This post will be left in place on the website and updated as the season progresses.
If you’re looking for results from Autumn/Winter 2025/26
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-autumn-winter-2025-26/
If you’re looking for results from Spring/Summer 2025
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-spring-summer-2025/
If you’re looking for events for September 2026 onwards – they, unsurprisingly, aren’t available yet!
Track & Field Season
The track & field outdoor season runs from the end of March to the end of September.
Age groups have now changed to be even numbers
Age groups are defined to be the age at 31 August at the end of the season,
- Under 12 are school years 5 & 6 for March to August.
- Under 14 are school years 7 & 8 for March to August.
- etc
We expect to have athletes competing in
- Yorkshire Championships (Under 14 is the youngest age)
- West Yorkshire T&F league (Under 12 is the youngest age) (a series of 7 meetings)
- One-off meetings (called “open” meetings) at Beckett Park, York, Wakefield, Cleckheaton, Cudworth, Doncaster etc (a few have an Under 10 category or allow year 4 to compete as under-12)
Other Events
Include
- two off-road relay races (one at Middleton Park, the other at Golden Acre Park)
- several junior “fun runs” held in association with local adult road and off-road races (including a recommended race at Adel and another race at Ilkley)
- junior races in association with fell races (there are lots of these but I’ve only listed some that are fairly local)
- a monthly 5k race at the Brownlee Cycle Circuit (age 11 and above)
- 800m and 1500m on the athletics track at Beckett Park (British Milers Club) and possibly field events for juniors too
- a mile race on the athletics track at Beckett Park
- choice of 6 junior parkruns in Leeds every Sunday
- choice of 11 parkruns in Leeds every Saturday
- triathlons, duathlons and aquathlons (they are in purple to make them easier to find (or easier to skip))
Alex Gostling’s List
Alex, who coaches the “C” group, has published a list of potential events for her group. I’ve included these at the end of each month. These may also be listed, with more details, in the main text, but if not, then contact Alex or Google for details
England Athletics Affiliation
For athletes in school years 5 and above competing in many track and field meetings, England Athletics Affiliation is needed. This costs £25. The E A year runs to 31 March 2027 so the payment will cover the cross country season too. And can be used to claim discount on road races e.g. the Leeds 5k series at Bodington (if aged 11 or older).
Everyone in the “C” group has paid initial membership fees to include E A affiliation; everyone not in the “C” group hasn’t.
Those not in the “C” group who want to compete in events needing E A affiliation should email [email protected] . If you know you’re going to enter such events in the next few months then do so straight away to save last minute panic.
But note that those who were affiliated for the 2025/26 year (ending 31 March 2026) will continue to be affiliated till 30/06/2026 so don’t need to panic now.
School years 5 and below do not need to PAY England Athletics Affiliation but, for some events, do need to be registered with E A and have a registration number.
Please see https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/members-area/club-information/membership-list/ to find your E A number and status. (this will be updated mid-April 2026)
SportSoft / Race-Results Entries System
Note that several of these events, including Wakefield Open and West Yorkshire T&F League, use the SportSoft/Race-results entry system https://www.race-results.co.uk/
To use this system you will need to create an account and you will need a user name. I suggest you use your 7-digit England Athletics number as your login user name.
If you are under 10 (years 1 to 4 for cross country, 1 to 4 for track and field) then, when you fill in your personal details, leave your England Athletics number blank.
Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon
| Code | Category | Age on 31 Dec |
|---|---|---|
| TSS | TriStars Starts | 8 |
| TS1 | TriStars 1 | 9 or 10 |
| TS2 | TriStars 2 | 11 or 12 |
| TS3 | TriStars 3 | 13 or 14 |
| A | Youth | 15 or 16 |
| B | Juniors B | 17 or 18 |
| C | Juniors C | 19 |
Calendar
Note regarding races marked “TBA”, we don’t know whether or not they will take place in 2026.
Sat 28 February – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 4 at Middleton Park
In 2024, in meeting 4, 16 VS juniors competed in the primary schools races and 7 in the secondary schools races
In 2025, in meeting 4, 35 VS juniors competed in the primary schools races and 8 in the secondary schools races
2026 results to follow
Tue 03 March – West Yorkshire Primary School Games cross country Final at Templenewsam.
Qualifying is via Leeds event on 4 February.
This event serves as a qualifier for school years 4,5,6 for the English event at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth on 21 March.
