Cross de Atapuerca | |
---|---|
Date | late October |
Location | Atapuerca, Spain |
Event type | Cross country running |
Distance | 9 km (men's) 8 km (women's) |
Established | 2004 |
Official site | Cross de Atapuerca |
Participants | 246 (2019) 271 (2018) |
The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cross country season. In its initial years, it was usually the first permit meeting in the European Athletic Association's cross country season, [1] and it now begins the IAAF Permit Meeting series, having replaced the Cross de Soria event in 2010. [2]
The Cross de Atapuerca has attracted high calibre athletes, including World Cross Country Champions Gebregziabher Gebremariam and Leonard Komon, and Linet Masai. [3] [4] Around 2500 athletes took part in the 2009 race, which was broadcast on Teledeporte, the sports channel of Spain's state broadcaster TVE. [1] [5] It is part of the Spanish cross country running circuit and was ranked as the country's second best meet in 2008. [1] [5]
The distances for the professional senior competitions are 9 km for men and 8 km for women. In addition to the elite races, a separate mass race is held for amateur runners. The Cross de Atapuerca also features a number of different categories and distances based on age: four levels for children, youth (under 16s) and junior (under 18s) competitions, and finally a masters race for runners over 35. [6]
The course of the race traces a path through the fields around the town of Atapuerca and passes through the Archaeological Site of Atapuerca before looping back to complete a circuit. [7]
Gebregziabher Gebremariam is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning the junior title in 2002 and two silver medals in the senior races in 2004. He represented Ethiopia over 5000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics, taking fourth place, and over 10000 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was the 2009 World Champion in cross country.
Joseph Ebuya is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion.
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The Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Llodio in the Basque Country, Spain, around late November. The event was first held in February 1985 and changed to an end-of-year competition soon after, holding its second edition in December 1985.
Cross Internacional de la Constitución is an annual cross country running event which is held in early December in Alcobendas, Spain. The competition was first held in 1982 and began attracting top-level elite distance runners from the 1990s onwards. Hosted by the Club de Atletismo Popular de Alcobendas, the Cross de la Constitución takes place in Parque de Andalucia near the industrial centre in the city. Almost 600 runners took part in the races in 2010.
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