The Metropolitan League is a 21 club Cross Country Running

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 league in South East England

South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...

. 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. http://www.metleague.co.uk/about.html

The league as a whole is arguably the largest in numbers in the UK http://www.metleague.co.uk/news.html

History

The league was founded on 23rd 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.

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.

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

The 21 clubs in the London Metropolitan League are:

Barnet & District
Ealing, Southall & Middlesex
Enfield & Haringey
Garden City Runners
Harlow RC
Hayes & Harlington
Herts Phoenix
Highgate Harriers
Hillingdon
London Frontrunners
London Heathside
Metropolitan Police
Mornington Chasers
Newham & Essex Beagles
Serpentine RC
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers
St Albans Striders
St Mary's Richmond
Thames Valley Harriers
Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets
Woodford Green with Essex Ladies

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 Womens title four times: 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010.

Fixtures

Fixture	Location	Date
1	Claybury (Woodford)	8 October 2011
2	Stevenage	12 November 2011
3	Ruislip	17 December 2011
4	Trent Park	14 January 2012
5	Horsenden Hill	11 February 2012

Senior Men

Position	Team	Points
1	Woodford Green with Essex Ladies	6305
2	Serpentine RC	6227
3	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	4965

Senior Women

Position	Team	Points
1	Serpentine RC	1590
2	Highgate Harriers	1348
3	Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers	1283