There is no longer any doubt but that World Cross is the greatest show on earth.

It’s also the world’s best kept secret!

If any other one-day sporting event boasted this many of the world’s fittest athletes from different disciplines competing against each other, it would be getting back page coverage across the world.

If the atmosphere, colour and intensity was replicated in another sport, sponsors, celebrities, and the public would be fighting to get in on a piece of the action.

If any other sport was this dramatic, round-the-clock replays would fill the air-time on specialist sports stations for weeks on end.

The winners would be household names. Those who finished down the field would be minor celebrities. Federations would be fighting to just get their athletes a place on the starting line.

Bigger than the Olympics?

There are those who would like to see cross country added to the Olympics; but this is the real Olympics. Middle distance athletes versus marathoners. Cross country specialists versus steeplechasers. World record holders versus journeymen. Man versus mountain, metaphorically speaking at least.

When Pierre de Coubertin uttered the immortal words: “The most important thing … is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well,” he could just as easily have had World Cross in mind.

And on Saturday there were those who conquered just by completing, and who fought to the bitter end.

But Coubertin would have underplayed how important winning is in this particular event.

And much of Europe, conspicuous in their absence this weekend, have forgotten the importance, and glory, of taking part.

Hills get people talking

Who knew that the best way to get people talking about cross country – whether they were the ones struggling to complete it or the spectators enjoying watching people crumble – would be to put a few hills in the way? Was it really this simple?

Photo: Lars Møller

The conversation this week has already shifted to what similar courses could be used to future events – what viable options the USA has; which of the great English national courses could host World Cross; are there opportunities to make them even more extreme?

With any bit of luck, Ireland’s Abbotstown, the site of the 2020 European Cross Country Championships is being reconstructed as we speak.

Fionnuala McCormack is badass

Fionnuala McCormack was one of the few athletes racing on Saturday that was clearly relishing the challenge the course provided.

Much has been said of how amazing her 18th place finish was just six months after giving birth to her daughter Isla. But let’s not forget how good finishing in the top 20 at World Cross is these days, with or without a child. And this is Fionnuala’s fourth time doing so.

Photo: Michelle Sammet

In the oppressive heat of Mombasa, on the fast, flat fields of Punta Umbria, in the snow and mud of Bydgoszcz and now on the energy-sapping hills of Denmark, she has finished just off the incredible pace being set by the very, very best in the world.

And she does it all with a smile on her face, and that passion for cross country that inspires us all to want to run up big hills at pace.

Fionnuala’s results will never emulate those of Sonia O’Sullivan or Catherina McKiernan – an impossible pair of yard sticks for anyone to be compared against. But she is a star of these times; an inspiration for this generation.

Britain is back!

The British women also put in a very strong performance on Saturday. With four women, (plus Pippa Woolven) finishing inside the top forty, they took fourth in the team competition, their best result since taking bronze in 2004.

But even more exciting was the performance of the British men. With no representatives in this race in Kampala two years ago, no stand out names among the British contenders, and similarly loose selection criteria to recent years, concern that the days of British men testing themselves against the best in the world being over were not unfounded.

After months of speculation, a full team was finally declared and those that went both justified their selection and showed that you don’t need to be a household name to return a respectable result.

Athletes selected for this event in the future may well have the big performances of Patrick Dever et al. to thank for reminding selectors that Britain can and should be part of this event.

Big head-to-heads can live up to expectation

The senior men’s race was built up to be one of the biggest three-way battles this sport has ever seen. And it more than delivered.

Two-time defending champ Geoffrey Kamworor versus last year’s almost man Joshua Cheptegei and the junior champ and inform man Jacob Kiplimo. Kenya versus Uganda. Youth versus experience.

And if Disney did cross country films, they could not have written a more fitting ending. In true fairytale storylines, the outcome of this one only became obvious in the closing moments; but in retrospect, there was only ever going to be one winner. Cheptegei wasn’t going to mess up an opportunity like this a second time.

Photo: Lars Møller

Elsewhere, Helen Obiri became the seventh consecutive Kenyan winner of the senior women’s race ahead of last year’s U20 silver and gold medallists. Beatrice Chebet, Alemitu Tariku and Tsigie Gerbeselama produced one of the most dramatic finishes in the event’s history in the junior women’s race.

For the first time since 1984 there were no Kenyans on the U20 men’s podium as Milkesa Mengesha, Tadase Worku and Oscer Chelimo stole the show.

And while the relay hasn’t quite reached its full potential on this stage, Saturday’s race did produce a somewhat dramatic finish with Kenya’s title challenge not just falling away in the final stages, but fading so badly that Morocco were able to get up and seize the silver behind Ethiopia.

