Cheshire Road Race Grand Prix and Handicap Scheme
In 2003 the Cheshire County Road Race Permit secretary, Adrian Thiemicke, introduced a road running grand prix in the county, comprising six established open road races over a variety of distances from 5K to half marathon, including our own Spring 5 and Sutton 6. There have been seven or eight Grand Prix races each year since 2004, including a 10-mile race added in 2008. Adrian posts results for Cheshire club athletes in each race on the Cheshire AA website. There are awards to winning clubs and individuals at the end of each season.
As with the Borders League, the Grand Prix is designed to encourage members of affiliated clubs to compete, but more specifically to support races in Cheshire usually organised by local clubs.
The Grand Prix has been used since 2006 as a pilot for the novel National Endurance Running Handicap invented by George Bunner of Frodsham. This assigns a number, analogous to a golf handicap, to each athlete, based on their recent road running performances over different distances. This number provides a time allowance for each race, increasing with race distance.
Handicap results for all Cheshire clubs taking part in the Grand Prix are posted on the Cheshire AA website. John Driscoll of West Cheshire AC maintains a performance database for Cheshire club members which is used by the handicap scheme, and is beginning to provide a detailed breakdown of endurance participation and standards in Cheshire clubs.