CROSS CHALLENGE HEADS TO RENFREW FOR THIRD FIXTURE IN THE SERIES

The third fixture in the 2023/24 British Athletics Cross Challenge Series takes place on Saturday 13 January at the King George V Playing Fields in Renfrew, Scotland.

After races in Cardiff and Liverpool at the end of 2023, Scotland hosts a key fixture once again, but for the first time in Renfrew after moving from Perth last year.

There will once again be plenty of exciting racing to unfold across a full complement of age group races, with all important Cross Challenge points up for grabs. The fixture also incorporates the Scottish Inter-District Cross Country Championships as well as the Celtic Nations Cross Country.

Jamie Crowe (Derek Easton, Central) won the Scotland fixture last year in Perth and arrives at Renfrew after a 15^th place finish in the senior men’s race in Liverpool last November. Scott Stirling (John Pentecost, Falkirk), who finished two positions behind him at Sefton Park, is another athlete to watch out for in the senior men’s race around the fast and flat course.

Mountain running medallists Jacob Adkin (Keswick) and Andrew Douglas (Sophie Dunnett, Inverclyde) are also on the entry lists in the senior men’s contest. While Andrew McGill (Michael Johnston, Livingston), who earned a call-up for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland U20 team at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels, lines up as an U23 in the senior race.

In the senior women’s race, world and European mountain running medallist Scout Adkin (Angela Mudge, Ambleside) will be a contender on the cross country terrain, but she will face competition from Nancy Scott (Philip O’Dell, Edinburgh) and Kirsty Walker (Neil Walker, Edinburgh), who were 16^th and 21^st respectively in the senior women’s race in Liverpool, as well as fellow mountain running international Holly Page (Lewis Walker, Carnethy).

The U17/U20 races will see a number of junior athletes in contention in the combined race.

The men’s race will see Connor Bell (Derek Easton, Central), 14^th in the U20 race at Sefton Park, take on Craig Shennan (Dudley Walker, Giffnock North), winner of the U17 race on the same day, and Calum Dick (Angela Carson, Giffnock North) who was second U15 in his race.

In the women’s U17/U20 race, Hannah Ryding (Giffnock North), who earned a call-up to the GB & NI team for the World Cross Country Championships last February, lines up alongside against a strong field including Natasha Phillips (Dundee Hawkhill) and Zara Redmond (Kilbarchan) who both delivered solid performances in Merseyside a few weeks ago.

More event details can be found HERE.