The Ugandans are coming

Uganda had a handful of contenders at their home event in Kampala two years ago, with Jacob Kiplimo winning the U20 race, and Joshua Cheptegei making a brave, if ultimately doomed, effort to win the senior men’s race. They sneaked team bronze in the senior men’s and junior women’s races too but were still a long way off the pace set by Kenya and Ethiopia.

This year they were just one point short of picking up team medals in all four races, earned three individual medals, beat the Kenyans to silver in the junior men’s race, and in securing team gold in the senior men’s race, landed arguably the biggest team prize in athletics; the prize which Kenya and Ethiopia have shared between them for almost four decades.

Uganda had 10 top 10 finishers across the four individual races on Saturday. Six of those came in the two senior races, the same number both Kenya and Ethiopia achieved. They were third on the medal table, the same result they achieved two years ago, but the gap this time was much smaller.

And the bright yellow vests of this East African nation were dominant at the front of the field throughout the day. Uganda have graduated from best of the rest, to serious contenders. They are truly a force to be reckoned with.

A secret it should stay

Someday, unfortunately, people will realise World Cross Country’s true value, slap a hefty price on entry tickets, and make it accessible only to those with money and connections.

Cowboy administrators may even one day start dealing in black market tickets for those desperate to be seen among the esteemed faces in the crowd.

World Cross is sport’s best kept secret.

Let’s keep it that way!

RELATED: World Cross Country: the greatest show on earth!

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The post Sport’s best kept secret, and other thoughts from Aarhus 2019 appeared first on Fast Running.

The World Cross Country – which evolved from the International Cross Country Championships – is the oldest world championship in athletics. And on Saturday (March 30), 46 years after it was officially inaugurated, the 43rd edition will take place in the Danish city of Aarhus.

While staged in Europe more often than not, the now-biannual showcase event has occasionally strayed further afield, taking in far flung destinations like Boston, USA; the East African cities of Kampala (Uganda) and Mombasa (Kenya); Japanese city Fukuoka, and Guiyang in China.

Australia is next up on the cross country road trip, while Canada is rumoured to have aspirations of hosting the 2023 edition.

And while many in Europe talk about the event returning ‘home’ and getting back to its roots in 2019, nobody can ever accuse World Cross Country of being a dull, parochial event.

With marathoners and half marathoners, mountain runners, track stars and cross country specialists, from across the six continents lining up against each other, this is the world of distance running at it’s very best.

Back to basics?

Some have predicted that World Cross Country is about to be reborn in Denmark’s second city. If this be so, let us not forget that this rejuvenated life-form is the love-child of an intense and passionate Kampala fling.

Few can have watched the 2017 edition of the world’s most competitive footrace and not have been reminded of just how special an event it can be.

Indeed, if we remove our tinted glasses, and view the cross country from a less Euro-centric viewpoint, have things really changed all that much?

Will the hills really be any more relentless than they were in Aman in 2007? Will the crowds be any bigger or more vocal than they were in Kampala or Mombasa? Will the underfoot conditions be any more challenging than Bydgoszcz in 2013, or Ostend in 2001?

If Arhus 2019 is better than previous editions, it will be because we have been told that it is better. The key has been in the packaging!

And hats off to the organisers for that!

Man-made features

And while broadcasters have oft bemoaned the man-made obstacles of other championship courses, the Aarhus organisers have spent the week putting the final touches to a course which will include specially constructed water, mud and sand pits, and take participants up the roof of a museum – the ultimate in man-made cross country features.

Photo: Lone Dybdal

The hills are genuine, of course, and with the course seemingly becoming more and more challenging with each video that appears on Twitter, participants and spectators are in for a treat.

But while the nature of the course is likely to affect the results to some degree, those who think it will narrow the gap between the East Africans and the rest of the world are in for a rude awakening.

In fact, it may make them bigger!

Uganda have dominated recent World Mountain Running Championships, taking podium sweeps in the men’s event in 2017 and 2018. And let’s not forget that Kenya are the world leaders in steeplechasing, the event most akin to the ever-changing pace of tomorrow’s race.

And with rain scares in Europe this winter, the only muddy sections on the course – the one condition that may have made a difference – have been fabricated.

Champions stay at home

But the main reason Europeans won’t close the gap on the Africans is because they simply won’t be there. Yes, Britain, Spain and Denmark have sent teams in the four individual events, and France have three teams entered, but athletes from other big nations are in short supply.

Turkey, who have controversially bought in East African athletes to win medals at European level, have entered just one athlete. Portugal, once a proud endurance running nation, have also entered just one athlete. German and Italian entrants are in similar short supply.

The Netherlands, who welcomed athletes and supporters from across the continent to the European Cross Country Championships in Tilburg in December, have failed to return the favour, and don’t have a single athlete entered.

That means that the European senior women’s team champions are not represented. Yasmin Can, the three-time European Champion: not in Aarhus.

Turkey won the men’s team title in Tilburg, but only Aras Kaya is entered, and he is the sole senior individual medallist from Euro Cross testing himself against the world’s best.

