New RR10 Season is here...

New RR10 season is here, but what is it, how do I run it and will there be cake?

For those of you who are new, or could do with a refresher on the RR10 league, Kym and Rob (your RR10 club reps) have written this handy guide for you. There are a few rules to remember, but they are for everyone’s safety and enjoyment.

The league begins at Places Leisure, Eastleigh, on April 23rd. A full list of race fixtures can be found at http://www.rr10.org.uk/

The Basics:

The RR10 league is a long-standing cross country league which is held on Wednesday nights throughout the summer, starting in Mid-April and finishing at the end of August. Races tend to be held every fortnight and take place at a variety of different venues across Hampshire - check Teamo for the full fixtures.

The league is completely free and open to HERC members. Runners must register in advance by filling in the form at https://www.rr10.org.uk/register.html. The form requires you to submit your Parkrun ID (more on that later!) If you don’t have one, you can sign up for free at www.parkrun.org.uk. Once that is done, simply turn up in a Hedge End Running Club race top and introduce yourself to us and we will take your name and age. PLEASE BRING YOUR PARKRUN BARCODE WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME TO THE RACE. You can print a paper copy, or we can accept screenshots on phones or on Garmin watches.

For instructions on how to register, please watch the video Kym produced here

When you complete the course, you’ll be given a finishing token, depending on if you wish to compete under the male or female categories - please hang on to this and give it to the scanners at the end of the race. They will scan your Parkrun ID, followed by the finishing token, which will determine your finishing place, and record it against your name and club. Once scanned, please return the finishing token to the bucket for the league to use again in the next race!

Before the league begins we are required to provide a list of runners and existing medical conditions to our insurer, Collingwood Medical. This is a condition of us receiving our race permits and is non-negotiable. If you do not want to provide this information (which we obtain as part of your Membership registration) then we can remove you from our list however you will be unable to compete in the league. If you have any questions, please ask and we’ll be happy to help (Rob and I do not have access to your medical information and won’t know anything unless you choose to tell us).

Scoring

The league is run on an individual and team basis. Once you get your finishing place, you are given a score based on the percentage of the field you have beaten. For example, if you came 1st in the female category, you get 100, because you beat 100% of the field. If you were the 100th runner out of 200, your score would be 50. Your best 6 results across the season are then used to calculate your end of league result. In addition to overall Mens and Women’s winners, we also have winning categories for V40, V45, V50 etc etc.

If you complete 6 events across the season, this will give you an individual score and HERC will give you an award at the end of the year for competing for the club!

For the team basis, we combine team results for each race based by gender for the club. Mens teams are arranged in teams of 5, Women’s teams in groups of 3. Therefore the first 5 male hedgies to complete the course will be the A team, the next 5 would be the B team and so on. This goes on for as long as there are enough runners to form a complete team. The finishers in each race can alternate and do not have to be the same each week. The score is calculated by adding the groups finishing positions together and the lowest score for each week and therefore the league will win. The new results system using Parkrun barcodes will allow these results to be submitted and uploaded quickly and efficiently.

The Courses/ Races:

Each race is between 4-5 miles long and will be a mixture of grass/ trail/ some concrete and more technical/ rooty areas on occasion. The hosting club will provide instructions on the course in the week leading to the race.

THERE WILL BE HILLS. The RR10 league is cross-country and so there are a few toughies thrown in there - get some hill training in whilst you can!

We compete with multiple clubs across Hampshire and each club will be responsible for organising their own race. If the club is organising their race they do not compete that week. We are arranging the race on 9th July at 7pm and we will be asking for volunteers!

Please car share to venues where possible, spaces are often limited and venues are contingent on us being mindful of our environment.

The MOST important bits:

RR10 races are inclusive and are welcoming to ANY speed or ability of runner who can complete the course. Remember - any runner you finish ahead of from another club improves the overall Hedgie Score and we all have a part to play

RR10s are supposed to be FUN and an opportunity to get together on sunny evenings and enjoy a challenging run in beautiful surroundings with some friendly competition on the side. You don’t have to ‘compete’ if you don’t want to, simply turn up and enjoy.

We are renowned for being the ‘Big Friendly Club’ so please feel free to clap your fellow Hedgies and give them encouragement as they cross the line! We appreciate people have busy lives and places to be, but it’s great if people have the time, to cheer your colleagues on.

If you are planning to run an RR10, please ensure that you pre-register and remember to bring your barcode to your race. If you are unsure about how to register, please ask us and we can help you!

Some Rules:

Club Tops. All runners are required to wear their club’s racing kit as part of their participation in the event. Training tops are not acceptable and may result in you being unable to take part in the race. If you do not have a Hedge End racing top, please ask Rob or Kym and we may have one to lend to you. Racing kit can be purchased through the website.

Headphones. Following a few accidents over the past seasons and also the increase in the number of people running RR10 races, it’s been agreed that no headphones of any kind are permitted during RR10 races, to ensure that everyone is present and can hear marshall instructions. This includes bone-conducting headphones. Any runner wearing headphones during the race can be disqualified and banned from future races at the discretion of the RD.

Cake!

The most popular part of RR10 is cake! For the aspiring bakers amongst you all, many of us bake and bring treats to share together after the run.

You are under no obligation to bake or bring food, however it is always much appreciated if you’d like to - the cake is the best part of the run!