Cream of XC descends on Edinburgh
Mo Farah
This Saturday should be a real showcase for British athletics as the BUPA Great Edinburgh XC takes place at Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. The 3-way men’s 8km team race will be billed as the premier event…
Recent announcements on this new format (which essentially has been devised to eliminate the East African domination of recent years) for the UK’s blue-ribbon XC event have generated much interest, as the promoters try to ensure a continued interest from the media (namely TV) and the public alike.
Big-name attractions such as Mo Farah and newly-crowned Euro XC champ Sergey Lebid should also ensure some high-quality racing.
The wider international racing contingent will have to be satisfied with a shorter 4km race around Arthur’s Seat, namely the Men’s International race – with the women having to be content with one senior race, that of the 6km Women’s International.
It will be very interesting to see how the new formats affect the racing, from a competition AND viewership perspective. Whatever the outcome, it is great to see XC on terrestrial telly too, with the BBC devoting a whole 90 mins to proceedings, starting at 1pm on BBC1. Full listings are here.
Full Great Run preview here with more over at the IAAF site too…
