North East Harrier League , Alnwick Fixture

Cross Country

NEHL

Crook AC take part in the North East Harrier League (NEHL) which is the oldest cross country league in the country having ran their first race in South Gosforth in November 1896!

The league runs from September to March and caters for clubs from Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham and regularly sees a thousand athletes toe the line for six league races throughout the winter. There are races for several junior age groups from age nine upwards then the senior mens and ladies races. Distances range from 1 mile for U11s up to 3.5 mile for U17s, ladies and over 65 men race 4 miles, senior men race 6 miles.

All standards of runner take part in cross country from elite internationals to brand new starters, it’s very inclusive and open to all ages and abilities.

Costs are low (currently £7 per athlete for the entire season, do as many or as few races as you like). Cross country is a great way to strengthen your joints and toughen yourself up through the winter, hopefully getting you in tip top shape for road or track racing in the warmer months. It’s also a really good social experience; everyone’s in it together, especially when we’re all huddled around the tent on rainy days cheering on our team mates, although recent years have also seen some scorching weather at the start of the season

Chris Henderson - Running in the cross country relays

The venues alter from season to season, the furthest away fixture is Alnwick Castle but we are quite lucky to have regular local fixtures at Chester le Street and Thornley.

The league races operate a pack system. Everyone begins in the slow pack but if you’re good enough to finish in the top ten percent of the field you’ll find yourself promoted to the medium pack for the next race which means you’ll be setting off a couple of minutes after the slow pack. The fast pack are released a few minutes later again. Points are scored by adding up the finishing position of the first four ladies and first six men home from each club, the lower the score the better! By having more runners out we can help push our rivals down the finishing order which means even if you’re outside the top six, you’re still doing your bit!

The NEHL also have a cup event and we enter teams in the North East Championships and occasionally the Northern and National Championships.

We’ve had some successes lately, in 2024 and 2025 our V65 Men won the league, our Ladies won Division 3 in 2024 and Division 2 in 2026, and our Men also won promotion to the top flight in 2025. We have a really healthy squad and if anyone would like to join in just have a chat with any of the club captains! The NEHL website is available here: Start Fitness North East Harrier League