Reading Roadrunners kicked off the 2026/27 Cross Country (XC) season with a double header weekend. First up was a trip to the coast for the opening Hampshire League fixture hosted by Bournemouth AC on the Saturday. Then it was off to Hillingdon on Sunday, for Metros Running Club’s Thames Valley fixture. Roadrunners Chair Tony Page reports on the action at Bournemouth, with new Ladies’ Captain Anna Balogh sharing an account of events at Hillingdon.
Hampshire League Fixture Report — Kings Park, Bournemouth, Saturday 10th October
Report by: Tony Page
Reading Roadrunners took on clubs from across Hampshire and the surrounding counties at Saturday’s Hampshire League fixture at Kings Park, Bournemouth.
The women raced approximately 6.5 km and the men 8 km, rather than the expected 10 km. Full results are available at HCCL 2026/27 – Bournemouth – Saturday 10th October | Hampshire Athletics
Women’s team
Helen Pool, Alissa Thiel and Sam Whalley secured 16th place for the women’s team against runners from 30 other clubs. Helen finished 43rd overall, 14th veteran and third in her age category. Alissa placed 91st in her first cross-country race for Reading Roadrunners, while Sam finished 104th overall and 56th veteran despite the lingering effects of a bad cold.
Men’s team
With only Tony Page and Pete Jewell competing, Reading Roadrunners could not field a scoring senior or veterans’ team. Tony finished 134th overall, 46th veteran and 19th in his age category. Pete withdrew because of sickness and did not finish but thankfully it soon passed before the car journey back to Reading.
Next fixture
Next up is our local Hampshire League fixture at Dinton Pastures on Saturday 15th November. Let’s fill the start line with green vests.
Thames Valley Cross Country League Fixture Report – Hillingdon House Farm Fields, Hillingdon, Sunday 11th October
Report by: Anna Balogh
The first event of the Thames Valley Cross Country League (TVXC) took place in Hillingdon on Sunday the 11th October. This event is organised by Metros and it’s at 4pm. A slightly unusual time for a race, it puts runners’ lunch strategy to the test. What was also unusual is the lovely weather – real summer vibes with balmy temperatures and bright late afternoon sunshine. Not a speck of mud anywhere to be seen. Will the stream even be there?
The infamous stream that this run crossed twice was, on occasion, up to waist level in previous years, providing considerable challenge to even seasoned cross country runners. This time, to the disappointment of many, and to the relief of others, it was barely ankle deep with a bit of a “sludgy” part as reported by some of our runners.
26 red and green vests smashed through the start line and one of them, Chris Lucas finished first after completing the course that’s just under 6 miles – well done on your great achievement, Chris! Our runners had many reasons to be proud of themselves: Liz Johnson completed her first XC race in 5 years – welcome back! A few club members tried XC for the very first time – Alice Baderin, Alex Ballinger, Matt Clover-McCann, Lauren Shaw, Zac Laschok and Fiona Paterson – the latter 2 having only been a club member for a matter of weeks, that’s dedication! Hope you all had a brilliant time and will be back at other XC races. Another notable first was Angela Burley doing this particular race for the first time ever – nobody is quite sure about how she managed to get away with it until it. Last but not least, celebrations were due for Sally Caldwell to get through the race injury- and pain-free — long may that continue.
Both our men’s and women’s teams came in third place in terms of scores – excellent work from everyone!
Scoring Reading Roadrunners women were Chloe Lloyd (77th overall); Pip White (82nd); Holly Curtayne (101st) and Liz Johnson (103rd).
From the men’s team Chris Lucas (1st overall); Alex Ballinger (20th); Fergal Donnelly (32nd); Chris Moseley (34th), Phil Hine (43rd) and Rees Cooper (49th) achieved scores. Congratulations on the excellent running from all.
Full results are available here: https://tvxc.org.uk/league-results
While the buffet food may have run out before we all managed to get some, the smiles didn’t disappear from our participating members’ faces. Thank you all for joining in the fun, and don’t forget to sign up to the remaining seven TVXC races on My Clubhouse. The next fixture is at Datchet Dashers’ fixture at The Brocas, Eton on Sunday 8th November. Hope to see you there.