Photo: Andy Peat

Mass participation

The one significant change which the local organising committee has introduced is the mass participation races. And they will, no doubt, add to the spectacle and atmosphere (not to mention offsetting some of the costs of staging such an event).

But let’s just imagine if every nation sent a team to Aarhus. If the majority of the 214 member federations had athletes on the starting line, proudly wearing the colours of their nation with a bib that they have earned, not bought.

Imagine the spectacle this great event would then be.

The elephant in the room

We are often reminded that athletics in general, and cross country in particular, needs to be saved, changed, and re-packaged for a younger audience.

But distance running has never been in better health.

If you want to get the youth interested in the greatest race on earth, you’ve got to make it a possible target for them. You’ve got to show them that if they are good enough, they can go. Federations, sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a team that’s good enough to compete for the top honours, is never going to work.

And then, of course, there’s the doping. The sport is riddled with it, and it’s going to take more than a few spectators in Viking hats to overpower that particular blight.

All the rebranding and repackaging in the world isn’t going to help on that front!

In the meantime, be assured that Aarhus 2019 will be a special event. Not because it is new or innovative, but simply because World Cross Country always is.

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The women of Kenya created history in Kampala, not just becoming the first senior women’s long course team to register a perfect score or completing Kenya’s first clean sweep of the medals in that race, but by becoming the first team in history, in any of the world cross country races, to fill the top six places.

Yes, the entire Kenyan team home before anyone else got a look in!

While a repeat of such utter dominance at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday (March 30) is unlikely, there is enough firepower among the Kenyan women to make securing the team title for a record thirteenth time a mere formality.

Kenyan athletes have won the last six individual titles, and are expected to dominate the podium once again.

Lillian Kasait Rengeruk, bronze medallist in Kampala, is the only starter from the all-conquering 2017 team, but she will be joined by a star-studded line-up which includes reigning World, Commonwealth and African 5000m champion Hellen Obiri and world steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech.

Such is the strength of the Kenyan team, that Agnes Tirop, the 2015 champion and 2017 fifth placer; and 2018 African Cross Country Championship runner-up Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi, are only reserves this time around.

Kenyan studs

Obiri, who also holds the Kenyan 5000m record, ran a 29:59 for 10k on the slightly downhill San Silvestre Vallecana course in Madrid on New Year’s Eve, won the IAAF Permit meet in Elgoibar in January, and took the Kenyan trials victory in February.

She may well start as favourite, and will look to add world cross country gold to her global indoor and outdoor titles. If successful, she would become the first female athlete to do so.

Chepkoech, like Obiri, is better known for her track accomplishments than she is for her cross country pedigree. She did finish third at the Kenyan trials and picked up a win at the IAAF Permit race in January.

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist shot into fame when she knocked an incredible eight seconds off the world steeplechase world record last summer, and she will look to use her steeplechasing strength to good effect in Aarhus.

Beatrice Chepkemoi Mutai – who split the track stars at the Kenyan trials – won bronze at the 2016 African Cross Country Championships. Mutai, the older sister and training partner of world 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon, may also be a contender.

Can anyone stop the Kenyans?

Among the Ethiopians attempting to halt the Kenyan dominance will be 2015 and 2017 under-20 champion Letesenbet Gidey, and Dera Dida the runner up in the younger age category in 2015.

Gidey, originally a reluctant recruit to the sport and once temporary expelled from school for refusing to run in her physical education classes, now boasts a 5000m best of 14:23.14.

Dida, who won the Ethiopian trials ahead of Gidey has a marathon PB of 2:21:45, and the five-lap energy-sapping course should be less of an issue for her proven endurance.

Stella Cheseng is the Commonwealth 10,000m champion. The Ugandan trials winner, who finished second to Obiri in Elgoibar and runner-up to Chepkoech in Seville in January, could also feature.

With the roof of the Moesgaard Museum – which participants will have to navigate five times – seemingly steepening as the hours pass, the most significant result on Chesang’s CV may well be her World Mountain Running title from 2015.

Photo: Lone Dybdal

The challenge from Bahrain will be led by World Marathon champion Rose Chelimo, who finished ninth in Kampala; Eunice Chumba, 2016 Asian cross-country champion and a 66:11 half marathoner; and Winfred Mutile Yavi, who won the Cinquemulini IAAF Permit meet in January.

The team battle

If anyone is to get close to the Kenyans in the team stakes, it will be the Ethiopians. The East African rivals have shared the past twenty team titles between them, and it’s difficult to see anyone coming between the pair this time around.

Bahrain, with a team comprising Kenyan and Ethiopian exports, were third last time out, and the bronze medal battle looks set to be between them, the Ugandans, and a strong USA contingent led by world steeplechase silver medallist Courtney Frerichs.

