This post will be left in place on the website and updated as the season progresses.
Updated 29/11/23 with results from WYXC 2, Peco 1, National XC Relays, Abbey Dash, LSAAXC 1, LSAAXC 2 and Leeds Primary School Games Northeast XC (if any results missing please email [email protected])
Updated 23/10/23 Change of date for Peco Race 5
Updated 12/10/23 with confirmed dates and venues of Peco XC League, results from WYXC 1 and links to new Leeds Schools XC website.
Updated 08/09/23 with dates of LSAA schools cross country league, some dates of Leeds Primary School Games XC
Originally published 24/08/23. Many events are listed without a date; they are likely to take place but no date has been confirmed.
Please email [email protected] with additions and/or corrections.
NB If you’re looking for events after 7 March 2024, see (not available yet)
NB If you’re looking for events and results before 31 August 2023, see
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-spring-summer-2023/
NB If you’re looking for results from Autumn/Winter 2022/23
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-autumn-winter-2022-23/
For an explanation of England Athletics Registration and Affiliation, see the bottom of this page
Age Groups – please read!
Age groups for Road and Cross Country are age at 31 August / 1 September 2023. So U11 is normally new school years 5&6, U13 is normally new school years 7&8, etc
Track & Field events in September are considered to be the final month of Summer, so ages are at 31 August / 1 September 2023. So U11 is normally new school years 5&6, U13 is normally new school years 7&8, etc
Track & Field events (including indoor athletics) from October onwards are considered preparation for Summer 2024, so ages are at 31 August / 1 September 2024. So U11 is normally new school years 4&5, U13 is normally new school years 6&7, etc
Confusing, isn’t it?!
Calendar
This covers the period 1 September 2023 to 29 February 2024, but also shows a few of Summer 2023’s track & field season that ran over into September and a few of Winter 2023/4’s cross country season that will run over into March 2024.
Note regarding races marked “TBA”, we don’t know whether or not they will take place in 2023/24. They are shown in the calendar in the same month as they took place in 2022/23
Summary
| Competition | Type | Via | Ability | When | No. | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7 | Y8 | Y9 | Y10 | Y11 | Y12 | Y13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary XC Local | XC | Sch | any | mid-wk | 1 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | ||||||||
| Primary XC Lds/WY | XC | Sch Q | med | mid-wk | 2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | ||||||||
| Leeds Schools XC | XC | Sch | any | Sat | 5 | U9 | U9 | U11 | U11 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | ||||
| Sec School WY | XC | Sch Q | med | Sat | 1 | Y7 | Jun | Jun | Int | Int | Sen | Sen | |||||
| School Counties | XC | Sch Q | exp | Sat | 1 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 | Y6 | Y7 | Jun | Jun | Int | Int | Sen | Sen | |
| Peco XC | XC | Club | any | Sun | 5 | 1mi | 1mi | 1mi | 1mi | 1mi | 2mi | 2mi | 2mi | 2mi | 2mi | Sen | Sen |
| Peco XC Relay | XC | Club | any | Sun | 1 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Sen | Sen |
| W Yorks XC | XC | Club | med | wk-end | 4 | U11 | U11 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | U20 | |||
| Yorks XC | XC | Club | exp | 6Jan | 1 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | U20 | |||||
| North & England XC Relays | XC | Club | exp | 21Oct & ??Nov | 2 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | U20 | |||||
| North & England XC Champs | XC | Club | exp | 27Jan & 17or24Feb | 2 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | U20 | |||||
| Sth Yorks Indoor | T&F | Club | med | Sun | 4 | U11 | U11 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | ||||||
| North Indoor | T&F | Club | exp | Sat | 3 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | U20 | U20 | ||||
| Wetherby jnr race | Road | Club | any | 17Sep | 1 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10k | 10k | 10k |
| North & England Road Relays | Road | Club | exp | 23Sep & 7Oct | 2 | U13 | U13 | U15 | U15 | U17 | U17 | Sen | |||||
| Abbey Dash jnr race | Road | Club | any | 22Oct | 1 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 10k | 10k | 10k | ||
| Leeds 5k | Road | Club | med | Wed | 4 | age 11 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | ||||||
| Golden Mile | Track | Club | med | 23Sep | 1 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
School competitions are open to everyone if your school is registered for the event.
Q in “Via” column means by qualification from a local event.
All Club competitions can be entered by anyone but please take note of “Ability” column.
.
