8th November 2024

Team managers, don’t forget that you must enter all your athletes who want to run at Sefton Park before the deadline at the end of Monday 11th November.  You should have received a link to a team managers’ portal for this fixture on 30th October.  Please note that U20s must run in the senior men’s and women’s races for the full distance and that U17s must run in the U17s races and not with the senior women as in usual league fixtures.

The timetable is quite different to the usual league fixtures and it can be found below:

2024 Cross Challenge TT20807

27th October 2024

24th October 2024

After Wednesday’s committee meeting the results from Witton Park have been finalised and hopefully all the errors have been corrected. Our next fixture is at Towneley Park on Saturday and the course maps are on the fixtures page. The race times are also as per the fixtures page and not as they were at Witton Park.

Please note that the main car park is pay and display.

13th October 2024

Many thanks to George Davies, Richard Taylor and their team at Blackburn, plus marshals from other clubs, for an excellent start to the season. The joint fixture was an excellent idea and I hope that everyone agrees that it was a great success. The provisional results will be updated before the next fixture so if anyone has any queries or corrections please email them to me.

stevedux@btinternet.com

10th October 2024

Please note the start times and parking instructions for Saturday’s joint fixture at Witton Park. It should be a great start to the season.

24th September 2024

Team Managers, don’t forget that the entry portal will close on 27th September and our first meeting when race numbers can be collected will take place at Bury church on Wednesday 2nd October. Late and Guest entries can be made up until the Wednesday before the fixtures.  The start times for the first fixture are slightly different. See course map on the fixtures page.

15th May 2024

A reminder that our AGM will take place at 19.30 this evening, in the Bishop Ashton Room at Bury Parish Church.

16th March 2024

Details of Tommy Parr’s funeral:

March 28th, 11.00am at Radcliffe Crematorium and then afterwards at Little lever Cricket Club.

11th March 2024

I received the sad news today that Tommy Parr had passed away in hospital. Tommy was a life member of Bolton Utd Harriers and a contemporary of team mates Mike Freary and Ron Hill and Colin Robinson of Rochdale Harriers. He was good friend of Kenny Mayor and until Kenny passed away in 2021 they travelled to all the Red Rose fixtures together, encouraging runners from all clubs. Older runners will have fond memories of their their double act. Our sympathy and condolences go out to Tommy’s friends and family and I will post details of his funeral when I receive them.

13th February 2024

The full list of award winners is in the Results section of the website and everyone that is mentioned will receive an award at the Presentation on Friday 1st March. Tickets are available from our Treasurer and team managers are able to order extra medals if they wish.

23rd January 2024

21st January 2024

Well done to everyone who competed yesterday in fairly challenging conditions and thanks to the Rossendale team for managing to stage the fixture after days of bad weather. The results are on Sportsoft as well as the overall placings so please let me know as soon as possible if there are errors. The results will be made official after our committee meeting on Wednesday evening, after which, the list of winners will go to the engravers and it will not be possible for any changes to be made.

I’d like to make a couple of points at the end of the season:

• We video the finish of every race so that we can correct recording errors but it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify numbers as most runners reach across to stop their watches as they cross the finish line.  Perhaps everyone could bear this in mind and stop their watches a little further down the funnel.
• Our Officials are volunteers and they work hard, often in poor weather, so it is disappointing when runners or parents choose to ignore their requests when they are performing their duties. It’s very rare that this occurs but behaviour like that won’t be tolerated and people may find that they are not welcome at our fixtures in the future.

19th January 2024

16th January 2024

3rd December 2023               

The Results meeting will now take place on January 24th in the Bishop Ashton Room, Bury.

2nd December 2023

I think you’ll all be aware that today’s fixture was cancelled. I made the call around 9.15 after consulting with the Referee this morning but it wasn’t possible to update the website on my mobile on site, however we made numerous phone calls and posts on social media. Yesterday we were  very confident that the fixture would go ahead as I was able to make slight diversions around rutted areas in various parts of the course. However the temperature was minus five degrees when I arrived at Marl Pits this morning and it just wasn’t safe to assume that the sun would unfreeze parts of the course that were runnable yesterday.

I know that everyone will be disappointed and my apologies to those people who were unaware of the cancellation and who made the journey to Rawtenstall. Late and Guest entries will be refunded by Sportsoft and our final fixture will now take place on January 20th.

1st December 2023

The course at Marl Pits has been marked out today and it will be muddy although there are small areas of icy rutted ground on the bottom loop out of the sun. I have tried to work round those areas and they may soften as people walk the course. The two muddy descents are wet and in full sun so shouldn’t be a problem. Very low temperatures are forecast for overnight so I will inspect the course early tomorrow but I have every confidence that the fixture will go ahead.

30th November 2022                                                                                                The results from the third fixture at Sefton Park have been updated  and agreed at last night’s committee meeting.

