Just curious, because I've seen the figure thrown around several times in reference to the senior men's race from last year, but what's the point of having 1,473 racers all in one race? Seems like it'd be very congested from the get-go, especially on a course with laps. Is there not a masters division to help split it up? Or a separate race the slower competitors can do instead? Genuinely curious because it seems like it'd be a nightmare being stuck in the midpack.
English Nationals is very much a club event. It gets decent domestic athletes, and occasionally top stars like Alex Yee, but it's primarily an event aimed at club participation. Some clubs take it very seriously, like Tonbridge, Leeds, and Farnham, but for most clubs, it's just about being there. And the UK has a really strong club system. There's 6 affiliated clubs within 10 miles of where I live.
Also, tradition matters. It's always been a big event. And one that usually goes off in the early afternoon. Most XC races continue to be run at that time because it dates back to when people used to work Saturday mornings and go to church on Sunday. Saturday afternoon was the only free time for a race.
The real top XC event in the UK, which does attract elites and usually acts as the selection race for Euro/World XC is the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Sefton Park in Liverpool in November. But even that gets over 700 for the senior men's race.
Let’s not forget however that both Ovett and Cram ran the national in their time and neither won.
The best track runners (certainly below 10000) have tended not to run but over the years most of Britains best have turned out.
WRT the postponement, it’s a case of logistical failure rather than anything else. The organisers have probably made a mistake in venue choice. Anyone who has experienced or witnessed Parliament Hill on a bad day or Sunderland in 2013 or Alton Towers in 2011 will know that English cross country runners are definitely not soft.
Definitely a daft choice for the venue. It's weird in the present day that they'd choose a venue that's only accessible by car. No points for sustainability.
Tim Hutchings of all people needs to comment on this. He's always whining that American cross country courses are too easy.
His most recent post on X yesterday is about dogs. Got anything to say about your hearty countrymen cancelling the national race because of a spot of rain??
He finally offered his thoughts. Blamed the organizers for picking bad parking arrangements. Weird that he referred to a "UK February." What does Northern Ireland have to do with anything. This is all England.
I know it's never easy to find venues. But who in their right mind, with the snows of old now arriving as rain, expects to be able to park many hundreds of cars on grass in a UK February. If I'd known, I'd have put good money on it being "too wet to park on"..... https://t.co/1e0OyQWtQL