The Club Championships (an explanation for the uninitiated.)

All athletics clubs have some form of championship.  We separate out our road and fell calendar.  The club committee spends a great deal of time selecting four of each race to represent a range of race types, whilst keeping them local so that everyone can have a chance.

The first Keswick runner gets 25 points, second 22, third 21, fourth 20 and so on down to that rare occasion when more than 23 Keswick runners and they all get one point by default. There are separate male and female leagues, though it has been suggested that Pippa could hold her own in the men’s championship!

The best three results out of the four races are added up and the tables arranged accordingly.

The Club League (now this can get complicated!)

The club organises 13 races per year, mixed fell and road (and some would argue, trail too.)  The league table is made up of those races.  Each person is judged on their result within their age category. The best 8 results from 13 count.

Now pay careful attention…  The points scored are the percentage of your time taken by your category winner.  That sounds simple doesn’t it?  It allows everyone to compete on a flat playing field (excuse the pun.)  It can get a little confusing when a race organiser splits the ages into 5-yearly groups, eg F45, F50.  Not all results are organised like this so I take whatever the organiser has used, make a calculation and then slot it into your results table.

Age Categories (and this has got quite a hot topic over the years.)

We take your age category as the one you gave on the first race on the list.  To standardise across the tables, all vets start at 40 and go up in stages of ten years.

Mistakes.

As you can imagine, there’s no shortage of room for error here.  I’m more than happy to correct mslf (sic)

Road Standards Awards

This gives you an idea of how good you are on a global scale as the tables are produced by England Athletics.  As opposed to being compared to the superfit Keswick lot.  Any races count, worldwide even.

Keep a note of your road results through the year.  Check how you’re doing for your age group on the Road Standards Table.  Pick your three best results from the four distances and you could be up for a gong.  Just email me with what you think you’ve got, age category, your three times in what races and a link to the results. I’ll verify them and arrange for your award to be presented at the annual dinner.

If you have any queries on any of the above, or if you spot any errors in the stats. please contact Martin : msluce@tiscali.co.uk