Uganda’s Maxwell Rotich and Portugal’s Mariana Machado raced to victory at the 26th ‘Cross Internacional de Soria’, the second leg of the 2019-20 World Athletics Cross Country Permit series held in the outskirts of Soria, Spain, on a cloudy and cold Sunday (17).

Endurance may be the key component when it comes to success at this discipline, but at the European Cross Country Championships in Tilburg, the Netherlands on Sunday (9), senior champions Filip Ingebrigtsen and Yasemin Can showed it also helps to have little speed.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and Kenya’s Eva Cherono took convincing victories at the 37th Cross Internacional de la Constitución in Alcobendas, Spain, on Sunday (25), the third stop of the 2018-19 IAAF Cross Country Permit series.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Senberi Teferi were victorious at the 15th ‘Cross Internacional de Atapuerca’, the opening race of the 2018-19 IAAF Cross Country Permit series held in windy conditions on Sunday (11) in Burgos, Spain.

The Ethiopian pair of Getane Molla and Senbere Teferi will defend their titles at the ‘Cross de Atapuerca’ in Burgos on Sunday (11), the first of nine 2018-19 IAAF Cross Country Permit meetings which will conclude on 3 February in Albufeira.

It was all hills at the Oceania Cross Country Championships at Maleny Golf Course on Saturday (25) and it was all Hills in the women’s title.

Athletes from the host nation took the individual senior honours while Japan swept the four team titles on offer at the 14th Asian Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China, on Thursday (15).

Enyew Mekonnen and Enatnesh Almirew clinched the senior men’s and women’s senior titles, respetively, at the 35th Jan Meda International Cross Country, which doubles as the Ethiopian national championships, at the Jan Meda race course in Addis Ababa on Sunday (25).

Without competition for places in the now biennial IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Saturday’s KCB/AK National Cross Country Championships at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens has been disrobed of its lustre.

The fifth NBK/AK National Cross Country series meeting in Nyahururu (3) served up new winners in the four categories after some of the expected top contenders failed to show up some no doubt put off by the soggy under foot conditions.

Women’s 8km senior victor and home runner Phanincier Jemutai was the biggest winner when the 4th KCB/AK National Cross Country Series panned out at the high elevation of Mount Elgon on Saturday (26) as Timothy Kiptoo finally tasted victory in the senior men’s long race.

Nicholas Togom continued his stellar introduction to senior running when he emphatically sealed his second senior men 12km victory on the trot at the 2nd KCB/AK National Cross Country Series meeting in Eldoret on Saturday (12).