Everything you need to know about the European Cross Country Trials at Sefton Park on Saturday 23rd November
The Liverpool Cross Challenge, one of the most anticipated events in the British cross country calendar, takes place this Saturday (November 23rd) at Sefton Park.
The event doubles as trials for the upcoming European cross-country championships, with athletes aiming to secure a place for the British team heading to Antalya next month.
The most interesting race of the day will probably be the senior women’s event, with last year’s winner Megan Keith, who was competing as an under-23, missing from the entries, the race is wide open.
Abby Donnelly, who was the first senior women to cross the line at Sefton Park in 2023, will be looking for a win to secure her place in Turkey, having already won bronze in the European Cross last year. medal.
Abby Donnelly (Getty)
However, she faces stiff competition from a talented field including Kate Axford, a top British finisher and third at the Cardiff Cross Challenge earlier this month, and Jessica Warner-Judd, who is eighth in the 10,000m at the World Championships and has a strong record. previous years event record.
There are also some other notable athletes in the field, such as Kari Hughes, who was the second British woman in Cardiff, Amelia Quirk, Jess Gibbon, former Euro Cross winner Gemma Steele and 2022 World University Cross Country Champion Izzy Fry.
Tokyo 2021 800m finalist Alex Bell will also join the race after deciding to retire from the track to focus on cross country and road running.
Kate Axford (David Hewitson)
The senior men’s 8km race promises to be fiercely contested, with last year’s winner Hugo Milner looking to defend his title. The triathlete finished fourth at last year’s Eurocross and will be aiming for a podium finish this time around after securing the national cross country title in September.
Zak Mahamed, the first Briton in Cardiff and seventh overall, will also be a strong contender looking to improve on his 27th place finish at last year’s Euro Cross. Mahamed also won European Under-23 silver in 2022.
Other athletes to watch include cross-country champion Callum Johnson, who was named to the World Cross team earlier this year, Scottish cross-country champion Jamie Crowe and the Wheeler twins, Charlie and George.
British 5000m and 3000m champion James West will also compete alongside top contenders such as Rory Leonard, Ben Connor and Scott Beattie.
Zach Mohamed (Mark Shearman)
The Under-23 challenge looks set to be led by last year’s European Under-23 champion Will Barnicoat.
On the women’s under-23 side, the race looks much more open with several athletes vying for top spot, with Anna Hedley, Bea Wood and Charlotte Alexander all looking to win.
Unusually, the under-23s will line up and race alongside older competitors, but the younger runners will take a shorter course and therefore cross the finish line at an earlier stage than the seniors.
In the under-20 women’s race, Innes Fitzgerald, who won the European Cross title last year aged just 18, will be one to beat after her dominant win at Cardiff Cross earlier this month.
Jess Bailey, who finished just two seconds behind Fitzgerald at World Cross this year, will also be a top contender, especially after setting a British 5km record of 15:25 this month, seven seconds off Fitzgerald’s previous mark :
Innes Fitzgerald (Paul Stillman)
The junior women’s race will also feature Cardiff U17 winner Isla McGowan, U20 runner-up Lizzie Welstead and British U20 half marathon record holder Natasha Phillips.
Eliza Nicholson, who represented Britain at World Cross, will return from injury, while Alice Bates and Zoe Gilbody will also be in the mix.
Cardiff runner-up Libby Hale will also go alongside Ellarose Whitworth, who finished just behind her in Cardiff, as well as Olivia Forrest and Sheikira King.
In the men’s under-20 race, Cardiff winner William Rabjones will be looking to continue his winning streak, but he will face Henry Dover, who was sixth at last year’s Euro Cross, and Rowan Miele-Ingram, with Evan Grime and Mark Ruby also strong contenders won in Cardiff.
Cardiff winner Matthew Clarke will be in contention for the under-17 title, with second-placed Jack Marwood and third-placed Luke Dunham also in contention.
The day’s action begins at 10.30am with short relay trials to help decide the British line-up for the Antalya medley relay.
Calum Elson, who has recently returned from injury, and Josh Leigh are expected to lead the men’s field, while Abbey Ives, Elise Turner and Kirsty Walker should be on the lookout for the women’s race , is also inferior in the list of participants.
Schedule:
10:30 European Men’s Short Relay Trial – 1.5 km
10:35 European Women’s Short Race Relay – 1.5 km
10:45 U11 boys – 2km
10:55 U11 girls – 2km
11:05 U13 girls – 3km
11:20 U13 boys – 3km
11:35 U15 boys – 3km
11:50 U15 girls – 3km
12:05 U17 Women and World Athletics Junior Women (U20) European Trial – 4.4 km
12:25 U17 Men and World Athletics Junior Men (U20) European Trial – 4.4 km
12:45 Senior Women (including U23 Women’s European Trial) – 5.6km U23, 8km South
13:50 Senior Men (including U23 Men’s European Trial) – 5.6 km U23, 8 km SM
» Additional event information here
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