Great Edinburgh International Cross Country
Encyclopedia
The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country is an annual cross country running
competition that takes place every January in Edinburgh
, Scotland
. It is one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and is held alongside the Great Winter Run 5 kilometres mass participation race. The event was first held in Edinburgh in 2005 after the city was awarded the Great North Cross Country which relocated from Durham. The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country features three professional races: the men's 9 km long course, the men's 4 km short course, and the women's 6 km race. It is an IAAF permit meeting, which means that performances can be used to qualify for the annual IAAF World Cross Country Championships
.
The grassy, occasionally muddy, course in Holyrood Park
runs in a circular, clockwise pattern. The same venue was used to host the 2003 European Cross Country Championships
and the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
. It has had relatively difficult routes in the past, with runners twice having to climb and descend Haggis Knowe (a steep hill) in 2009. The meeting attracts cross country athletes of the highest calibre, with past competitors including six-time World Champion Kenenisa Bekele
, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Tirunesh Dibaba
and Eliud Kipchoge
.
The meeting is broadcast by the BBC
annually, and it has received sponsorship from VisitScotland
(in 2006) and Bupa
(from 2007 to present).
A new team competition format was introduced for the 2011 event. The four teams assembled were Great Britain, Europe, the United States and Great Britain Under-23s. Britain's Mo Farah won the race but the Europeans, featuring all the reigning European Cross medallists, won the overall team challenge.
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
competition that takes place every January in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and is held alongside the Great Winter Run 5 kilometres mass participation race. The event was first held in Edinburgh in 2005 after the city was awarded the Great North Cross Country which relocated from Durham. The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country features three professional races: the men's 9 km long course, the men's 4 km short course, and the women's 6 km race. It is an IAAF permit meeting, which means that performances can be used to qualify for the annual IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
.
The grassy, occasionally muddy, course in Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It has an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of whin providing a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape within its area...
runs in a circular, clockwise pattern. The same venue was used to host the 2003 European Cross Country Championships
2003 European Cross Country Championships
The 10th European Cross Country Championships were held at Edinburgh in Scotland on 14 December 2003. Serhiy Lebid took his fourth title in the men's competition and Paula Radcliffe her second title in the women's race.-Men individual 10.095km:-Men teams:...
and the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...
. It has had relatively difficult routes in the past, with runners twice having to climb and descend Haggis Knowe (a steep hill) in 2009. The meeting attracts cross country athletes of the highest calibre, with past competitors including six-time World Champion Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba
Tirunesh Dibaba also known as Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and the outdoor 5000 metres world record holder. She is the current Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion...
and Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long distance runner who has won medals at Olympic and World level....
.
The meeting is broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
annually, and it has received sponsorship from VisitScotland
VisitScotland
VisitScotland is Scotland's national tourism agency. It is a public body, with offices in Edinburgh, Inverness, London as well as other parts of Scotland...
(in 2006) and Bupa
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
(from 2007 to present).
A new team competition format was introduced for the 2011 event. The four teams assembled were Great Britain, Europe, the United States and Great Britain Under-23s. Britain's Mo Farah won the race but the Europeans, featuring all the reigning European Cross medallists, won the overall team challenge.
Past winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2005 | 27:43 | 21:35 | ||
| 2nd | 2006 | 26:08 | 19:01 | ||
| 3rd | 2007 | 28:14 | 23:25 | ||
| 4th | 2008 | 27:42 | 19:58 | ||
| 5th | 2009 | 26:51 | 19:02 | ||
| 6th | 2010 | 28:41 | 21:37 | ||
| 7th | 2011 | 25:41 | 20:24 |
| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2005 | 12:22 | |
| 2nd | 2006 | 12:16 | |
| 3rd | 2007 | 12:20 | |
| 4th | 2008 | 12:52 | |
| 5th | 2009 | 12:17 | |
| 6th | 2010 | 13:20 | |
| 7th | 2011 | 13:12 |
- All information taken from official website.