The County Longford Primary Schools Cross Country Championships at Moyne CS on 10 October kicks off the cross-country season. This event also serves as a qualifier to the Connacht schools finals in Sligo on 23 October.
Provincial club cross-country races will then take place on the subsequent two weekends:
Sunday, 31 October – Connacht Even Ages (U12/U14/U16/U18), Ballina
Sunday, 7 November – Connacht Uneven Ages (U11/U13/U15/U17/U19), Galway
Below is the breakdown of age categories and the distances ran in each.
The ‘one year up’ entry policy applies meaning a child can run on both days if they are interested. For example, a child in the Under 12 age category can also run in Under 13.
Furthermore, the Under 11 category is also open to Under 10’s (children born in 2012). This is the youngest age group permitted in 2021 events.
The Connacht races are qualifiers for the Nationals which take place in late-Nov / early-Dec.
Sunday Training
A new Sunday morning training session at the Mall will begin on 3 October at 10am to help with preparation ahead of the these cross-country competitions.
Sunday morning is of course when Junior parkrun takes place and we encourage members, aged 14 and under, to do Junior parkrun as it is in itself very good preparation for the distances ran in cross country. The 10am session can merely be a short supplementary run on grass for those children that do Junior parkrun. For those not doing Junior parkrun, they can run a little longer!
The Sunday morning session will take place on October 3, 17 and 24.
Entries for both Connacht club events – October 31 and November 7 – will be finalised at training on October 17 so attendance on that morning is required.
Juvenile Age Categories – 2021
Category / Year of Birth
Cross Country Distances for each Category
The wearing of spikes is recommended, although not essential, for children who are interested in cross-country races. Spikes can be purchased online and can cost in the region of €30 with no major difference in quality among the usual brands.
Some shops, such as the Sports Outlet in Mullingar, may have them in stock. They should come with 9mm spike pins/studs which is the preferred length for cross country.
