The monthly handicap series of races are popular fixtures in the club calendar. We run two six-race series in the winter (October-March) and summer (April-September). The summer course is now in Central Park in Dartford, and the winter races take place around the Temple Hill area.
This is how they work:
- All races are 2.8m (4.5km) long.
- When a runner first takes part in the series (or returns from an absence), their time is used as a ‘time trial’ to calibrate a fair handicap. This does not count for the purpose of scoring in the series.
- From then on, they will start their subsequent races at an appropriate time interval. This interval is calculated to give them a chance of completing the course in the same overall time as every other runner.
- Once all runners have started, the race is a straightforward dash to the finish line.
- The winner receives 50 points towards the series total. The second runner scores 45, the third scores 44, and so on.
- The first five runners in each race carry forward an extra handicap into their next race. The winner carries a 50 second handicap, the second runner carries 40 seconds, the third 30 seconds, and so on.
- The runner with the best four results in six races is the series winner.