Incidentally, Portugal, the last non-African team to win the team title, way back in 1994, don’t have a single athlete entered in the race this time around. The European nation, with a strong distance running history, and have only entered one athlete across the five races.

Local interest

London-based Danish athlete Anna-Emilie Møller, who won the European under-23 title in December, will be the star attraction for the Danish crowd.

Photo: Andy Peat

The 2016 Olympian and 2017 European under-23 steeplechase champion became the first non-British female BUCS Cross Country champion in February.

Møller finished second to Kenya’s Gloria Kite at the IAAF Permit meet in Soria in November, and will be hoping to put in an inspired performance on home soil.

In the absence of the top five finishers from the senior race in Tilburg, Møller may even start as leading European challenger, though Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack, a two-time European champion, and Germany’s Elena Burkard, sixth in Tilburg, may have something to say about that.

The Irish and British challenge

McCormack hasn’t competed at the World Cross Country Championships since leading the Irish team to fifth place in 2013. The three-time Olympian finished in the top 20 in 2007, 2011 and 2013, and will be one of the few to relish the conditions and the distance on Saturday.

Photo: Sportsfile

Currently preparing for the Boston marathon, the Wicklow woman has raced sparingly since giving birth to her first child last October; her sixth place from Belfast in January her only cross country performance of late.

Ireland’s other representative, Birmingham-based doctor Sara Treacy, ran her first World Cross Country Championships as a 16 year-old in Fukuoka. Thirteen years later she makes her debut appearance in the senior race.

Treacy is an athlete for the big day and the Olympic steeplechase finalist and 1o-times European Cross Country participant will be more than at home on this stage.

The British team will have an eye on a top six team finish, something which they last achieved in 2011. Like their male counterparts, there is little to choose between the sextet.

Jess Piasecki and Kate Avery, who were members of the team which so narrowly lost out on the team gold at the European Championships in December, are the most experienced members of the team.

Photo: Andy Peat

Like Treacy, both have previously competed in the junior event, but Saturday will be their first experience of the senior race.

Jenny Nesbitt was a dominant winner of the trial event earlier this month, and the Welsh Cross Country Champion, also an established competitor on the roads, will be relishing her first taste of world championship competition.

Emily Hosker-Thornhill, who took the English title on the hills around Harewood House in February, will be hoping to improve on her 90th place from Kampala two years ago.

English under-20 champion Amelia Quirk was the surprise package of the British trials finishing fifth against her older rivals. The young University of Birmingham fresher, who finished second to Møller at the BUCS Championships, will look to use Aarhus as a stepping stone to a successful senior career.

North of England champion Mhairi MacLennan, who’s put in a number of strong performances this winter, completes a strong team.

And so…

In the absence of defending champion Irene Cheptai, and with Agnes Jebet Tirop not due to make the Kenyan starting six, we’re guaranteed a first-time champion this time around.

The field is not, however, lacking in star quality, and a number of world champions and record holders will be vying to add the prestigious cross country title to their CV.

Obiri, the 5000m star, will start as favourite, but on the challenging Aarhus’ course, track pedigree may count for nothing.

Expect the Kenyans to dominate, but the Ethiopians, wounded by the trashing they received in Kampala two years ago, along with the Ugandans and Bahrainis are at least capable of getting in the mix for individual medals this time around.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Kamworor is targeting a third straight World Cross Country gold in the senior men’s race, and a full preview can be found here.

Additionally the race timetable and TV guide can be found here.

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The post World Cross Country Championships: ones to watch in the senior women’s race appeared first on Fast Running.

More than 550 athletes among 67 teams will descend on Aarhus, Denmark for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Saturday (March 30).

Among those set to compete are defending senior men’s champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya and world under-20 cross country champion Jacob Kiplimo.

The latter became Uganda’s first ever world cross country gold medallist two years ago in Kampala and will be joined by compatriot Joshua Cheptegei in the quest to deny Kamworor a third straight gold.

Photo: Getty Images for IAAF

The senior women’s race features world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri, Kenyan compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech – the steeplechase world record-holder – and two-time world U20 cross country champion Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia.

Three-time European cross country under-20 gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen will aim to become the first under-20 men’s champion from the continent in over 30 years, however, it has been 25 years since a European runner even finished in the top 10.

The European 1500m and 5000m senior champion will face Kenyan under-20 champion Samuel Chebolei and world under-18 steeplechase gold medalist Leonard Bett.

In the under-20 women’s race, world under-20 5000m champion Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, and Girmawit Gebrzihair of Ethiopia are among the favourites.

There is also the mixed relay event, where Kenya will aim to defend their title against strong Moroccan, Ethiopian and Ugandan teams.

A full preview of the senior men’s race, including a look at the British and Irish runners competing, can be found here, while additional previews will be published on Fast Running shortly.

