Berry Hill, Mansfield: Saturday 31st October 2026
Rob Cook gives us a who’s who from this years event.
As always (or since 1989 at least!), the National Cross Country relays were held at Berry Hill Park in Mansfield. Steel City took a full complement of three teams in each senior event, which this year included a mixed 4×1 mile relay for the first time. The weather was good, conditions were dry underfoot and the course was pretty much unchanged. Following on from the close races between the Steel City teams at the Northern relays, would the same unfold here?
Mixed Relay
First of the senior races to be run was the 4×1 mile mixed relay, a new event for this year. I’ve not raced something this short in a long time but nearly everyone seemed to be taking a step into the unknown with either the short distance, or the fact that it was off road as well. Teams could race in any order, and there was a split in the Steel City teams with the “B” team alternating, starting with me, the ‘C’ team starting with two men, and finishing with two women while the ‘A’ team completely reversed this with the women leading the way on the first two legs.
I was on the “B” team first leg with Louis (“C team”) and Yasmin (“A team”). Given the slightly lower number of teams for this race we were on the front row for the start but realised quickly why people seemed to be avoiding the side of the start where we were as after 20 metres or so I ran straight through the smoke from the starters’ gun! The start felt very fast as a big pack tore away down to the lake and the first turn. It took me a little while to get wound up to speed but I managed to keep the pack in sight and matched the pace of the rear of the group. After making the first turn around the lake it was into the woods through a chicane that felt a bit tight, over the uphill log jump and from there it was uphill to the top of the course. I overtook one too-fast starter on the uphill section but then appeared to be on my own with a larger gap to those being shelled off the front group up ahead. Making the turn at the top, I snuck a peak behind and was surprised to see quite a big group closing in! There was definitely a split between the front group and the second group that had formed, with 8 seconds to the person in front of me and 5 people within 8 seconds behind me. I crossed the line, holding off those behind me and set Simone off on her leg in 32nd place.
Rob, Louis and Yasmine content to let the pack go at the start of the mixed relay. (Rob Byers)
From there it became a really interesting race as the different orders played out amongst the striders teams. Caroline Brock moved the ‘A’ team up from 43rd to 38th, while Malcolm moved the ‘C’ team from 38th to 37th and Simone ran a great leg to keep the ‘B’ team in 35th and crucially stretch the lead by a few seconds on the ‘A’ team. On the third leg Hal Roberts managed to give the ‘B’ team a few extra seconds and lift us to 25th, while Steve Cahill moved the ‘As’ another place forward up to 37th and Emily Green held 39th for the ‘Cs’. On the final leg Samuel Doyle (05:32) and Sarah Thorne (06:10) set the fastest male and female strider times of the race for the ‘A’s’ and ‘B’s’ respectively, but it was the B’s who came in first Steel City team in 28th place, 18 seconds ahead of the A’s with one team in between. Carolyn Holt finished off well for the “C’s” in 39th place.
Looking at the leg times it looks like another nightmare for team selection with just a few seconds here and there adding up to the difference between each team, and with the order swinging to and fro it was great to have the inter-club competition! Steel City B were the first South Yorkshire team and second Yorkshire team behind Warriors Pentathlon and AC.
At the front of the race different orders were used by each of the podium teams, with Cambridge going FMFM, Belgrave in second going MFMF and Sale in third going MFFM. As might be expected the racing was very tight with Tonbridge losing out on a medal by 1.7 seconds and 2nd to 9th covered by less than a minute, although Cambridge won by nearly 50 seconds. Fastest male leg was Alexander Melloy of Cambridge in 04:26, and fastest female was Charlotte Buckley, of Thames Valley Harriers in 05:10.
For the first time running it was great fun and nice to try something different. Hopefully it becomes a permanent fixture.
Emily commented that she “thoroughly enjoyed the woods section and the opportunity to run in a mixed relay was really fun with all three Steel City teams using different strategies. Also it became apparent that as a set of runners a large chunk play down their current race pace giving team managers selection nightmares!” Yasmine’s only comment was that this was her “annual reminder that I am not built for XC, picking up a niggle after just one mile of it. Fun day though!” She was at training on Tuesday though.