Sat 02 September Wakefield Open meeting T&F CANCELLED
Sun 10 September York Open meeting T&F ages as at 01/09/2023
See https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-spring-summer-2023/
*** Entries now open, close on 4 September ***
Sun 10 September West Yorkshire T&F 7 Cleckheaton ages as at 01/09/2023
See https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/events-for-juniors-spring-summer-2023/
*** Entries closed unless you bought a season ticket in April/May ***
Sat 16 September Wakefield Open meeting T&F CANCELLED
Sun 17 September – Wetherby Junior Races at 12:30pm – Fun run £5.00 enter on the day from 11am all ages (pre7’s to run with fee paying parent guardian) starts and finishes at Wetherby Racecourse. The junior race is before the Wetherby 10k and there will be a start and finish gantry, a race clock, and lots of food and drink! https://wetherbyrunnersac.co.uk/wetherby-run-10k/
“Discounted Entry” – Valley Striders will refund £3 of your entry fee for this race – see the section on “Free Entry” below
RESULTS
2 Harry Whittaker 10:26
5 Abigail Bottomley 11:41
13 James Whittaker 12:09
16 Ava McLarkey 12:42
17 Samuel McLarkey 12:43
18 Caitlyn Hartley 13:15
20 Ruby Wilson 13:24
28 Niamh Archbold 13:50
30 Francesca Dickinson 14:02
64 Izzy Grosvenor 16:53
Fri 22 September – Leeds Primary School Games cross country Southern area at Middleton Park (see section below)
Sat 23 September – “Golden Mile”– one mile track races at Beckett Park for ages 8 to 99. Separate heats for ages 8-11 and for ages 12-16. To enter https://racebest.com/races/9rf6t. Race limit 150 so enter early! In 2022 we had 9 runners.
RESULTS
45 Joseph Whitehouse 5:39
52 Ewan Reid 5:41
77 Josh Salmon 6:17
83 Levi Woodger 6:30
86 Abigail Bottomley 6:49
104 Niamh Archbold 7:37
Sun 24 September Northern 6&4 Stage Road Relays and Young Athletes Relays at Birkenhead Park. Teams of 3 juniors in U13/U15/U17 age categories (U13 is school years 7 and 8). Richard & Alex will organise team entries.
Sat 30 September – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 1 at Middleton Park (see section below)
RESULTS (includes V S members past, present and possibly future, please let me know if I’ve missed anyone)
U9 Girls 4 Alice Hirst-Sewell Richmond House, 5 Jessica Nichols Richmond House, 9 Ella Shanks Horsforth Newlaithes, 16 Francesca Furness Richmond House, 25 Helena Bolhasani St Matthew’s, 36 Elise Humble Gledhow
U9 Boys 5 Caleb Keene GSAL, 8 Jasper Bennett Roundhay, 11 Leo Freer Meanwood, 13 Alfie Thomas Gledhow, 28 Kyle Reid Moortown, 31 Jack Williamson Gledhow, 33 Edward Sharp Meanwood, 46 Elliot Rushgrove Roundhay, 49 Oliver Breedon Roundhay, 68 Alex Burbidge Roundhay
U11 Girls 11 Dora Walmsley Gledhow, 13 Ezzie Yansaneh St Margaret’s, 22 Laurie Phillips St Matthew’s
U11 Boys 2 Owen Maghaireh GSAL, 6 Samuel Keene GSAL, 7 Lewis Buchan GSAL, 11 Josh Salmon Roundhay, 23 Jenson Bennett Roundhay, 34 Hugo Earl Gledhow, 35 Louis Williamson Gledhow, 37 James Whittaker Roundhay, 46 George Redmond Roundhay, 60 Leo Guppy St Matthew’s
U13 Girls 1 Ruth Friend Abbey Grange, 7 Sylvie Nichols GSAL, 12 Isla Butterworth Roundhay, 26 Maddie White Roundhay, 30 Olivia Caleb Cardinal Heenan
U13 Boys 4 Dan Breedon Roundhay, 5 Ewan Reid Allerton Grange, 11 Sammy Whitehouse Prince Henrys, 12 Harry Durbin Roundhay, 13 Eaden Lyons Prince Henrys, 14 Harry Whittaker Roundhay, 23 James Whittle GSAL, 45 Harrison Humble Roundhay, 46 Ted Burbidge Roundhay
U15 Boys 2 Sam Redmond Roundhay, 5 James Gostling GSAL, 6 Simeon Tedd Woodhouse Grove, 10 Joel Caleb Cardinal Heenan, 12 Joseph Whitehouse Prince Henrys, 15 William Caleb Cardinal Heenan
Sat 07 October – English 6&4 Stage Road Relays and Young Athletes Relays at Sutton Coldfield. Teams of 3 juniors in U13/U15/U17 age categories (U13 is school years 7 and 8). NO JUNIOR TEAMS ENTERED
Sun 08 October – West Yorkshire Cross Country League meeting 1 at Nunroyd Park, Guiseley. Club members only, minimum age 9 on race day, closing date 1 October (other dates are Sun 29 Oct, Sat 18 Nov, Sun 10 Dec). U11/U13/U15/U17 (U11 is school years 5 and 6). See section below for more information including how to enter. In 2022 we had 7 runners at this meeting. In 2023 we had 19 runners!