How to watch

Fans in the UK can watch the cross country showpiece unfold at the Moesgaard Museum on the BBC Red Button, Connected TV and the BBC Sport website.

Live coverage begins at 09:45 and will conclude at 14:00.

In Ireland, there will be no live TV coverage, but cross country fans need not worry as the action will be streamed live on the IAAF’s YouTube channel.

Elsewhere around the world, NBC will be covering the action in the USA, Kenyan fans can watch on Citizen TV, while supporters in Denmark who don’t make it to Aarhus can watch the cross country racing on TV2. Additional global broadcaster information can be found here.

Timetable

Local time / UK time
11:00 / 10:00: Mixed relay – 8km (combined)
11:35 / 10:35: Under-20 women’s race – 6km
12:10 / 11:10: Under-20 men’s race – 8km
13:00 / 12:00: Senior women’s race – 10km
14:00 / 13:00: Senior men’s race – 10km

RELATED: Geoffrey Kamworor eyes world cross country hat trick

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The post How to watch the World Cross Country Championships appeared first on Fast Running.

Whether it’s on the flat terrain of Copenhagen, around a horse-racing circuit in far-flung Guiyang, along the rain-drenched roads of Cardiff, in the altitude of Kampala, or on the windy streets of Valencia, for the past five years Geoffrey Kamworor has spent the last weekend of March winning world titles.

This Saturday (March 30) – as more than 150 athletes from 54 nations line up for the final race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark – the Kenyan will be looking to add to his cross country titles from 2015 and 2017, and his half marathon wins from 2014, 2016 and 2018, to become the first athlete to complete senior hat-tricks at both championships.

But despite his dominance in recent years, the 2017 New York Marathon winner might not even be favourite for cross country’s biggest prize this time around, having finished just fifth at the Kenyan trials five weeks ago.

Not that Kamworor will be worried about that. He didn’t win the Kenyan trials in the run-up to his 2017 World title. Nor did he win Kenyan gold in 2015! He didn’t even win the Kenyan junior trials in 2015, the year he took the under-20 crown.

Indeed, it could be argued that it’s against Amos Kirui, the Kenyan trials winner, that the odds are heavily stacked. Paul Tergat was the last senior man to win both the Kenyan Championships and the World title in the same year, way back in 1996!

Last time out

Joshua Cheptegei came close to becoming the hero of the hour in front of the home crowd in the Ugandan capital in 2017 after one of the most inspiring, if heart-breaking, performances in World Cross history.

Leading by 11 seconds heading out onto the last lap and still in full flow, Cheptegei looked certain to be about to land Uganda’s second title of the day; Kamworor looked destined for silver.

But then, heading into the final kilometre, everything changed. Cheptegei ran out of steam in dramatic fashion, and as Kamworor surged to the title, Cheptegei went backwards, in the end stumbling home in 30th place.

The Ugandan crowd, who just moments earlier had been in jubilant celebration, were abruptly silenced.

The young Ugandan quickly put the heartache behind him, and later in 2017 finished a sublime second in the 10,000m at the World Championships in London, and won both the 5000m and 10,000m Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast last year.

A world title in Aarhus would, however, be the ultimate redemption!

Another Ugandan in the mix

Cheptegei, like Kamworor, didn’t win his trial race, and has played second-fiddle this winter to his young compatriot Jacob Kiplimo, who won the under-20 race in Kampala two years ago to become Uganda’s first ever World Cross Country gold medallist.

Kiplimo has won IAAF Permit races in Burgos, Goria and Seville already this winter, and if his world junior title didn’t bring him widespread notoriety, his 26:41 at the San Silvestre Vallecana 10km in Madrid on New Year’s Eve certainly did.

While the time – the fastest ever achieved on the road – doesn’t count for record purposes due to the downhill nature of the course, it did knock 13 seconds off the course record set by Eluid Kipchoge in 2006.

Photo: San Silvestre Vallecana

Kiplimo will be looking to join Kamworor on the ever-growing list of athletes who have won World Cross titles in both age categories. If form over the past few months is anything to go by, he may start as favourite.

Beyond the big three

Kirui, the Kenyan Champion and trials winner, is the 2016 world under-20 steeplechase champion. Other Kenyans of note include Evans Keitany Kiptum, runner-up to Kirui at the trials, and World under 20 10,000m champion Rhonex Kipruto, who won the IAAF Permit meet in Elgoibar in January.

While the Kenyans and Ugandans are likely to be setting the pace and stringing out the field, as they’ve done in recent years, there are sure to be some Ethiopians among those lurking dangerously in the lead group.

While neither Abadi Hadis nor Muktar Edris, the 2017 and 2015 bronze medallists respectively, race – indeed, Bonsa Dida, 10th in Kampala, is the sole survivor of the 2017 gold medal winning team – the team is far from lacking in star quality.

