Regrettably we have taken the decision to cancel Sunday’s XC at Bosworth Battlefield.

Whilst the course is just about runnable, the field we use to park the majority of the cars in is saturated – with more rain forecast later in the week and the fact that it is on an incline mean that we cannot safely park cars on there.

In addition, both roads to the Battlefield Centre are flooded – just outside Sutton Cheney fully to a depth that smaller cars can only just get through – this has been the case for several days now, and also extensively around the railway bridge near Sutton Cheney Station.

The organisers have discussed extensively and we feel that we have no option but to cancel for safety reasons.

We have looked at potentially rescheduling, however with Bagworth Heath now being held on 22nd March there are no race free weekends before Easter (Kibworth 6 – 8th March, Ashby 20 – 15th March, Bagworth Heath- 22nd March, Desford 5 – 29th March, 5th April – Hose Half Marathon).

We are obviously gutted to have to cancel as not only have the team put in a lot of work in planning/course clearing, we are also aware of how popular the race is. 😢

We will be back next year….🤞🤞

For 2020 the club is introducing a new set of target times for the Standard Times awards scheme, along with some other changes.

The basic principles of the awards remain the same, but scheme has been revised to meet the following goals:

• A more consistent set of targets across all ages, sexes and distances. The new times are derived from the widely recognised age grading system (as used by parkrun and world masters athletics). It is also age specific and not by category, meaning you get a new set of targets every year instead of every 5 years.
• To ensure the next standard is always within reach. There are new “plus” levels of award between the old levels (Merit+, Bronze+, Silver+ etc.) meaning the next standard should no longer seem so insurmountable.

Other things to note:

• The scheme will now be based on your age on the 1st of January of the year. So you will have the same targets for the whole year. (Unfortunately you won’t get the benefit of your birthday until the following year!)
• There are two new distances added — 9 mile and 15km — which gives more flexibility of finding races to enter. (It is still 5 distances for an award and 9 distances, including 10mi, half, 20mi and full marathon, for a distinction.)

So without further ado, to see your time targets for 2020 awards, look here:
Standard Times – New Edition (PDF)
(remember, your age on 1st January applies for the whole year)

These times are effective for your races in the whole of 2020 and will be used for the awards to be given out next year. All other rules such as race eligibility are unchanged.

For those new members unfamiliar with the scheme, you can read the full information about it here.

Thanks to Dave Masser for devising the new scheme. There are some interesting technical details as to how the times are all worked out and I am sure he be pleased will to explain more for those interested.