Arrangements for Saturday’s final fixture at Marl Pits:   

• Parking could be tricky so please arrive in plenty of time and if anyone has to park on Newchurch Road on the approach to the site please do not block our neighbours’ drives.
• Guest and replacement bib numbers can be collected from Graham Fecitt’s van which will be situated between the pavilion and the Sports Club facing the track,
• Toilets and showers are available in the pavilion facing the track, not in the Leisure Trust building facing the car park.
• You can purchase refreshments in our club room upstairs in the pavilion.
• The running track is out of bounds for warming up.
• The start is a short distance away from the finish. (see the course map)
• If the weather forecast is correct the course may be icy in places so I would advise everyone to walk it before the races start.  If this is the case I will brief runners before the start of their races.
• Please do not go onto the rugby pitches. We have good relations with the rugby club and we’d like that to continue.
• Wear your Red Rose number and not the number you wore at Sefton Park.

Good luck to everyone and don’t forget to hand in any outstanding trophies at the club shop in our club room.

21st November 2023

Arrangements for the Sefton Park fixture.                                                            Your team manager will collect all the race numbers for your club from Registration so please ensure that someone is attending to distribute them. Please do not bring any other numbers!

• There is a road closure on the route to the park on Queens Drive.
• There will be a diversion in place but please allow extra time to park and collect numbers for your race.
• The timetable is different from  the usual one. See below.
• Race 1 10:30hrs European Men’s Short Course Relay Trial
  Race 2 10:35hrs European Women’s Short Course Relay Trial
  Race 3 10:40hrs 2km  Boys Under 11 on 31.08.2023
  Race 4 10:50hrs 2km  Girls  Under 11 on 31.08.2023
  Race 5 11:05hrs 3km  Girls   U13  (11 & U13 on 31.08.2023)
  Race 6 11:20hrs 3km  Boys  U13  (11 & U13 on 31.08.2023)
  Race 7 11:35hrs 3km  Boys  U15  (13 & U15 on 31.08.2023)
  Race 8 11:50hrs 3km  Girls   U15  (13 & U15 on 31.08.2023)
  Race 9 12:05hrs 4.4km  Girls U17 (15 & U17 on 31.08.2023)
                                         IAAF  Junior Women  (U20 at 31.12.23)
  Race 10 12 : 25hrs 5.5km  Boys U17 (15 & U17 on 31.08.2023)
  Race 11 12 : 45hrs 6.7km IAAF Junior Men (U20 at 31.12.23)
  Race 12 13 :  05hrs 8.1km   Senior Women
  Race 13 14 :  05hrs 9.8km   Senior Men
• If U20s want to count in the Red Rose League they must run in the senior races. U17s must run in their age group races and not with the senior women.

31st October 2023

27th October 2023

24th October 2023

If anyone from affiliated clubs who missed their team manager’s entries, or guests wish to run at Bolton on Saturday they must do so via the Late and Guest entry on Sportsoft.
https://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2023/
This will close at midnight on Thursday.                                                                  Lost numbers can be replaced at the Official’s tent next to the finish line. They cost £5.00 and hand written ones are not acceptable.

29th September 2023

Late and Guest entry numbers will be available in the cricket club tomorrow.

27th September 2023

We would be grateful if all affiliated clubs could pay their affiliation fee of £60.00 before the first fixture at Todmorden on Saturday.         Race numbers will be distributed at tonight’s meeting and any not collected can be picked up at Todmorden cricket club from 11.00 on Saturday.                                                                                                                                    Parking will be limited so I would arrive early. I’m told that there aren’t any restrictions on the main road and there is a small car park adjacent to the Weavers Arms on West Street opposite the entrance to the cricket club. There is also limited parking for Officials and team managers with tents at the cricket club where refreshments will be served. Good luck to everyone at our first fixture.

26th July 2023

If any club wishes to affiliate to the league they can do so by contacting our Secretary and our Treasurer; both their details are on this website. The cost for the 2023 season is £60.00 per club.                  The entry portal for this season will open on August 28th and will close on September 23rd.

9th June 2023

1st March 2023

We have a raffle on Friday with good prizes that help to balance our books, as we usually make a loss on our presentation evening so please bring cash.  Team Managers please note that we usually ask each club to donate a prize to supplement the ones that the league supplies.

28th February 2023

I have some sad news to report. I was told this morning that Joe Galvin had passed away last night. Joe was a stalwart of Leigh Harriers and over the years staged many Red Rose fixtures for which we’ll always be grateful. Our thoughts are with his wife Margaret and family.       RIP Joe.

10th December 2023

We have found a venue for our Presentation Evening.
Date Friday March 3 2023
Venue Sedgley Park Rugby Club, Park Lane, Whitefield M45 7DZ ( just over 2 miles from junction 17 of M60 with lots of parking )

From 7.30 with presentation commencing at 8, supper immediately after presentation. Your Team Managers will have your club’s ticket allocation so please apply to them for tickets.

Everyone who is on the list of Award Winners on our website will receive a trophy or team medal.

Pie and Peas supper , Vegetarian option available please state when ordering tickets.
Ticket Price £6

I hope to see you there to receive your awards.

1st December 2022

I hope everyone enjoyed Saturday’s fixture at Sefton Park. We thought it was a great success for the league and are negotiating to be part of it again next year. We’re pretty confident that our results are now correct and the amendments have been made.

Arrangements for Saturday at Marl Pits

If anyone wants to run at Marl Pits who hasn’t been previously registered, the deadline for Late and Guest entries is midnight this evening.

