The SportsShoes with Nike English National Cross Country Championships were held in County Durham for the first time in 25 years on Saturday, 21st February, 2026. East Hardwick Park in Sedgefield proved a superb venue and Sedgefield Harriers were proud hosts during their 20th-anniversary celebrations.

The action was broadcast live for six hours on YouTube by England Athletics Vids, with every finisher shown. We love the humour in the English Cross Country Association's preview: 

"For those unable to make it, you can watch from the comfort of your own home – for added verisimilitude, smear a bit of mud on your face and stand in the garden, watching it through a window." 

You can enjoy the full coverage here...

The 10-race programme saw over 3,100 finishers, with the 138th senior men's race closing the day's events with 1,046 runners representing 68 complete club teams. The men's race featured four previous champions in the top four places! Tonbridge AC (pictured) took the six-to-score team title from Bristol & West AC and Salford Harriers, adding the nine-to-score team trophy for good measure.

The 2023 winner, James Kingston (Tonbridge AC), had led for three quarters of the 12K race, but he had no answer to the surge of pace from the 2024 champion, Hugo Milner (Derby AC), who went on to win by 14 seconds.

Such was the dominance of the leading pair that the defending champion Richard Slade (Chiltern Harriers) was over a minute behind in third, with Calum Johnson (Gateshead Harriers) – the 2020 champion – closing fast for fourth.

The 93rd senior women's English National champion for 2026 is Lucy Jones (Herne Hill Harriers), who had just six seconds to spare at the finish. Amelia Quirk (Bracknell AC) – last year's silver medallist – finished second again, with Molly Smith (Herne Hill Harriers) third and the title holder Jessica Gibbon (Reading AC) fourth on this occasion.

Herne Hill Harriers claimed the team trophy from Aldershot, Farnham & District AC and Leeds City AC. There were 531 finishers and 54 clubs with complete teams.

The full results, including eight junior races, are available via the runABC race listing here.

Photo of the winning men's team courtesy of Mark Hookway (Tonbridge AC)