Race Date: Saturday 24th January 2026
Race Report by Rob Cook
The Northern Cross Country Championships were held at Pontefract Racecourse this year. The course is big but relatively simple and mainly follows the inner border of the racecourse with a “nice” out and back section where you can see lots of the other competitors. Hills were limited by Sheffield standards but seemed to coincide with the worst of the mud at the end of the lap. The weather was perfect, a bit chilly and breezy but with the sun peeking out and mercifully no rain.
There has been nothing between Sarah Thorne and Caroline Brock all through this season’s cross country. It’s now two all after Sarah led Caroline virtually from from gun to tape with just the Nationals and Inter-Counties to go.
As is often the case, it was the Steel City ladies who led the way in their 8km race. Abbie Haworth finished in an excellent 8th place, going out with the lead pack and staying strong all the way through to record another great cross country result after her silver medal at last weeks’ Yorkshire’s. Sarah Thorne and Caroline Brock were inseparable through the race and finished in 34th and 35th respectively, separated by just 4 seconds. Caroline was also second FV40. Sarah-Jane Brown was the final counter in 53rd, and Hannah Basu was close behind in 61st. Emily Green put in a strong run to round out the Steel City finishers in 80th.
| POS | NAME | TIME |
| 8 | ABBIE HAWORTH | 31:35 |
| 33 | SARAH THORNE | 34:00 |
| 34 | CAROLINE BROCK | 34:04 |
| 53 | SARAH-JANE BROWN | 35:43 |
| 61 | HANNAH BASU | 36:04 |
| 80 | EMILY GREEN | 38:52 |
This photograph tells an important tale. A determined Sarah-Jane is chasing down Amy Whelan from Buxton “running through the line” to get the nod although they were both given the same time. Steel City beat Sale Harriers into fifth place by a single point illustrating how in cross country every place counts.
First was Katie Hawkins (Salford) 30:15 with 141 finishers. Steel City were an excellent fifth of fifteen complete teams (four to score) and ahead of some of the North’s big hitters. First team was Vale Royal whilst Georgie Beeden, who trains with us on the track from time to time, was delighted to pick up a bronze medal scoring for Leeds despite not being particularly enthralled with her own performance.
Look good feel good. Hannah Basu travelled to Pontefract directly after having her hair and eyebrows done whilst Emily Green’s pre-race approach was slightly different. After tucking into chicken soup to try and magically cure herself of Bubonic Plague, knowing that she wasn’t in great form she executed her plan of running the race then carry on turning the day out into her long run for the week.
In the men’s 12km race Rob Cook was the first Steel City to finish, sneaking into the top half of the field in 135th place (of 317). He was really pleased with his run as the pacing felt pretty much spot on and some great racing with the people around him. Aaron Francis was next in, getting stronger through the race to finish in 170th place. After making his debut for Steel City recently Aaron has been very busy with racing with 3 races in three weeks in his new gold and green vest! Louis Wood finished in 184th after a strong run and a long day out after supporting the junior races. Malcolm Baggaley (227th), Neil Schofield (257th) and Ben Baxendale (259th) completed the team. Adrian Fisher was an unfortunate DNF on the day.
| POS | NAME | TIME |
| 135 | ROBERT COOK | 47:52 |
| 170 | AARON FRANCIS | 49:57 |
| 184 | LOUIS WOOD | 50:53 |
| 227 | MALCOLM BAGGALEY | 54:16 |
| 257 | NEIL SCHOFIELD | 56:36 |
| 259 | BEN BAXENDALE | 56:47 |
| DNF | ADRIAN FISHER |
First was Calum Johnson (Gateshead) 38:21 with 317 finishers. First team were Salford whilst Steel City maintained a footprint for Sheffield finishing fourteenth of the sixteen complete teams (six to score).
Overall it was a great day out and a lot of fun. The Club did really well to get two teams out, the only South Yorkshire club to do so. From the rest of the Sheffield clubs there were high individual placings for Dan Haworth (Hallam) in 15th and Percy Pud winner Mark Jones (Sheffield) in 31st in the senior men’s. Laura Robertson and Charlotte Slack (both Hallam) were 15th and 27th in the senior women’s.
For anyone doing the South Yorkshire XC League and curious about the next step up I can highly recommend the Northern’s. The longer (2 laps/8km for the women, 3 laps/12km for the men) and more open courses mean lapping (and getting lapped) is less of a concern than some of the shorter courses and it’s a bit easier to run your own race than in the crowds of the National.
Link to full results Northern Cross Country Champs 2026
After being out injured for an age Ade Fisher made the wise decision dip out after the first lap as his achilles began to play up.
Finally, an extra big shout out to Richard Pegg who marshalled and was a great supporting presence on the course for all the Steel City plus Rob Byers who took some great photos while supporting us all around the course. Apart from Salford and Leeds who seemed to make up half the race, I heard more Steel City shouts than any other club around the course!