Parking will be extremely limited as there are also football and Rugby matches scheduled so you are advised to arrive early if you want to park at the Leisure Centre. It is possible to park on Newchurch Road but please do not block our neighbour’s drives and under no circumstances must anyone park on the road beyond the Leisure Centre buildings.

Toilets, changing and showers are available in the pavilion opposite the track and refreshments will be on sale upstairs in the clubroom. If you haven’t raced at Marl Pits before, the start is a short walk from the pavilion but please take care that you use the pedestrian corridor parallel to the rugby pitch and not the path that runners will use on the way to the finish.

All sports pitches and the track are strictly out of bounds.

The course is extremely waterlogged and it will cut up very badly but that’s not unusual in Rossendale!

Finally, I’d be grateful if the Red Rose Trophies are returned on Saturday.  A full list of winners is on the website.

24th November 2022

All team managers should have received acknowledgement of their entries, travel instructions and start times, which are different than our normal ones, from the organisers. Team managers must collect all their numbers and timing chips from the large white marquee at the top of the park; it won’t be possible for individuals to collect their own numbers unfortunately and please note that if U20s wish to count in the league they must run in the senior race. The race  number for this fixture is a unique one and should only be used once and at Marl Pits, for the final fixture, runners must use their Red Rose number. It may take a few days for the provisional results to published so please be patient.

13th November 2022

11th November 2022

Graham Fecitt’s results van, where replacement and guest and late entry numbers can be obtained, will now be parked in front of the football pavilion and not on the main car park.  If you park anywhere at Townley park you must pay and display, it’s £1.50 for all day.

9th November 2022

Details of Terry Ratcliffe’s funeral and a message from his family below:

Terry’s funeral service of thanksgiving to celebrate his life will be held at 10:15am on Thursday 17th November at Bury Parish Church.

A wake will be held afterwards at the Bolholt from 11:30 am

If you would like to make a donation, in memory of Terry, his family have set up a memorial page with the link below.  It also includes further details and directions to the church and Bolholt afterwards.

If you intend to attend the service, please let us know.

https://jamesratcliffe.muchloved.com/

6th November 2022

Team Managers please note that any athlete that you enter for the Sefton fixture must be registered with the league. If any of your athletes aren’t already registered, they must do so themselves by going through the “Late and Guest Entries” for the Townley fixture on the Sportsoft website. The deadline for this is midnight on Thursday.

Guests and late entries can collect their race numbers from Graham’s van on the main car park at Townley and replacement numbers can also be purchased from him. If anyone hasn’t raced at Townley before now the postcode is BB11 3RQ.

5th November 2022

17th October 2022

The second fixture will now definitely take place at Townley Park and we will use the usual Mid Lancs course. I’ll post the course map as soon as I receive it,

27th September 2022

The deadline for guest and late entries for our first fixture at Todmorden on Saturday is this Thursday so please get your entries in if anyone hasn’t done so already.
The replacement fixture for Saturday 12th November will most probably now be at Townley Park, Burnley and not at Hyndburn. We are awaiting confirmation of that and will know for sure on Wednesday at our committee meeting.

6th September 2022

We’ve had to make some changes to the fixtures as Leigh is no longer available for 1st October so this will now be at Todmorden and we are awaiting confirmation on a possible fixture at Hyndburn on 12th November. The other fixtures remain the same. The arrangements for the Sefton Park fixture will be emailed to affiliated clubs in due course but team managers will have to enter athletes separately via a different system; there will be more instructions to follow.

The entry portal for team managers is now open and will close on September 24th.

24th May 2022

The following dates for our fixtures in the 2022 season were agreed at our AGM on May 18th:

1st October             Leigh                                                                                                    12th November   Todmorden                                                                             26th  November   Sefton Park                                                                                3rd December       Rossendale

3rd February 2022

We have tickets remaining for the Presentation Evening. If anyone requires them please contact our Treasurer.

20th January 2022

The Presentation Evening will go ahead on Friday 11th February as planned in the Banqueting Suite Leigh Stadium, Sale Way Leigh WN7 4JY, and we will follow the latest Government Covid advice. Team managers have been informed of their clubs’ ticket allocation but they can order more from our treasurer and they will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Tickets cost £5.00 each and they should be paid for in advance.

Doors will open at the venue at 7.00pm, presentations at 8.00pm and supper at 9.00pm. I’d be grateful if affiliated clubs can bring a raffle prize.

16th December 2021

The list of award winners will shortly be posted on our website. Team managers have been asked to check for spelling errors and the list has been sent to the engravers so please let me know immediately if it contains any errors. The Presentation evening has been provisionally booked at a venue in Leigh for Friday February 11th 2022 but we cannot say at the moment whether it will go ahead due to the Covid situation but when we know more we will post any updates on here and on our Facebook page.

There was a considerable amount of kit left at Marl Pits, most of it in the female changing rooms including the following:

• A Clayton Harriers vest
• A Chorley Athletic & Tri vest
• A black Helly Hansen top
• A Yorkshire Fell Champs buff
• A bright pink Trespass waterproof, size 9/10
• A red/orange half zipped Mountain Equipment top
• A pair of small furry black gloves
• A pair of black leather gloves
• A black Primark hooded down type jacket
• A pair of green and grey Karrimor trainers, size 5
• A black Apache workwear jacket, adult size.

