English National XC Champs
The English National Cross Country Championships took place at Sedgefield Racecourse on 21st Feb 2026. Seventeen ECH athletes made the long trip to take part against the best in the country. Conditions were good for racing and there were some brilliant performances from juniors through to seniors.
Seren Gush and Annabelle Smith had a close battle in the under 13 girls race, finsihing 153rd and 156th respectively. Harry Alderson went in the under 13 boys race and finished a creditable 217th place. Erin McMahon and Demi Baxter were our reprenstatives in the under 15 girls race, having a strong runs to finish 115th and 166th respectively. Anna Rooke performed very well in the under 17 women’s race placing 152nd overall.
We had a strong team entered in the under 17 men’s race, with 5 ECH athletes taking part. Marshall Fleet was first back for ECH finishing a brilliant 95th place. Oliver was next with a great run in 130th, closely followed by Nathan Dunn 136th, Alife Manser 138th and Samuel Horner 190th. The team finished in 15th place overall.
Imogen Gush made a brilliant return to racing with a 83rd place finish in the Under 20 women’s race with Maria Rooke not far behind in 96th place.
The Senior Men just had enough for a team with 6 athletes taking part. Liam Browne was first home with his return to race coming home in 406th place. Robin Horner was next back in 516th followed by Tom McMahon (522nd), Jonathan Aust (567th), James Hartshorne (620th) and Barry Hirst (721st). The team finished 51st overall out of 68 complete teams (pictured below minus Liam).
Solid performances all round, well done to all. A huge thank you to Gary Matthews (team manager) and all the brilliant parents who made the trip to support the team. We couldn’t have done it without you!