About the Champagne League

Organised by City of Hull AC, the Champagne League is a series of 10 races that runs from April to July each year. The races take place across the local area and are usually 3-5 miles in distance with one longer race of 8.4 miles. This year, 240 runners were invited from 10 local running clubs.

All races except the first are handicapped, with points awarded on the basis of 100 for the winner down to 60. The handicap system means that anyone is capable of doing well, irrespective of their athletic capabilities. Races 7 and 8 have a staggered handicap start time, with the slowest runners going off first, followed by progressively faster runners. This gives every runner an equal chance of finishing first.

Various prizes are awarded, including several individual prizes, a team prize, a Yellow Jersey Competition recognising those athletes who have put in fast times in all the races, and a limited edition t-shirt for runners who complete all 10 races.

About our team

This year, Fitmums & Friends was invited to join the league for the first time and given six places. The places were filled by Sue Foster, Danielle Pinder, Rachel Proctor, Stuart Spencer, John Walker and Paul Wood, representing our Beverley, Cottingham and East Hull clubs. Due to the limited number of places, runners were expected to take part in at least eight of the races. All of our runners completed all 10 races and received the limited edition t-shirt prize.

Individually, Stuart Spencer had a very successful series, always being at the front of the pack and winning six of the 10 races. Stuart’s performance gave him the lowest overall time and won him the Yellow Jersey and the Peter Jarvis Memorial Trophy!

The reverse starts in races 7 and 8 gave the results a shake-up. Race 7 saw Dannii Pinder cross the line first from Fitmums & Friends and in 20th place overall. In race 8, John Walker was first home for Fitmums & Friends. None of the team wanted Stuart to catch them in those races!

For the team prize, Dannii and John made up a team with Rachael Sharp from East Hull Harriers. The team competition was close throughout the series. Race 8 saw the team lead by three points but some serious competition meant the East Hull Fitmums & Friends/East Hull Harriers team finished in a very respectable third place.

Overall, everyone had some great races. Racing every other Tuesday made for some long nights but each week the team turned up and ran fantastically well. All six runners absolutely loved the series.

We also had plenty of Fitmums & Friends volunteers turn up to marshal. These races can only go ahead with the support of volunteers, so a huge thank you to everyone who gave up an evening to volunteer.