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AGE CATEGORY GUIDELINES
- Martin Jennings
- Dec 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Age Category Guidelines for UK Road and Trail Running Events
This page provides clear guidance for Race Directors on setting age categories for UK road and trail races. It reflects current England Athletics and UK Athletics standards, while recognising the practical realities of events of different sizes.
The aim is to support consistency, fairness, and clarity for athletes, organisers, and results teams.
Governing body framework
For licensed events, age categories are defined by UK Athletics rules, which are adopted by England Athletics. These rules apply equally to road, trail, and cross country running, with no separate category structure for trail races.
Age is determined by the athlete’s age on the day of the race, unless stated otherwise in the event rules.
Official reference documents:
Standard senior and masters age categories
The recognised age categories for senior and masters competition are:
Senior
18 to 34
Masters
35 to 39
40 to 44
45 to 49
50 to 54
55 to 59
60 to 64
65 to 69
70 to 74
75 to 79
80 to 84
85 to 89
90 and over
Male and female categories follow the same structure.
These categories form the baseline for results and rankings, even where prizes are only awarded to a subset.
Practical guidance by event size
Events under 200 runners
For smaller events, the focus should be on simplicity while retaining recognised standards.
Potential approach:
Display full standard age categories in the results where possible
Award prizes only for:
1st, 2nd & 3rd Overall male and female
1st Masters male and female, optionally grouped as 35 plus, 45 plus, 55 plus
This approach keeps administration manageable while still allowing athletes to see where they rank within their recognised age group.
Events with 200 to 500 runners
Medium sized events typically support a broader prize structure without excessive dilution.
Potential approach:
Display full standard age categories in results
Award prizes to 1st, 2nd & 3rd Overall male and female and in five year masters bands where numbers allow, typically:
Senior
35 to 39
40 to 44
45 to 49
50 to 54
55 to 59
60 plus, optionally split further if fields are strong
If certain categories have very small numbers, prizes may be combined, but categories should remain separate in the results.
Events over 500 runners
Larger events are expected to offer a comprehensive and clearly defined category structure.
Potential approach:
Display full standard age categories in results
Award prizes to 1st, 2nd & 3rd Overall male and female and all five year masters age bands from 35 upwards.
Clearly state in advance if prizes extend beyond 75 or 80 plus categories
This aligns with athlete expectations and best practice for high participation events.
Results categories versus prize categories
It is important to distinguish between results presentation and prize allocation.
Best practice guidance:
Results should show full standard age categories wherever technically possible
Prizes and trophies may be offered for a reduced set of categories
Prize eligibility rules must be clearly stated in advance within event information
Athletes should not be required to infer prize rules from the results alone
This approach ensures transparency while keeping costs and logistics proportionate to event size.
Trail running considerations
Trail races do not have a separate age category structure. The same senior and masters categories apply.
For junior athletes, UK Athletics rules impose maximum distance limits based on age rather than competitive categories.
Official reference:
Race Directors must ensure that junior participation complies with these distance limits where applicable.
Summary for Race Directors
Use standard England Athletics and UK Athletics age categories as the baseline
Scale prize categories according to event size, not results categories
Always publish prize eligibility clearly in advance
Maintain full category breakdowns in results where possible
Apply the same principles to road and trail events
This balanced approach supports fairness for athletes while remaining practical for organisers across events of all sizes.
If you have any questions regarding bib design, please email: info@sublimetiming.com
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