The Antrim International Cross Country, formerly the Belfast International Cross Country, is an annual

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

meeting which takes place every January in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is one of the IAAF's cross country permit meetings, as well as being part of the UK Cross Challenge tour. Previous winners include

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

and Steve Ovett.

History

The meeting began in 1977 and was held in

Mallusk Grange of Mallusk (from Irish: ''Maigh Bhloisce'', meaning 'Bloisce's plain), or Mallusk, is a village and townland (of 933 acres) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Mallusk is within the urban area of Newtownabbey, and it is also within the Antr ...

, near

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, until 1996. At that point, the course moved for a two-year stint in Barnett Demesne before settling in Stormont in 1999. The course was again moved in 2009, when it became known as the Antrim International Cross Country.McCausland, Malcolm (5 January 2009)
Antrim International Crosscountry
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 25 January 2010. Stormont Castle

In addition to having been held at numerous venues, the competition has been known under a large variety of names. It was called the Mallusk Crosscountry between 1977 and 1991, except a brief change to the

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International Crosscountry in 1989. The meeting was frequently renamed for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons, becoming the Milk International in 1986, the

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

International Crosscountry in 1992 and 1993, the Ulster Milk Games International in 1994, the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

International Crosscountry from 1995 to 1999 and finally the Fila International Crosscountry for 2000–01. During the meeting's time at Stormont it was known as the Belfast International Cross Country and it was in this period that the meeting was elevated to IAAF permit status. The race course of the meetings at Stormont was on the grounds surrounding

Stormont Castle Stormont Castle is a manor house on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is home to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Executive Office. It is a Grade A listed building. History Stormont Castle was completed c.1830 and was reworked i ...

. The current course for the race is on the grassy fields of the Greenmount Campus just outside Antrim town.Antrim International Cross Country
.

Athletics Ireland Athletics Ireland, officially the ''Athletic Association of Ireland'' or AAI, is the governing body for athletics in Ireland, with athletics defined as including track and field athletics, road running, race walking, cross country running, mount ...

(24 January 2010). Retrieved 25 January 2010. The races are currently held over 9 km for men and 5.6 km for women. This distance has significantly fluctuated on an annual basis. The men's race was an 8 km from the inaugural edition until 2003. The women's race—introduced in 1986—was previously a 4.8 km race during that period. Steve Ovett became the first athlete to win the meeting twice, winning in 1978 and 1984. The most successful athlete in the history of the competition is

, who has won a record four times (in 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2001). Around 1000 male and female athletes participate in the senior races each year.

Past winners

Statistics

Winners by country

Multiple winners

References

External links

Athletics Northern Ireland website2015 results
{{Athletics in the UK Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Northern Ireland Sport in County Antrim Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Cross country running in the United Kingdom Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom Annual events in Northern Ireland 1977 establishments in Northern Ireland Winter events in Northern Ireland