Results
U11 boys – 17 Bertie Bell, 27 Levi Woodger, 39 Jenson Bennett, 54 Jacob Coleman, 54 ran, team position 6th
U11 girls – 4 Imogen Burton, 28 Chloe Deak, 29 Dora Walmsley, 31 Niamh Archbold, 35 ran, team position 4th
U13 girls – 1 Ruth Friend, 38 Flo Morris, 39 Jess Rollings, 56 ran, team position 5th
U13 boys – 9 Dan Breedon, 10 Ewan Reid, 16 Sammy Whitehouse, 20 Harry Whittaker, 37 ran, team position 2nd
U15 boys – 4 Sam Redmond, 9 James Gostling, 21 Joseph Whitehouse, 38 ran, team position 4th
U17 men – 19 Conor Butterworth, 28 ran
Full results http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/wyxcl23index.htm
TBA Sun ?? October – Yorkshire Open Indoor Athletics at EIS Sheffield – ages as at 01/09/2024 e.g. U13 is “new” school years 6 and 7.
I’ve not seen any information about this meeting. It occurred for the first time in 2022 so may not be taking place in 2023
Sat 14 October – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 2 at Cardinal Heenan
RESULTS (includes V S members past, present and possibly future, please let me know if I’ve missed anyone))
U9 Girls 4 Jessica Nichols Richmond House, 5 Alice Hirst-Sewell Richmond House, 10 Ella Shanks Horsforth Newlaithes, 19 Harriet Hirst-Sewell Richmond House, 26 Helena Bolhasani St Matthew’s, 67 Nolita Watson-Usher Bramhope
U9 Boys 4 Leo Freer Meanwood, 9 Caleb Keene GSAL, 30 Alfie Thomas Gledhow, 48 Elliot Rushgrove Roundhay, 55 Jasper Bennett Roundhay, 65 Oliver Breedon Roundhay, 85 Alex Burbidge Roundhay
U11 Girls 3 Imogen Burton Gledhow, 9 Rose Marshall-Brown Spring Bank, 11 ? Buchan GSAL, 18 Lucy Sheen St Matthew’s, 26 Dora Walmsley Gledhow, 53 Laurie Phillips St Matthew’s
U11 Boys 3 Owen Maghaireh GSAL, 6 Samuel Keene GSAL, 14 Josh Salmon Roundhay, 41 James Whittaker Roundhay, 46 Leo Guppy St Matthew’s, 70 Hugo Earl Gledhow, 88 George Redmond Gledhow
U13 Girls 1 Ruth Friend Abbey Grange, 10 Isla Butterworth Roundhay, 27 Olivia Caleb Roundhay
U13 Boys 3 Ewan Reid Allerton Grange, 4 Sammy Whitehouse Prince Henrys, 8 Harry Durbin Roundhay, 9 Harry Whittaker Roundhay, 21 Eaden Lyons Prince Henrys, 35 Gus Thomas Roundhay, 38 Harrison Humble Roundhay
U15 Boys 2 Sam Redmond Roundhay, 4 Joel Caleb Cardinal Heenan, 8 Simeon Tedd Woodhouse Grove, 10 William Caleb Cardinal Heenan, 14 Joseph Whitehouse Prince Henrys
Sat 21 October – Northern XC Relays at Graves Park Sheffield. In 2022 we had 2 runners (incomplete team) of U13 boys and 2 teams (6 runners) of U15 boys. In 2023 we entered 5 teams but the event was cancelled.
