Haxby Runners is an affiliated member of the YVAA (the Yorkshire Veterans' Athletics Association), which opens the door to some brilliant competitive opportunities for our more experienced members.

If you're an England Athletics-registered club member aged 35 or over, you're eligible to take part in the YVAA Championships. If you're 33 or over, you can join in with the Grand Prix series, a great way to race competitively while representing the club.

The Grand Prix itself is a series of up to ten multi-terrain races across the year, each around 10k and hosted by one of the YVAA's associated clubs. These aren't your average club races; they regularly attract over 200 runners, and the atmosphere is as much about the social side as the competitive one. Each event wraps up with refreshments and a prize-giving, and the series rounds off with an awards evening at the end of the year.

It's a friendly and well-organised setup, and our very own Neil Strange has been involved in organising the relays, which by all accounts were a highlight of the calendar last year. Neil is on hand in our dedicated YVAA WhatsApp group, part of the Haxby Runners community, so if you've got questions or just want to know more before diving in, he's the person to ask.