Established 1966 | Members 22 | |
Region London, Essex, Hertfordshire and Middlesex Website | ||
The Metropolitan League is a 21 club Cross Country Running league in South East England. There are 5 league fixtures held in various locations between October and February. Male & female athletes from aged 11 upwards compete at each fixture and there are 6 races which are categorised as, under 13 boys, under 13 girls, combined under 15 boys and under 17 men, combined under 15 girls and under 17 women, combined senior women and veteran women then finally, senior men and veteran men. The senior and veterans races also include divisions one, two and three.
Contents
The league as a whole is arguably the largest in numbers in the UK
History
The league was founded on 23 March 1966 when eight of the major London athletic clubs met at Primrose Public House in Bishopsgate to discuss cross country competition. All clubs signed up and the first fixture was held in October later that year at Hainault Forest. Nine clubs entered over 260 athletes in the two races: one for Seniors and Juniors, the other for Youths and Boys. For the first five years there were only four matches per season but this expanded to five in 1971 and has remained static since.
Sponsorship
The league was sponsored by athletics retailer London City Runner until 2013, when events promoter Active Training World won the rights. Start Fitness is the current sponsor.
Competition Format
Athletes are awarded points dependent on their finishing position in the race: the higher the position, the more points accrued. For senior men, the total points from the top 12 athletes at a club make up their 'A' team score. The next 12 athletes to finish at that club (i.e. positions 13-24) count towards the 'B' team. For senior women only 6 athletes make up a team.
At the end of the season, the team with the most points are declared the champions.
Independent runners (runners who are not in a running club) are allowed to run for a small surcharge.
Race Venues
The five venues are decided before the start of every season, and are chosen from this list: Alexandra Palace, Chingford, Claybury, Cranford, Hainault Forest, Hilly Fields (Enfield), Horsenden Hill, Parliament Hill, Ruislip, St Albans, Stevenage, Trent Park, Welwyn Garden City and Wormwood Scrubs.
Clubs
There are 10 clubs in Divisions One and Two with larger numbers in Division Three in the Senior Women and Senior and Veteran Men. Larger clubs enter up to three teams of runners into the league, while smaller clubs only enter one.
Below are tables showing teams in each league from 2015-6. Bracketed numbers are numbers of scorers per team in that league.
Clubs
Since 1966, Thames Valley Harriers have won the most Men's titles, a total of 33. Since 1994, Highgate Harriers have been the most successful Women's club, lifting the trophy on 21 occasions.
Athletes
Julian Gentry of Newham and Essex Beagles holds the most individual titles, a total of 8. These were all won consecutively in a period of domination between 1989 and 1996. Svenja Abel (Highgate Harriers) has won the Women's title four times: 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010.
2013-2014 Results
Final Division 1 Team Standings: