Start Fitness Met League Cross Country match, Saturday 12 November

The second Start Fitness Metropolitan Cross Country League match is on Saturday, 12 November at Fairlands Valley, Stevenage.

Please make sure that you are registered with England Athletics to compete before you come to run. You will need to give your EA competition license number to the Serpentine team manager before your race. If you do not yet have an EA competition license, please buy one now via Serpiebase.

Do not delay – processing these is a manual process for the club so it can be many days before Malcolm gets time to do this.

Course location

South Side Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage, Herts

Course location from Race HQ: 6 minutes walk

Race HQ

Sailing Centre, Fairlands Valley Park, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts, SG2 0BL

Changing facilities and showers: There are changing facilities and showers at the Sailing Centre but please note that these are only open until 16.30.

Refreshments: You are welcome to use the café at the Sailing Centre to buy tea, coffee and refreshments, but please be considerate to the management and to their potential customers and do not sit in the café for ages without purchasing anything and/or eating your own food!

Course description

Multi-lap, on open parkland. Predominantly flat but with a couple of small climbs on each lap. The surface is grassy and soft. It's not always muddy but the course was very muddy last year along the new section by the side of the wood, so 12 or 15 mm spikes may be required (weather dependant).

Transport

Public transport: Stevenage Station is 1.75 miles from course. Fast rains from Kings Cross run at 22 and 52 minutes past the hour and take 25 minutes for the journey. There are numerous other slower train services. Several buses from Stevenage Bus Station to Shephall (Six Hill Way / Shephall Way), including SB1, SB6, 178.

Many of the Serpie women are planning to take the 11:52am train and are meeting at 11:30am at Kings Cross, in front of the ticket office.

Driving: Leave the A1(M) at Junction 7, A602 to Stevenage. Follow the A602, Broadhall Way to the second roundabout. Turn left onto Monkswood Way and go to next roundabout. Turn right onto Six Hills Way and follow for almost 1 mile. Turn left into park, signposted Sailing Centre.

Parking: The nearest car park is off Six Hills Way, signposted Sailing Centre. There is another car park off Shephall View, a one-way street accessed from Colestrete. This is only a short walk across the park to the HQ/Start. There is another car park, a little further away, accessed from Fairlands Way.
Please note: Stevenage Borough FC are playing at home and therefore the car park at the south end of the park will be busy towards the start of the game.

Timetable

  • 12.45pm - Under 11s – 1500m
  • 12.55pm - Under 13 boys – 3000m
  • 1.10pm – Under 13 girls – 3000m
  • 1.35pm – U15 boys/17 men – 4000m
  • 1.40pm – U15 girls/U17 women – 4000m
  • 1.55pm – Senior / U20 women – 6000m
  • 2.35pm – Senior / U20 men – 8000m

Other information

All entries taken on the day. You do not need to enter in advance. Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of your race as you will need to register and collect your race number from the Serpentine volunteers, who will be based by the Serpentine flag on the course near the start line area. Please make sure you have your EA licence with you.

If you raced at Claybury on 10 October, please remember to bring your race number with you to wear. If you have lost your number, or didn't race at Claybury, you will need to collect your race number from the Serpentine Team Manager.

Please arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of your race.

You must run in a Serpentine top. If you do not yet have your Serpentine top, you can exchange your voucher for one in the kit room on a Wednesday evening (between 8.15pm and 8.45pm). If you won't be able to get to the kit room before the race, please contact the relevant team captain before 9 November.

Listening devices such as I-Pods are not allowed on safety grounds when competing.

The Serpie post race pub will be the Standard Bearer, 1 The Plaza, Town Square, Stevenage SG1 1PF. Everyone welcome.

Note: there are no toilets at the course.

See the league website for more information

Prizes and discounts

Start Fitness are sponsoring the league for 2016-17, providing prize money, vouchers and bib numbers amongst other things. They are also offering discounts to club members via their websites: www.startfitness.co.uk (10% off) and www.moremile.co.uk (30% off). See our discounts page for further details and the codes to use at checkout.

Soar is a running clothing brand that launched in 2015 - www.soarrunning.com. They are providing personalised Serpentine jackets as prizes for the top six men and top six women from Serpentine at the end of the season (based on the individual ranking table).

Contact

Women's team captain:
Sarah Pemberton
sarahlpemberton@gmail.com
07717 824 992

Men's team captain:
Hugh Torry
hughtorry@gmail.com
07791 115 438

Submitted: 30 October 2016

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