Bellahouston Park will host next year’s event almost half a century after it staged the World Cross Country Champs.
Rumors have been swirling throughout the winter that Britain will soon host the European Cross Country Championships, and European Athletics confirmed on Friday (April 24) that the 2027 event will take place at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
It means British endurance fans will have the chance to see athletes of the caliber of Nadia Battocletti, Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Jimmy Gressier up close, while British contenders could include Innes Fitzgerald and Megan Keith.
Cross-country fans with long memories will remember the 1978 World Cross at Belhouston Park, especially the senior victories of John Treacy and Grete Waits. The weather was also memorable, albeit not in a good way, with heavy rain, wind and a challenging muddy course.
Tracey became the youngest world title winner at the time, as the Irish athlete was just 20 years old and studying accounting at Providence College in Rhode Island. Such was his dominance, he blew the crowd away in the closing stages and then came back to win the title again 12 months later in Limerick.
Tony Simmons was the first Englishman to take fourth at home. Nat Muir was the first Scottish athlete in seventh and Steve Jones the first Welshman in 11th;
Waitz won the women’s race by a whopping 30 seconds, even though it was over 5km. The first British athlete was Joyce Smith representing Great Britain in 9th place.
In the junior men’s race, ex-footballer Mick Morton, who had only been running seriously for three years, won by 13 seconds and was featured on the cover. AW: with a certain Said Awita (pictured below) by his side. Aouita finished 34th, but would go on to set world records in the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, as well as winning the Olympic and world titles in the 5000m.
The European Cross Country Championship has only been held in Britain three times before, in 1994 and 1995 in Alnwick and in 2003 in Edinburgh. The last event was so accessible, AW: the team, who were based in Peterborough at the time, simply made the day trip from Stansted Airport to cover the match.
British athletes also usually enjoy great success. In 2003, for example, Paula Radcliffe won the senior women’s race to lead Great Britain to team gold, while the women’s under-20 team also won team gold at the championships.
Edinburgh went on to host the 2008 World Cup, and apart from Glasgow in 1978, the only British hosts of this world event are Chepstow in 1976, Gateshead in 1983, Durham in 1995 and Belfast in 1999.
This means that by Glasgow 2027 it will be 19 years since Great Britain has hosted a major international cross-country championship.