We can trace the club vests fairly easily via the numbers but if the rest aren’t claimed by the first week in January they’ll go to a charity shop.

8th December 2021

Well done to everyone who got through a pretty horrendous day at Marl Pits on Saturday. Unfortunately the venue for tonight’s committee meeting is unavailable so we will meet via Zoom and Ken will send out the link later today. We think that the latest series results are now correct and we will confirm the award winners at the meeting so it is important that any objections to the results are raised before or at tonight’s meeting, after which they will not be changed.

3rd December 2021

Arrangements for our final fixture of the season.

Results will be available throughout the day and Graham Fecitt’s van will be parked at the end of the pavilion by the fire escape. Replacement and guest numbers can be obtained from the van.

The results will be finalised at our committee meeting on Wednesday evening, after which the results will not be changed so if anyone spots any errors please inform your team manager or email me (Steve Duxbury) or Ken Smith before then.

Changing and toilets are in the pavilion but we will be serving refreshments from gazebos outside close to the finish area.

We have limited parking at Marl Pits and once the car park is full people will have to find places on the roads around the sport centre but please ensure that our neighbours’ drives aren’t blocked. No cars must be parked beyond the end of the pavilion as per the course map.

You will see from the course map that the start is a little way from the car park and pavilion so please leave plenty of time to get there.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

16th November 2021

11th November 2021

Arrangements for our third fixture at Centre Vale Park, Todmorden.

There is limited parking at Todmorden Cricket club, which is mainly for Officials and team managers with tents but there may be space for others who arrive early. There is additional parking at the very top of the course near the swimming baths and on the opposite side of the road from the school.

I have been told that Portaloos will be on site throughout the day and refreshments will be available in the cricket club.

For those that registered for Late and Guest entry numbers and for replacements for lost  numbers please go to the Official’s tent at the finish area.

Finally, good luck to everyone on Saturday, be assured that there will be mud and please do not fold or deface race numbers in any way.

16th October 2021

Thanks to Dave Shaw and his team of marshals and helpers at Bolton for a superb fixture today. I hope everyone enjoyed the course and, judging from the lack of mud on the finishers, it was pretty dry underfoot which is quite rare for cross countries at Leverhulme Park!

Sadly there will be at least one disqualification for removing the sponsor’s name from their race number. I don’t know how many times we have to repeat this warning before the message is understood but we will continue to enforce our rules.

I will also repeat my statement regarding our requirement that athletes and parents must respect our officials, marshals and volunteers.  We will not tolerate bad language and abuse at all and there may be further disqualifications once we have received the Referee’s report on the fixture.

If team managers have any queries about the results once they are posted please let me know as soon as possible.

8th October 2021

At our committee meeting on Wednesday the results from Leigh were made final after some amendments. Unfortunately we had to disqualify several athletes for either failing to wear club vests or folding or cutting their numbers. Team managers were reminded about these two issues at our first meeting of the season prior to the Leigh fixture. We made allowances for U11 athletes provided that they wore a top of the appropriate club colour but for all others we follow UKA rules and will continue to do so in our remaining fixtures.

At our Bolton fixture Late and Guest numbers can be collected at the Officials tent at the finish line. Replacement numbers can also be purchased there.

Please note that the deadline for Late and Guest entry via Sportsoft will be midnight on Wednesday 13th October.

Finally, please remember that our Officials are volunteers who give their time so that we can stage our fixtures safely and efficiently and we expect that athletes, coaches and parents show them courtesy and respect. On Saturday there were a couple of instances in the funnel at the end of the Senior Men’s race where the standard of behaviour was less than we expect.

5th October 2021

Our next committee meeting will be via Zoom on Wednesday 6th October. Team managers have been emailed with the Zoom link. I think that the provisional results are now accurate and they will be made final at Wednesday’s meeting so if anyone has any  queries please send them to me as soon as possible.

2nd October 2021

Many thanks to Joe Galvin and his team at Leigh for hosting our first fixture for two years. I think everything went well but if team managers have any problems or queries with the results please email me at stevedux@btinternet.com.

When I arrived at Leigh this morning I received the very sad news that Kenny Mayor of Bolton Harriers has died suddenly on Monday. Kenny was a talented athlete in his prime and since his retirement he was a regular spectator at all our fixtures. We gave him a generous  round of applause before the start of the senior men’s race. I shall miss him and our condolences go to his friends and family.

https://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2021/rr211.pdf

29th September 2021

Further to the previous news item  Car Park 9, the dirt car park near the start finish of the race, will be open at 11.00am. To guarantee parking, athletes and spectators should be on site by 1.00 pm to avoid match traffic.

28th September 2021

Arrangements for our first fixture at Leigh.

There are plenty of spaces but you will be required to use the car park that is adjacent to the start/finish field as there is a rugby match that will start later in the day.

Registration and refreshments will be in the clubroom up the steps to the covered training area. Team managers who didn’t collect their numbers  can do so there, as can guests. Team members from affiliated clubs should collect their numbers from their team managers on the start field.

As we didn’t have any fixtures in 2020 I’d like to remind everyone that:

• They must retain their numbers for every fixture they compete in.
• Numbers must not be folded or defaced in any way.
• If numbers are lost you must purchase another one from registration at a cost of £2.00.
• There is no entry on the day. No exceptions.

