racING

Arena take part in a wide variety of road, cross-country and track races throughout the year. Competing in events and leagues is a great way to develop your running and adds a whole other dimension to your training.

We’ve listed the major leagues and championships below, but our members also enter countless other races of all kinds, from marathons to track, trail, relay events, ultras and triathlons.

Road

Sussex Championships

Sussex County AA organises three Road Running Championships annually.

  • The Half Marathon, which is integrated into one of the large Sussex Half races in rotation,
  • The Road Relays, which is traditionally around Easter
  • The Sussex 10K, which is hosted by a different club from the county each year.

Arena 80 members are encouraged to take part in all of the road running championship racers, with a particular focus on the Road Relay team event.

Sussex Grand Prix League

The Sussex Grand Prix is a road running competition open to all affiliated clubs in Sussex and takes place throughout the year. All England Athletics registered members of affiliated clubs that have signed up to compete in the Grand Prix are eligible to compete for individual and team prizes.

Sussex road running races throughout the year are selected to be part of the Sussex Grand Prix series. Points are awarded to all competing club members with the best scores from a selected number of races making up the final composite score.

Prizes are awarded to individuals in specific age categories and similarly team prizes are awarded to clubs and to age specific teams. Scoring is separate for males and females. Prizes are awarded at the end of season get together. The Sussex Grand Prix is organised by a committee drawn from competing clubs.

SGP Race Calendar

.Always check up to date information at https://sussexgrandprix.co.uk/news/races/

Cross-Country

Sussex Cross Country League

The Sussex Cross Country League is a series of four races, organised by the county, which take place annually between October and February at different venues across Sussex.

These races are held on Saturdays and are open to everybody with a huge mix of standards. The women run separately to the men and over a shorter distance. It’s a great way to socialise with our other club members and eat cake at the end. All these races are off road.

East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League

This is a short series of races and all cross country. All these events are on Sundays and have a larger number of people who run for enjoyment.

The league for individuals is based on your best 4 races out of 6 but for teams it’s based on every race. These are great fun and are run in some of Sussex’s best countryside. These races are based on a distance of 5 miles.

www.eastsussexcrosscountry.co.uk

Sussex Cross Country Championships

The Sussex Cross Country Championships take place in January for Senior and Masters Men and Women. Individual & Team Awards are presented. The first five to finish in the county championships are selected for the National Inter Counties. Additional runners are selected by the team manager based on recent performances.

www.sussexathletics.net/take-part/cross-country/sussex-cross-country-league

Track

Sussex Masters League

The Sussex Masters League (commonly known as the Sussex Veterans League) is a County track and field competition open to teams from Sussex Clubs. Each team consists of men and women competitors aged 35 and over. Teams can be formed by clubs joining together or be entered from an individual club. Individual track and field events within each match are organised for competitors aged over 35, over 50 and over 60.

Matches are hosted by member clubs and take place on evenings from May to July and last about 3 hours. There are usually four matches a year.

www.sussexathletics.net/sussex-masters-league

Sussex Track & Field Championships

The Track & Field Championships usually take place on the second weekend in May. A full range of events is held for Under 15, Under 17, Under 20 and Senior Men & Women. County medals are awarded to the first three in each event

Regional & National Masters Track & Field Championships

At a regional level Masters competitions are organised by the Southern Veterans Athletics Association SCVAC, and at a national level by The British Masters Athletics Federation BMAF.  

These are regional masters clubs but there is also the option for BMAF Open membership, which anyone over 35 and registered with their athletics national governing body can subscribe to.  At present this membership is free but there is a supplement for entry to each competition.   Details of all fixtures are to be found on the BMAF website and the respective area club website.

Everyone is welcome to enter BMAF and SCVAC track & field championships. There is currently no minimum entry standard for the competitions so that no-one is deterred from entry but equally there will be world-class athletes also competing, who will frequently be breaking British and World age-group records.  SCVAC set standards for their Championships in order to ensure that medals are earned by SCVAC members, not given for ‘showing up’ and that athletes are set a goal.

More information about races in Sussex:
www.sussexraces.co.uk/sussexraceseventplanner