We are saddened to learn of the death of Dave Johnson who served as our league President in 1989/90. Dave had spent the past few weeks in hospital with heart problems. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
The League Rules for 2021 onwards are available HERE
In light of the current situation there will not be a formal AGM this year. Information will be circulated by email.
Agenda Document
It with with regret that the league has announced that there will be no races this season.
The league are saddened to learn of the death of coach George Gandy. George played a major part in the success of Loughborough Students in Birmingham League during a coaching career spanning 50 years.
The league are saddened to learn of the death of John Love.
Northamptonshire athletics stalwart John Love sadly lost his three year battle with cancer in the early hours of September 2nd at the age of 81. He had dedicated most of his life to the sport as an athlete, coach, official and team manager. He leaves behind son Tim, daughter Julie and partner Carol.
John was a very affable man who was born on June 3rd 1939 and first joined Northampton & County AC in 1954 age 15.
He competed in his first Birmingham League Cross Country race in November 1964 and went on to complete 20 races in the League during the sixties, leading home the club in 10 of them.
His pinnacle came when he won two races in Division Three in early 1966, which clinched the overall individual title and helped Northampton & County gain their first promotion to Division 2.
In 1969 John was runner-up in the Northants Cross Country Championships and after turning 30 he then took a break from the sport due to family commitments and within a couple of years the club virtually folded up, but would rise again with a new name.
In the early eighties John returned to competition as a veteran athlete for Northampton Phoenix AC and during his career competed in seven different European countries.
He became qualified as a middle distance coach and would turn out every Tuesday and Thursday to coach the Senior Mens squad, while taking part himself. He would remain active in his coaching role for 25 years.
Throughout the winter he would organise a 5 mile handicap race for the whole club on a Tuesday evening at Abington Park, Northampton for 17 years, which would attract 50 to 60 people regularly.
He would take part in 11 more Birmingham League Cross Country races for Phoenix during the eighties before hanging up his spikes in 1988 at the age of 48.
His known personal bests were, 400m..55secs, 800m..2:00, Mile..4:22 and 51:17 for 10 miles on the road.
He was then made President of the Club and would remain so for another 20 years.
He became a qualified track and field official and would spend most weekends at an Athletics meeting officiating for the club during the summer and then act as team manager for the Men in the winter for the cross country.
For many years he drove the mini bus for the Cross country team to numerous events.
He attended countless committee meetings for both Club and County and would later be made President of the Northamptonshire Athletic Association.
In more recent years as an Honorary member of Rugby & Northampton AC he continued to officiate, both in track and field events, which included the Special Needs Champs in Leicester.
John also turned to competing once again, but this time in throwing events and the Walk and at the age of 80 was still winning medals in his age category.
In 2019 he won the Lifetime Contribution to Sport at the Northamptonshire Sports Awards. An award that was long overdue.
The current table showing the number of league races claimed as being completed by various athletes across the years is shown below. Some of the athletes are still competing and accruing races, some have retired and some, sadly, have died. This table is correct as of the fourth race of the 2019/20 season. Errors and corrections to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
| Rank | Name | Club | Races | Mover |
| 1 | Andy Nock | Halesowen | 157 | |
| 2 | Mick Edwards | Sparkhill | 154 | ↑ |
| 3 | Nick Wilson | Nuneaton | 152 | |
| 4 | Bill Nock | Halesowen | 149 | ↑ |
| 5 | Alastair Grant | Halesowen | 139 | |
| 6 | Cavin Woodward | Leamington | 132 | |
| 7 | Steve Howes | Solihull & Small Heath | 132 | ↑ |
| 8 | Terry Egan | Rugby & Northampton | 125 | |
| =9 | Graham Patton | Massey / Sphinx | 122 | |
| =9 | Darren Riley | Sparkhill Harriers | 122 | |
| 11 | David Clarke | Massey Ferguson | 121 | ↑ |
| =12 | Dave Jones | West Bromwich | 115 | |
| =12 | Mark Baker | Northbrook AC | 115 | ↑ |
| 14 | Nick Stringer | Sparkhill Harriers | 112 | ↑ |
| 15 | Pat Powell | West Bromwich | 107 | |
| 16 | Graham Roberts | Leamington C & AC | 106 | |
| 17 | Vince Carroll | Rugby & Northampton | 104 | ↑ |
| 18 | John Peet | Tamworth and Sparkhill Harriers | 103 | |
| 19 | Richard Barington | City of Stoke | 102 | |
| 20 | Ian Keyte | Bromsgrove & Redditch | 101 | ↑ |
| 21 | Martin Smith | Massey Ferguson | 100 | NEW! |
↑ Denotes a new count since the table was previously updated.
