Club Championship races 2017

19 December 2016 - By Marc Underdown

I know a number of you will already be planning your 2017 running calendars so it’s time to announce the selected races for the club championship next year.

Since re-launching the club championship in 2015 to contain an element which rewards the commitment of members to representing the club at races, there has been a clear increase in the number of members taking part in external races and team events which is great to see. However I am also aware of how congested the race calendar can get, particularly in the autumn, which raises the risk that runners can over-race and get injured. Our coaching coordinator Rachel, wrote a great blog about this on 18^th September which you can find by searching the news under the ‘Coaching Tips’ category.

We naturally don’t want the club championship to inadvertently be causing injuries, so it needs to strike a balance.  We have therefore decided to reduce the number of races in each distance from four to three. I know this means that some popular races have not made the cut in 2017. However in choosing these races, two autumn races have come out of our busy calendar. I will keep the approach under review next year. The wildcard system will still be in operation should you not be able to make a race in one of the distances.

The Colchester half has been open to entries for some time, so please enter soon if you intend to run it. Some of the others are also very popular, so don’t leave it too late to enter.

Remember to book your place at the club’s annual award dinner dance on the 25^th Feb 2017 to find out who will pick up the club championship trophies for 2016!

Club Championship external races 2017 (* Essex Championship race)

5 mile – Braintree* (9^th April), Gt Bentley Friday 5 (TBC), Mersea (Aug TBC)

10K – HBO (29^th May), Brentwood* (July TBC), Langham (10^th September)

10M – Gt Baddow (14^th May), Tiptree (Oct TBC), Stebbing* (12^th November TBC)

Half – Colchester (12^th March), Southend (11^th June), Pleshey* (17^th September)