EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS TO COMPETE AT THE BUPA GREAT EDINBURGH CROSS COUNTRY

Recently crowned European champions Atelaw Bekele and Fionnuala Britton will head the European Select men and women's side at the Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry in the New Year.

The Belgian and Irishwoman after their solid victories at the Championships in Velenje will start favourites in the International Team Challenge  against the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad and Team USA in Holyrood Park on 7 January.

For the now naturalised Ethiopian-born  Bekele, his appearance in Scotland's capital will be his first outing as a professional runner having decided to pursue a full time career as from 1 January.

The 24-year-old - no relation to his much more famous and former countryman Kenenisa Bekele - after his dominant performance in Slovenia in mid-December and second position at the IAAF Cross Challenge Permit meeting  a week later in Brussels, will start favourite in the 8km contest.

Bekele is part of an extremely strong Euro men's contingent which also includes Ayad Lamdessem (second), Joe Sweeney (fifth) and Javier Garcia (sixth) at the Championships as well as Sergiy Lebid the former nine time gold medallist who will captain the team.

Their strength in depth suggests they can defend the title they won ahead of the Amercian's and host nation at the inaugural International Match last January in what will again be broadcast live by BBC television.

Britton was a revelation when breaking clear at the halfway point in her competition in Velenje when becoming the first from Ireland to capture the Euorpean gold medal since Catherine McKiernan won at the first Championships in 1994.

Now she will captain the continental side in the 6km race which also includes Spaniard Delores Checa who proved herself to be Europe's fastest 5000 metres performer this year in the women's race which has been added to the programme for the first time.

The Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry will also feature what will be a very fast 3km clash between all of the current Olympic distance running gold medallists Kenenisa Bekele, Asbel Kiprop and Brimin Kipruto.

Bekele at the 2008 Games in Beijing won both the 5000m and 10000m titles while the Kenyan pair of Kiprop and Kipruto triumphed in their 1500m and 3000m steeplechase races.
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Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry/Winter Run Timetable

09:10 Senior Women Inter District including Celtic Nations

09:45 Senior Men Inter District including Celtic Nations

10:20 U15 Girls Inter District

10:30 Bupa Junior Great Winter Run

10:45 U15 Boys Inter District

11:00 Bupa Great Winter Run

11:05 U13 Girls Inter District

11:25 U13 Boys Inter District

12:00 Junior Men International (6km) including U17/U20 Inter-District

12:30 Junior Women International (4km) including U17/U20 Inter-District

13:00 Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Men (8km)

– Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Women (6km)

14:30 Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Men’s International (3km)

BEKELE AND FELLOW REIGNING OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLISTS TO COMPETE IN STAR STUDDED BUPA GREAT EDINBURGH XCOUNTRY

Kenenisa Bekele will head a star studded field including all of the reigning Olympic distance running champions at the Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry in the New Year.

The Ethiopian, recognised as the world's greatest ever cross country performer, will once again return to the Holyrood Park venue on 7 January where he will be joined by Kenyan stars Asbel Kiprop and Brimin Kipruto.

While Bekele became the first athlete ever to complete an Olympic 5000metres  and 10000m double for 28 years at the 2008 Beijing Games, Kiprop and Kipruto won the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase titles in the Bird's Nest stadium.

The trio will feature in the Invitation 3k race at the BBC televised Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry, which will also host an International Team Challenge between the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, the United States and a European Select side for all age groups.

"I think that it is fantastic the meeting will see all of the gold medallists who claimed every men's distance running title in Beijing facing one another and I'm sure a great race will be on the cards," said Brendan Foster, whose company Nova International organise the annual IAAF Permit meeting.

The former Olympic 10000m, added:  "Bekele's ran in the event before, securing fabulous victories on three occasions when the race was over the longer distance of 9k and memorably, he also scored the last of his record six World Cross Country title long course victories in Holyrood Park in 2008.

"Kenenisa also showed, after missing the entire 2010 track season through injury, he is back at his very best when producing the world's  fastest 10000m time this year at the end of the season in Brussels.

