Regional and National Championships
Each year races are selected to be the regional (SEAA) or national (AAA) championships at a number of distances, usually 5k, 10k, half-marathon and marathon. In recent years the London marathon has always been the AAA championship. Faster Serpies are encouraged to compete in these races if possible although we don't currently specifically target these races with teams. Our women have done very well in the marathon recently, winning silver in 2006 and 2007.
In addition to the standard road races, there are also road relays organised each spring and autumn (between the track and field and cross country seasons), both regionally and nationally, to allow clubs to compete against each other directly. These are:
- the SEAA 12 stage (men) and 6 stage (women) in Milton Keynes every March/April
- the AAA national 12 stage (men) and 6 stage (women) in Sutton Coldfield every April
- the SEAA 6 stage (men), 4 stage (veteran men) and 4 stage (women and veteran women) in Aldershot every September
- the AAA national 6 stage (men) and 4 stage (women) in Sutton Coldfield every October
These races attract the best runners regionally and nationally and are a very high standard. They are the key races on the calendar where clubs measure themselves against their peers and the traditional athletics clubs take them very seriously indeed. Serpentine sends its best teams to the regional relays and, assuming they qualify, to the national events as well. These races are one of the best opportunities our better runners have to compete against the best since there are usually international athletes racing for some teams. They also provide wonderful 'sharpeners' for spring and autumn marathons.