Thank you to the 22 people who provided their opinions on the format of next year’s Road Running Championships. Your opinions have been taken into consideration while compiling the 2025 fixture list. Please read on to find out how your opinions have helped shape the upcoming season.
How races have been chosen
When asked for road races which they’d like to see on the 2025 calendar, members suggested a wide range of races. Some of these races were already part of our calendar while others were not. Therefore, the 2025 calendar will feature a mix of old favourites and ‘new’ events.
Respondents also expressed a desire to continue supporting ‘not for profit’ races and races hosted by running clubs. Most of the races on the 2025 calendar meet these criteria. However, some popular local ‘for profit’ races which a large number of club members attend, such as the Wilmslow Festive 10k, will also be included on the 2025 fixture list.
Respondents expressed a desire for local parkruns to be included in the calendar due to their accessibility. Four local parkruns and any which are part of the Cheshire Grand Prix will be included.
Travelling to races involves both a financial and an environmental cost. Therefore, all races will either be within the boundaries of Cheshire or less than an hour’s drive from Macclesfield. Car sharing is strongly encouraged where possible.
Continued involvement in the Cheshire Grand Prix
The club had a successful season in the 2024 Cheshire Grand Prix. The men’s team finished 2nd and the women’s team finished 4th; while Rob Whitby was the men’s champion and Sue Stockdale was runner up in the ladies’ competition. It’d be great to see the club build on this success next year.
Our success in this competition stems from the combined efforts of our runners. Cheshire Grand Prix team scores for each race are the sum of the scores awarded to the first four finishers from each team. We had a different combination of first four finishers in every race of both the men’s and women’s competition – testament to the strength of our club.
Some of our members have expressed how the Cheshire Grand Prix format gives them extra motivation knowing that they are representing the club, competing with and against teammates, and likely to be competing against familiar faces from other clubs over the course of the year.
All competing members are encouraged to take part in the 2025 Cheshire Grand Prix races next year.
Bonus points
In 2024, 10 bonus points per race in our Road Race Championships were awarded to anyone who competed in Cheshire Grand Prix races. This was to encourage members to represent the club in this wonderful series.
In recognition that not everyone is able to attend Cheshire Grand Prix races and that 10 bonus points per race has heavily skewed our internal competition, this will be reduced to 5 bonus points per race in 2025. This will be reviewed at the end of the 2025 season.
As there is only one long race in the Cheshire Grand Prix series, 5 bonus points will also be awarded for completion of the Macclesfield Running Festival Half Marathon (as well as the Macclesfield Running Festival 10k and 5k).
- 72.7% of respondents were in favour of a reduction of bonus points from 10 per race to 5 per race
- 77.3% of respondents were in favour of bonus points being awarded for completion of the Macclesfield Running Festival
Scoring
For all races, 100 points will be awarded to the first-placed Macclesfield Harrier in their gender, 99 points to second-place, 98 points to third-place etc.
5 additional points will be awarded for participation in Cheshire Grand Prix and Macclesfield Running Festival races (i.e. 105 for 1st, 104 for 2nd, 103 for 3rd etc.)
The men’s and women’s competitions are scored separately.
Inclusion of marathons
Many of our members have enjoyed tremendous success running marathons and this should be celebrated. Therefore, from 2025 marathons will be included in our Road Running Championships!
On the other hand, many of our members (including the author of this document) wince at the idea of running a marathon. Therefore, running a marathon is not a pre-requisite for completing six qualifying races. Marathons will be considered ‘long races’ – this is the same category as 10-milers and half marathons.
As marathons can be varied, require a lot of training, and our members choose to race their marathons at different stages of their training cycles, there will be no named marathon on our fixture list. Members must inform the Road Running Manager upon completion of marathons for them to be counted towards the 2025 Road Running Championship.
A maximum of three marathons will be included – the best-scoring ones will be counted if you submit more than three. Runners will be awarded 100 points for finishing in the top 10% in their gender, 99 for finishing in the top 20% in their gender, 98 for finishing in the top 30% in their gender etc.
- 91.0% of respondents were in favour of the inclusion of marathons in the 2025 Road Running Championships
- 63.6% of respondents were in favour of marathons being non-specific with a further 9% highlighting the benefits of both specific and non-specific marathons.
Confirmed fixtures and race categorisation
As in 2024, anyone competing for the ‘Open’ or ‘Veteran’ Championship will need to complete 6 qualifying races consisting of at least one short, one medium, and one long race, with a maximum of 3 from any category to count. U20s need to complete any 4 races, with no requirement for a long race.
Short: ≤4 miles
Medium: >4 miles – <10 miles
Long: ≥10 miles (you do not NEED to run a marathon to qualify).
2025 calendar preview
The calendar will be finalised once Cheshire County Athletics publish the 2025 Cheshire Grand Prix fixtures; however, all races until the end of March are detailed below.
| Race | Date | Category | Entry information |
| Four Village Half Marathon | Sunday, 19th January | Long | Nifty Entries |
| Alsager 5 Miles | Sunday, 2nd February | Medium | Entry Hub |
| Pavilion Gardens parkrun (Buxton) | A Saturday in February or March. The exact date will be confirmed once the dates of Cheshire Grand Prix fixtures are known. | Short | Pavilion Gardens parkrun
For your score to count, you will need to ensure that you are registered as a member of Macclesfield Harriers & A.C. on your parkrun account. Instructions can be found here. |
| Wilmslow Running Festival (10k and Half Marathon) | Sunday, 23rd March | 10k: Medium HM: Long |
Wilmslow Running Festival |
| All Cheshire Grand Prix races | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Marathon | Runner’s choice | Long | A maximum of three marathons to count towards your score. Please email the Road Running manager upon completion. |
Three races remain in the 2024 series:
- Macclesfield Running Festival – Sunday, October 27th
- Wilmslow Festive 10k – Sunday, November 24th
- Stockport 10 – Sunday, December 15th