THE 1926 NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

THE FIRST EVENT

The National was first held at Stacey Hill on 13 March 1926. 321 runners took part in the race which was 10 miles long.

RESULTS

1st: Eddie Webster, Birchfield Harriers
2nd: Ernie Harper, Hallamshire Harriers
3rd: A Rodway, Birchfield Harriers

Team: Birchfield Harriers

The Contemporary Newspaper Reports provide a lot of information about the event including details of the results and names of stewards.

The badge shown above was made for the National Cross Country Union for the 1926 event at Wolverton.

PATHE NEWSREEL OF THE EVENT

The event was filmed by Pathe for a newsreel shown in cinemas around the country. This film (and selected stills from it) can be viewed here. Copyright restrictions prevent the Museum from placing a copy of the film directly on this site.

MORE ABOUT THE RUNNERS

What Else Did The Winners Win?

Eddie "Jack" Webster won the AAA 10 miles in 1925 and 1928, the 4 miles in 1926 and the Two Mile Steeplechase, 1925-1928. He won the International Cross Country in 1925, having been third the previous year.

Ernie Harper won the AAA 10 miles in 1923, 1926, 1927 and 1929. He also won the National in 1927 and 1929. He was Commonwealth silver medallist for the Six Miles in 1930. He was Olympic Marathon Silver Medallist at the 1936 Games in Berlin. He won the International Cross Country Race in 1924, having come second in 1924. 

On 25 August 1929 he set a World Record for 25,000m in Berlin. On 18 Sep 1933 he set a World Record for the Two Hours by running 33,653m in Glasgow. 

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