Brace for cross country running bonanza
Faith Chepng'etich crosses the finish line to win the senior women's 10km race during Sirikwa Classic World Cross Country Tour-Gold Series at Lobo Village in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on February 04, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia will be undoubtedly, and hopefully, the icing on the cake for the cross country season.
- All the best wishes to the athletes who will be competing in this event and may the best ones win.
- As for fans, mark your calendars and make note of these changes. It is about to be a busy cross country season.
This week, Athletics Kenya (AK) announced changes to the 2023/24 calendar that majorly affects cross country.
The impact of these changes is that athletes and fans should be ready for an extravaganza of cross country entertainment across the country and the globe.
First up will be the third edition of the Sirikwa World Cross Country Tour Gold set for Lobo Village in Eldoret on February 3. The past two editions have been nothing short of scintillating with various elite athletes in action and this year will no doubt be no different.
Indeed, the organisers are burning the midnight oil in assembling a star-studded start list that will be worth every fan's sacrifice of their time to be at the venue on the material day.
An added incentive for this competition to be a must-watch is the fact that it will double up as trials for the Africa Cross Country Championships.
The chance to don the national singlet and fly the national flag on the continental stage is a golden chance no athlete would want to pass up and thus, one can only await these trials with glee.
Just over a fortnight later, hundreds of Kenyan athletes will congregate once again to battle for the titles of king and queen of Kenya's cross country.
Considering our status as a cross country powerhouse, the national championships on February 23 will be akin to world championships where the eyes of the whole globe will be trained on us.
No sooner will the dust have settled on the national championships than Team Kenya will be in action at the continental stage.
The expectation of many is that we will clinch the individual and team titles, but this is not cast in stone.
The threat of the Ethiopians and Ugandans is ever present and so, adequate preparations for this "battle" will be of utmost importance.
The World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia will be undoubtedly, and hopefully, the icing on the cake for the cross country season.
All the best wishes to the athletes who will be competing in this event and may the best ones win.
As for fans, mark your calendars and make note of these changes. It is about to be a busy cross country season.
Korir is the Chairman of Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi branch. [email protected]