I’m sure that we’re all looking forward to competing again and I look forward to seeing you all at Leigh.

19th September 2021

Apologies and a correction. The committee meeting will take place at 19.30 rather than 19.00.

17th September 2021

The Team Manager’s portal will close at the end of  tomorrow so team managers must complete their athlete registrations in the next 24 hours. Race numbers for the season will be distributed at next Wednesday’s committee meeting which will take place at 19.00 in the Bishop Ashton Room behind Bury Parish Church BL9 0LA. Parking is available there.

Could Team Managers please ensure that their clubs’ £30.00 affiliation fee is paid before the meeting.

13th September 2021

The team manager’s portal is open for affiliated clubs but will close on September 18th and after that date individuals will have to enter themselves at a cost of £10.00.

6th June 2021

Fixtures for the 2021 season are as follows:

2nd October     Leigh Sports Village

16th October Leverhulme Park, Bolton

13th November  Centre Vale Park, Todmorden

4th December    Marl Pits, Rossendale

Last year would have been our 50th season but of course that didn’t happen due to the pandemic so we are looking forward to holding our fixtures and hoping that we are able resume cross country again.

The on line entry portal will open for team managers from affiliated clubs from 6th until 18th September. Team managers can enter their members at £6.00 per athlete when the portal is open but after it closes individuals will have to enter themselves at a cost of £10.00 for the series. Please note that club affiliations of £30.00 must be paid before the first fixture.

Guests entry will be £6.00 per fixture.

There will be no entries on the day.

We would be grateful if athletes who received perpetual  trophies for the 2019 season would return them before the last fixture.

19th May 2021

We will hold our Annual General Meeting this evening via Zoom at 19.30.  Team managers should have received the Agenda and Zoom link but if not please let me know.

stevedux@btinternet.com

Amongst other items for discussion will be proposed fixtures for the 2021 season which, I am sure, will be welcomed by everyone and, fingers crossed, will actually happen.

12th September 2020

4th December 2019

I hope everyone enjoyed the final fixture of the season at Marl Pits, where we enjoyed fine weather for a change.

The results from Saturday and the series are on Sportsoft’s website and we believe that these are accurate; they will become official after tonight’s committee meeting at which a list of award winners will be decided and, later, posted on our website.

If anyone has any issues with the results please let me know as soon as possible as the list of award winners will be sent to the engravers very shortly.

28th November 2019

Arrangements for Saturday at Marl Pits

You will see from our website that there have been some minor changes to the course. It will be adequately marshaled so I don’t envisage any problems.

Parts of the course are very close to Rugby and Football pitches and it is very important that athletes and spectators do not encroach onto them at any time during the day.

8th November 2019

A few observations from Wednesday’s committee meeting:

• We’ve witnessed several examples of what could be described as “unsporting behaviour” at the end of races, especially in the junior age groups, where athletes have prevented others overtaking by using unorthodox methods. We are putting this down to over enthusiasm and a lack of racing experience so we would be grateful if athletes, coaches and parents could emphasis the fact that we expect the best standards of behaviour in our sport without tempering competitive spirit.

• If anyone has obtained a replacement number they should use that one for the rest of the season. We had a couple of instances of people using homemade numbers at Bolton and they have been removed from the official results.
  • On Saturday at Todmorden Registration will be at the Cricket Club for replacement numbers and those that have entered online.
  • There is limited parking at the Cricket Club for Officials, team managers and marshals. Additional parking can be found at the swimming baths at the far end of the course and there is ample street parking. Last year there was some congestion at the Hare and Hounds car park, which caused some problems so please avoid that.
  • Please note that any Perpetual Trophies should be returned a soon as possible.
  • There have been reports of flooding in Todmorden yesterday but hopefully that should have receded now and I will post updates as soon as I hear anything to the contrary from the organisers in the host club.

28th October 2019

We’re now pretty confident that the results from Bolton are correct and will be confirmed at our next committee meeting on Wednesday. Please let either Ken Smith or myself know via email if there are still outstanding issues.

Well done to Dean Johnson and his team for their sterling work on Saturday at Leverhulme Park . I think most people enjoyed it in spite of the weather and very challenging courses.
I’ve got a few observations before the provisional results are published later today or tomorrow:

1. We are in our second season with no entries on the day and we had several request for numbers today. I’m sorry but we can’t make exceptions to this rule which was unanimously agreed at the request of our results service so it was disappointing that not all refusals were met with good grace. I’d be grateful if this information was shared as widely as possible.
2. There will be consequences for athletes who wear race numbers that weren’t allocated to them by the official registration process.
3. Home made race numbers are not acceptable, (there were at least a couple of those today and they will be removed from the results)
4. We issued quite a few substitute numbers today and clubs will be invoiced for these at the end of the season so please look after them and, if you were issued with one today, use that rather than your original one for subsequent fixtures.
5. Our small number of officials had their work cut out in the rain today and we are keen to recruit willing volunteers so please contact me if you’re interested. Even if help was offered just for a couple of races we’d be grateful.

25th October 2019

Arrangements for tomorrow’s fixture at Bolton                                           Late and Guest entries can collect their race numbers from the rear of the officials tent adjacent to the finish line.

