35 Novuna GB&NI Athletes head out to Slovenia ahead of European Off-Road Championships this weekend

The Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland team will compete across three days of racing at the European Off-Road Championships in Slovenia this weekend.

The action gets underway on Friday 6 June with the Uphill races, featuring a challenging 9km course with 1,289m of ascent for the seniors and 3.8km with 425m of ascent for the U20s.

The U20 men start proceedings at 10:00am, with Rowan Taylor (Lasswade AC, Kirk and Linda Smith) leading the team. He will be looking to build on last year’s success, having been part of the silver medal-winning GB & NI U20 team at the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. The U20 Women will set off 10:30am.

At the same time the senior men will be setting off at the bottom of the mountain. In the senior men’s race, 2026 UKA Uphill Champion Matthew Knowles (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett) will headline the British team, while Morven Goodrum (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, Sophie Mullins), this year’s women’s champion, makes her senior GB & NI debut at 11:00am.

Also featuring are 2024 European Uphill silver medallists, siblings Scout Adkin (Ambleside AC, Angela Mudge) and Jacob Adkin (Keswick AC, Robbie Simpson), both of whom will be aiming for the podium once again. The women’s team will also be targeting an improvement on their team bronze from the 2023 Championships.

On Saturday, attention turns to the trail races, with both senior men and women racing over 52km with 2,450m of ascent and descent, starting at 9:00am.

UKA Trail Middle Distance champions Ben Rothery (Ilkley, Sarah McCormack) and Scarlet Dale (Ambleside AC, Mark Croasdale) lead the team. Rothery, who finished 16th in the Up-and-Down race at the 2024 European Championships, has since transitioned to trail and will be looking to make an impact on the longer course.

The championships conclude on Sunday with the Up-and-Down races. The U20 men start at 9:00am, followed by the U20 women at 9:45am. Lachlan Thomas (Ross County AC , Sophie Dunnett) and Constance Jenneson (Buxton AC, Alison Hartopp and Bev Hartigan) both feature after winning their respective trial races

The senior races follow at 10:30am, where Matthew Knowles (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett) and Scout Adkin (Ambleside AC, Angela Mudge) return for their second races of the weekend. Adkin narrowly missed the podium in 2024, finishing just three seconds outside the top three, and will be aiming to go one better this time.

Speaking to European Athletics ahead of the championships, Adkin said:

“Obviously, like all the amazing athletes I have raced against over recent years, we all want to run to our best abilities and hopefully that also means getting to stand on the podium. But there are a lot of things that need to go well between now and then, and anything can happen on race day.”

Adkin is one of two athletes returning from the gold medal-winning women’s team at the last European Championships, alongside Naomi Lang (Carnethy Hill RC/Glasgow Uni, Lewis Walker), who also claimed short trail bronze at the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.

Several athletes will make their senior GB & NI debuts this weekend, including; Morven Goodrum (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, Sophie Mullins), Tom Spencer (Dark Peak Fell Runners), Thomas Hilton (Edinburgh University Hares and Hounds), Tom Wood (Eryri Harriers, Matt Seddon), Kirsty Oldham (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers).

The European Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed live across all three days via: European Athletics website and European Athletics YouTube channel.

 Novuna GB & NI Team for the European Off-Road Running Championships

Trail

Women

• Emily Cowper-Coles (Rotherham Harriers/Dark Peak Fell Runners)
• Scarlet Dale (Ambleside AC, Mark Croasdale)
• Kirsty Oldham (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers)
• Eve Pannone (Ambleside AC, David Roche)

Men

• Alexander Chepelin (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett)
• Luke Grenfell-Shaw (Lonely Goat RC, Lewis Moses)
• Ben Rothery (Ilkley, Sarah McCormack)
• Andy Symonds

Uphill

Women

• Scout Adkin (Ambleside AC, Angela Mudge)
• Kirsty Dickson (Carnethy Hill RC)
• Morven Goodrum (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, Sophie Mullins)
• Hannah Russell (Helm Hill Runners)

Men

• Jacob Adkin (Keswick AC, Robbie Simpson)
• Finlay Grant (Dark Peak Fell Runners)
• Matthew Knowles (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett)
• Tom Spencer (Dark Peak Fell Runners)

U20 Uphill

Women

• Nancy Corrie (Harmeny AC, Craig Stewart)
• Hania Czebreszuk (Aberdeen AAC, Lewis Walker/Nicola Crawford)
• Isla Pastor (Warriors Pentathlon & Athletics Club, Ronan Kearney)
• Sophie Wood (City of Salisbury)

Men

• Joel Gillan (Central AC)
• Kieran Hardie (Harmeny AC, Andy Ross)
• Rowan Taylor (Lasswade AC, Kirk and Linda Smith)
• Lachlan Thomas (Ross County AC, Sophie Dunnett)

Up-and-Down

Women

• Scout Adkin (Ambleside AC, Angela Mudge)
• Naomi Lang (Carnethy Hill RC/Glasgow Uni, Lewis Walker)
• Nancy Scott (Edinburgh AC)
• Elle Twentyman (Rugby & Northampton)

Men

• Thomas Hilton (Edinburgh University Hares and Hounds, Sarah McCormack)
• Matthew Knowles (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett)
• Oscar Subuh‑Symons (Ambleside AC, Sarah McCormack)
• Tom Wood (Eryri Harriers, Matt Seddon)

U20 Up-and-Down

Women

• Nancy Corrie (Harmeny AC, Craig Stewart)
• Constance Jenneson (Buxton AC, Alison Hartopp and Bev Hartigan)
• Isla Pastor (Warriors Pentathlon & Athletics Club, Ronan Kearney)
• Graihagh Turner (Penistone Footpath Runners & AC)

Men

• Ewan Busfield (Derby AC, Jethro McGraw)
• Adam Bentham (Mercia Fell Runners)
• Lachlan Thomas (Ross County Athletics Club, Sophie Dunnett)
• Ben Hodson (Stewartry AC, Angela Mudge and Nicky Cruikshank)