In 2025, more than 16 VS juniors competed for their schools and/or as individuals
Sat 07 March – Wakefield Indoor Junior Athletics meeting 3 at Thornes Park Stadium. 10:00-14:00
no Valley Striders
Sun 08 March – Peco Cross Country Relays and Juniors Relays at Middleton Park
https://pecoxc.co.uk/pages/relay.html
** Recommended for all junior members school years 2 and above
This is free entry provided you had entered the Series (November 2025 to February 2026)
** I’m managing all the teams – please see the Facebook post
In 2024, 12 teams each of 3 Valley Striders juniors took part
In 2025, 13 teams each of 3 Valley Striders juniors took part
In 2026, 14 teams each of 3 Valley Striders juniors took part, results to follow
Sat 14 March – English National Schools XC Championships (secondary schools) at Liverpool
Qualifying was via West Yorks event at GSAL on 31 January
https://esaa.org.uk/competitions/cross-country-championship/
Sat 21 March – English Schools Primary & Year 7 XC Championships at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth – qualifying is via West Yorks events on 03 February (for years 4-6) and on 31 January (for years 7). Year 3 may also enter as individuals, as may non-qualifiers for West Yorks team in years 4-7.
In 2024, 2 VS juniors competed for West Yorkshire in the Y4 races, 4 in Y5, 3 in Y6 and 4 in Y7. Also 2 ran in the Y3 race.
In 2025, 4 VS juniors competed for West Yorkshire in the Y4 races, 3 in Y5, 10 in Y6 and 0 in Y7. Also 2 ran in the Y3 race.
https://www.nationalprimary-year7crosscountryfinal.com/
2026 results to follow
Sun 22 March – South Yorkshire Indoor Open Series meeting 4 at EIS Sheffield (new school years 4 to 9 inclusive) (see section below)
https://www.sycaa.org.uk/indoor-series/
Events on this date are High Jump (U13&U15), 150m (U11&U13), 200m (U13&U15), 800m (600m U11), 300m (U15 only), Long Jump (U11 only), Javelin (U11 only)
Wed 25 March – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 2 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Sat 28 March – Northern Young Athletes 5K road champs (U15/U17) – Carlisle
Age groups from 1 April 2026 onwards
Note that the age groups change as follows
- road, cross country and track & field (outdoor and indoor) will all use age at the end of the competition year (31 August 2026 / 1 September 2026)
- all age groups will be in even year numbers U12, U14, U16, U18, U20
- U12 is normally school years 5&6, U14 is school years 7&8, U16 is school years 9&10
- EA affiliation required for league, county, region and national competition U12 and older (yes, including U12 even though there is no county, region or national competition for this age group)
- Because the EA year runs from 1 April to 31 March, one impact is that those currently in Y4 don’t have any competition till August but then, when they move up to Y5, then have to pay a full year EA affiliation fee for 7 months of competition.
Mon 06 April – York Track & Field open meeting 1 at Heslington
10:00 to 18:00
Prospectus https://meets.rosterathletics.com/pdf/meeting-information/97773ec0-c90d-4a71-b2a4-c045b4e5f32f/meeting-information-v1.pdf
Entry https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/about?id=28325
Entries close 7pm 30 March
In 2025, 1 VS junior competed
Tue 07 April – VS junior 1 mile race and VS club handicap 5k (age 11 and older) at Bodington Cycle Track (club members and guests)
In the most recent event in October 2025 half term holidays, 23 took part in the 1 mile and 10 in the 5k
Sun 12 April – Spenborough Track & Field open meeting closing date 29 March school year 5 and older
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/uploads/info6089.pdf
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=6089
Sun 12 April – West Yorkshire Junior Duathlon at Wyke Village Bradford
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Sat 18 April – Doncaster Track & Field spring open
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/uploads/info5804.pdf
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=5804
Sun 19 April – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 1 at Spenborough closing date 12 April school year 5 and older, £35 for 7 meetings.
All age groups need England Athletics Affiliation
Other dates are Wed 13 May, Wed 3 June, Wed 24 June, Sun 12 July, Wed 12 August, Sun 13 September
http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/wyl26index.htm
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=6046
From 10:30am to 4pm.
I will be there from 9:30am will be available to show newcomers round the track and field events and explain what will happen at each one. I’ll do that at 10:00.
In 2025, 3 VS juniors took part
Tue 21 April – first V S junior training session at GSAL
Wed 22 April – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 3 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Sun 26 April – junior athletics at Beckett Park
10am – 12noon
Age 7 to 11
Everyone gets one running event, one throwing event, one jumping event
Entry link for Beckett Park event
Sun 26 April – Harrogate Junior Aquathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
https://www.harrogatetriathlonclub.co.uk/the-harrogate-triathlon ???