We would be grateful if everyone could secure their race numbers with safety pins at each corner as that way they are much easier to spot by our recorders and they shouldn’t fall off.

I’ve had several queries as to whether the fixture will go ahead in the light of the yellow weather warnings. Unless we are advised that it unsafe to travel, which is unlikely, the fixture will go ahead as planned. It will be wet but we should be used to it in our sport.

Toilets and changing are located in the building adjacent to the track but no muddy shoes are allowed in there and the track is strictly out of bounds so people will have to walk around the perimeter.

14th October 2019

Well done and thanks to Margaret Galvin and her team at Leigh who provided us with excellent, well marshalled courses and sunshine on Saturday. It’s always good to get the season off to a good start. However the results needed quite a bit of work before we were confident they were accurate. Quite a few errors were caused by people wearing incorrect numbers or providing incorrect data to Sportsoft so please check with team managers before racing again at Bolton.
If there are still outstanding issues please email corrections through team managers to me (Steve Duxbury) and Ken Smith. Our contact details are on our website.
Remember there will be no entries on the day so guests and other unregistered athletes must enter online before 7.00pm on the Thursday before the fixtures.

10th October 2019

A few notes from our committee meeting yesterday.

The Guest entry portal will now close on Thursdays before the fixtures at 7.00pm and not on Fridays as previously stated.

Club Affiliations must be paid before the next committee meeting on Wednesday 16th October.

Registration on Saturday will open at 10.30 in the upstairs club room at Leigh.

If athletes lose their race numbers they will have to collect a new number from Registration at a cost of £2.00 but please note that they will need to use exactly the same name as previously registered by their team manager, otherwise their result may not be recorded. It is therefore advisable to bring EA Licence numbers.

Please also note that race numbers should not be cut, folded or defaced in any way and homemade numbers are not acceptable. Headphones are also not permitted.

Unlicensed athletes over 11 years old will be deleted from the official results.

The presentation evening will be on Friday 7th February and not 27th February as it currently appears on our website.

Good luck on Saturday.

• 7th October 2019
• Team managers can collect their race numbers at the committee meeting on Wednesday 9th October at 19.30 in Bury AC’s clubhouse.  For the past few years we have enjoyed good weather at our opening fixture at Leigh but the forecast for Saturday doesn’t look promising. Tents can be erected on the start/finish field at Leigh but please note that it is now a dog free area.
• Please don’t forget that there will be no entries on the day.
• I hope everyone enjoys the 2019 season.
• 24th June 2019
• At our AGM we made a few changes to the constitution. The main one affects the number of counters for the senior women’s teams which will now be four instead of three.                                                              Last season there were occasions when we only just had enough officials to perform all of the duties necessary to manage the fixtures so we would be grateful if anyone from the affiliated clubs would like to help in any way at all. Just get in touch with your team manager or Ken, Jean or myself.
• 20th May 2019
• The 48th Annual General Meeting of the league will be held on Wednesday 22nd May at 19.30 in Bury AC’s clubroom. Affiliated clubs have been notified and other applicants are welcome to attend.
• 7th December 2018
• The full list of 2018 award winners are now posted in the results section.  All those named will receive awards at the presentation evening so please see team managers for your allocation of tickets. This year we have had a number of ties, including for the first time, three way ties. The rules allow us to decide “in a manner considered fair by the committee” but on Wednesday our decision was to allow the ties to remain. At next year’s AGM we will consider changes to the rules.
• We have commissioned medals for the teams and have decided to award Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Please let me know if team managers require extra medals. (stevedux@btinternet.com)
• We have used the same spelling for names as on Sportsoft results so please let me know asap if there are errors.
• 1st December 2018
• I hope everyone enjoyed today’s races in Todmorden. It was our first ever visit to Centre Vale Park and Dan Taylor and his team did a fantastic job organising and marshaling a great set of courses, so well done all. Not everyone will agree with me but I’m glad we finally had some mud, especially after an unusually dry Marl Pits!Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the sucess of the league throughout the season. Our starter, Gordhen Entwistle is retiring this year so thanks to him for his year’s of service. Provisional results should be on Sportsoft later this evening but if anyone spots any errors please get in touch with me before Wednesday’s committee meeting, when we will make them final and compile the overall results. (stevedux@btinternet.com)

  If anyone has any Perpetual Trophies please hand them over to team managers so we can get them engraved for the presentation evening in March. Also if any clubs need extra team medals, and we are awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze for this season, I need to know as soon as possible

• 30th November
• We’ve made a couple of changes to the courses at Todmorden tomorrow.
  The Senior Womens and U17s course will now comprise of 1 lap of the Start Field + 2 Long Laps.
  The senior Mens course will now comprise of 1 Lap of the Start Field + 4 Large Laps.
• 29th November
• It’s our final fixture of the season on Saturday and we are running at Todmorden for the first time in the history of the league.
• Refreshments and changing will be in the cricket club, next door to the park but the car park there is strictly for officials and marshals. Portaloos will be available in the park.
• At our committee meeting on Wednesday we discussed a number of issues that have arisen during the season:
• Race Numbers. These must be worn as issued without folding or defacing in any way. It is very difficult to read and record them if they are reduced in size so please be warned that athletes who alter them in any way will be disqualified.Pacing. This is not allowed and could lead to the athlete who is paced being disqualified. It’s unfair on other runners in the race.

