Let the fun commence!

Less than a week now until the first real sign that winter is not too far away - the start of the Manx Gas Cross Challenge series.

There are 5 rounds this season, all taking place on Sunday afternoons as follows:

Round 1 - 14th October 2007 – Nobles Park, Douglas (IOMVAC)
Round 2 - 11th November 2007 – Crossags Farm, Ramsey (Northern AC)
Round 3 - 9th December 2007 – Glen Lough, Glen Vine (Western AC)
Round 4 & IOM Championships - 20th January 2008 – Crossags Farm, Ramsey (Northern AC)
Round 5 - 3rd February 2008 – Pulrose Golf Course, Douglas (Manx Harriers)

The starting time for all rounds will be 2pm unless otherwise advised. You should aim to check in at least 30 minutes before the start time - preferably more for the 1st Round as you will need to complete and hand in your entry form for the series. You can download a form by clicking on http://www.manxathletics.com/manxharriers/MGXCENTRY.PDF

DOUBLE POINTS WILL BE AWARDED FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND AT CROSSAGS ON 20TH JANUARY – so make sure that one is in your diary now! It is hoped that this change will help to raise the profile of the IOM Championships further as it will also be very important for competitors to do this round for their league placings.

As in previous years, the best 4 rounds will count for the league, which means that to qualify you have to do either:

1 – The Championship Round (which counts as 2) plus a minimum of 2 other rounds, or
2 – If you miss the Championship Round you would have to do all the other 4.

The scoring system in each round will be 50 points for the winner, 49 for 2nd place, 48 for 3rd place etc. For the Championship Round the winner will get 100 points, 2nd place 98 points, 3rd place 96 points etc. The competitor with the highest points total from their best 4 races in the series will be the winner in each category.

There are races for the following age categories:

Senior/Vet Men
Senior/Vet Ladies
Junior Men
Junior Ladies
Under 17 Boys & Girls
Under 15 Boys & Girls
Under 13 Boys & Girls
Under 11 Boys & Girls
Under 9 Boys & Girls

As in previous years there will also be a 'Short Course' race option for Senior, Veteran, Junior and Under 17 Men and Ladies. This may be suitable for newcomers to cross country, or perhaps track athletes who are not distance runners but wish to use cross country as a means to build endurance over the winter. It may also be suitable for ageing has-beens who may be considering a comeback to cross country after an absence of many years!

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

In my next article I will take a look back to last season's Nobles Park event, and speculate as to who may go well this time.

See you all at Nobles Park next Sunday!