Tue 28 April – second V S junior training session at GSAL
Other events in April TBC
- Brooksbank Triathlon
- Harrogate Junior Aquathlon (swim/run)
- Yorkshire County Junior Road Races at TBA (held in conjunction with Yorkshire Road Relays for club senior runners). NOT HELD IN 2024 or 2025
- Trafford U14/U16 medal meeting
- Trafford U18/U20+ open track meet
Mon 04 May – York Track & Field open meeting 2 at Heslington
In 2025, 5 VS juniors competed, including Harry Richards in the pentathlon
Sat 09 May – Wakefield Junior Duathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Sat 09 May – Yorkshire Track & Field County Championships day 1 at Cudworth (U14+)
Sat 10 May – Yorkshire Track & Field County Championships day 2 at Cudworth
Tue 12 May – Jack Bloor fell races incl junior races at Ilkley https://jackbloor.co.uk/race/
In 2025, no VS Juniors ran (but it was on a Tuesday evening)
Wed 13 May – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 2 at Wakefield
Sun 17 May – Cookridge Junior Fun Run (entries via Racebest) https://racebest.com/races/rws36
In 2025, 4 VS juniors competed
Thu 21 May – British Milers Club Races and junior events
BMC events have qualifying times but
Junior events (600m 800m and field events) open to all
Sun 24 May – Skipton Junior Triathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Mon 25 May – Ilkley Trail Race including junior races
In 2025, 6 VS juniors competed
Wed 27 May – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 4 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Other events in May TBC
- Meanwood P.S. PTA 2km and 5km “fun runs” at the Brownlee Centre
Sun 31 May – Leeds/Bradford Junior Aquathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Mon 01 June – British Milers Club Races and junior events
BMC events have qualifying times but
Junior events (600m 800m and field events) open to all
in 2025, 17 VS juniors competed
Wed 03 June – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 3 at Spenvborough
Sun 14 June – Leeds 10k (age 15 and older)
Wed 17 June – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 5 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Thu 18 June – York Track & Field open meeting 3 at Heslington
Sat 20 June – Richmond Junior Aquathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Wed 24 June – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 4 at Spenborough
Sun 28 June – Wakefield Junior Triathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Other events in June TBC
- Huddersfield Junior Triathlon TBC
Sun 05 July – Eccup Junior Races – entries via Racebest
A one mile race for school years 3 to 6 and a 2 mile race for school years 7 to 12.
Cost is £4 to enter in advance. See www.racebest.com website
Also a family fun run for school years 2 and younger – enter on the day. Cost is £2.
“Free Entry” – Valley Striders will refund your entry fee for these races – see the section on “Free Entry” below
In 2025, 23 VS juniors competed
Picture from 2024: (18 of the 32 before the start) (thanks to Gary Watt for the photo)
Wed 08 July – Danefield Relays on Otley Chevin, no specific junior races, minimum age 15
Sat 11 July – Ripon Junior Triathlon
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/yorkshire/take-part/junior-series/series-events
Sun 12 July – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 5 at Wakefield
Tue 14 July – Golden Acre Relays –
(also available to waiting list to run in VS teams)
V S club will manage entries for school years 2 to 7
The junior relays are for school years 2 to 7. The adult relays include a junior category for school years 8 to 12
All teams are of 3 runners, for the junior relay each run 1 mile, for the adult relay they each run 2.5 miles.
Age groups for junior relay, for a “younger” team all members must be school years 2 to 4, for an “older” team all members must be school years 2 to 7.
Age groups for adult relay, for a “young adult” team all members must be school years 8 to 12.
V S will manage the teams and pay for all the entries for 2026 for the junior relay.
Those wanting to compete in the junior relay should put their name forward on a Facebook Post (will be published soon)
Those wanting to compete in the junior category of the adult relay should enter a team themselves – please include “VS” and a space at the start of the team name.
2025 RESULTS
23 teams (69 runners) in the junior relay and 8 teams 14 runners in the adult relay
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/golden-acre-relay-results-2025/
Picture from 2024
Mon 20 July – British Milers Club Races and junior events
BMC events have qualifying times but
Junior events (600m 800m and field events) open to all
in 2025, 15 VS juniors competed
Wed 22 July – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 6 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Other events in July TBC
- Baildon Canter fell race (2 VS juniors ran in 2025)
Wed 12 August – West Yorkshire Track & Field League meeting 6 at Wakefield
Sun 16 August – York Track & Field open meeting 4 at Heslington
Wed 26 August – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 7 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Other events in August TBC
- Golden Mile at Beckett Park track – in 2025, 11 VS juniors competed
From 1 September, the new school year starts
for CROSS COUNTRY and ROAD, U10 is NEW school years 3 & 4, U12 is NEW years 5 & 6, U14 is NEW years 7 & 8, U15 is years 9 & 10 etc
for TRACK & FIELD the season continues till 30 September so U12 is still OLD school years 5 & 6, U14 is OLD years 7 & 8, U16 is OLD years 9 & 10 etc
Sun 13 September – West Yorkshire Track & Field Championships at Spenborough
Wed 23 September – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 8 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Wed 28 October – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 9 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
Wed 25 November – Leeds 5k at Brownlee Centre race 10 of 10 race series (see 25 Feb for details)
“Free” entry
For some races in our list of recommended events that are suitable for all abilities, Valley Striders will “pay” for your race entries by means of a discount of the value of your entry fee(s) if and when you renew your V S junior membership in 2027.