  Unsporting Behaviour. Thankfully there have been very few instances of this but there have been complaints of athletes barging each other, and we have seen isolated cases of it on the finish line video. We sincerely hope that all athletes uphold the highest standard of sportsmanship and we will take action if that isn’t the case.
  We also expect that our officials are treated with the respect that they deserve as volunteers who give of their time freely in order that everyone can enjoy our sport.

  Trophies. If anyone has Perpetual Trophies that were awarded in March please bring them to Todmorden and leave them either, in Registration, which will be in the Cricket Club or, bring them to the officials tent adjacent to the finish.

  Good luck to everyone on Saturday. There are a few individual and team awards that will be finalised at Todmorden.

• 20th November
• I hope everyone enjoyed the Marl Pits fixture. I have never known Marl Pits as dry as it was on Saturday which made for some quick times.
  I think the provisional results are without problems but if anyone has issues with them please let me know.
• I would like to remind team managers and individuals that the league’s Perpetual Trophies should be returned at, or by the last fixture at the latest.  See the Results section for a full list of Award Winners.
• 16th November 2018
• Instructions For Marl PitsI have made a few very minor changes to the course at Marl Pits because we have lost some ground in the Start Field.
  The car park will fill up very early on the day so if necessary please park sensibly on the road without blocking residents’ drives. It isn’t possible to park on the road beyond the two car parks.
  Changing, toilets and showers will be available in the pavilion adjacent to the track and refreshments, drinks, pie and peas etc., will be …served throughout the day at the club shop upstairs. Registration for pre-entries is also upstairs in the pavilion.
  The Rugby and Football pitches are strictly out of bounds to athletes and spectators. I can report that the course isn’t as wet as usual but there are sections that remain very muddy.

  On a more general note please note that race numbers must be worn as they are issued and not cut or folded and athletes should not start a race without wearing a number.

  The on-line entry portal will be open until 19.00 on the eve of the races but there will be no entries on the day.

  Rossendale leisure Trust have informed me that tomorrow, boys under the age of 16 must use the changing facilities in their building opposite the pavilion at Marl Pits. The entrance to the two changing rooms is opposite the entrance to the pavilion on the main drive. There will be signs directing them there.

   

• 9th November 2018
• A quick reminder that if you have lost your race number you must purchase another, at a cost of £1.00, from Graham’s white van which will be parked close to the Start/Finish area.
• I’d like to remind all team managers that their clubs’ £30.00 affiliation fee should have been paid by the first fixture so we’d be grateful if they could please check and if necessary contact our Treasurer.
  There are still quite a few athletes registered with the league who are showing as “unlicenced” or “not found”, which in the case of the latter could possibly mean that they have registered with a different name than that which EA holds. Team managers were informed of these discrepancies after the first fixture and they will now be removed from the Leigh results.
• 4th November 2018
• The Leigh results have been corrected and are final.
• If any athletes from affiliated clubs missed the deadline for registering for the league they can register themselves via the “Late and Guest Entry” portal on Sportsoft. Guest runners can also do the same but there are no entries on the day.
  https://www.race-results.co.uk/onlineentries/user/login.php…
• 12th October 2018
• The weather forecast for tomorrow at Leigh isn’t quite as bad as anticipated but we won’t have our usual sunny weather that we’ve had for the past few years.
• Team managers who haven’t already collected their numbers can do so at Registration in the clubroom adjacent to the track.
• Pre-ordered Guest and Late Entries can also be collected there but please note that there will be no entries on the day.
• 3rd September 2018
• We are now taking entries for the 2018/19 season and the procedure is as follows:Team Managers from affiliated clubs can enter their athletes via the portal on the Sportsoft website, which will close on October 6th. Clubs will be invoiced at the end of the season for this at £6.00 per athlete but will only be chaged for those that have run in at least one fixture. However please only enter those that you think will actually run.
  If anyone misses the deadline they can enter themselves in the “Late and Guest” entry portal but they will be charged £10.00, which covers them for all four races.

  Guests can enter themselves in the “Late and Guest ” entry portal from 6th October and the cost is £6.00 per race. This portal will remain open until 8.00 pm on the evening before the fixture.

  Please note that there will be no entries on the day. No excuses, no exceptions.

  Race numbers will be available for collection at the first committee meeting on Wednesday October 10th. Team Managers will have already been informed that the £30.00 affiliation fee should be paid before October 10th.

  Please spread the word about no entries on the day as we wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone at the first fixture at Leigh.

• 23rd August 2018
• Due to unforeseen circumstances it is no longer possible to stage a fixture at Astley Park so the November 10th fixture will now take place at Leverhulme Park, Bolton. where we have previously run. It’s a great shame as I know that many people enjoyed the course at Chorley but unfortunately the local council weren’t in favour of us running there. It means that we have lost yet another venue and that places the responsibility of hosting fixtures on to a small number of host clu…bs so if anyone can come up with alternatives we’d be pleased hear of them.
  Leverhulme Park is a great alternative and Bolton Utd Harriers have always done a great job in the past so our thanks go to them for stepping in at this stage.
  We’ve got a great new venue this year at Todmorden, a testing course and I’m looking forward to that fixture.
  The Team Managers entry portal opens on September 1st and the guest and late entry portal will open on October 6th.