A picture of concentration as Sarah Thorne brings the B Team in 18 seconds ahead of the rapidly closing Sam Doyle in the mixed relay. (Rob Byers)
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg 1 | 32 | Robert Cook | 05:39.9 |
| Leg 2 | 35 | Simone Young-Als | 06:18.0 |
| Leg 3 | 25 | Hal Roberts | 05:49.1 |
| Leg 4 | 28 | Sarah Thorne | 06:10.6 |
| Total | 28 | Steel City B | 23:57.6 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg 1 | 43 | Yasmine Chaffer | 06:24.0 |
| Leg 2 | 38 | Caroline Brock | 06:25.9 |
| Leg 3 | 37 | Steven Cahill | 05:53.6 |
| Leg 4 | 30 | Samuel Doyle | 05:32.4 |
| Total | 30 | Steel City A | 0:24:15 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| 1 | 38 | Louis Wood | 05:59.8 |
| 2 | 37 | Malcolm Baggaley | 06:28.2 |
| 3 | 39 | Emily Green | 07:02.0 |
| 4 | 39 | Carolyn Holt | 07:56.8 |
| Total | 39 | Steel City C | 00:27:26 |
First of the 49 teams in the mixed relay was Cambridge & Coleridge 19:32 with fastest legs from Alexander Melloy (C&C) 4:26.8 and Charlotte Buckley (TVH) 5:10.2.
Women’s race
The women’s race was 3x3km, taking a single long lap of the park. Once again, the ‘B’ team led into the first changeover with Simone Young-Als coming off the second fastest women’s leg in the mixed relay to record the fastest Steel City leg of the women’s race (11:29). The ‘A’ team were close behind though with Helen Roberts recording 11:35. On the second leg Isla Stuart moved the A team up 15 places (66th to 51st) with an 11:41 leg, overtaking Yasmin Chaffer (12:14) who had moved to the B team after experiencing some foot pain in the mile relay. On the final leg Caroline Brock ran 11:30 to bring the A team home in 46th, while Sarah Thorne ran 11:36 to bring the B team home 2 places later. Perhaps illustrating the difficulty of team selection Simone, Caroline, Sarah, Helen and Isla all ran within 12 seconds of each other, and Yasmin would probably be in the mix too without the mile relay beforehand.
The C team of Emily Green (12:38), Karen Clark (14:24) and Carolyn Holt (15:25) made sure we finished three complete teams in 87th.
The women’s race was won overall by Herne Hill Harriers who assembled a superteam including Olympic 1500m runner Katie Snowden and 2026 national XC champion Lucy Jones. They weren’t quite able to add Molly Smith (3rd at national XC) to the team but don’t feel too sorry for their team manager as they were able to call on Sophie Tooley (18th at the National, 12th at the Inter Counties in 2026). They won by over 50 seconds over Belgrave and Aldershot, Farnham and District.
First of the 114 complete teams were Herne Hill Harriers with 28:42 whilst providing excellent viewing for the spectators fastest legs were from Molly Hudson (Derby) and Holly Dixon (Cambridge Harriers) who were barely separable on the first leg who both ran 9:18.4. To get on the podium required a race time of under 30 mins (so averaging under 10 mins per leg) and a top ten required a race time of 31 mins (averaging a 10:20 leg).
