1 INTRODUCTION
The Striders’ League was introduced in 2006 to support the team captains in encouraging Club Members to enter and participate in Hampshire Road Race League and Today’s Runner Cross Country League (now renamed the Southern Cross Country League (SCCL)) races. The League was the source of some fun during its inaugural season and created extra interest between club members as the season progressed.
The League is split into two competitions, one male and one female. In addition to the aim of increasing participation and members scoring points for taking part, runners can challenge themselves to improve against their achieved Age Related Grading (ARG) results Each runner can increase their score the better they do against their own age banding. In order to encourage members to participate in as many races as possible, additional bonus points are awarded to those who compete in at least 50% of the SCCL and HRRL events. Acquisition of these bonus points can have a significant effect on the final results.
2 Rules for the 2025-26 Season
General
The number of HRRL races for the new season is 12. The Stubbington 10 k has been dropped from the League but the Totton 10 k has been reintroduced after an absence of many years.
6 SCCL cross country events are also planned for 2026-26.
This year I have decided to add a couple of non-HRRL road events to the Striders’ League again to add a bit of variety and to cater for those who prefer the challenge of longer distances. These additional races are the popular Stubbington 10 k which, although not in the HRRL, is still taking place and the Southampton Marathon/Half Marathon (choice of distance left to the individual.
This year, the best 10 out of the 14 road races and 5 out of the 6 cross country races will count towards an individual’s total score.
The rules governing the award of league points for this year are detailed below:
Qualifying Race Events
HRRL Events
| Totton 10 k | 31st August 2025 |
| Overton 5m | 7th September 2025 |
| New Forest 10 m | 26th October 2025 |
| Gosport Half Marathon | 16th November 2025 |
| Victory 5 m | December 2025 TBA |
| Ryde 10m | February 2026 TBA |
| Solent Half Marathon | March 2026 TBA |
| Salisbury 10m | 12th April 2026 |
| Alton 10m | 10th May 2026 |
| Netley 10k | May 2026 TBA |
| Alresford 10 k | June 2026 TBA |
| Lordshill 10k | 5th July 2026 |
Non-HRRL Events
| Stubbington 10 k | 11th January 2026 |
| Southampton Marathon/Half-Marathon | 3rd May 2026 |
Cross Country Races
SCCL Events
The SCCL events qualifying for points in the League are as follows:
| Benyon’s Enclosure | 2nd November 2025 | |
| Bourne Woods | 23d November 2025 | |
| Lord Wandsworth College | TBA (Christmas/New Year) | |
| Chawton House, Nr. Alton | 18th January 2026 | |
| Alice Holt Forest | 1st March 2026 | |
| Hundred Acre Woods |
8th March 2026 |
3 Scoring
3.1 Basic Scoring
The scoring system is as follows:
As for previous seasons, the scoring system by which league points will be awarded for the road races will be on the basis of the WMA (World Masters Athletics) Age Grading calculator which has become established as an international standard and is widely used for many races – e.g. Park Runs.
The actual points awarded on this basis will be simply ARG( %)/10 expressed to one decimal place So, to quote a couple of examples, an ARG of 70% would give a score of 7.0 points, a score of 63.7% will yield 6.4 points.
The age grading calculators are updated from time to time. Park Runs currently use the 2006/10 version. As for last year I will be to utilising the more recent data from 2015.which has been modified from the earlier data due to the fact that world records have been beaten in recent years. If anyone wishes to check that I have allocated the correct score to them after each race, the calculator is available on the followiing website:
http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmalookup15.html
An individual’s total score for the road races will be their best TEN scores out of the fourteen road races. Hence, you do not have to run all twelve races to be in with a chance of winning!
In the case of the cross country league races the points awarded will be on the same basis as in previous years. i.e. 5 points for completing a XC league race whilst running for Denmead Striders. Only 5 out of the 6 races will count towards an individual’s total score i.e you can miss one race to gain maximum score for the cross country races.
3.2. Bonus Points
In order to encourage the fullest possible participation in the League events, on completion of the SCCL and HRRL seasons, bonus points will be awarded, dependent on the number of events completed.
The basis for awarding bonus points this year will remain unchanged:
- 14 points for completion of 10 league road races
- 13 points for completion of 9 league road races
- 12 points for completion of 8 league road races
- 11 points for completion of 7 league road races
- 10 points for completion of 6 league road races
- 10 points for completion of 5 SCCL races.
- 9 points for completion of 4 SCCL races
- 8 points for completion of 3 SCCL races
The bonus point system will be split into two separate sections one for the road races the other for cross country, with all scores added to give final totals.
The League will run throughout the season with all paid-up members being eligible, results will be updated on the website as soon as possible after each race.
For further information on the Championship or if anyone thinks I have made an error in allocation of their points (I’m not infallible!!!) please contact Graham Clarke either by e-mail or on Club Night.