TIM HUTCHINGS tackles the topic of cross country in his latest column (p20). As a World Cross medallist, he knows a thing or two about this part of the sport and is upset that it has been outmanoeuvred by trendier trail races, big-city marathons, free 5kms and Tough Guytype challenges.
Three years ago the IAAF staged a cross-country crisis meeting (or ‘seminar’, as they called it) on Euro Cross weekend in Belgrade. Bizarrely, delegates from the Caribbean were invited while British stalwarts who have organised events for years (at home and abroad) didn’t even know it was taking place. The result was a large document packed with photos but light on ideas and not much has changed since.