The main point is you will have to work out whether you are eligible to run at the Surrey or Middlesex championships (or both or neither!) and this is all explained below. 

Surrey County Championships: Lloyd Park, Croydon. Saturday 7th January 2017. Race HQ will be at Lloyd Park, Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 5RA. Men 12km at 13:45pm (Women 8km at 11:45am)

Middlesex County Championships: Hillingdon House Farm, Uxbridge. Saturday 7th January 2017. Race HQ will be at Hillingdon Athletic Stadium, Gatting Way, Uxbridge, UB8 1ES.  Men 12km at 13:45pm (Women 8km at 13:00pm)  

Eligibility to run in the Surrey Country Championships: You were born or now live in Surrey / the south of the Thames, for example Kingston (see below for fuller definition of Surrey!),

The definition of Surrey is the Ancient and Geographical County of Surrey. This means that in addition to the current Administrative County of Surrey, it also includes part of Greater London.  So it does include the London Boroughs of Kingston, Sutton, Merton, Croydon and the part of Richmond which is on the "Surrey side" of the River Thames.   If you qualify by living in the area rather than being born here, you need to have lived in the area for the last 9 months. 

Eligibility to run in the Middlesex Country Championships: You were born or now live in Middlesex / north of the Thames, for example Teddington (see below for fuller definition of Middlesex!),

The definition of Middlesex is historic County of Middlesex including those areas on the “Middlesex side” of the River Thames for example Hampton Wick, Teddington, Twickenham, Feltham and Brentford. If you qualify by living in the area rather than being born there, you need to have lived in the area for the last 9 months to be eligible.

What happens if I am potentially eligible to run at both the Surrey and Middlesex championships?

For example, I was born in Greenford (Middlesex) but have lived in Kingston Upon Thames (Surrey) for more than 9 months.  I can choose either the Surrey or Middlesex race but once I have competed in a County Championship, I may not compete in the championship of another County for the rest of the calendar year. For example, if I ran in the Surrey race on the 7th January I couldn’t take part in the Middlesex Masters on the 19th March.

Confused!?  If you have any queries on any of this, let me know.

How to enter

In the case of both the Middlesex and Surrey Cross Country Championships, I need to submit entries by the 28th December so if you would like to run let me know by email:

• whether it is the Surrey Championships or the Middlesex Championships you want to enter
• and how you are eligible ie by birth or residency or both (we have to say on the entry forms)

As always for cross-country the club pays the entry fees.

Best wishes

Malcolm

Malcolm Davies

Stragglers Men’s Captain