The Cross Country season is here!

Sunday, September 20th, 2026

Cross Country season has officially begun! Kicking off with the Essex relays at Chingford Plain in Epping Forest today.

A windy day for the BDAC athletes, but with a very pleasant gravel pathway to balance it up and ease us into the 2 lap course.

Wes Routledge

On the first leg of the 6km route was Wes Routledge, making his XC debut! His gleaming brand new spikes were not required on the firm ground today, so he stuck to his trail shoes which helped him across the line in 27:19 to give us a good start for the team.

Kurtis Swan

Next up for the 2nd leg was Kurtis Swan, who ran a fantastic race to finish in 22:06 and pass the metaphorical baton onto Terry “Turbo” Clark for the 3rd leg.

Terry “Turbo” Clark

With all the excitement of signing up the day before, Terry admitted he started off too fast, but still put in a super effort and record a time of 34:39.

Dan Blade

Last up was Run Leader, Dan Bade. He ran comfortably in 25:03 and brought the team home with a combined time of 1:49:08 placing us 14th out of 18 teams.

A great effort from all that ran today!

Cross Country is a fantastic team sport, no matter your ability or speed! We recommend it to anyone!

The new season is here, and if you’ve ever wondered about giving it a go, please chat to us and be a part of a fun, friendly and muddy team!

The first race of the Essex Cross Country League will be:
Sat 10th Oct – Hylands Park, Chelmsford

To sign up, just head to the link below:
Roster Athletics · Essex Cross Country League 26/27 https://share.google/jf4orslLbU29omavm

For further information, please email Team Manager Conor Culham: conorculham@gmail.com

More information will follow soon on these local cross-country leagues:

• https://www.nessxc.org.uk/fixtures.php
• https://essexxcleague.org/sample-page/
• https://essexxcleague.org/future-fixtures/

Note – Essex X-C Relay photos to follow