Sun 22 October – Abbey Dash Junior Race –
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/sporting-events/running/leeds-abbey-dash/
“Discounted Entry” – Valley Striders will refund £3 of your entry fee for this race – see the section on “Free Entry” below
RESULTS
2 Joseph Urquhart 7:20
5 George Nancolas 7:41
11 Isla Butterworth 8:36
16 Abigail Bottomley 9:38
24 Jacob Coleman 10:06
27 Caitlyn Hartley 10:20
30 Emily Parbutt 10:27
41 Arabella Nancolas 11:22
45 Isabelle Watt 11:28
In 2022, only 3 VS juniors ran!
ABBEY DASH 10K “ADULT” RACE (AGE 15 and OLDER)
476 Conor Butterworth 39:26
Sun 22 October – South Yorkshire Indoor Open Series meeting 1 at EIS Sheffield (U11/U13/U15 – ages as at 01/09/2024 i.e. new school years 4 to 9 inclusive) (see section below) (other dates are Sun 4 Dec, Sun 22 Jan, Sun 19 Mar).
Events on this date are 60m, 150m (U11 only), 200m (U13&U15), 800m (600m for U11), Long Jump (U13&U15), Standing High Jump (U11), Shot Put
midweek ?? October – Leeds Primary School Games cross country North-Western area at ?? (see section below)
midweek ?? October – Leeds Primary School Games cross country Eastern area at ?? (see section below)
Sun 29 October – West Yorkshire Cross Country League meeting 2 at Thornes Park Wakefield
Results
U11 Girls 15 Emmy Deverill 6:22, 29 Niamh Archbold 7:00
U11 Boys 29 Stan Mulley 6:12
U13 Girls 13 Isla Butterworth 12:05, 38 Flo Morris 13:14
U13 Boys 11 Dan Breedon 11:20, 17 Harry Durbin 11:41
U17 Ladies 5 Hope Wearing 16:42
In 2022 we had only 4 runners at this meeting!
If you haven’t already entered the series you can do so for the rest of the series at
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=5066 (until 21 October)
Sat 4 November – National XC Relays at Mansfield. In 2022 we had 2 teams (6 runners) of U15 boys. Richard & Alex will organise team entries.
RESULTS
U13 Girls Ruth Friend 7:46, Isla Butterworth 8:27, Caitlyn Hartley 10:43 Team 30th
U13 Boys Dan Breedon 8:09, Harry Whittaker 8:33, Ewan Reid 8:35 Team 42nd
U15 Boys Simeon Tedd 7:57, Joel Caleb 7:46, William Caleb 8:23 Team 51st
Sun 12 November – Peco Cross Country League meeting 1 at Middleton Park.
Suitable for all abilities, minimum school year 2, available to waiting list, (see section below, incudes a link to enter). If you enter before ?? October you will get a personalised race number. In 2022, 39 VS juniors ran in the 1 mile race, 11 VS juniors ran in the 2 mile race
RESULTS
G2-4 4 Ella Shanks 10:51 , 6 Ruby Wilson 11:17, 9 Helena Bolhasani 11:47, 17 Izzy Grosvenor 12:16, 18 Lotte Hostert 12:18, 35 Emmy Forster 13:56
B2-4 3 Levi Woodger 9:23, 15 Edward Sharp 10:45, 16 Samuel Mclarkey 10:46, 33 Nye Mason 11:47 , 44 Jonah Steere 13:03
G5-6 2 Imogen Burton 9:26, 10 Emmy Deverill 10:08, 13 Abigail Bottomley 10:10, 20 Lucy Sheen 10:45, 22 Ava Mclarkey 10:48, 26 Emily Parbutt 11:27, 27 Niamh Archbold 11:28, 40 Chloe Deak 12:14, 42 Francesca Dickinson 12:29
B5-6 5 Bertie Bell 9:20, 13 Jenson Bennett 9:59, 14 James Whittaker 10:02, 15 Seth Steere 10:04, 17 Thomas Deverill 10:08, 20 Harry Ndawula 10:12 , 21 Arthur Venning 10:12, 30 Thomas Grosvenor 10:32, 33 Jacob Coleman 10:59, 35 Zaki Meer 11:03, 39 Henry Rollings 11:15
G7-8 21 Caitlyn Hartley 16:46, 22 Mary Venning 16:46 , 35 Arpita Kaulgud 20:36
B7-8 8 Dan Breedon 13:00, 13 Harry Whittaker 13:24, 27 Søren Pailor 16:10, 30 Solomon Steere 16:41
B9-11 7 Conor Butterworth 12:02, 8 Joseph Urquhart 12:15
Sat 18 November – West Yorkshire Cross Country League meeting 3 at South Leeds (see section below). Results
U11 Girls 7 Imogen Burton 6:24, 11 Abigail Bottomley 6:39, 35 Niamh Archbold 7:53 team 3rd
U11 Boys 17 Levi Woodger 6:11, 18 Bertie Bell 6:12, 33 Jenson Bennett 6:45 team 4th
U13 Girls 1 Ruth Friend 9:11, 13 Isla Butterworth 10:15
U13 Boys 8 Dan Breedon 10:34, 10 Ewan Reid 10:39, 21 Harry Durbin 11:20, 22 Harry Whittaker 11:21 team 3rd
U17 Ladies 12 Hope Wearing 17:58
In 2022 we had only 4 runners at this meeting!
