World Cross fifth-place finisher Timothy Toroitich improved on his third-place finish in last year&rsquo;s race to secure his second win on Spanish soil in as many weekends over 9.25km at the Cross Internacional de la Constitucion held in Alcobendas on Sunday (30).Buoyed by a four-second win over a tough field in Soria last weekend, Toroitich pulled clear after six kilometres and crossed the finish-line in 28:36 to win by an emphatic margin of 24 seconds over reigning champion Emmanuel Bett.In doing so, Toroitich become the first Ugandan winner in the 33-year history of the race.Reigning world cross-country champion Japheth Korir has been out of form in recent weeks but the 21-year-old produced by far his best performance of the winter, finishing a competitive third in 29:01.By contrast, Korir finished 67 seconds behind Toroitich, and 56 seconds behind Bett just last weekend in Soria.In the women&rsquo;s race, Doris Changeywo overhauled early leader Tirhas Gebre to win the 7.9km race by 20 seconds in 26:49.The Ethiopian-born Gebre, who is based in San Sebastian in northern Spain, recently gained a Spanish passport and is eligible for the European Cross Country Championships which take place in Samokov, Bulgaria on 14 December.<h3>Home wins by Hannes and Belete in Roeselare</h3>Competing a long way above his specialist distance of 1500m, Pieter-Jan Hannes excelled over the 9.4km course in cold and foggy conditions at the Lotto CrossCup race in Roeselare, Belgium on Sunday.The 22-year-old, who improved his national under-23 1500m record to 3:34.49 this summer, came through late to defeat team-mate Isaac Kimeli by five seconds in 29:02.On today&rsquo;s form, Belgium will be in the hunt for both individual and team titles in the under-23 race in Samokov as reigning champion Hannes and Kimeli are both still eligible for this category in two weeks&rsquo; time. By contrast, Almensh Belete did a lot of the front-running in the women&rsquo;s 6.25km race to defeat middle-distance specialist Maureen Koster from the Netherlands.Despite complaining about a sore knee after the race, Belete defeated Koster by one second in 21:14 with veteran Veerle Dejaeghere a distant third in 21:54.At the Cross de L&rsquo;Acier in Leffrinckoucke on Sunday, 19-year-old Senbere Teferi was a clear-cut winner of the women&rsquo;s 6.65km race in 23:33 ahead of her 18-year-old compatriot Weynshet Ansa &ndash; the winner of two races on French soil on back-to-back days last weekend &ndash; in 23:51.European cross-country champion Sophie Duarte finished fourth in 24:01, three seconds ahead of Ireland&rsquo;s Fionnuala Britton in fifth.Birhan Nebebew completed an Ethiopian double in Leffrinckoucke in the men&rsquo;s 9.95km race. He won in 28:58 just ahead of Great South Run winner James Rungaru from Kenya and 17-year-old Amare Hailemaryman who were both timed at 29:00.On the comeback from injury, Boniface Kiprop from Uganda was eleventh in 29:39.<h3>Samokov-bound Steel wins in Liverpool</h3>Gemma Steel beat a typically strong domestic field in the women&rsquo;s senior race at the British Athletics Cross Challenge race in Liverpool on Saturday (29) to seal her place on the British team for Samokov next monthSteel, who has lowered her 10km and half-marathon PBs to 31:27 and 1:08:13 respectively this year, pulled away from Emelia Gorecka over the second half to win by 11 seconds in 26:58.&ldquo;I have silver and bronze so it would be nice to get the gold,&rdquo; said Steel on her goals in Samokov.In the under-20 race, European and Commonwealth 800m finalist Jessica Judd also prevailed by the same winning margin in one of her last races of her junior career.Callum Hawkins led a Scottish one-two in the men&rsquo;s senior race, beating Andrew Butchart by two seconds in 29:26.At the Polish Cross-Country Championships in Krakow on Saturday, marathon runner Iwona Lewandowska easily won the 8km race in 26:13 ahead of Katarzyna Kowalska in 26:35 while Krzystof Gosiewski won the 10km race in 29:29.Cross-country races for juniors were held in conjunction with the Mau Peace Half Marathon in Olenguruone on Saturday.David Kiplangat, who finished seventh in the junior race at the Kenyan Cross Country Championships in February, upset runner-up and sub-28-minute 10,000m runner Emmanuel Kiprono, while Sandra Chebet won the women&rsquo;s race.Steven Mills for the IAAF

