Essex Road Running Championships

2 March 2016 - By Tony Wallen

As we have had many new members join the club over the past year, and the fact that the first of this year’s Essex road races is this coming Sunday, I thought now would be a good time to explain what it is all about.

The Essex Road Running Championship, or Essex Grand Prix, is held annually over several distances – 5M, 10K, 10M, Half Marathon, 20M and Marathon.

In addition to the individual championships for each distance, points are awarded to the first 25 in each age category. These points are totted up after the last race and medals are awarded to the first 3 in each age category from Male and Female Open through to FV65 and MV70.

Points are awarded for the best 5 out of 6 so runners can drop their worst race score.

Attendance points are also awarded – 1 point for doing your 1st race, 2 points for your 2nd, up to 5 points for your 5th therefore a runner can get an extra 15 points by doing 5 races.

When you enter any of the appointed Essex races, you will be asked if you are Essex qualified. This does not mean you will be selected to run for the county (although if you are fast enough you might be) it simply means, were you born in Essex or have lived in the county for the past 9 months? As far as I am aware, all of our runners meet this criteria. The only thing to beware of is if you have recently moved into the county and have already raced in another county’s  championships.

Please say YES to the question ‘are you Essex qualified’ as this will earn you points towards the final tally in the Grand Prix and the chance of winning a precious county medal either as an individual or as a team. Unfortunately we have lost out on team medals over the years because at least one member of the team did not tick the Essex qualified box or because at least one member of the team was not wearing their club vest.

Essex Championship Races for 2016

March 6th – Essex 20

May 2nd – May Day 5 (this is the first time our club have hosted an Essex event and it is something we are very proud of)

May 8th – Halstead marathon

July 10th – Felsted 10k

October 2nd – Pleshey half marathon

October 9th – Tiptree 10

I hope this explains the rules. More info is on the Essex Endurance Running website.

Happy (Essex) Running