Fri 24 November – Leeds Primary School Games cross country North-Eastern area at Roundhay High School (see section below)
PROVISIONAL RESULTS – I ONLY HAVE HAD LIMITED INFORMATION SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I HAVE MISSED YOU ALSO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU TOOK PART AT ONE OF THE OTHER 4 LEEDS AREA EVENTS
Key TQ = qualification by means of being a member of one of the top 3 teams
WQ = “wildcard” qualification by means of being one the first eight runners crossing the line who weren’t members of the top 3 teams
Schools qualifying were
Y3 Girls: GSAL, Roundhay St John, Gledhow
Y3 Boys: Roundhay, Thorner, Weetwood
Y4 Girls: Richmond House, Moor Allerton Hall, GSAL
Y4 Boys: Richmond House; St Pauls, GSAL
Y5 Girls: GSAL, Richmond House, Manston StJames
Y5 Boys: GSAL, Highfield, Roundhay StJohn
Y6 Girls: GSAL, Chapel Allerton, St Matthews CE
Y6 Boys: GSAL, Moor Allerton Hall, Chapel Allerton
Listing includes VS members past, present and possibly future!
Y3 Girls 2 Ruby Wilson (TQ) Roundhay StJohn
… 6 Harriet Hirst-Sewell (WQ) Richmond House
… 7 Izzy Grosvenor (TQ) Roundhay StJohn
… 10 Tess Rudkin (WQ) Moortown
… 12 Elise Humble (TQ) Gledhow
Y3 Boys 1 Samuel McLarkey (TQ) Thorner
… 2 Jasper Bennett (TQ) Roundhay
… 3 Kyle Reid (WQ) Moortown
… 10 Alex Burbidge (TQ) Roundhay
Y4 Girls 3 Jessica Nichols (TQ) Richmond House
… 5 Alice Hirst-Sewell (TQ) Richmond House
Y4 Boys 1 Leo Freer (WQ) Meanwood
… 2 Caleb Keene (TQ) GSAL
Y5 Girls 2 Emmy Deverill (WQ) Roundhay StJohn
… 16 Laurie Phillips (WQ) St Matthew’s
Y5 Boys 1 Samuel Keene (TQ) GSAL
… 2 Josh Salmon (WQ) Roundhay
… 5 Jenson Bennett (WQ) Roundhay
… 9 James Whittaker (WQ) Roundhay
… 13 Thomas Deverill (TQ) Roundhay StJohn
… 15 Arthur Venning (WQ) Moor Allerton Hall
Y6 Girls 1 Imogen Burton (WQ) Gledhow
… 4 Athena Cooper (TQ) GSAL
… 6 Lucy Sheen (TQ) St Matthew’s
… 15 Rose Marshall-Brown (WQ) Spring Bank
Y6 Boys 2 Owen Maghaireh (TQ) GSAL
… 3 George Henderson (WQ) Talbot
… 4 Sam Farrell (TQ) Weetwood
… 5 James Walker (WQ) Talbot
… 7 Edgar Traviss-Turner (WQ) Roundhay StJohn
Sat 25 November (revised date) – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 3 at Prince Henry’s GS Otley (see section below)
RESULTS TO FOLLOW
Sat 25 November – Northern Athletics Indoor Open Meeting at EIS Sheffield – details to follow
Sun 03 December – Peco Cross Country League meeting 2 at Templenewsam. In 2022, 35 VS juniors ran in the 1 mile race, 8 VS juniors ran in the 2 mile race
Race details here https://pecoxc.co.uk/pages/race2.html
Sun 03 December – South Yorkshire Indoor Open Series meeting 2 at EIS Sheffield (new school years 4 to 9 inclusive ) (see section below)
Events on this date are High Jump (U13&U15), 150m (U11&U13), 200m (U13&U15), 600m, 400m (U15 only), Long Jump (U11 only), Javelin (U11 only)
Fri 08 December (revised date) – Leeds Primary School Games cross country Western area at Stanningley RLFC (see section below)
Sat 09 December (afternoon) – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 4 at GSAL (see section below), normal races for primary schools, but special races for secondary schools trials for Leeds team for West Yorks schools championships.
