Nearly 9,000 athletes are preparing to take part in the Saucony English National Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead Heath on Saturday 21st February at 11am.

Parliament Hill will be staging the event for the fourteenth time since a women’s championship was held there in 1950 – and the number of admissions received for this year’s championships are the highest since 1995 when entry restrictions were removed for the event, held at Newark.

Paul Maskell, events manager for the City of London Corporation, which manages Hampstead Heath, said:

“Parliament Hill Fields is the most popular venue in England for cross country and this year is extra special because we are celebrating 65 years since the first time a National Championship was held at Hampstead Heath.”

Ian Byett, President of the English Cross Country Association, said:

“I have been coming to Parliament Hill Fields regularly since 1964 when I first raced there, and I still get a thrill of being at this great venue. I’ve seen great athletes race there and I hope Saturday will once again be a fantastic occasion for the athletes and spectators. Thanks to the City of London for their support and hopefully some newcomers to the venue will go on to be star performers.”

Over the years great names such as Olympic, World and European 5000-10,000m champion Mo Farah, double European Cross Country Championships winner Hayley Yelling, European Athletics Championships silver medallist Andy Vernon, former 5000m European Champion Brendan Foster and Hampstead’s own legendary runner Dave Bedford have won Senior or Junior Championships at Parliament Hill.