Contents
- Club Cross Country
- Schools Cross Country
- England Athletics Affiliation
- Road Races, Indoor Track & Field, Parkrun Challenges
The cross country season has arrived and I have just published a new page on the website
https://www.valleystriders.
This lists about 25 cross country meetings available to Valley Striders members. The majority are local. Some are club events, some are school events, some are all ages, some are primary schools age only, some are secondary schools age only, but still plenty of choice for everyone.
Just a summary here – for more information and entry links go to the autumn/winter events page on the website.
Club cross country includes
- Peco XC League (Peco is the name of the sponsors) – 6 meetings, November to March, all on Sunday mornings, all in Leeds except one in Pontefract, minimum age school year 2, suitable for all abilities, £8 for the whole series and those who run get race fees refunded in 2027 membership fee. Entries open already. First race 8 November, closing date 6 November at 2pm, enter by 27 October to get your name printed on your race number bib.
- West Yorkshire XC League – 5 meetings, October to February, mixture of Saturday and Sunday mid-day to early afternoon, furthest away is Keighley, school year 5+, good standard but definitely OK for most year 5’s as their ace is 2k and won’t get left behind, £25 for whole series, needs England Athletics affiliation. Entries open already. First race 11 October, closing date 4 October
- Yorkshire XC Championships, Roundhay Park in January, school year 7+
- And several more competitions for school years 7+
Schools cross country includes
- Leeds Schools XC League – 4 meetings, October to January, all on Saturday mornings, all in Leeds, school years 3 to 10, suitable for all abilities, entry only via school PE teacher or equivalent. NB many schools aren’t eligible as they haven’t “joined” the League. First race probably 10 October but not yet confirmed
- Leeds Primary Schools – schools are allocated to a local meeting (most Striders are in schools who go to the North-East meeting), mid-week afternoon, North-East usually late November, best athletes and best school teams qualify for ….
- Leeds primary schools final, usually at Temple Newsam in February, best athletes and best school teams qualify for ….
- West Yorkshire primary schools final, usually at Temple Newsam in March
- Leeds primary schools final, usually at Temple Newsam in February, best athletes and best school teams qualify for ….
- And several more competitions for secondary schools
England Athletics affiliation
Most club competitions (but not Peco) require EA affiliation. If you are entering a club competition that needs EA affiliation:
- To see your EA number and check your status go to
- https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/members-area/club-information/membership-list/
- If not affiliated, please pay £23 (not £25) to the Club Membership account (last two digits 78)
- (if you’ve paid £25 since 10 September I will refund you £2)
Also road races and indoor track and field
- Road races continue all year round including the monthly 5k races at Brownlee Centre (age 11+), Abbey Dash 10k (age 15+)
- Track and field continues but is indoors. The “local” venue is Sheffield where they have a 200m track and facilities for long jump, high jump and shot put. Some meetings are Y5+, other Y7+
- And don’t forget our Parkrun Challenges. 5 juniors completed a challenge for 2025/26 and the second edition runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/juniors-parkrun- challenges-2025-26/