Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the series will be virtual in 2021!
The 2021 dates are:
- CTC/HI – 15-18 April 2021
- Ely – 13-16 May 2021
- NJ – 10-13 June 2021
- SS – 08-11 July 2021
- HRC – 05-08 August 2021
- C&C/RR – 02-05 September 2021
These are fun and friendly 5K events that take place throughout the summer, with each club hosting one event. Every runner for the club scores a point, and the top five men and top five ladies for each club score additional points (see the scoring explanation below!). There is always a great atmosphere and plenty of support for nervous first timers! The competing clubs are Cambridge & Coleridge AC (C&C), Cambridge Triathlon Club (CTC), Haverhill Running Club (HRC), Newmarket Joggers (NJ), Ely Running Club (ERC) and Saffron Striders (SS). This year there are two new clubs, Histon & Impington & Royston Running Club, who have been invited to attend three of the six races with a view to possibly joining the league next year.
1) Every runner earns a point
No matter how fast or slow you run, you WILL score a point for the club if you complete the race. It’s simple – the more runners we have, the more points we get. This is the one competition in which every single one of us can contribute to the team score. That’s why we love it!
2) The fastest 5 ladies and 5 men from each club earn additional points
This is where we get the calculators out…our fastest runners get additional points based on their finishing positions.
The winning team gets 6 points, second 5 points and so on, its these points you see in the league table.
So that is basically how it works, but do not assume that your position doesn’t matter if you are not one of our fastest runners, because…
3) Even if you are not one of our fastest 5, you can still reduce other clubs’ scores!
Every time you pass a competitor, you are pushing them back by one place. Even if you are not in our top 5, you may be ahead of other clubs’ fastest runners!
Using the ladies’ competition as an example, the last ‘fastest five’ runner at Kedington last year ran a time of 27:58 (a Saffron Strider). Therefore every HRC lady who was faster than 27:58 helped to push back that lady, and others, thereby reducing their club’s score. Twelve of our ladies did this – so please do not assume you are ‘just’ a point! Every time you pass a competitor it can really make a difference!
4) Ladies can reduce men’s scores! (But not vice versa)
The men’s competition is calculated using their OVERALL placing, whereas the female competition is based on GENDER position. This means that if our fastest ladies are able to get ahead of other clubs’ fastest 6 men (which we did at Newmarket and Kedington!), we can help the men by depriving the other clubs of points.
That’s it, easy! But if ever in doubt, just run as fast as you can!
Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for the series!!
Results
Results submitted for all HRC runners in the 2021 series are here