World Cross fifth-place finisher Timothy Toroitich improved on his third-place finish in last year’s race to secure his second win on Spanish soil in as many weekends over 9.25km at the Cross Internacional de la Constitucion held in Alcobendas on Sunday (30).

Toroitich maintains momentum in Alcobendas – cross-country round-up

The last IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting of 2013 will again be the traditional finale to the year in this discipline, the Iris Lotto Crosscup in Brussels, and the focus of attention on Sunday (22) will be Belgium&rsquo;s newly crowned European under-23 cross-country champion Pieter-Jan Hannes.
Hannes was an impressive winner in Belgrade two weeks ago, running away from his opponents on the last 1.5km lap in the 8km race and was far enough in front coming into the home straight that he was able to wave to the crowd and salute them with some extravagant antics.
However, he is unlikely to be able to afford such luxuries in front of his family and friends on his home soil as he will be up against three of his compatriots who finished in the top 10 of the senior men&rsquo;s race and helped Belgium to an unexpected team silver medal: Jeroen D&lsquo;Hoedt, Bashir Abdi and Koen Naert, as well as Belgium's 2011 European cross-country champion Atelaw Bekele.
"Belgrade was fantastic, but I&rsquo;m now concentrating on the future," said Hannes. "I&rsquo;m looking forward to the race in Brussels. The competition there will be similar to that in Belgrade, so I will have to give the best of myself."
After the New Year, Hannes will wind back and participate only in short cross-country races. "I want to prepare for the summer," he added. "The European Championships in Zurich is a major goal and I want to go for a medal in the 1500m there."
Also in the Brussels men's race is Great Britain&rsquo;s Andy Vernon, who just edged out D&lsquo;Hoedt in a frantic sprint for the bronze medal in Belgrade.
From further afield comes Bahrain&rsquo;s Kenyan-born Albert Rop, who set an Asian 5000m record of 12:51.96 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco this summer, the second fastest time in the world this year over this distance. &nbsp;
Kenya&rsquo;s Patrick Ereng, a prolific racer this winter and a winner of several races in Switzerland, and his compatriot Alex Kibet will also be on the startline in Brussels.
Hassan looking to make another cross-border raid
The senior women&rsquo;s race in Brussels will see Ireland&rsquo;s 2011 and 2012 European cross-country champion Fionnuala Britton return to action after being kept out of the medals in Belgrade, where she went bidding for an unprecedented hat-trick of women&rsquo;s titles but finished fourth.
She will line up against local star, Belgium&rsquo;s Almensh Belete, who finished two places behind Britton in the Serbian capital.
However, the mantle of being the slight favourite, despite the experience and expertise of Britton and Belete on demanding courses, should possibly go to the Netherlands&rsquo; prodigiously talented 20-year-old European under-23 cross-country champion Sifan Hassan.
Hassan was not only a convincing winner in her category in Belgrade but also beat Portugal&rsquo;s Dulce Felix, the European 10,000m champion and Belgrade bronze medallist by 20 seconds in another Belgian race last month.
Kenya will be represented in the women&rsquo;s race by Cynthia Kosgei, Gladys Kiprotich and Caroline Nyakagwa.
In total, more than 6000 runners in all categories are expected to compete in various races around the Park van Laken, which was the venue for the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and 2008 European Cross Country Championships.
A special tribute will be made at the meeting to the legendary Gaston Roelants, who will next year will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his 1964 Olympic 3000m steeplechase title. Roelants can rightly be said to be one of Europe&rsquo;s greatest ever cross-country runners after winning the forerunner to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, the International Cross Country Championships, four times in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF

The last IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting of 2013 will again be the Iris Lotto Crosscup in Brussels, and the focus of attention on Sunday (22) will be Belgium’s newly crowned SPAR European Cross Country Championships under 23 men’s winner Pieter-Jan Hannes.

