Veteran’s Athletics
The club has a very active Veteran’s athletics section. In recent years it has been one of the fastest growing parts of the club. For more than 20 years the club has had a strong group of endurance runners in the older age groups who had success and won titles in road running and cross country – in Oxfordshire, in the South of England, national and internationally. Recently our Veteran’s track and field team has expanded, with a women’s team being launched in 2015. Some of our best track and field athletes have gone on to compete in, and win titles at, British, European and World Championships in track and field.
Veterans athletics is a very friendly part of the sport, and though often highly competitive, is welcoming to athletes of all abilities. Our Veteran athletes train alongside other seniors on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and new members are always welcome irrespective of their level of performance. Many of our veterans also coach, and many are involved in officiating and organising within the club.
Oxford City is currently holder of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Masters Cross Country title, and is a leading team in the Oxford Mail league and Chiltern League. In road running the men’s team have performed with distinction in road relays regionally and nationally, and in cross country championships. In track and field we compete in the Western Division of the Southern Counties Veteran Athletics League. This league spans the whole of the South of England. The league ensures four fixtures each summer, providing good track and field competition at four Monday evening matches normally held in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire. We generally host one match at Horspath each season. Competition is open to men and women in over 35, over 50 and over 60 age groups, although it often includes over 70s as well. There are limited slots for ‘guest’ athletes who don’t make the team. The men have won this league many times in the past 20 years, while the women, whose team was only founded in 2015, have already managed third place in the league and are the fastest improving team in the league. The winners of the Western Division automatically go forward to the League Winners Final in September which we have also won on several occasions.
The picture above shows OCAC Athlete Rob Webster (2nd from right) in the GB 4 x 800m European record-breaking relay team (2015)