Sat 09 December – Northern Athletics Indoor Open Meeting at EIS Sheffield – details to follow
Sun 10 December – West Yorkshire Cross Country League meeting 4 at Rothwell. In 2022 we had 3 runners at this meeting. If you haven’t already entered the series you can do so for the rest of the series at https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=5068 (until 2 December)
Sun 17 December – Peco Cross Country League meeting 3 at West Park (LS16 5BG). In 2022, 41 VS juniors ran in the 1 mile race, 16 VS juniors ran in the 2 mile race
Sun ?? December – North Yorkshire Indoor Open meeting at EIS Sheffield provisional date, no other details available.
Sat 6 January 2024 TBC – Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Lightwater Valley – school year 7 and above (more information to follow). In 2023, we had 8 runners including a full team of three U15 boys. CLOSING DATE TBC
Sun 21 January 2024 – South Yorkshire Indoor Open Series meeting 3 at EIS Sheffield (new school years 4 to 9 inclusive) (see section below)
Events on this date are 60m, 150m (U11 only), 200m (U13&U15), 1200m (600m for U11), Long Jump (U13&U15 only), Standing High Jump (U11), Shot Put
Sat 27 January 2024 – Northern Cross Country Championships at Sedgefield, Durham – school year 7 and above (more information to follow) CLOSING DATE TUESDAY ?? JANUARY
Sun 28 January 2024 – Peco Cross Country League meeting 4 change of venue to Middleton Park. In January 2023, 32 VS juniors ran in the 1 mile race, 7 VS juniors ran in the 2 mile race
Thu 1 February 2024 – Leeds Primary School Games cross country Leeds Final at Templenewsam (see section below) – selection for Leeds teams for West Yorkshire Final later in February
Sat 3 February 2024 – West Yorkshire Secondary Schools cross country championships at GSAL
Sun 4 February 2024 – Northern Athletics U13/15 Indoor Championships at Sheffield
Thu 22 February 2024 (revised date) – West Yorkshire Primary School Games cross country Leeds Final at Templenewsam
Sat 24 February 2024 – English National Cross Country Championships at Weston Park, Staffordshire (on the border with Shropshire) – school year 7 and above (more information to follow) CLOSING DATE TUESDAY 23 JANUARY
Sun 25 February 2024 (change of date) – Peco Cross Country League meeting 5 at Roundhay Park. In February 2023, 30 VS juniors ran in the 1 mile race, 8 VS juniors ran in the 2 mile race
Sat 02 March 2024 (afternoon) – Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races meeting 5 at Woodhouse Grove (see section below)
Sun 10 March 2024 – Peco Cross Country Relays and Juniors Relays at Bramley Falls Woods
** Recommended for all junior members school years 2 and above
** Organised by Valley Striders.
** V S will manage the teams
In March 2023, 12 teams each of 3 Valley Striders juniors took part
Sun 17 March 2024 – South Yorkshire Indoor Open Series meeting 4 at EIS Sheffield (new school years 4 to 9 inclusive) (see section below)
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)
Sun xx March 2024 – Spenborough AC “Winter Warmup” track & field meeting
To see events from April onwards (link not yet available)
“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 2024.
This applies to those that are currently junior members or junior limited training members (but not junior social 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 (£1.50 refunded per race run), Eccup Junior Races, Wetherby Junior Races (£3 refunded), Abbey Dash Junior Race (£3 refunded)
NB you also get free entry to Peco Relays and Golden Acre Relays because V S pay Racebest directly for all teams.
Detailed event information
Junior parkrun (ages 4 to 14)
Every Sunday at 09:00. Click on the links for each location
If you’ve not registered before, each of the venue pages above have a section “What does it cost to join in?” saying “Nothing – it’s free! but please register before you first come along” with a link to their registration page.
Note that you only have to register once, this covers all parkruns at all locations.
In Autumn/Winter 2022/23 (September to February inclusive) 84 junior Striders ran at least 1 parkrun and 19 ran 10 or more.