Selemon Barega finished second to Kipruto in Elgoibar earlier this year. The 2016 World under-20 5000m champion and 2018 World Indoor 3000m silver medallist, was the fastest over 5000m last season, and is certainly one to watch. With a 12:43.02 personal best on the track, the other big names will want to have killed him off long before they make the final turn to the finish.

While the biggest track name on the team, Barega didn’t win the Ethiopian trials, finishing second on that occasion to the lesser known Mogos Tuemay. Third at the trials was Andamlak Belihu, 10th in the 10,000m at the 2017 World Championships and runner-up at the 2018 African Cross Country Championships.

Aron Kifle (Eritrea) joins Kamworor and Dida as the only top ten finishers from the 2017 senior race on the entry list, though Kenya’s Richard Yator, like Kiplimo made the 2017 Junior Men’s rostrum two years ago.

Kifle won bronze at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships, finished seventh in the 5000m at the World Championships in 2017 and was second to Kiplimo at the IAAF Permit meet in Burgos in November.

Bahrain’s Albert Rop, the Asian 5000m record holder, will be looking to improve on his 11th place from 2015. He finished third behind the Ugandan pair at the Seville IAAF Cross Country Permit race on 20th January.

Shadrack Kipchirchir leads the USA challenge. Brett Robinson won the Australian trials. Aras Kaya (Turkey) and Napoleon Solomon (Sweden) who finished third and fifth respectively at the European Cross Country Championships in December are among the top Europeans entered.

Photo: Andy Peat

Peru’s José Luis Rojas is the South American Champion. And South Africa’s Rantso Mokopane won silver at the 2018 World University Championships.

Team honours

Kamworor has yet to win an Olympic medal. But the title most surprisingly absent from his glistening collection is the World Cross Country senior team title. The Kenyans finished a single point behind Ethiopia last time out and lost out to their East African rivals only on countback in 2015.

If Kiplimo and Cheptegi make the podium, it might be Uganda, rather than Ethiopia, that stand between Kenya and their first team win since 2011.

The young Ugandan stars will be ably supported by Joel Ayeko, the 2018 World Mountain Running silver medallist and Thomas Ayeko, silver medallist from the under-20 race back in 2011.

The Ethiopians will, no doubt, run the most controlled race, and if the Kenya versus Uganda individual battle gets so hot it implodes, they will be ready to take their fourth consecutive team title.

The USA, with a team largely comprised of East African-born runners, will also be looking to upset the party, and would dearly love to spring a surprise of the magnitude they achieved when the competition was last held in Europe, in 2013. They placed four athletes in the top 20 on that occasion and took team silver, two points ahead of the Kenyans.

Bahrain too, will be in the mix.

British and Irish Hopes

The British team will be expecting to be the first European team home, though with just Denmark and Spain to beat for that honour, they’ll be looking for more.

There’s little to choose between the six athletes named in the team. Adam Hickey is the Inter-Counties champion and trials winner, while Mahamed Mahamed was an impressive winner at the English National Championships.

Patrick Dever, who finished fifth in the under-23 race at the European Cross Country Championships, came within millimetres of taking the BUCS title in February.

Photo: Andy Peat

Ross Millington was runner up at the trials and finished seventh against an international field at the Campaccio Cross Country in Italy at the start of the year.

Oliver Fox has shown impressive consistency finishing third at both BUCS and the Inter-Counties, while Luke Traynor will be looking to put his international experience to good effect.

Anything in the top 40 will be a good individual result – a performance last achieved by Jonathan Taylor and Steve Vernon back in 2013.

Without a team, Ireland’s Sean Tobin and Kevin Dooney will be looking to make a big individual impact.

Tobin finished 10th at the European Championships, and he’ll certainly be looking to return Ireland’s best finish in almost a generation.

Photo: Andy Peat

The last time Ireland entered athletes in the senior men’s race was 2009. Mark Kenneally finished 68th on that occasion.

The Irish duo competing on Saturday are unlikely to even remember the dizzy heights of 2001 when both Peter Matthews and Keith Kelly finished inside the top 30.

And so…

Get ready for a battle of truly epic portions. This could well be the most nail-biting world title battle in some years.

Kamoworor v Cheptegei v Kiplimo. Kenya v Uganda. Established star v young pretenders. World champ v world champ.

And then throw in Barega, the 12:43 man, for good measure.

These guys more than know how to put on a show!

AND there’ll be both British and Irish men to cheer.

Don’t. Go. Anywhere.

Keep an eye out for additional previews that will be published on Fast Running ahead of Saturday’s World Cross Country Championships.

RELATED: How to watch the World Cross Country Championships

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The post Geoffrey Kamworor eyes World Cross Country hat-trick appeared first on Fast Running.

Jessica Piasecki has been named the British team captain for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday (March 30).

