Monte Carlo – Nov 02: One week, The series of 12 individual meetings which make up the calendar of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Event Series 2012/13 will kick off in Atapuerca, Spain, on Sunday 11 November 2012.
Over the course of the next three-and-a-half months, many of the world’s finest middle and long distance runners will be taking part in the series that traverses three continents before its conclusion at the 35th edition of the Almond Blossom race in Albufeira, Portugal, on Sunday 24 February. The series will ultimately culminate in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, which will celebrate its 40th edition on 24 March 2013 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
With those World Cross Country Championships returning this year in its new two-year cycle, this 12-meeting series – with stops in Europe, Africa and Asia – takes on an even more important role in not only representing the very pinnacle of long distance running competition over variable terrain, but also as key preparation for next summer’s IAAF World Championships on the track in Moscow.
Cross country running exemplifies the true accessibility of our sport, as even the poorest nations can participate at the top international level, with minimal finance and facilities. It is the purest of activities, requiring nothing but guts and determination to succeed, characteristics which are at the heart of athletics’ enduring international appeal. It also brings together runners whose expertise lies in every distance from 1500m to the Marathon on neutral – if sometimes muddy and snowy! – turf.
The series includes some of the most venerable foot races in the world, including the now-legendary Cinque Mulini which will be held for the 81st time. The first of the two Italian stops in the series, the Cross Country Internazionale Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, will mark its 56th edition on Sunday 6 January. Meanwhile, the series’ Asian stop, the Chiba International in Chiba, Japan, on 10 February, will be contested for the 48th time.
As in previous years, the IAAF website will be providing in-depth coverage of all the action.
CALENDAR – IAAF Cross Country Permits Events 2012/2013
Sunday 11 November – Cross de Atapuerca, Burgos, ESP
Sunday 18 November – Campo a Través Internacional de Soria, Soria, ESP
Sunday 23 December – Lotto Crosscup, Brussels, BEL
2013
Saturday 05 January – BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country, Edinburgh, GBR
Sunday 06 January – Campaccio-International Cross Country, San Giorgio su Legnano, ITA
Saturday 12 January – Antrim International Cross Country, Antrim, GBR
Sunday 20 January – Cross Internacional de Italica, Sevilla, ESP
Sunday 27 January – ING Eurocross Diekirch, Diekirch, LUX
Sunday 03 February – Cinque Mulini, San Vittore Olona, ITA
Sunday 10 February – Chiba International Cross Country Meet, Chiba, JPN
Saturday 16 February – KCB Nairobi Cross, Nairobi, KEN
Sunday 24 February – Almond Blossom Cross Country, Albufeira, POR. —- IAAF
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