"He, Kiprop and Kipruto will fight tooth and nail to defend their Olympic titles. I think that determination will see them eager to kickstart their ambitions with great performances in Edinburgh at the start of the New Year."

 Bekele, relishing his return to Scotland said: "I feel very comfortable starting my important Olympic year by competing in Edinburgh.

“Because of all the wonderful cross country's I ran there and of course the memories of becoming World Champion in Edinburgh after losing my spike during the race, it feels like coming home to race in Edinburgh against the best in the World. 
 

“My training is going well and after my victory in the fastest time of the year in the Brussels 10000m, I feel good and ready for the Olympic year ahead."

 Bekele his sights set firmly on the London Games next summer, added: "I am looking forward to competing with Mo Farah in front of his home crowd which could make the 10,000m one of the greatest races of the games."

 Kiprop and Kipruto return to the Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry after finishing second and third in this year's race when outpaced by fellow countryman and  former World 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge, in the short course race.

"We had no problems in persuading either Kenyan to return and Kipruto, after missing the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run in September through injury, vowed then he wanted to come back to the capital for the cross country," said Foster.

Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry/Winter Run Timetable

09:10 Senior Women Inter District including Celtic Nations

09:45 Senior Men Inter District including Celtic Nations

10:20 U15 Girls Inter District

10:30 Bupa Junior Great Winter Run

10:45 U15 Boys Inter District

11:00 Bupa Great Winter Run

11:05 U13 Girls Inter District

11:25 U13 Boys Inter District

12:00 Junior Men International (6km) including U17/U20 Inter-District

12:30 Junior Women International (4km) including U17/U20 Inter-District

13:00 Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Men (8km)

– Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Women (6km)

14:30 Bupa Great Edinburgh XCountry Men’s International (3km)

The Perils of Daytime TV

After a great weekend of the Durham Christmas Festival – more later – I have caught my first cold in three years!

For those who know me well, the reason why I have been so careful is obvious but I have forgotten how crappy it make you feel.  I have a nose that is sore and running  so much that I am using paper hankies quicker than a school boy in his bedroom with the ‘parental control’ switched off!

Now, where does this bring in the dreaded daytime TV? Well, I have put the telly on having woken early over the past few days.  The first thing I have to say is “ No wonder Daybreak is down to a few hundred viewers!”  the whole programme is such a hotch-potch of hard news and fluffy stuff that you cannot watch for more than 10 minutes before getting confused or just hacked off with the whole ‘hospital TV’ atmosphere it has.

Channel 4 puts on ‘everybody Loves Raymond’ on at around 7.30am.  Before that  they have some UBERCOOL trendy nobodies who have all the professionalism of some first year media studies student – and not a good one either!    

Transfixed by the cheapness of the stuff all channels are putting out, I try and go for a coffee but the ‘council sink estate on tour’ that is the Jeremy Kyle Show hits the screen.

I have a question for all the tracksuits who go on there: 

“You are NOT clever enough to beat the lie detector so don’t try!”

And if you have been cheating / using drugs/ robbing your granny/ don’t go on ‘cause you will get found out.  But here is another point....

There is a disclaimer that runs along the bottom of the screen saying: “Blah Blah.. the lie detector is 96% accurate – 96% but there has been no one- Jezza said so – that has had a genuine false reading on this.

The look on one girls face when the test said she was fibbing was as bad as if she was being accused of being a witch!  I might well write in and ask where the 4% people are.

After that I got the hoover out!

Anyway, Durham Christmas Market was probably the best yet.  Hundreds of people from across the country – all looking for the Durham City Tourist Information Centre that has been closed down – go figure! We had three brass bands on Saturday one after the other which gave the whole of the market a festive atmosphere.  The bands, from Esh colliery, the fusiliers and then the Salvation Army all did their bit.

The highlight of the day was the Lantern Parade by around 300 kids who parade behind the Salvation Army band as they marched to the Cathedral and then a story and some carols.  All happy bunnies.

That’s it from me for the while.  The next entry will have information about a couple of projects