We welcome Martin Smith of Massey Ferguson to the Landmark table who writes, "It has taken me 34 years to achieve, what with working overseas for Massey Ferguson and injuries. I have made many friends in other clubs through running the Birmingham League and also enoyed the friendly rivalry with club members of MFRC over the years every league fixture. It is a great competition."
Division 1 (Updated (09/02/2020)
Division 3 (Updated (09/02/2020)
The current table showing the number of league races claimed as being completed by various athletes across the years is shown below. Some of the athletes are still competing and accruing races, some have retired and some, sadly, have died. This table is correct as of the third race of the 2019/20 season. Errors and corrections to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
| Rank | Name | Club | Races | Mover |
| 1 | Andy Nock | Halesowen | 157 | |
| =2 | Mick Edwards | Sparkhill | 153 | |
| 3 | Nick Wilson | Nuneaton | 152 | |
| 4 | Bill Nock | Halesowen | 148 | ↑ |
| 5 | Alastair Grant | Halesowen | 139 | |
| 6 | Cavin Woodward | Leamington | 132 | |
| 7 | Steve Howes | Solihull & Small Heath | 131 | ↑ |
| 8 | Terry Egan | Rugby & Northampton | 125 | ↑ |
| =9 | Graham Patton | Massey / Sphinx | 122 | |
| =9 | Darren Riley | Sparkhill Harriers | 122 | ↑ |
| 11 | David Clarke | Massey Ferguson | 120 | ↑ |
| 12 | Dave Jones | West Bromwich | 115 | |
| 13 | Mark Baker | Northbrook AC | 114 | ↑ |
| 14 | Nick Stringer | Sparkhill Harriers | 111 | ↑ |
| 15 | Pat Powell | West Bromwich | 107 | |
| 16 | Graham Roberts | Leamington C & AC | 106 | |
| =17 | John Peet | Tamworth and Sparkhill Harriers | 103 | |
| =17 | Vince Carroll | Rugby & Northampton | 103 | ↑ |
| 19 | Richard Barington | City of Stoke | 102 | |
| 20 | Ian Keyte | Bromsgrove & Redditch | 100 | NEW! |
↑ Denotes a new count since the table was previously updated.
For this update we welcome Ian Keyte to the 100 club, pictured below at the last fixture held at Coombe Abbey. Ian writes, "I made my debut just after turning 18 on November 4 1978 at Coventry so it has taken me 41 years to reach this goal, although living abroad for several years has dragged this out somewhat - but delighted to have eventually made it!"
The next race for division 2 will now be held at Coombe Abbey Park, Coventry - not Coundon Park as previously advertised. Full details are on the FIXTURES page.
