The International Cross Country Championships was an annual international competition in cross country running

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...

. It was created in 1903 by the International Cross Country Union (ICCU) and it marked the first time that an annual international championships had been held for the sport.

It began its life as contest between the four Home Nations

Home Nations

Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The event became increasingly international over its history, beginning with the admittance of the first non-UK country in 1907 (France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

), the addition of several other Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

an countries in the 1920s, and then the introduction of Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

 in 1958 which saw an African team compete for the first time.

The championships featured only a senior men's race from 1903 to 1961, at which point an under-21s event was introduced. After some years as an unsanctioned competition, a women's race finally gained official acceptance in 1967.

The event lasted from 1903 to 1972 – at the 1971 ICCU Congress members decided to transfer organisation of the event to the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), a move which was finalised after the 1972 ICC Championships and led to the first 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...

 in 1973.

The International Cross Country Championships featured a number of running greats, including: Alfred Shrubb

Alfred Shrubb

Alfred "Alfie" Shrubb was an English middle distance runner. During an amateur career lasting from 1899 to 1905 and a professional career from 1905 to 1912 he won over 1,000 races of about 1,800 started...

 (the inaugural race winner) and Jean Bouin

Jean Bouin

Jean Bouin was a French athlete and rugby union footballer. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....

 in its early years, Frank Sando

Frank Sando

Frank Dennis Sando is a retired British World Cross-Country Champion. Regarded as one of Britain's most accomplished athletes, Frank was a dominant force throughout the 1950s, winning the International Cross-Country Championship in 1955 and 1957, and representing Great Britain in two consecutive...

 who won twice, as well as Jack Holden

Jack Holden (athlete)

John Thomas Holden was a long-distance runner from England, who won four consecutive national titles in the men's marathon . He represented Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he did not finish...

 and Alain Mimoun

Alain Mimoun

Alain Mimoun is a retired French runner and Olympic marathon champion.-Early life:Born in El Telagh, then in French Algeria, Mimoun lost several years of competition to World War II...

 who both won the race a record four times, and then Franjo Mihalić

Franjo Mihalic

Franjo Mihalić is a long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics...

, Gaston Roelants

Gaston Roelants

Gaston, Baron Roelants was a top steeplechaser in the early 1960s and a great cross-country runner. At the steeplechase he won the 1962 European and 1964 Olympic titles as well as setting two world records, 8 minutes 29.6 seconds in 1963 and 8 minutes 26.4 seconds in 1965.Roelants was born in...

 and David Bedford

David Bedford (athlete)

David Colin Bedford is an English former long distance runner, a colourful character whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is now race director of the London Marathon, and a representative for UK Athletics on the IAAF Road Running Committee.Bedford held the world record at 10,000m, improving it...

 in its later years. American runner Doris Brown was dominant in the short history of the women's race, winning all but two of the official women's races.

