Just like the senior men’s race two years ago, which produced more than its fair share of surprises, the event at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Guiyang 2015 is shaping up to be more than a straight-forward contest between Ethiopia and Kenya.

Eritrea’s Teklemariam Medhin confirmed his status of favourite to pull out a convincing victory at the 72th Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza, the sixth of this winter’s IAAF Cross Country Permit meetings, in the Spanish town Elgoibar on Sunday (25).

European athletes will be hoping for a change of fortune at the 41st edition of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the Chinese city of Guiyang on 28 March, and in Turkey’s Polat Arikan, they might finally have just the man to do it.

Edinburgh has been one of the finest stages in the world for cross country running and this should be no different when the Great Edinburgh XCountry event, an IAAF Cross Country Permit Meeting, takes place on Saturday (10).

Silver became gold for both Polat Kemboi Arikan and Gemma Steel as last year’s runners-up stepped up to the top spot of the podium at the European Cross Country Championships in the Bulgarian skiing resort of Samokov on Sunday (14).

Fionnuala Britton will try to win the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country, an IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting, for the third time in a row on 11 January.

Portugal's Sara Moreira and Polat Kemboi Arikan of Turkey won the European Cup 10,000m titles in Bilbao, Spain, on Sunday (3).