The current table showing the number of league races claimed as being completed by various athletes across the years is shown below. Some of the athletes are still competing and accruing races, some have retired and some, sadly, have died. This table is correct as of the second race of the 2019/20 season. Errors and corrections to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
| Rank | Name | Club | Races | Mover |
| 1 | Andy Nock | Halesowen | 157 | ↑ |
| 2 | Mick Edwards | Sparkhill | 153 | ↑ |
| 3 | Nick Wilson | Nuneaton | 152 | ↑ |
| 4 | Bill Nock | Halesowen | 147 | ↑ |
| 5 | Alastair Grant | Halesowen | 139 | |
| 6 | Cavin Woodward | Leamington | 132 | |
| 7 | Steve Howes | Solihull & Small Heath | 130 | ↑ |
| 8 | Terry Egan | Rugby & Northampton | 124 | ↑ |
| 9 | Graham Patton | Massey / Sphinx | 122 | |
| 10 | Darren Riley | Sparkhill Harriers | 121 | ↑ |
| 11 | David Clarke | Massey Ferguson | 119 | ↑ |
| 12 | Dave Jones | West Bromwich | 115 | ↑ |
| 13 | Mark Baker | Northbrook AC | 113 | ↑ |
| 14 | Nick Stringer | Sparkhill Harriers | 110 | ↑ |
| 15 | Pat Powell | West Bromwich | 107 | |
| 16 | Graham Roberts | Leamington C & AC | 106 | |
| 17 | John Peet | Tamworth and Sparkhill Harriers | 103 | |
| 18 | Richard Barington | City of Stoke | 102 | |
| 19 | Vince Carroll | Rugby & Northampton | 102 | ↑ |
↑ Denotes a new count since the table was previously updated
Division 1 (Updated 9/12/2019)
Division 2 (Updated 8/12/2019)
Division 3 (Updated 8/12/2019)
Any queries with the published results should be passed to the Division Secretary via your Team Manager.
We are just under a week away from the start of the new season with fixtures in Worcester, Burton Dassett and Coventry. Please ensure that you have read all of the updated documents to ensure a successful season.
Details of fixtures, with travel details are on the FIXTURES page, and will be updated through the season.
*** Updated 27/10/2019***
Since publishing this article, further information has been unearthed, so the totals are now complete.
Since 1946 only 12 clubs have won the Division One title in the Birmingham & District Cross Country League.
Of these 12 clubs only 5 of them have been champions more than 3 times.
Tipton Harriers are way ahead of any other club with a massive 27 titles, which started off with four consecutive victories from 1946-49.
It wasn't until 1969 before their dominance of the league began with 10 wins in 12 years from 1969-1980, which included 8 consecutive titles from 1973. They were to be champions on another 9 occasions from 1986-99, including four more consecutive victories (1994-97).
Despite having the most ever league titles Tipton Harriers have only won it 3 times in the last 20 years with their last victory in 2012.
Coventry Godiva Harriers started their winning campaign in 1958 and went on to win three in a row along with two more in 1963 and 1964 to make it 5 titles in 7 years.
They had to wait 25 years before being crowned champions once again in 1989 and then successfully defended their title the following year. Another 19 years passed before Godiva could top the table again. On this occasion they took another three in a row (2009, 10, 11) to make it a total of 10 division one titles.
Loughborough Students have now matched Coventry's 10 overall victories and have clinched all those titles in the last 22 years. They won 5 out of 7 from 1998 – 2004, which included three consecutive in 2000, 01 & 02. It was nine years before they won again in 2013 and then retained it the following year before clinching another three in a row ( 16, 17, 18 ).
Their next division one title didn't come until 1984 and they defended it successfully in 1985
Although Birmingham University are long serving members of the Birmingham League they never won the top title until 2003. Since then, they have achieved two more in 2006 & 2015.
The only club to break Tipton's dominance of the seventies was City of Stoke with their only two victories achieved in 1970 & 1972.
Small Heath Harriers won the title twice in the 1950's.
Staffs Moorlands also won it twice in 1981 and 1983, which was either side of Sparkhill Harriers one solitary title in 1982.
Also gaining just one overall league victory was Stourport (1993) and OWLS (2008).
| 1 | Tipton Harriers | 27 |
| 2 | Coventry Godiva | 10 |
| 3 | Loughborough Students | 10 |
| 4 | Birchfield Harriers | 9 |
| 5 | North Staffs | 6 |
| 6 | Birmingham University | 3 |
| 7 | Small Heath Harriers | 2 |
| 8 | City of Stoke | 2 |
| 9 | Staffs Moorland | 2 |
| 10 | Sparkhill Harriers | 1 |
| 11 | Stourport | 1 |
| 12 | OWLS | 1 |
Thank you to Terry Egan for writing this article.