Cross-country championships to get under way in JFK Park

THE MR Oil county cross-country championships get under way next weekend where all eyes will be on JFK Park, New Ross, for the county Juvenile even ages, Under-19, Junior and Novice championships.

United Striders A.C. will be the host club. JFK Park itself is ideal for cross-country running. The course that has been used for this race before is generally very fair and runnable, with a couple of deceiving drags but nothing too severe.

The course has hosted Leinster championships in the past so is well known and popular with those involved in Wexford Athletics.

This year it is worth noting that the Under-18 race will now also include the Under-19 race and Junior races. This will hopefully increase the competitiveness. This race will be 6k for the boys and 4k for the girls.

The Novice races are the same distances. It would be great to see a large number of athletes from all clubs taking on the Novice races, as it is very important to support our county championships.

The Juvenile action gets under way at 12 noon, with a non-championship Under-10 race for girls which will be followed by the boys’ race.

Then the championships race for Under-12, Under-14, Under-16, Under-18, Under-19 and Junior will commence. The top ten in each race qualify to represent Wexford at the Leinster championships. The Novice races will not be starting before 2 p.m.

The following Sunday, all roads lead to Coolgreany for the uneven ages and Senior championships. Expect plenty of hills in this part of the country.

It will be a busy couple of weeks for Athletics Wexford, so keep an eye out on our website: www.wexfordathletics.com.