Editions

Year	Venue	Men's winner	Men's team	Women's winner	Women's team
1903	Hamilton Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...	Alfred Shrubb Alfred Shrubb Alfred "Alfie" Shrubb was an English middle distance runner. During an amateur career lasting from 1899 to 1905 and a professional career from 1905 to 1912 he won over 1,000 races of about 1,800 started...  (ENG England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... )
1904	St Helens St Helens, Merseyside St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...	Alfred Shrubb -2-
1905	Dublin	Albert Aldridge (ENG)
1906	Caerleon Caerleon Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...	Charlie Straw (ENG)
1907	Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...	Adam Underwood (ENG)
1908	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... -Colombes Colombes Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 13 March 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of Bois-Colombes ....	Arthur Robertson (ENG)
1909	Derby	Edward Wood (ENG)
1910	Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...	Edward Wood -2-
1911	Caerleon	Jean Bouin Jean Bouin Jean Bouin was a French athlete and rugby union footballer. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....  (FRA France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... )
1912	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...	Jean Bouin -2-
1913	Paris-Juvisy	Jean Bouin -3-
1914	Amersham Amersham Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....	Alfred Nichols Alfred Nichols Alfred Hubert Nichols was a British athlete who competed mainly in the Cross Country Team....  (ENG)
Not held due to World War I World War I World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
1920	Belfast	Jimmy Wilson (SCO 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... )
1921	Caerleon	Wally Freeman (ENG)
1922	Glasgow	Joseph Guillemot Joseph Guillemot Joseph Guillemot was a French athlete, winner of 5000 m at the 1920 Summer Olympics.Born in Le Dorat, France, Joseph Guillemot's lungs were severely damaged by mustard gas, when he fought in World War I. Also his heart was located on the right hand side of his chest...  (FRA)
1923	Paris-Maisons-Lafitte	Charles Blewitt Charles Blewitt Charles Edward Blewitt was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 3000 metres.He competed for Great Britain in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the 3000 metre team where he won the Silver medal with his team mates Albert Hill and William Seagrove.-References:...  (ENG)
1924	Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...	Bill Cotterell (ENG)
1925	Dublin	Eddie Webster (ENG)
1926	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...	Ernest Harper Ernest Harper Ernest "Ernie" Harper was an English athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1924 Summer Olympics, in the 1928 Summer Olympics, and in the 1936 Summer Olympics....  (ENG)
1927	Caerleon	Lewis Payne (ENG)
1928	Ayr Ayr Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...	Harry Eckersley (ENG)
1929	Paris-Vincennes Vincennes Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...	Bill Cotterell -2-
1930	Leamington Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...	Tom Evenson (ENG)
1931	Dublin	Tim Smythe (IRL Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... )
1932	Brussels	Tom Evenson -2-
1933	Caerleon	Jack Holden Jack Holden (athlete) John Thomas Holden was a long-distance runner from England, who won four consecutive national titles in the men's marathon . He represented Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he did not finish...  (ENG)
1934	Ayr	Jack Holden -2-
1935	Paris-Auteuil Auteuil Auteuil may refer to:* Auteuil-Neuilly-Passy, an area of Paris* Auteuil, Quebec, a borough of Laval, Quebec, CanadaAuteuil is the name of several communes in France:* Auteuil, Oise* Auteuil, YvelinesAuteuil is also a surname:...	Jack Holden -3-
1936	Blackpool Blackpool Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...	Bill Eaton (ENG)
1937	Brussels	Jim Flockhart (SCO)
1938	Belfast	Jack Emery (ENG)
1939	Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Jack Holden -4-
Not held due to World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
1946	Ayr	Raphaël Pujazon (FRA)
1947	Paris-Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...	Raphaël Pujazon -2-
1948	Reading Reading, Berkshire Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....	John Doms (BEL Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... )
1949	Dublin	Alain Mimoun Alain Mimoun Alain Mimoun is a retired French runner and Olympic marathon champion.-Early life:Born in El Telagh, then in French Algeria, Mimoun lost several years of competition to World War II...  (FRA)
1950	Brussels	Lucien Theys (BEL)
1951	Caerleon	Geoff Saunders (ENG)
1952	Hamilton	Alain Mimoun -2-
1953	Paris-Vincennes	Franjo Mihalic Franjo Mihalic Franjo Mihalić is a long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics...  (YUG Yugoslavia Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century.... )
1954	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	Alain Mimoun -3-
1955	San Sebastián	Frank Sando Frank Sando Frank Dennis Sando is a retired British World Cross-Country Champion. Regarded as one of Britain's most accomplished athletes, Frank was a dominant force throughout the 1950s, winning the International Cross-Country Championship in 1955 and 1957, and representing Great Britain in two consecutive...  (ENG)
1956	Belfast	Alain Mimoun -4-
1957	Waregem Waregem Waregem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality lies in the valley of the Leie River, between Kortrijk and Ghent. It is part of the arrondissement of Kortrijk and comprises the towns of Beveren, Desselgem, Sint-Eloois-Vijve and Waregem proper. On...	Frank Sando -2-
1958	Cardiff	Stan Eldon (ENG)
1959	Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...	Fred Norris (ENG)
1960	Hamilton	Rhadi Ben Abdesselam Rhadi Ben Abdesselam Rhadi Ben Abdesselam was a Moroccan long distance runner. He was born in Errachidia.He competed for Morocco in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the Marathon where he won the silver medal behind Abebe Bikila.-References:...  (MAR Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... )
1961	Nantes Nantes Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....	Basil Heatley Basil Heatley Benjamin Basil Heatley was a British athlete, who mainly competed in the marathon. He was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire....  (ENG)
1962	Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...	Gaston Roelants Gaston Roelants Gaston, Baron Roelants was a top steeplechaser in the early 1960s and a great cross-country runner. At the steeplechase he won the 1962 European and 1964 Olympic titles as well as setting two world records, 8 minutes 29.6 seconds in 1963 and 8 minutes 26.4 seconds in 1965.Roelants was born in...  (BEL)
1963	San Sebastián	Roy Fowler Roy Fowler Roy Fowler was an Australian Paralympic competitor. He won a gold medal in men's Class 1 Complete 25 M Breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Paralympics with a time of 0.45.6. He also won a gold medal in the Class 1 Complete 25 M Freestyle event with a time of 0.38.3...  (ENG)
1964	Dublin	Francisco Aritmendi (ESP Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... )
1965	Ostende	Jean Fayolle (FRA)
1966	Rabat Rabat Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...	Benassou El Ghazi (MAR)
1967	Barry Barry, Wales Barry is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than south-southwest of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park...	Gaston Roelants -2-		Doris Brown (USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... )
1968	Tunis Tunis Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....	Mohamed Gammoudi (TUN Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area... )
1968	Blackburn			Doris Brown -2-
1969	Clydebank Clydebank Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...	Gaston Roelants -3-		Doris Brown -3-
1970	Frederick Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...			Doris Brown -4-
1970	Vichy Vichy Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...	Mike Tagg (ENG)		Paola Pigni Paola Cacchi Paola Pigni-Cacchi is a former athlete from Italy, who mainly competed in the 1.500 metres. She competed for her native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany, where she won the bronze medal in the women's 1.500 metres.-References:...  (ITA Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... )
1971	San Sebastián	David Bedford David Bedford (athlete) David Colin Bedford is an English former long distance runner, a colourful character whose career spanned the early 1970s. He is now race director of the London Marathon, and a representative for UK Athletics on the IAAF Road Running Committee.Bedford held the world record at 10,000m, improving it...  (ENG)		Doris Brown -5-
1972	Cambridge Cambridge The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...	Gaston Roelants -4-		Joyce Smith Joyce Smith Joyce Esther Smith is a British former long distance runner.Smith was born in Stoke Newington, London, and began running competitively in the 1950s, at which time the longest distance for women in international competitions was 800 metres. She won the English National Crosscountry Championship in...  (ENG)

External links

• Athchamps results database (archived)
• Historical results from Association of Road Racing Statisticians
  Association of Road Racing Statisticians
  The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road records for standard race distances and to establish...