No parking is allowed in the park itself (other than for officials and prior-notified blue badge holders).
As for the last two years, we are operating a ‘park and ride’ system for this year’s event from 3 or 4 alternative car parking facilities. Unlike last year, when you purchase a car park ticket, you will be allocated a space in a specific car park. This should avoid anyone finding that a car park is full, and having to be diverted to an alternative car park.
There will be a £5 charge for parking, which should be paid online, in advance, using the link on the Sportsoft website, which will be open at least 3 weeks before race day. You will receive a receipt which will serve as your entry ticket, and which will have your registration number displayed in bold for easy reading by security staff, and it will also bear the letter pertaining to the car park in which you have been allocated a space. Please have this available either on a mobile device, or as hard copy, when you enter the car park – THE PERMIT CAN ONLY BE USED AT THE DESIGNATED CAR PARK. There will be limited access available to pay on the day, but this will be by card only, at a cost of £10, and this will only be available at the Ransomwood car park.
The car parks which will be in use are as follows:
- West Notts College (NG18 5BH) what3words: ballots.shares.broke
- The Crematorium (NG18 5BJ). what3words: rigid.grain.fresh
- Linney’s (NG18 4FL). what3words: toned.update.darker
- Ransom Wood Business Park (NG21 0HJ): what3words: mint.crib.trash
Shuttle buses will operate from all the above car parks regularly from 8:30am until 4:30pm. Directions to Berry Hill Park will also be signposted for those who prefer to get to the park on foot.
Adhering to the Parking system is critical to the ongoing future of the event. These arrangements are made in collaboration with local residents and Mansfield District Council, and the ECCA have worked hard to get to this position. Considerate parking is a condition of our future use of the park for this event.
Due to extensive development within the park, we have had to make some substantial changes to the course this year. Whilst the overall shape is much the same, and the start/finish will be in the same place as in 2024, the route around the lake, and, in particular the wooded section, is necessarily changed. The top small area of woodland also no longer forms part of the course.
We therefore strongly recommend that athletes walk the wooded section of the course before their race, to familiarise themselves with the new hazards therein.
The entry fee for this race is set at a level purely to cover the costs of hosting the event (venue hire, marquee and toilet hire, first aid, provision of barriers and course infrastructure etc). Any surplus that is achieved is used entirely for core ECCA activity, and thus reinvested into the sport. The ECCA’s view is that parking costs should be kept separate from this. The parking is designed to achieve break even, so the fee covers the cost of providing the shuttle buses and security guards at each car park, plus the online administration.
Parking is provided for coaches, the parking being off Blackscotch Lane NG18 4JW (aside.unions.legal). A permit to park a coach can be purchased for £10, by emailing admin@englishcrosscountry.co.uk . No coaches will be admitted without a permit.
No, late entries are not accepted under any circumstances. Technological advances mean that we are now able to set the closing date much closer to the event date than was previously the case.
All athletes must run in the age groups for which they are qualified. The only exception to this is where a club has no team entered in the U20 race, in which case U20 athletes may be entered to run in the senior race.
Second claim entrants are not allowed. You must compete for your EA-affiliated first claim club only (and the club must be affiliated for cross country).
A Foreign Athlete who is a first claim member of an affiliated club may run, but all such athletes must be Bona Fide and permanent residents in the UK, and registered as Foreign Athletes with UKA by January 1st 2025.
Yes. A permit can be obtained for the club tent drop off at the Mining Remediation Authority (previously the Coal Authority) on Litchfield Lane NG18 4RG (what3words: mason.stale.chips) by emailing the Secretary via admin@englishcrosscountry.co,uk . Please note that vehicles using this facility will also need to purchase a parking permit for this location if they wish to park there.
All age groups are taken from the athlete’s age on 31st August 2025
For all races with 3 per team you can declare up to 9 runners for every team entered. For senior men’s teams – where there are 4 per team – you can declare up to 12 runners for each entry.
A few days before race day the team manager who has done the entry will be sent a link to declare the teams online selecting from the athletes already entered. This can be done online anytime up to Friday midnight 31.10.25, and then there will be facility to make changes on race day if needs be up to 30 minutes before the race in question, via FR Systems at the Registration tent.