  There will be no entries on the day for this season.
  No excuses, no exceptions!

• 15th May 2018
• The 48th Annual General Meeting of the league will take place at 19.30 on Wednesday 23rd May in Bury AC’s clubhouse. Any club that isn’t already affiliated is invited to apply by attending or contacting our officers. Details are on our website.
  http://redrosecrosscountry.co.uk/
• 2nd February 2018
• Our Annual Presentation is this evening at the Horwich RMI Club. Doors open at 19.00 and the presentation will commence at 20.00. Please note that Bolton are playing at home this evening at 20.00 so there may be delays if people are coming via the M61.
• 10th December 2017
• After the mudfest at Marl Pits the list of 2017 award winners are now on the Results page. The Annual Presentation will now take place on Friday 2nd February at Horwich RMI Club and tickets can be obtained from your team managers. Thanks to everyone who helped in any way to make our 47th season successful and congratulations to all our winners.
• 29th November 2017
• What a great day’s sport at Leverhulme Park. Three fixtures done and no rain yet but Marl Pits to come so bring your cagoules in December!
  Many thanks to Dean, Nick and their team at Bolton United Harriers for well marked and marshalled courses. There were some fascinating races, especially the last one where the, now confirmed 2017 senior men’s champion, Jonathan Kay, ran Ben Fish very close.
  The updated provisional results are online and also the series to date and we think the results are correct but please notify me if anyone thinks there are errors in any or both.
  Please remember that numbers should be pinned on securely as otherwise they are difficult to read at the finish and handwritten numbers are not allowed and will result in disqualification. If a number is lost it must be replaced at registration. It will cost £1.00.
• 15th November 2017
• Arrangements for Saturday at Bolton.
  Registration for those not already entered will be accross the track in the Indoor track. Toilets are also there in the Leisure Centre but please note that muddy shoes or boots should be removed before entering.
  Unfortunately Provisional results will not be available until Monday. It could be interesting on Saturday with some individual and team titles possibly decided.
• Thanks to Stan Jewell and his team at Chorley for Saturday’s fixture. Conditions underfoot made for a series of tough races with some big fields in most of the age groups. Well done to everybody who helped.
  Such large numbers in some age groups mean that the finish funnel becomes congested, particularly in the shorter races, so I would be grateful if parents, carers and coaches stayed clear of the funnel until their youngsters exit past the finish recorders. That would help us publish error free provisional results. I’ll review the video footage later and hopefully that will help to correct any errors.
• 10th November 2017                                                                                                 The weather forecast for Saturday at Chorley looks reasonable and the rain should have cleared by the time of the first race. Please note that there is no parking in Astley Park so please arrive in plenty of time. There are town centre car parks and a number of spaces near Astley Hall. St. Laurences School, which is marked on the race map is for Officials only but can be used by team managers to drop off tents.
  The results from Leigh have been finalised and are now official. However we are still investigating a number of athletes, mostly entries on the day, whose EA licence numbers haven’t checked out. If they aren’t cleared by the end of the season they will be deleted from the overall results so please ensure that you bring those.
  Next year we are considering online entry only which will mean no entries on the day. Graham Fecitt will be at Chorley to take entries on the day tomorrow and there may also be results available. Good luck to everyone tomorrow.
• 14th October 2017
• Well done to Joe Galvin and his team who hosted a superb opening fixture of the season at Leigh today, where, as usual, the sun shone and we had some excellent races. I can’t promise 20 degree temperatures and sunshine for the rest of the fixtures and, in any case, I’m sure that you’ll be looking forward to the mud at Marl Pits in December!
  The provisional results should be on Sportsoft later this evening and if you think there are errors please send details to your team managers or email me, stevedux@btinternet.com and I will review the video footage.
• 10th October 2017
• Race numbers for pre-entered athletes can be collected by team managers at tomorrow’s committee meeting starting at 8.00pm.  Entries on the day for affiliated club members can be purchased from Registration at a cost of £10.00 for four races.
• 1st September 2017
• The Team Managers Portal is now open here, https://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2017/
• This is strictly for team managers and it will remain open for the whole of September.
• 21st March 2017
• The 2017 AGM of the league will take place on Wednesday 24th May at 8,00pm in the Bury AC Clubroom. Clubs who wish to affiliate can contact our Secretary, Ken Smith. The details are on this website.
• 11th December 2016
• I hope everybody enjoyed the final fixture of the league at Marl Pits. The final list of overall winners will be posted on here very soon.
• 2nd December 2016
• The course at Marl Pits is in relatively good condition for tomorrow’s fixture although it is very wet underfoot in the usual places.
• Please use the car park to the right after the entrance off Newchurch Road. When this is full the only other option is street parking but please do this sensibly with due consideration to our neighbours. The main drive past the pavilion up to the Golf Driving Range must not be used at all.
• Changing, toilets and showers are available in the pavilion facing the track and various refreshments are on sale in the clubroom upstairs.
• Please do not stray onto the football or rugby pitches either during the races or when warming up as the league will be charged for any reinstatement should it be required.
• There’s all to play for tomorrow in several individual and team categories so good luck to everyone.