Hannes the big home hope in Brussels

The last IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting of 2013 will again be the traditional finale to the year in this discipline, the Iris Lotto Crosscup in Brussels, and the focus of attention on Sunday (22) will be Belgium’s newly crowned European under-23 cross-country champion Pieter-Jan Hannes.

France’s Sophie Duarte had finished sixth at the past two editions of the European Cross Country Championships but on Sunday (8) in Belgrade the 32-year-old struck gold in the senior women’s race.Meanwhile, Alemayehu Bezabeh regained the senior men’s title he won four years ago, leading Spain to team honours too. For the 11th year in succession, Britain topped the medals table after winning four of the six team titles as well as the junior women’s gold.Having made history 12 months ago by becoming the first back-to-back senior women’s winner, Ireland’s Fionnuala Britton was looking to secure an unprecedented third consecutive title. But from the outset it was clear that it was going to be tough as Norway’s Caroline Bjerkeli Grovdal audaciously shot into the lead.The former three-time European junior gold medallist led by three seconds after just the first lap of the 8km race. Grovdal was reeled in 1.5km later and a seven-woman lead pack had emerged. It comprised Grovdal, Britton, Ana Dulce Felix, British pair Gemma Steel and Julia Bleasdale, Belgium’s Almensch Belete and Sophie Duarte of France.The pack continued to extend their lead and by the end of the third lap it was Duarte who led from Steel with the other five still close behind. One kilometre later, Duarte put in an injection of pace; a move that proved decisive.As the bell sounded, Duarte’s lead had grown to five seconds as Felix and Steel were locked in their own battle to decide the other medals. Britton, meanwhile, has holding on as best she could in fourth place, still hopeful of a podium finish.Duarte’s lead was never challenged and she won in 26:34. Having been overtaken by Felix, Steel came back to take silver ahead of the European 10,000m champion as Britton had to settle for fourth place."It’s my first medal at cross country and it’s important because you have all runners from marathon to 5000m and 10,000m all in the same race," said Duarte. "I finished second European at the World Cross earlier this year, so I’m happy to have got the gold."My coach wanted me to push on the last lap, but I could sense that the other women were tired so I pushed two laps from home and destroyed the field."I have now entered the second part of my career," added Duarte, who holds the French Steeplechase record at 9:25.62. "I used be to a Steeplechase specialist but now I’m focusing on the 5000m and 10,000m. Cross country is very important to be strong on the track and in the Marathon."With their four scorers in the top 15, Britain were comfortable winners of the team title. Duarte added to her tally as France took team silver.In the senior men’s race, Turkey’s Polat Kemboi Arikan, one of the medal favourites, tripped over a log before the end of the first lap and crashed to the ground. Fortunately for him, it happened early on in the race and he had plenty of time to recover.Alemayehu Bezabeh, meanwhile, made no such mistakes on the 10km course and began building up his lead early in the race. At 4km, he led by five seconds over a three-man chase pack which comprised Arikan, Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, and Hassan Chahdi of France.Little changed up front as the Spaniard continued to increase his lead, the title looking more and more certain with each lap. With 3km remaining, Arikan was out on his own as Bezabeh’s sole pursuer. Abdi was still in third with Belgian team-mate Jeroen D’Hoedt a few seconds behind.Bezabeh eventually crossed the line the clear winner, stopping the clock in 29:11. Arikan finished 21 seconds behind as Bezabeh recorded the biggest winning margin in this event since 2004. Britain’s Andy Vernon unleashed a ferocious sprint as the bronze medal was decided in a photo finish, Vernon being given the verdict over D’Hoedt.Helped by Bezabeh’s win, Spain took the team title with Belgium earning the silver ahead of Britain.Hannes and Hassan take under-23 titlesSifan Hassan of the Netherlands ran out a clear