Race information

Cross Country

The season runs from October to March and as there are only a few "open" races, the best way to compete is via the leagues. Most events are around five miles for men and 3 - 4 for women, generally on Saturday afternoons. We belong to the Surrey League for both men and women and are usually involved in epic relegation, or promotion, struggles through the season. There is more of a team spirit than at road races and of course the terrain is different: plenty of mud and hills in places like Richmond Park and Epsom Downs. But it is much more fun than you might remember from school cross country days and is really worth trying. [Top] [Back to Startline] [Home]

Races which we organise

The Green Belt Relay in May is an unusual event and one of the most enjoyable weekends you could imagine. It is run on a continuous route round the Green Belt, mostly just outside the M25, about 220 miles long, divided into 20 stages. About 15 - 20 teams of 10 enter, with everyone running a stage each of the Saturday and Sunday. It is a series of individual races, rather than a continuous relay, and the times of all teams are recorded and totalled, with prize giving and barbecue at the end of the weekend. Most people choose to stay overnight in deepest Essex and go out for a few beers and pizzas or whatever. The camaraderie and the quality of the route help to make this a special weekend. This is not a race along the hard shoulder of the M25 - the routes have been planned to go through as much attractive countryside as possible, with varying terrain of woods, parks, etc, as well as roads and scenic villages.
The 2006 race will be on May 20th and 21st.

The Cabbage Patch 10 mile race in October is one of the flattest and best 10 milers in the country. (Richard Nerurkar set an all time British record of 46 mins 2 secs in 1993.) It starts and finishes in Twickenham - race HQ is the Cabbage Patch pub - and follows a loop crossing the river in Kingston and Richmond. It attracts a very high standard field from all over the UK (in 1997 a runner from Northern Ireland won it). This is the public face of the club and raises a lot of money for a local special needs school. It has a good reputation for efficient organisation and a nice long sleeved race T shirt for those winter runs. So we ask Stragglers not to run it, unless they have marshalled for two years, but to help organise it, by marshalling, operating drink stations and so on.
2006 - 15th October

The Wedding Day 7km race in July is run in Bushy Park, usually on the last Friday evening of the month. It was started in 1991, the year of Charles and Di’s wedding, but has carried on notwithstanding various events since then. It does not require too much marshalling as it is completely within the park, and many Stragglers enter. There is a high standard of runner but also a very high standard of social activity: family picnics on the grass, the bar of Hampton Hill cricket club is open and sometimes some excellent live music provided by part of the Stragglers’ Irish contingent.

Cross-Country: We organise an open Trail Run in Bushy Park each February. Details will appear in the race diary.

The Handicap: This 3.2 mile event is our own private race run on the last Thursday of each month (except December) from the Hawker Centre, round the same riverside course each time. You are timed on your first run against a scratch time and given a handicap. The slowest runners go first, the fastest last, so that if everyone ran according to their handicaps, they would finish simultaneously. There are liquid prizes on the night and for the cumulative performance throughout the season. The latest results, statistics and more info are all available online.
It is an excellent event and really you are running against your own previous times. But with the sight of a Straggler logo in front, and the noise of a faster Straggler creeping up behind you, there is always an incentive to go for that extra burst of effort. [Top] [Back to Startline] [Home]