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.
Rules for the 2024-2025 Season
General
The number of HRRL races for the new season is 12. The Hayling 10 has been dropped from the League but, hopefully the the New Forest 10 mile on October 27th will take place this year. (It was cancelled in 2023 due to a flooded course!) I can highly recommend this race, partiularly for those of you have not run this course before. It is a lovely route, gently undulating, consisting of about 7 miles along wide forest tracks and three miles along the delightful Rhinefield Road which will be closed to traffic on the day. All finishers receive a unique horse brass, a different one each year which you can proudly display in a martingale which will be avaiable to pyrchase in the Race HQ.
6 SCCL cross country events are also planned for 2023-24. although only Race #1 in Benyon’s enclosure has been confirmed so far.
As for last year, to date it is not planned to include any additional (i.e. non HRR races)
This year, the best 10 out of the 12 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
Road Races
HRRL Events
| Overton 5m | 8th September 2024 | |
| Solent Half Marathon | 6th October 2024 | |
| New Forest 10 m | 27th October 2024 | |
| Gosport Half Marathon | 17th November 2024 | |
| Victory 5m | 6th December 2024 | |
| Stubbington 10k | 12th January 2025 | |
| Ryde 10m | 2nd February 2025 | |
| Salisbury 10m | 6th April 2025 | |
| Alton 10m | 11th May 2025 | |
| Netley 10k | 18th May 2024 | |
| Alresford 10k | 15th June 2025 | |
| Lordshill 10 km | TBC July 2025 |
Note: Some fixtures and dates are provisional. Please check your entry carefully.
Cross Country Races
SCCL Events
The SCCL events qualifying for points in the League are as follows:
| Benyon’s Enclosure, Basingstoke | 3rd November 2024 | |
| Alice Holt Forest | 24th November 2024 | |
| Lord Wandsworth College | 15th December 2024 | |
| Chawton House, Nr. Alton | TBA | |
| Bourne Woods, Farnham | 23rd February 2025 | |
| Holywell Estate |
16th February (provisional) |
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. This year, I have decided to utilise 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. The consequence of this change is that individuals will receive slightly reduced age grades for their performance compared with previous years .However, this will apply to all member so will not affect their overall positions in the league at the end of the day! 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 ttwelve 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 HRRLseasons, 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.