winner of the under-23 women’s 6km race, but did so with such ease that it looked as though she could have placed well in the senior race too.Ethiopian-born Hassan gained a Dutch passport just a few weeks ago, having lived in the Netherlands since her early teens. Now 20, Hassan impressed on the track this year, setting PBs of 2:00.86 for 800m, 4:03.73 for 1500m and 8:32.53 for 3000m.It wasn’t until half way into the under-23 women’s race that a lead pack began to emerge. Former junior winner Charlotte Purdue was doing most of the pace-making work, closely followed by Hassan and last year’s junior winner, Amela Terzic, the host nation’s best hope of a medal.But by the end of the third lap, Hassan had moved into the lead and began to open up daylight on her pursuers. Hassan’s lead grew to six seconds by the time she crossed the finish line in 19:40, with Terzic taking silver ahead of Purdue.With five of their six athletes in the top 10, Britain took the team honours.For the third year in succession, a 1500m specialist won the under-23 men’s 8km race. Belgium’s Pieter-Jan Hannes followed in the footsteps of fellow middle-distance talents Florian Carvalho and Henrik Ingebrigtsen.Hannes, the European under-23 1500m champion, bided his time and waited until the closing stages to sprint to victory. Britain’s Dewi Griffiths and Luke Caldwell took turns at leading, but through the changes of leaders, Hannes was always tucked in closely near the front.Bulgaria’s Mitko Tsenov moved through the field and joined the leaders with just a few kilometres left. But ultimately no one could match Hannes’ finishing speed and he won in 24:02, celebrating some 100 metres from the finish.Tesnov took silver, while Serbia’s Nemanja Cerovac delighted the home crowd with a surprise bronze. As the only team to place four runners in the top 20, Britain took team gold.Junior track champions Kaya and Gorecka triumph on the mudEarlier this year Turkey’s Ali Kaya and Britain’s Emelia Gorecka took gold medals on the track at the European Junior Championships in Reiti; Kaya winning the 5000m-10,000m double and Gorecka winning the 3000m. Today in Belgrade the pair scooped continental age-group titles on the cross-country.First up was Gorecka, who won this title in 2011 and was beaten to gold 12 months ago by Terzic. With Terzic now in the older age group, the Briton was the favourite for the junior title and she duly delivered.The 19-year-old led from the outset and made an early break in the 4km race. At the end of the 2.5km lap, Gorecka already had a five-second lead over Slovenia’s Marusa Mismas, the European junior Steeplechase silver medallist.Gorecka continued to forge ahead and crossed the line in 13:06, ten seconds ahead of her nearest challenger. Another European junior silver medallist, Poland’s 1500m specialist Sofia Ennaoui, overtook Mismas in the second half of the race to take silver with Mismas holding on for third.For the 10th time in the past 12 editions of the championships, Britain won the junior women’s team title with five of their six athletes finishing in the top 13.The junior men’s race was the closest of the day. Kaya and Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli opened up a gap on the large chase pack before the half-way mark.The only other athlete capable of sticking with them initially was Russia’s Mikhail Strelkov, but by the end of the third of four 1.5km laps he was running in no-man’s land; six seconds adrift of the leaders and eight seconds ahead of the main chase pack.Kaya and Kimeli continued to extend their lead in the closing stages. Kimeli overtook Kaya close to the finish and it looked as though he may snatch the victory, but Kaya responded and came through to win in 17:49, two seconds ahead of Kimeli.Strelkov held on for third place, scoring valuable points for Russia as his team took silver behind France.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

France’s Sophie Duarte had finished sixth at the past two editions of the European Cross Country Championships but on Sunday (8) in Belgrade the 32-year-old struck gold in the senior women’s race.

Toroitich maintains momentum in Alcobendas – cross-country round-up

Hannes the big home hope in Brussels

Third time lucky for Duarte at European Cross as Bezabeh regains title