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King Henry VIII Relay Race

50th Anniversary Race in 2022

We are looking forward to celebrating our ‘Golden’ 50th anniversary with a race on 2nd February 2022, with our usual races (Boys and Girls). We have sent out invitations to schools who have previously successfully completed, or who have shown success in their local leagues. If you are from a school who has a thriving XC team and would like to have an invite, please get in touch!

Click here to enter the schools race

We are also putting on a special Alumni race for any adult who is linked to our race – be it that you ran it as a school child or helped coach a team (past or present) or helped with the organisation. No minimum requirements for speed! The race is at 1:45pm, so 45 minutes before the main boys/girls races, on Wednesday 2nd February 2022.

Click here to enter the Alumni race

About the races

Since 1972 King Henry VIII School in Coventry has hosted what is now regarded by many as the best inter-schools Cross Country Relay Race in the UK. We are very proud of our race! Chip timing was introduced in 2015 providing quick, accurate results alongside a UKA trained timekeeper to ensure a fail-safe system.

Boys and girls compete in their own categories: the Boys’ Race is 6 x 2.3 miles; the Girls’ Race is 4 x 2.3 miles. The course is over pavement, grass, woodland – and quite a few puddles – and is largely flat with no significant elevation. Schools should enter their best runners, regardless of their age, although this will often include runners in the Sixth Form.

Follow us on Twitter to see what we have been up to @KHVIIIRelayRace

History & Previous Results

Founded by Ted Norrish in 1972 as a boys’ race, and joined by a girls’ race in 2000, the event has always strived to allow pupils to compete with the best of their peers across the UK. It has a strong legacy, boasting former competitors of the calibre of Seb Coe, Alistair & Jonathan Brownlee, and Richard Nerurkar. To see previous years’ results and read the race reports please use the links on the right hand side of this page. The ARCHIVE OF ALL RESULTS is a new feature, and if you or your school have ran in this event then you can now look up your time!

In 2021 we put on a Remote Relay race:
2021 Race Information & Results

The No1 schools race in the country by a mile!

Award Ceremony

Prizes are awarded for a variety of categories, and every year sees a different guest presenter with a history of excellence in the athletics field, in competing, coaching or as an ambassador for the sport. The KHVIII Cups will be awarded to the winning teams. For the boys’ teams the JB Vent Cup, LJ Wrench Cup and Matthew Lee Cup will be awarded to the second, third and fourth placed teams. The John Vickers Cup will be awarded to the most improved boys team. Medals will be presented to the members of the first four teams, and cloth badges to members of the first ten teams. Individual times from a relay-chip should be available at the presentation ceremony after the race and emailed after the event. In the girls’ race the Philip Mahiques Cup is awarded to the second placed team, and the Pat Head Cup to the third placed girls’ team. Medals will be presented to the members of the first four teams, and cloth badges to members of the first ten teams. For both races plaques will be awarded to the runners of the three fastest lap times.

‘The event is superbly run, and very much has the look and feel of a championship.’

‘It has now become a highlight on our calendar and is a throughly enjoyable day. Our young runs were pleased with their position and are hungry to compete again next year!’

‘Thanks for a super event. The boys enjoyed their first visit and were pestering me to bring them back next year. I appreciate the huge amount of energy and organisation that went into making sure that everything ran so smoothly.’

Teaching Staff

Mr T Andrews is in charge of the annual King Henry VIII Relay Race.

Mr P Robbins is in charge of the Cross Country team at the school.

Contact

Mr T Andrews – RelayRace.KHVIII@bkhs.org.uk

How to enter

There is a contribution cost of £6 per runner. We do take photos on the day. Group shots may be used on our websites, and identifiable individual shots in programmes – please let me know if you believe this to be an issue. We will retain the names, school and times of all runners for future comparisons.

Entry requirements are that:

All boys’ teams should be capable of finishing the 6 x 2.3 mile course in about 90 minutes.

All girls’ teams should be capable of finishing the 4 x 2.3 mile course in about 72 minutes.

The link to enter is at the top of this page.