November is upon us and that means only one thing! It’s PECO time. As the temperatures start to drop and the wet weather conjures up mud and puddles galore, it’s time to dig out those trail shoes, pin that Peco bib to your blue and whites and prepare for the 2023/24 Winter mudfest in the cold fresh air. The PECO Cross Country League is a series of 5 cross country races organised in and around Leeds in which clubs affiliated to the League compete across men’s and ladies divisions. Each race is about 4-5 miles. Sadly this year Eccleshill have been removed from the league tables due to our scores being made up of only penalty points earned due to previous low attendance. Going forward our members don’t score pointa but the promise of reinstatement is there for the taking if we can get our numbers up and form teams in the remaining races, what better way to spend your Sunday morning and all for the princely sum of £8 per individual race (or £17 season ticket which is still the cheaper option)!
The venue for this first race was Middleton Park. Hosted jointly by Rothwell Harriers and Hyde Park Harriers, two junior races kicked off the proceedings, year 2 to 6 on a 1.5 mile course followed by year 7 to 12 on a 2 mile course. The fun then begins for the senior Men and Ladies on a tough 4.5 mile (approximate) distance. Due the amount of runners attending a staggered start was put in place, the Men were set off followed 15 minutes later by the Ladies. All the races took place entirely within the grounds of Middleton Park next to John Charles stadium. A mixture of woodland trails, fields, bits of tarmac and mud covered grasslands. These events bring together clubs from all over the region to compete and generally have fun with the masses. Fantastic running today by the blue and whites today: Dan Jenkins 33:48, Janice Magennis 45:31 and Julie Steele 46:46 Well done!
