Ahead of the World Cross Country Champs in Tallahassee, Dave Holmes looks at a part of the sport with a rich and long history.
Of all the forms of running, cross-country remains undoubtedly the most important. Away from roads and synthetic paths, it is a return to nature. Although running itself dates back to ancient times, long-distance racing did not appear until the early 19th century in England.
Their origins lie in the Victorian public school system. In 1819 pupils at a Shrewsbury school, barred from forming a fox-hunting club, formed their own alternative, a running club which simulated the foot chase. Two boys acted as ‘rabbits’ or ‘foxes’, leading and leaving scraps of paper as a trail, while the rest, ‘dogs’, gave chase throughout the village. Andrew Hutchinson, author of the definitive history of crosscountry, describes it as a sport born of “imitation,” with boys imitating their fathers when hunting.
By the mid-19th century, these “hare and dog” races spread to schools and universities, and on December 7, 1867, the first national school championships were held. Tom Brown’s School Days (1857), believed to be late 1830s.
Cross country has also found a home in the London rowing community. During the winter months, members of the Thames Rowing Club took to running on Wimbledon Common to keep fit. These events became official in 1868 and the club’s founder, Walter Rye, later became the first president of the English Cross Country Union in 1883. After the run, members enjoyed beer and a “sing-song,” a tradition that is still carried on by many running clubs today.
The first national championship was held in 1876 at Buckhurst Hill in Epping Forest, north London. This event was so chaotic that, according to reports, everyone got lost in the cold depths of the forest. When one wretched individual finally returned to headquarters, his body was doused with brandy in an attempt to warm him up. “But personally,” he admitted, “I thought internal use would be better, and I took the cup.”
A year later, at Roehampton, a properly marked course took over and this is generally recognized as the true starting point for the championships, as the previous race had been declared void. In 1883 the National Cross Country Union was formed and the following year held its first National at Sutton Coldfield, with hosting duties rotating between the Northern, Mid and Southern Associations.
Cross soon spread beyond Britain. It reached the United States in 1878 and established official structures there through the 1890s through national and collegiate championships. The first international international championship was held in France in 1898, followed by the establishment of the ICCU in 1903.
While many athletes used the cross country season to build strength and endurance for their specialized events, others devoted themselves exclusively to cross country. As Sebastian Coe put it, cross-country became “the foundation of endurance running.”
Cross country was briefly included in the Olympic program in 1912, 1920 and 1924 before being dropped after the infamous Paris race. Running over 10km in sweltering heat, the event turned out to be both a challenge and a spectacle. Of the 38 starters, only 15 finished and eight needed stretchers. Officials and spectators were stunned. Legendary “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi defied the conditions to take victory by just over a minute.
After World War II, the ICCU Championship became increasingly global, with countries such as South Africa (1962), New Zealand (1965) and the USA (1966) joining. The event soon established itself as the world’s premier annual trail race, bringing together the best sprinters, sprinters, marathoners and road runners on one unforgiving course.
The terrain itself became part of the scene, from the sandy tracks of Rabat in 1975 to the rocky, muddy track of Glasgow in 1978.
The IAAF World Championships began on 17 March 1973 in Belgium, replacing the ICCU era and officially marking the sport’s transition into the modern international era. The decisive shift came in 1981 when Ethiopia and Kenya entered teams for the first time. Their impact was immediate and lasting. In 1986, Kenya’s John Ngugi won the country’s first senior men’s title, and in 1994, Helen Chepnjeno claimed her first senior women’s crown.
This was followed by an era of African dominance. Kenyan men topped the podium in 1988 and in 2010 the country achieved one of the most comprehensive clean sweeps in athletics history, winning all four individual events and all four team titles. Other nations also emerged as major powers. Uganda, in particular, signaled a new competitive balance in 2019, finishing one-two in the men’s race and collecting further individual and team medals at the championships.
Some runners have taken cross country to the nth degree, crossing entire countries and continents, a testament to the sport’s enduring appeal and versatility. Today, khachkar is a global phenomenon, with dozens of nations regularly showcasing talent on the world stage. Its name, originally ‘cross-country’, is a nod to its pastoral origins, but modern courses now range from rolling country fields to city parks, racecourses and lesser-known regional towns such as Australia’s Bathurst (2023), where arguably one of the toughest courses took place.
The adaptability of the sport, combining endurance, strategy and connection with the natural environment, ensures that it continues to capture the imagination of runners of all ages and abilities. Far from disappearing, cross-country remains a vibrant and accessible test of fitness, flexibility and spirit.
David A. Holmes (PhD, UNSW) is a historian specializing in the history and politics of athletics. Email (email protected)