This applies to those that are currently junior members or junior limited training members (but not junior social members, nor “C” group members). If you are unsure of your membership type, check here https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/members-area/club-information/membership-list/
The small print – we won’t pay your entry fee if you enter but then don’t run.
This applies to Peco XC races (if you enter the series), Pudsey Junior Races and Eccup Junior Races and Wetherby Junior Races (£3 discount for Wetherby)
NB you also get free entry to Peco Relays and Golden Acre Relays because V S pay Racebest directly for all teams.
More detail
Junior parkrun
2km Take place every Sunday (except if other events in the parks) at 6 locations around Leeds (Bodington (Brownlee Centre), Bramley, Crossflatts, Horsforth Hall, Roundhay, Templenewsam) and nearly 350+ nationwide. Ages 4 to 14 inclusive.
V S junior parkrun challenge – run at all 6 venues at least twice between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026
parkrun
5km Take place every Saturday (except if other events in the parks) at 11 locations around Leeds (Armley, Bramley, Chevin, Crossflatts, Middleton, Potternewton, Rothwell, Roundhay, Templenewsam, Wetherby and Woodhouse Moor) and 800+ nationwide and a further 1300+ worldwide. Minimum age 11 although under-11’s may run if accompanied by an adult around the route.
V S parkrun challenge (for juniors) – run at all 11 venues at least once between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026
Meanwood Trail Junior Races at Leos
In 2018 and 2019 we organised races on a Tuesday evening in May, open to everyone.
1km for school years 2 to 4, 2km for school years 5 and 6, 3km for school years 7 to 11.
We may do another in 2027
West Yorkshire Track and Field League
Wakefield Stadium at Thornes Park
In 2026
3 meetings are at Thornes Park Stadium, Wakefield, WF2 8TY
4 meetings are at Princess Mary Stadium, Cleckheaton, WF15 6LW
Only open to club members. Minimum age 10 on 01/09/2026 i.e. currently school year 5 and above.
All juniors in this league must be affiliated to England Athletics. Cost for affiliation is £25p.a. but this then also covers entering similar events to 31 March 2027.
Age groups are U12/U14/U16/U18/U20 on 01/09/2026, e.g. U12 is school years 5&6
Cost for entry is £35 which covers League meetings 1 to 6 and the Championship (yes an average of under £5 per meeting if you compete in all), which is a lot cheaper than the typical cost of £10-£20 for an open meeting, i.e. it is worth entering even if you can only attend the three Sunday events. (NB also £35 for adults)
The closing date for the meeting 1 (19 April) is 12 April. This is very popular and may sell out before meeting 1
DETAILS FOR VENUES, EVENTS AT EACH MEETING AND RESULTS
http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/wyl26index.htm
Here is a summary that I have produced last year showing which events are available for each age group at each meeting. https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WYTF-Schedule-2025.xlsx
Email [email protected] to express an interest – we strongly advise you to contact us before entering
City of York Track and Field Open Meetings
Four dates have been announced for 2026 but there may be others. The first 2 are Monday 6 April 2026 and Monday 4 May 2026
In summary
Only open to club members. Minimum age 10 on 01/09/2026 i.e. currently school year 5 and above.
Age groups are U12/U14/U16/U18 on 01/09/2026
All U14 and older athletes (Y7 and above) must have E A affiliation. Policy for U12 athletes to be confirmed
Online entry at – https://meets.rosterathletics.com/
All athletes get a sprint and a middle distance event (600m or 800m) at every meeting, also field events at most meetings
Email [email protected] to express an interest – we strongly advise you to contact us before entering
Leeds Junior Run Series 2024/25?
The Leeds Junior Run Series 2019/20 comprised
– all the junior races organised by running clubs in Leeds
– the Peco cross country series
– the five junior parkruns in Leeds
It was due to run between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020 but was abandoned in March 2020.
It was free to enter and club membership was not needed.
There might be one in 2026