics.org.uk/competitions/the-british-athletics-cross-challenge/