We encourage you to take your children to various competitive races throughout the year.
Recommendations:
- Our own event – the Meanwood Trail Junior Races held at Leos in May.
- The PECO cross-country league and a number of junior fun runs organised by local clubs e.g. Eccup, Pudsey, Hyde Park, Wetherby and Kirkstall.
- Junior parkruns (2km). There are 5 locations in Leeds, the most local being at Roundhay, Adel and Temple Newsam. Running once a month is useful as a guide to progress.
- Adult parkrun (5km) is recommended for the over-12’s.
- Not forgetting our own junior 1 mile races run 4 times a year by Eccup Reservoir or at the GSAL track.
- We also have some 400m time trials and some 100m races while on the track at GSAL.
- Since 2016 we have competed in Track & Field meetings in the West Yorkshire and City of York leagues. The youngest age for most of these is school year 4 but York has some meetings suitable for year 3 and one meeting for year 2 and above.
- Our more experienced juniors take part in the West Yorkshire Cross Country league (school year 5 and above), and the Yorkshire, Northern Counties and English National Cross Country championships (year 7 and above). In 2019, 12 of our junior athletes competed in the National Cross Country Championships at Harewood for Valley Striders.
- In parallel with club competition, many juniors are competing in cross-country, sportshall athletics and track&field for their schools. In 2019, 7 V S juniors represented West Yorkshire in the English Primary Schools Cross Country Championships.
Click below to view our junior events calendar.