Sarah Thorne, fastest women in the mixed relay and running again in the 3000m version. (Rob Byers)
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 66 | Helen Roberts | 11:35.2 |
| Leg2 | 51 | Isla Stuart | 11:41.1 |
| Leg3 | 46 | Caroline Brock | 11:30.1 |
| Total | 46 | Steel City A | 34:46.5 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 62 | Simone Young-Alls | 11:29.3 |
| Leg2 | 56 | Yasmine Chaffer | 12:14.1 |
| Leg3 | 48 | Sarah Thorne | 11:36.2 |
| Total | 48 | Steel City B | 35:19.6 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 88 | Emily Green | 12:38.5 |
| Leg2 | 83 | Karen Clark | 14:24.5 |
| Leg3 | 87 | Carolyn Holt | 15:25.5 |
| Total | 87 | Steel City C | 42:28.6 |
Simone Young-Alls, running in the mixed relay then posting fastest leg in the women’s event. (Rob Byers)
Men’s Race
The men’s race was the last of the day, with each leg being two laps for 4x5km legs. Another close race between the Steel City teams was on the cards and on the first leg Steve Cahill (A team) came through first leg just ahead of Danny Fitzgerald, but then Danny passed Steve on the second lap to lead into the first changeover. The second leg was another rematch between me and Louis after we’d done the first leg of the mixed relay together. I steadily made up the 20s gap on Louis on the first lap and passed him heading into the second, but then the previous mile race, faster start and being lapped by the leaders began to slow me in the second lap. It was a bit difficult to figure out who you were racing with at points, one guy from Holme Pierrepoint came past fast with the leaders as we exited the woods for the last time but was actually on our leg. Once I realised this I tried to hold onto him and outsprinted him into the finish to hand over to Hal. Louis had hung on close behind to hand over to Malcolm for the B team. Having the best runners in the country blasting past is equally humbling and amazing to see at close range. I was happy to have put the A team back into the lead and gained 14 positions on the leg, but slightly disappointed with my overall time.
Hal gained another 9 positions for the A team on the third leg before Sam Doyle ran the fastest Steel City leg and gained another 5 for us to finish in 112th overall. For the B team Malcolm held position 130 before Aaron Francis brought the B team home in 118th.
The C team steadily gained positions through the race with Chris Ireland, Ben Baxendale who took a nasty tumble, Neil Schofield and with Chris Ireland running again to ensure that we finished off three teams. This is a championship event and there are spies everywhere with Chris spotted by an official and told that he would be disqualified although the results don’t yet reflect that. Perhaps he got away with it.
Neil Schofield pleased to get a breather. (ltwphotos.com)
To be on the podium needed a time under an hour (averaging under 15 mins for an off road 5k) while a top ten required a time of an hour and 2 minutes (averaging 15:30 per leg). Perhaps illustrating the quality at the front Tonbridge had 3:39 1500m & sub 1:45 800m runner jack higgins, 3:35 1500m runner ted Higgins and intercounties & former national champion James Kingston as three of their runners!
Alongside the usual cross country protagonists, 800m Olympian Max Burgin was also racing, stepping up from his usual 800m for his club Halifax Harriers. (Editor: Back in the day everyone ran cross country for their club as part of their winter conditioning work for example Steve Ovett was a regular over the sticks throughout his career.)
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 142 | Steven Cahill | 19:19.0 |
| Leg2 | 128 | Robert Cook | 19:34.6 |
| Leg3 | 117 | Hal Roberts | 19:23.5 |
| Leg4 | 112 | Samuel Doyle | 18:52.9 |
| Total | 112 | Steel City A | 01:17:10 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 133 | Danny Fitzgerald | 18:59.3 |
| Leg2 | 130 | Louis Wood | 19:58.6 |
| Leg3 | 130 | Malcolm Baggaley | 21:23.2 |
| Leg4 | 118 | Aaron Francis | 18:55.1 |
| Total | 112 | Steel City B | 01:19:16 |
| Leg | Team Pos | Name | Time |
| Leg1 | 168 | Chris Ireland | 21:21.7 |
| Leg2 | 159 | Ben Baxendale | 21:20.2 |
| Leg3 | 147 | Neil Schofield | 21:13.5 |
| Leg4 | 144 | Jed Turner | 22:44.6 |
| Total | 144 | Steel City C | 01:26:40 |
First of the 165 complete teams was was Tonbridge AC 59:06 whose Ted Higgins ran the fastest leg of 14:34.1 Silver, Western Tempo with Cambridge and Coleridge picking up bronze.
Chris Ireland still with over twenty teams behind him. (Rob Byers)
Overall it was a great day out for us, the mixed relay was a lot of fun and nice as something new and different to try. Steel City were the only Sheffield club to fill out the entire senior allocation across the mixed, women’s and men’s races which was good to see! Link to full results for all three events: Results ECCA XC Relays 2026
It’s Halloween with Steve Cahill doing his Bela Lugosi impression. (Rob Byers)