The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', 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 soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

event which is staged in late January in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's only race and attracted top level runners from the outset, with Olympic gold medallists

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final ...

, Alain Mimoun and Mamo Wolde being among the winners in the first decade of the event. A women's race was introduced in 1971 and two-time World Cross champion Carmen Valero took a record four back-to-back wins soon after. From the 1970s to 1980s, a mix of Iberian and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

athletes topped the podium, but since the 1990s the race has been dominated by runners of

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n origin.Cross de San Sebastián

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

(2010-02-03). Retrieved on 2011-02-04. The grassy course is relatively flat and the distances for the elite races are 10 km for men and 5.3 km for women.El keniano Menjo y Nuria Fernández, vencedores del cross de San Sebastián (incluidos podios campeonato de Gipuzkoa)
Atletismo a Tope/''

Diario Vasco ''El Diario Vasco'' ( English: ''The Basque Daily'') is a Spanish morning daily newspaper based in San Sebastián, Basque Country. History and profile ''El Diario Vasco'' was founded in 1934 by the Sociedad Vascongada de Publicaciones, led by ...

''. Retrieved on 2011-02-04. In addition to the professional races, there are also popular fun run races on the day's events programme; there are various age category races for children and youths, as well as a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

's races for older runners.LV Cross Internacional de Donostia

Real Federación Española de Atletismo The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (Spanish: ''Real Federación Española de Atletismo'', RFEA), is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Spain. As of 2023, the federation has 1,323 registered clubs and 87,532 federated athletes. ...

. Retrieved on 2011-02-04. The Cross de San Sebastián has featured many of the world's most prominent names in

long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running come two di ...

, including

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, Olympic champions

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL (, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who competed in track, cross country running, and road running up to the marathon distance. Derartu is the first Ethiopian ...

, John Ngugi and Rosa Mota, as well as world cross country champions such as Zersenay Tadese, Gebre Gebremariam and Benita Johnson. Among the Europeans to have topped the podium are former world record holders

Carlos Lopes Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner and world-record holder in the marathon. He won the Athletics at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon, marathon at the 1984 Summer Olym ...

and

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

, as well as past European Cross champions Marta Domínguez, Paulo Guerra and Serhiy Lebid. The competition has also incorporated the regional

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

n cross country championships in previous editions.

Past senior race winners

Victories by nationality

References

;List of winners
Cross de San Sebastián

(2010-02-03). Retrieved on 2011-02-04.

External links

Official Gipuzkoa Athletics Federation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross de San Sebastian Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Spain Recurring sporting events established in 1956 San Sebastián Cross country running in Spain 1956 establishments in Spain