England Cross Country is in fact the ECCA (England Cross Country Association) and the full funding of the trips that we go on are a result of the income from both the National Cross Country Championships and the National Cross Country relays (held annually at Mansfield).
This is the only regular opportunity to run internationally and be offered an England vest for those athletes who are both interested in cross country, and interested in using cross country to progress their own performances ie on the road or track. Without these opportunities many athletes on the ‘fringe’ would not get the chance to fulfil their promise or test themselves internationally.
The 4 England Team Managers, Eamonn Martin, Sue Lamb, Keith Holt and Jo Newcombe are all volunteers and spend a lot of their own time selecting then re-selecting due to various reasons such as injuries, illness and withdrawals. Some of these withdrawals are through lack of advanced planning or realisation of fixture clashes when the England event comes round having not been spotted sooner by athlete or coach.
Race 1 – Roeselare, Belgium 26th October 2025 – Selection date October 5th – previous cross country form January to March 2025 and current endurance performances up to selection date on 5th October.
Race 2 – 18th January 2026 Elgoibar, Spain – Selection date 21st December 2025-selection primarily based on European Trial 2025 + other recent form taken into account.
Note: Due to the proximity of the World Cross Country 1 week before athletes competing in the Worlds will not be considered.
Race 3 – 25th January Hannut, Belgium– selection date 5th January 2025 -selection primarily based on European Trial 2025 + other recent form taken into account since the trial.
Race 4 – 8th February Parliament Hill, London. Home Countries and Celtic International + area match. Selection date 21st January 2026 selection primarily based on recent form to be taken into account.