Each winter Penny Lane Striders compete in the North West Sunday Cross Country League.  There are six races in the series, with our men and women competing against runners from other clubs across the region. 

​Each race is hosted by one of the region's running clubs.  The season often starts with our home race at Clarkes Gardens in Allerton, before moving on to areas such as  Beacon Park  near Skelmersdale,  Arrowe Park, Stadt Moers Park in Knowsley, Runcorn Town Park (including two climbs up the dreaded  ski slope) and Birchwood Country Park, where conquering the infamous  water hazard is the key to success...

Penny Lane also take part in  Liverpool and District Cross Country Union. races. These are free to all club members, and take place on Saturday afternoons with the exception of the Championship race which is on a Sunday morning.

For those new to running or who have not ventured much off road before, we hope you will give cross country a try. The season runs from October-March and races involve local parks through grasslands and woodlands and usually involving mud. Because of this, different shoes (XC ‘spikes’) are recommended to give additional grip. We recognize that you may not wish to buy a pair just to try it out! So, as part of our aim to widen participation in off road running we have purchased some pairs of XC running shoes (with spikes) which can be borrowed by members for training and racing. You can find the link below.

XC Shoes LOAN

Cross Country Race Schedule 23/24

Below is the most up to date list of fixtures (November 2023 Update). Please contact [email protected] for any queries.

Date	Venue	League	How to enter
22 October 2023	Clarke Gardens, 10am ​	North West Sunday League	Just attend on the day. No charge for PLS members
28 October 2023 ​	Arrowe Park, 2pm	Liverpool and District Cross Country Union	Just attend on the day
19th November 2023	Beacon Park, Skem, 10am	North West Sunday League​	Just attend on the day. Bring 50p for entry fee
25th November 2023	Sefton Park, Senior women 13:05 (8.1k); Senior men 14:05 (9.8k)	Liverpool and District Cross Country Union	Sign up now via the App. The club will pay for entries.​
09th December 2023	Beacon Park, 2pm	Liverpool and District Cross Country Union	Just attend on the day.
17th ​ December 2023	Arrowe Park, 10am	North West Sunday League	​​Just attend on the day. Bring 50p for entry fee
14th January 2024	Town Park, Runcorn, 10am	​North West Sunday League	Just attend on the day. Bring 50p for entry fee
3rd February 2024	Croxteth Park, Senior women 13:15 (7.6k); Senior men 14:00 (10.8k) Rescheduled Date​	Merseyside XC	Pre enter via app​
4th February 2024	Croxteth Park, 10am	North West Sunday League	Just attend on the day. Bring 50p for entry fee
​11th February 2024	Clarke's Gardens, 11am Championship race	Liverpool and District Cross Country Union	Pre enter via app
10 March 2024	Birchwood Forest Park, 10am Cancelled	North West Sunday League	Just attend on the day. Bring 50p for entry fee

How does it work?

Unlike road running, the time that you finish a cross country race in isn't important: it is purely and simply about finishing as high up the field as possible. The first 6 men and first 3 women to finish from each team contribute to that team's overall score. Runners finishing outside of these places still help by pushing down  other team members' placings. So it really is a club effort!

What is it like?

• It's an excellent supplement to your road training building, increased strength and acceleration.
• Its 30 to 45 minutes of glory and mud;
• Its an opportunity to try on weird spiked shoes;
• It's about hills, bogs, swamps, hills, water, frozen fingers and hills;
• Its about never cancelling because of weather;
• Its about tea, coffee, sarnies and biccies afterwards in some sort of community hall, all for the princely sum of 50p;
• It's about keeping that 10k near Manchester that you are doing secret;
• Its about leaving your muddy wet spikes in the garage between seasons and then plucking up the courage to put them on race day.