The Chris Brasher College League consists of 5 races during the Michaelmas and Lent terms. The first event is the Freshers' Fun Run, scheduled for the first Saturday of Michaelmas term. This is followed by a proper cross-country race at Fen Ditton, in mid-to-late October. Cuppers takes place in mid-November at Wandlebury. This is a stand-alone college championship race and most years does not count as part of the College League. It is also the main selection race for the Varsity Match teams. In the Lent term there are two more races: Coldham's Common, which duplicates as the selection race for BUCS, and the Selwyn Relays which will determine the season's top colleges.
In the 2004-05 season, the College League was renamed after Chris Brasher, one of the greatest athletes ever to run for Cambridge. Chris studied at St John's College and went on to win gold in the steeplechase at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. He sadly died on February 28th 2003, but having also founded the London Marathon, his legacy will always remain. Read more about Chris Brasher here.
Anyone (staff, students, fellows) can run for their College team - the more runners that turn out, the better your College will do and there are prizes for the most successful Colleges in the league at the end of the season. If you are interested in running for your College, most have a rep who organises their teams who you can contact from the college reps page. If not, get in touch with the league organisers. (See the about us section of the website then look for the current committee.) The rules can be found here.
In 2012-13 the biggest change in the history of the College League rules was made, with the original two division structure being replaced by a single men's division. Churchill (men's) and Christ's (women's) were the overall league champions, strong performances through the entire season being the key to their respective victories.
Individually, captain James Chettle took the men's overall while incoming women's captain Megan Wilson was the winner of the women's title.