There are also 11 adult parkruns in Leeds. These are 5km on a Saturday morning. We advise our primary school juniors to do the junior parkruns rather than adult parkruns as there are no competitions available at this age that are longer than 1 mile and schools cross-country maximum distance is 1400m, so the 2km of junior parkrun is ideal.
Leeds Primary School Games cross country
There are 5 initial races (sometimes called “semi-finals”) late October or early November, one for each of the Leeds Schools Sports Partnerships Areas, at each of which there are 8 races – for girls and boys, for each school year from 3 to 6. The best schools and best individuals from each semi-final qualify for the Leeds final, and the best schools and best individuals from the Leeds final qualify to represent Leeds at the West Yorkshire final against Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.
Schools must be members of their local School Sports Partnership to take part.
Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross-country races
5 meetings between October and March – races for boys and girls in age groups U9/U11/U13/U15 as at 01/09/2021 i.e. school years 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10.
New for 2023/24 season – School year 11 may run in the 9-10 race but will show in separate results and not count for school points in the 9-10 category.
Details and results for 2023/24 can be found in the Leeds Schools Sports Association new website
https://leedsschoolssports.co.uk/lsaa-cross-country-league-2023-24-information/
Results from previous years can be found on the LSAA old website http://www.lsaa.org.uk/CC.htm
Schools need to be affiliated to the Leeds Schools Sports Association. The following is taken from the “League Details” link on the old LSAA website. Leeds School Sports Association provide the finance for all LSAA events all schools must be affiliated to LSSA to take part in LSAA events. This can be done by direct affiliation to the LSSA separate letter will come direct to schools from LSSA. For some primary schools the LSSA affiliation fee is included as part of Leeds Well School Partnership SLA.
Peco Cross Country League 2023/24
A series of 5 meetings between November 2023 and February 2024.
The dates and venues have been decided at the Peco XC AGM on 11 September, are published here, and have now been confirmed by Leeds City Council and the host clubs.
Open to club members school years 2 and older. Also open anyone on the waiting list (you must contact us and if we approve then register as a Valley Strider)
Suitable for all abilities. We strongly encourage all junior members to take part and will be slightly disappointed with those who don’t take part in at least one race.
This is a “free” event for V S Junior Full Members and Limited Training Members (i.e. everyone except Social Members) in that those who enter and race will get 20% of the race series fee refunded for every race that they do when they next renew their membership.
Distances and start times are one mile at 10:00am for school years 2 to 6; two miles at 10:20am for school years 7 to 11. NB parents of school years 2 and 3 must be confident that their child can complete the distance e.g. they have done junior parkrun.
Cost is £8 for the whole series (whether you run 1 race or 5).
Entries are online via Racebest – race 1 (and series) entry https://racebest.com/races/ty92q Unofficial/unconfirmed results will also appear on this link.
If you enter before 30 November you will get a personalised race number. If you’re not sure whether or not you’ve entered, there is a box “Latest entries” which contains a button “See all”.
Further details here https://pecoxc.co.uk/ . Confirmed race results and series points will appear on this website here too.
In 2022/23, 75 junior Striders ran at least one Peco event and 12 ran all six events.
Peco Relays 2024
These are usually held in March and are for teams of 3, approximately 1.2 miles per runner. Keep your number from the Peco series.
This is a “free” event for V S Junior Full Members and Limited Training Members (i.e. everyone except Social Members) in that all race entries will be made by and race fees paid by the club. Excepting that those who do not have a number will have to make a small payment for the number.
More details will be available in February 2024.
South Yorkshire Junior Indoor Series 2023/24
These 4 meetings take place at the indoor athletics facility at the English Institute for Sport (EIS) Sheffield. It has a 200m oval track, a 60m sprint straight (6 lanes) and facilities for long jump, high jump, shot put and turbo javelin.
The series is on one Saturday and three Sundays between November 2022 and March 2023. If you are interested in this, please discuss by email at [email protected] or at one of our training sessions.
Age groups are as at 01/09/2024, so U11 is school years 4-5, U13 is years 6-7, U15 is years 8-9. There are no older categories.
Events
U11 – 60m, 150m, 600m, long jump, standing high jump, shot, foam javelin
U13 – 60m, 200m, 800m, 1200m, long jump, high jump, shot
U15 – 60m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 800m, 1200m, long jump, high jump, shot
Not all events are available at each meeting. Maximum 3 events per person per meeting
Those competing at U13 or U15 age groups must be affiliated to England Athletics. Cost is £19p.a. See section below “England Athletics Registration and Affiliation”.