After a five-year absence from cross country, the four-time European Cross Country Championship medallist has enjoyed a resurgent season on the grass, culminating in an individual 10th place finish and a team silver medal in December’s Euro Cross in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Piasecki’s last experience of the World Cross came in 2007 in Mombasa, Kenya, where – as Jess Coulson – she finished in 26th place, but will make her senior bow in the competition in Aarhus.

“I’m really happy and I couldn’t ask for any more than to be named captain of such a strong team,” said the 28 year-old Stockport athlete.

“In 2007 as a junior at world cross I was really happy to be there and everything happens all at once and you let it happen, whereas now I approach this year’s event in a more professional manner and I want to do my utmost to finish as well as I can and put my mark on the event.

“The European Championships came around really quickly for me but now I want to make my mark on the World Cross.

“As a team, I think we have the potential to do really well across the board. Everyone needs to go in and run their own race and if they do that, as team captain I’ll be very happy.

“At the Euros we had a really good turnout across the board from the team and hopefully everyone can do themselves and the country proud in Denmark.”

RELATED: GB names team for World Cross Country Championships

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British Athletics has named a strong full team of 24 athletes for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday, March 30.

Winner of the trials Jenny Nesbitt, who earns her first British vest on the cross country circuit since 2016, is joined by 2018 European Cross senior team silver medallists Jess Piasecki and Kate Avery in the senior women’s team.

Third at the trials, Mhairi MacLennan, along with English National champion Emily Hosker-Thornhill and under-20 team gold medallist from Tilburg, Amelia Quirk complete the team.

Ross Millington who took senior team silver in December’s Euro Cross, will be flanked by under-23 team silver medallists from Tilburg, Oliver Fox, Mahamed Mahamed and Patrick Dever, the latter achieving an individual fifth-place finish in Tilburg.

Adam Hickey earns a first British vest since the 2015 Euro Cross in Hyères, France, following his trial win at Prestwold Hall, with Luke Traynor completing the team.

Photo: JHM Sport

Under-20 team gold medallist from Tilburg, Inter Counties and 2018/19 Cross Challenge champion Grace Brock spearheads the junior women’s selections, along with under-17 English National Championships winner, Olivia Mason.

Charlotte Alexander earns another British vest following on from her run in the Great Stirling XCountry, while Becky Briggs, Eloise Walker and Amelia Samuels all earn their first British vests.

Inter-Counties champion Matt Willis leads the junior men’s selections, alongside new English under-20 cross champion Rory Leonard, and under-20 European Mountain Running Championship team gold medallist from 2018, Euan Brennan.

Under-20 Cross Challenge champion Zakariya Mahamed achieves his first British vest, as do Benjamin West and Josh Cowperthwaite.

“I’m really excited that we are able to have selected a full team for the World Cross Country Championships that we feel can challenge some of the world’s best Cross Country runners on a tough course in Aarhus,” said Team leader Rob Denmark.

“We have opted to select full teams in the senior races as we feel it will enhance our bid for a top six team finish and given the nature of the course, will give Great Britain & Northern Ireland the best possible chance of doing so.

“Additionally, we feel that the course in Aarhus will provide another perfect development opportunity for our Under-20 athletes moving into the summer track season and a fundamental development area as they progress through the age groups.”

Meanwhile, Ireland also named its team on Tuesday (March 12) and it can be found here.

British team for the World Cross Country Championships

Senior Men: Patrick Dever, Oliver Fox, Adam Hickey, Mahamed Mahamed, Ross Millington and Luke Traynor.

Senior Women: Kate Avery, Emily Hosker-Thornhill, Mhairi MacLennan, Jenny Nesbitt, Jessica Piasecki and Amelia Quirk.

Junior Men: Euan Brennan, Josh Cowperthwaite, Rory Leonard, Zakariya Mahamed, Benjamin West and Matt Willis.

Junior Women: Charlotte Alexander, Becky Briggs, Grace Brock, Olivia Mason, Amelia Samuels and Eloise Walker.

Further information and a video preview of the World Cross Country Championships course in Aarhus can be found here.

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Athletics Ireland has named a team of six athletes for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday, March 30.

Two-time European Cross Country champion Fionnuala McCormack headlines the team that will be competing in Denmark later this month.

At the 2013 World Cross in Poland, McCormack was the highest placed European finisher in 14th place.

Sara Treacy, who recently finished third on the roads at the Trafford 10k, joins McCormack in the women’s selection.

For Treacy, it will be her first World Cross Country Championships as a senior athlete having previously competed as a junior.

Kevin Dooney and Sean Tobin will represent Ireland in the senior men’s event.

At the 2018 European Cross Country Championships, Tobin was the highest placed Irish finisher in 10th place.

Photo: Andy Peat

In Tilburg, Irish national champion Dooney was next across the finish line for Ireland in 26th place, vastly improving on his 51st placing at the 2017 event.

