COUNTY STANDARDS

The County Stands scheme was created by the now defunct Leicestershire & Rutland Athletics Network (LRAN) and for 2026 onwards is now being taken over by the LRRL.

The scheme was created covering a wide range of abilities to motivate more people to improve their running.  Certificates are issued on the basis of performances for either a regular standard, or a distinction standard.

With taking ownership of the scheme, some new rules and clarifications have been put in place which take effect from 1 January 2026. These rules are listed below:-

• The scheme runs from 1 January to 31 December in each calendar year.

• To obtain a standard, a runner must make five qualifying times within their selected standard band in their age category in a year. If a runner changes age category within a year, then the relevant standards obtained from their age at race day can be used (eg a runner turning 40 in June 2026 can use three events from the 35-39 category before their birthday, and two events from the 40-44 category after their birthday).

• To obtain a distinction award, a runner must make nine qualifying times, with the same notes as above applying.

• To obtain a standard, at least three of the distances must be from events within the Leicestershire & Rutland region. They do not have to be LRRL races.

• To obtain a distinction, at least six of the distances must be from events within the Leicestershire & Rutland region. They do not have to be LRRL races.

• All Parkruns within Leicestershire & Rutland will be available for claiming standards for the 5k distance.

• With the exception of parkruns, the achievement of qualifying race times must be in recognized athletic events with accurately measured courses. You can find if a course has a measurement certificate here:- https://aukcm.org.uk/runners/

• The time must be listed on the race results (no watch times/Strava times etc), with chip time taking priority, unless a race is not chip timed in which case gun time shall be used (eg East Midlands Grand Prix events, one of which is in Leicestershire with the Harborough 5).

• For non-county races being used, races recognized as downhill on Power of 10 (eg the Loch Ness Marathon) will not count. These can be distinguished by their identifier containing the letters DH.

• To support County Championship running, we will allow standards to be claimed for the Leicestershire 10,000m track championship race. This is an accurately measured and timed race, and despite taking place outside of the county, would qualify for our purposes as a Leicestershire & Rutland event if used.

• Trail races do not count, with the exception of the Shepshed 7.

 

Standard claims must be submitted by 21 January following the close of a running year to Ben Benson of Huncote Harriers who produces the certificates. It is preferable for Ben for each club to collate their runner's details and submit one email per club.

Please contact us at chair@lrrl1984.co.uk for Ben's contact details or for further information and we will point you in the right direction.