Entry forms will appear soon at https://www.sycaa.org.uk/ . At the time of writing this post, the website was showing the entry form for 2022/23. Having said that, the events available for each meeting in 2023/24 are listed in the diary section above.
West Yorkshire Cross Country League 2023
A series of 4 meetings between October and December 2023. For dates and venues, see above
Only open to club members. This series features some of the better clubs in West Yorkshire and we suggest that, for each age group, only the top half of Valley Striders members would “enjoy” the event.
Minimum age for the series is 9 on date of 1st meeting (8 Oct 2023) currently school year 5 and above also a few in year 4.
Age groups are U11/U13/U15/U17 on 01/09/2023 i.e. school years 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12. Those in school year 4 whose 9th birthday is before 08/10/23 can compete as U11
Juniors aged 11 or above before on on the date of the last meeting (12 Dec 2021) (i.e. currently school year 7 and above and 30% of year 6) must be affiliated to England Athletics. Cost is £19p.a. See section below “England Athletics Registration and Affiliation”.
Approximate distances and approximate start times – Under 11 1500m at 11:45am; Under 13 3000m at 12noon; Under 15 4000m at 12:30pm.
The official league information can be found at http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/XCMain.htm
Cost for U13/U15/U17 is £20 which covers all 4 meetings . Cost for U11 is £15??.
Online entry is new for 2023.
If you’re going to run in race 1 and/or race 2 (and possibly races 3 and/or 4) then use this link https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=5065
If you haven’t already entered the series you can do so for the rest of the series at
https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php?raceid=5066 (until 21 October)
If you’re going to miss races 1 and 2 but run in race 3 and/or race 4 then please wait till after race 2 (29 October) and there should be a new link that gives you half-price entry.
Closing date is one week before the first race you want to run
Please email [email protected] with any queries.
In 2022, 8 junior Striders took part.
Leeds Junior Run Series 2019/20
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 is free to enter and club membership is not needed.
We are waiting to see what happens for 2019/20 and 2020/21
See http://www.leedsathletics.net/Leeds_Race_Series.htm
England Athletics Registration and Affiliation
All of our junior members have been added to the England Athletics database and they have been allocated a 7 digit unique reference number (URN). (the personal information added is name, date of birth, postal address and parent’s email address)
Competitive Athletes
- A minority of our junior members have been set up as “Competitive Athletes”
- There is an annual fee for this. For the current EA year that ends 31/03/2024 this is £17, and, in addition, for every Competitive Athlete we pay Northern Athletics £2; this is why we ask for £19 extra for Competitive Athletes
- Competitive Athlete status is needed to take part in West Yorkshire Track & Field League (unless under-11) and West Yorkshire Cross Country League (unless under-11)
- Competitive Athlete status is needed to take part in Yorkshire County competitions, North of England Area competitions and England National competitions (the minimum age for these is 11).
- Competitive Athlete status is needed to take part in open adult races – juniors 11 or over can run in 5k races such as the Leeds 5k at the Brownlee Centre; juniors 15 or over can run in 10k races such as the Abbey Dash and Run For All Leeds 10k; juniors 16 or over can run in 10 miles races such as the Eccup 10mile and also in half marathons such as the Leeds half.
Non-Competitive Athletes
- The majority of our junior members have been set up as “Non-Competitive Athletes”
- They can get emails and offers from England Athletics (or can opt-out of these).
- Competitive Athlete status is not needed for under 11’s
- Competitive Athlete status is not needed for races categorised as fun runs linked to adult races e.g. the Eccup Junior Races (run alongside the Eccup 10); the Wetherby fun run and mini-marathon (run alongside the Wetherby 10k); the Peco Junior Races (run alongside the Peco Cross Country Series)
- Competitive Athlete status is not needed for parkruns or junior parkruns. Note that VS strongly support the parkrun policy that under-11’s who run 5k parkrun must run with an adult, in fact we recommend that under-11’s shouldn’t do 5k parkun at all.
If you need England Athletics affiliation, please pay £19 to the “Membership” account
Account Name: VSAC Membership
Sort Code: 53-70-00
Account Number: 72143878
Note that the above only applies to juniors training in the junior section. Older juniors (young adults) who train with the adult section pay the adult membership fee which includes the England Athletics and Northern Athletics affiliation fees.