Darragh McElhinney, who recently broke the Irish junior 5000m indoor record, and Jamie Battle have been named in the under-20 men’s selection and complete the team.

Irish team for the World Cross Country Championships

Senior women: Fionnuala McCormack and Sara Treacy

Senior men: Kevin Dooney and Sean Tobin

Junior men: Darragh McElhinney and Jamie Battle

Meanwhile, Great Britain also named its team on Tuesday (March 12) and it can be found here.

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British Athletics has confirmed it plans to field full senior teams at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus on March 30.

The governing body’s previously released selection policy had stated that full teams would be selected for the junior events, while only senior athletes who finish in the top two at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships would be guaranteed places in the team.

The selection policy went on to say that places would be available if the “selection panel believe that there is a realistic potential for the team to finish at least in the top six in Aarhus”.

After the selection policy was released, Kate Avery, was one athlete who spoke to Fast Running and expressed her desire to compete in the global event, saying: “I would also love the opportunity to race the World Cross again, but at the moment the official UKA selection policy is stating only the top two at the Inter-Counties will be taken automatically.

“I have my theories about that, but I just hope they allow a full senior women’s team to go to Denmark.”

The biennial event marks the climax of the winter season for many endurance athletes, and in much welcome news, British Athletics has now outlined its intentions to select full senior teams for the World Cross.

In a statement, the governing body said: “British Athletics consider the IAAF World Cross Country Championships as a stepping stone towards success at future global track and field championships – both for high quality senior endurance athletes and developing junior athletes – and therefore expect to select senior and junior teams, up to six per team, to travel to Aarhus.

“All athletes wishing to be selected for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships are required to compete at the official trials, which take place as part of the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships in Loughborough on March 9.

“The published selection policy for the event guarantees selection for the first two senior athletes in each trial race, with additional athletes added to senior teams where the selection panel believe that there is realistic potential for the team to finish at least in the top six in Aarhus.”

British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black has confirmed that the panel expect and intend to fill all team positions.

“We know there is a huge interest in sending full teams and giving athletes the opportunity to compete, especially with the championships returning to Europe, and it is our intention to ensure we use this year’s IAAF World Cross Country positively to benefit endurance athletes who will be targeting a later than usual World championships in Doha and eventually Tokyo,” said Black.

“We’re looking for athletes to commit fully to the trial races and demonstrate form, but there is no reason why the British athletes cannot compete well in Aarhus and put in strong individual and team performances. We’re not looking at this as an ‘if’ we send full teams, the view point is ‘how competitive’ they will be and we’re looking forward to seeing athletes grab this opportunity and delivering for the British team.”

Interim CEO Nigel Holl added: “It is great to give opportunities for more athletes to compete at a global level, and we know athletes have been concerned they wouldn’t get the chance to compete in the world cross country this year.

“The message is clear, we’re committed to selecting a full squad and the performance team have backed that approach 100%, all we ask is that athletes commit to the trial event and prioritise the competition in their winter schedule.

“The Inter-Counties Cross Country is a great race and knowing team spaces are waiting, we are looking forward to seeing a day of superb competition in Loughborough in March.”

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Many wondered if British Athletics would select senior athletes for the IAAF World Cross Country Championship, however, at least two male and two female senior athletes will have the chance to compete in Aarhus, Denmark on March 30.

The governing body has announced the selection policy for the championships and intends to select full teams for the male and female junior events, while senior athletes who finish in the top two at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships will secure places for the Aarhus hosted event.

At the 2017 championships in Kampala, Uganda, GB decided not to send a senior men’s team, while Louise Small, Rebecca Murray, Claire Duck and Emily Hosker Thornhill competed in the senior women’s race.

The Trial race will take place at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough on March 9 and all athletes wishing to be selected for the World Cross Country Championships must compete at the fixture.

The selection policy, that was released on Friday (December 2), states that athletes will be added to senior teams (up to a maximum of six per team, with four to score) where the “Selection Panel believes that there is a realistic potential for the team to finish at least in the top six in Aarhus”.

The selection policy also states that if either of the first two placed athletes at the trials is ineligible or declines selection their automatic selection will not be offered to the next eligible athlete.

The selection criteria for the IAAF World Championships in Doha between September 26 and October 6 has also been published.

The British Athletics Championships will take place in August on the 24-25 and will be the track and field trial for the World Championships.

The 10,000m trial for the 2019 World Championships will once again take place at the Night of the 10,000m PBs at Parliament Hill, Highgate in London on July 6.

The London Marathon will incorporate the marathon trial and the standard to make the GB team has been set at 2:13:00 for men and 2:31.00 for women.

This is faster than the IAAF’s qualification standards (2:16:00 / 2:37:00) and must be achieved between 1 May 2018 and 28 April 2019.

The full selection policy for can be found here.

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