PECO Cross Country League (2023-24): - Race 1 (Middleton Park)
Race Date: Sunday 12th November 2023
Race Times & Distances:
Junior XC Challenge (School Year 2 - 6): 10.00am, 1.15 miles approx.
Junior XC Challenge (School Year 7 - 12): 10.20am, 2.0 miles approx.
Senior Men & Ladies (aged 16 and over*): 11.00am, 4.5 miles approx.
Please note that, dependent on the numbers attending, there may be a staggered start for the Senior races. If this is necessary, the men will start at 11.00am and the ladies at approximately 11.15am.
* Age groups for all 5 races in the season are based on age on 12/11/2023
Race Location:
All races will take place entirely within the grounds of Middleton Park, next to the John Charles Centre for Sport, Middleton Grove, Leeds, LS11 5DJ.
Registration:
Registration will be in the Dug Out Bar of the John Charles Centre for Sport (Middleton Grove, Leeds, LS11 5DJ) from 8.45am.
If your club is a League member club AND you have registered for the race series online, you should NOT come to race registration: your race number will not be there – your League club representative will have it. You should collect it from him / her in accordance with the arrangements that your club has put in place. If these arrangements have not been communicated to you, please follow this up with your club rep / cross country captain BEFORE race day.
If you already have your race number, you do not need to come to Registration. If you don’t already have your race number, you should either pick it up from Registration or collect it from your club representative in the Start/ Finish field (or before race day), depending on the arrangements made by your club. If you want to register on the day for Race 1, or if you have lost / damaged your race number and need a replacement, then you do need to come to Registration.
Car Parking:
Car parking is likely to be limited, so please consider:
- Car sharing where possible
- Using public transport – the John Charles Centre is accessible by the 2 and 3A bus from Leeds City Centre
- Parking in the nearby area and walking. If you do need to park ‘on street’ please ensure that you do so safely, legally and with due consideration to local residents if parking in a residential area.
- Running or cycling to the event
PECO event participants are allowed to use the John Charles Centre car parks, although parking will be limited (as usual, there is a swim gala taking place on the day of the race). Please park in the car park off the third exit of the roundabout before the John Charles Centre if approaching from Middleton Grove, or the overflow car park (second exit when approaching from Middleton Grove, and then the third exit from the next roundabout). See map below.
The parking at the front of the stadium is short stay only and cars can only be parked there for three hours maximum, and you will be at risk of being ticketed if you exceed these restrictions.
Changing, Showers & Toilets:
Please either come ready to run or change at your club tent on Middleton Park field.
Toilets are available for use at the John Charles Centre, however no muddy shoes are allowed in the building.
Note that the League has not paid for access to the changing rooms and showers at the John Charles Centre: if you wish to use these facilities, you must pay to do so. The charge for using the changing rooms and showers is £4.00 per person, which must be paid at the reception desk.
Warming Up:
Please keep off the junior race courses after 10.00am, as this is when the junior races start and it is not fair to the children to get in their way, or confuse them by running across or back along their race route. Suitable areas to warm up include the area in the middle of Middleton Park field (keep off the model aircraft landing strip) or on the surrounding trails in the woods that are not used by the junior race courses.
The Courses:
The junior race courses are almost entirely on grass, and unless it is frozen hard, may be suitable for spikes (although see comments below re. the tracks through the wooded section of both routes: a recce of this section is recommended before a decision of the use of spikes is made!)
The senior race course includes a few short sections of tarmac path and some wooden bridge crossings, and therefore the course is not suitable for spikes.
There are some sections with exposed tree routes on the senior route: please take care!
Senior Course Map:
The start and finish are both located in the north west corner of the main field. The course starts
with an anti-clockwise lap of the main field, then going out for a lap around the west woods. The
route then enters the old golf course before heading out for a lap of the east woods. The course
then comes back onto the main field for the finish.
Junior 1 Mile Course Map:
The route is a single anticlockwise lap, running around the main field and the woodland to the
south west, and finishing with a short section through the woods to the north west of the field. The
final section consists of a downhill, followed by an uphill back to the main field. The wooded
section is run along quite hard-packed tracks in the woods; the rest of the course is on grass.
Junior 2 Mile Course Map:
The route consists of two anticlockwise laps. The first lap is identical to the Junior 1 mile route.
The second lap goes round just the main field.
Club Tents
To ensure that the club tent area does not interfere with the routes for either the Senior or Junior races, please set up all tents after the break in the trees and behind the line of stakes, as indicated below. Please be aware that the Junior races start at 10.00am, so be careful when crossing over their race route after this time. Marshals will be instructed to keep the Junior route clear, and will ask you to wait / take a different route to the tent area as necessary.
Results
Results will be published as soon as possible after the race on the League website (www.pecoxc.co.uk).
Any Questions: If you need any further information before the race, please e-mail Mark Hetherington at mark@evensplits.co.uk
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