Cross Country and Road
We are very flexible, accommodating and try to minimise the level of obligation. Whilst we encourage club and team commitment via the Club of the Year competition and relays, our relaxed approach is the best way to cater to the individual needs of members.
The average distance for Under 10 is 2km, approximately 3-4km for Under 12 and Under 14 and 4-6km for our older juniors. All ages are taken as at 31st December in the current year. You must tell us which events you want to enter, usually about two weeks in advance. When entries are required we will send you reminders and links to our online forms. All relay teams are selected based on club trials or current form.
Junior Club Week
We have training groups for athletes of all abilities. This is NOT compulsory but it makes racing more enjoyable if you do. There are a number of opportunities to train together with other club members. Our winter juniors can take advantage of five training sessions each week. Training runs start during the first week of Term 2 and run until the end of the third term. There are no training runs in the holidays, unless arranged.
School Year 4 Group
We meet on Monday 4.45-5.30pm. Our youngest runners learn race skills and gain fitness through fun and games. Hosted by Grant Straker and Lizzi Corbin.
School Year 5-8 Group
Hosted by John Palmer on Monday 4.45-5.30pm from the Clubrooms. This is for those children who want a more serious run of 30 mins and may include structured fartlek running, pyramid running and steady state running along with relays.
School Year 9+ Group
This is run with Craig Eustace on Mondays. For secondary school aged runners who want more serious training of 45-60min. Details of run advertised in weekly email.
Senior Club Week
Senior training is held throughout the year.
The winter season runs from approximately the middle of April through to the beginning of October.
Athletics Canterbury sets a comprehensive programme offering a variety of cross-country races and relays. These generally increase in distance as the season progresses. Mid-way through the season the cross-country programme winds up with the Canterbury cross country championships and the National cross country championship (hosted by a different region each year. After cross-country the programme turns to road racing.
There is no compulsion for members to participate in any or all of these events. Picking and choosing is OK. There is even on option for runners to be social runners only, attending training, club runs, and club championship events.
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This session is held from the clubrooms. It is devoted to drills that are designed to help runners perform more efficiently, increase speed and reduce injury occurrence. Also included in this session will be some efforts of running at a higher speed than normal training.
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Held from Girl’s High School in Matai Street/ Deans Avenue. This is an easy run of around 45 minutes. Depending on numbers and abilities this may split into groups.
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Saturdays are devoted to competitive events or club runs, see the club calendar for more details. Christchurch Avon members also support ParkRun.
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Sunday for most runners is ‘long run’ day. During the winter we meet at the Sign of the Takahe at 8:30am and run in the Port Hills. This run is generally around 90 minutes. Again distances will be adjusted to suit the group or groups of runners. Do not be intimidated. We will have someone to run with you. Summer time this run may alternate between the Port Hills or Bottle Lake Forest.
