UK Athletics has begun rolling out its roster for the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad heading to the European Athletics Off‑Road Running Championships in Ljubljana–Kamnik, Slovenia, June 5–7. Consider it the first wave of names for a championship that rarely rewards the timid.
Fresh off their wins at the Middle Distance Trail Running Championships, Ben Rothery (Ilkley, coached by Sarah McCormack) and Scarlet Dale (Ambleside AC, Mark Croasdale) have punched their tickets and will return to the international stage—where the climbs are long, the descents are questionable, and the margin for error is usually measured in metres rather than minutes.
Joining them are runners‑up Eve Pannone (Ambleside AC, David Roche) and Bertie Houghton (Hallamshire, Lewis Moses), both proving that consistency still counts for something in a discipline where athletes often resemble mountain goats with race numbers. The men’s squad gains further ballast from seasoned international Luke Grenfell‑Shaw (Lonely Goat RC, also coached by Moses) and Alexander Chepelin (Carnethy Hill RC, Sophie Dunnett), athletes who know their way around a contour line.
On the women’s side, Scotland’s Kirsty Oldham (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) and Emily Cowper‑Coles (Rotherham Harriers/Dark Peak) round out a group that looks well‑equipped for the sort of terrain that makes road runners question their life choices.
The championship course itself is a 52‑kilometre tour of Slovenian mountain geography, featuring 2450 metres of climbing and the same again in descent—because gravity giveth and gravity taketh away. Starting in Kamnik, the route traces the Kamniška Bistrica River, skirts the Eco Resort, and winds toward Stahovica before funnelling athletes through a town park and over a narrow bridge for the final push. It’s scenic, in the way that “scenic” often doubles as “brutal.”
Selections for the Uphill and Up‑and‑Down disciplines will arrive in May, giving athletes just enough time to pretend they’re not refreshing their inboxes.
Novuna GB & NI Trail Team – 2026 European Athletics Off‑Road Running Championships, Ljubljana–Kamnik, Slovenia
Women’s Team
- Emily Cowper‑Coles — Rotherham Harriers / Dark Peak Fell Runners
- Scarlet Dale — Ambleside AC (coach: Mark Croasdale)
- Kirsty Oldham — Dundee Hawkhill Harriers
- Eve Pannone — Ambleside AC (coach: David Roche)
A quartet well‑versed in the art of staying upright on gradients that would make a road runner reconsider their shoe choices.
Men’s Team
- Alexander Chepelin — Carnethy Hill RC (coach: Sophie Dunnett)
- Luke Grenfell‑Shaw — Lonely Goat RC (coach: Lewis Moses)
- Bertie Houghton — Hallamshire Harriers (coach: Lewis Moses)
- Ben Rothery — Ilkley (coach: Sarah McCormack)
