The Campaccio 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 ...

competition which takes place in early January in

San Giorgio su Legnano San Giorgio su Legnano (Legnanese dialect, Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. San Giorgio su Legnano borders the following municip ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Organised by the ''Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese'' (Sangiorgese Sports Association), the event attracts participation from Olympic and world champions in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, in spite of the fact that the host town has a population of just over 6000. It is typically the first major athletics event of the year in Italy, and holds

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

Cross Country Permit status.

History

The event was first held in 1957 in a rough patch of

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

in the town and derives its name from the word "''Campasc''", which means "uncultivated field" in the

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

.3 STELLE CHE ILLUMINANO IL CAMPACCIO
. Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese. Retrieved on 2011-01-12. The Campaccio began as a men's only race, but expanded to include a men's junior race in 1961. The first women's race was held in 1970, with Paola Cacchi taking the inaugural honours, but it was not until 1975 that the women's contest became an annual fixture. The men's race was held over 12 kilometres for much of its history, but this was changed to a 10 km race in 2008. The women's race was initially around 3.5 km but settled on a 6 km format in the mid-1990s.Civai, Franco & Lorange, Francois (2011-01-10)
Campaccio Classica del Cross

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 ...

. Retrieved on 2011-01-12. The competition has particular importance to Italian cross country runners as performances at the race, as well as the Italian national championships, often determine the national selection for the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

. The organisers successfully bid to hold the

2006 European Cross Country Championships The 13th European Cross Country Championships were held at San Giorgio su Legnano in Italy on 10 December 2006. Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner ...

in San Giorgio su Legnano, which coincided with the 50th edition of the Campaccio cross country race. In celebration of the anniversary, prominent Italian athletics journalist Ennio Buongiovanni published a book documenting the event's history: ''Campaccio e Dintorni - 50 Anni Di Storia'' (''Campaccio and its Setting – 50 Years of History''). As a result of the continental championships (scheduled in mid-December), independent Campaccio races were not held in either 2006 or 2007. The men's race often features the top Kenyan and Italian runners, while the women's elite race attracts a greater variety of nationalities, particularly Europeans.Sampaolo, Diego (2003-01-07)
Europeans win the day at Campaccio
IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-12. Past winners on the men's side include world champions

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 ...

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha (; ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000 metres, 5,000-metre and 10000 metres, 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the go ...

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie (; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian former Long-distance running, long-distance track running, track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Athletics Championships, World Cha ...

and

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge (born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized in the 5000 metres. Kipchoge is the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon, 2016 and Athletics at th ...

. The women's race has been won by world champions

Jackline Maranga Jackline Maranga (born 16 December 1977, in Nyanturago, Kisii) is a retired Kenyan middle-distance runner. She won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships at the age of 15, and also won silver medals in the two following Championship ...

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the maratho ...

and

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz ...

, as well as prominent

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 ...

ers

Uta Pippig Uta Pippig (born 7 September 1965) is a retired German long-distance runner, and the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon three consecutive times (1994–1996). She also won the Berlin Marathon three times (1990, 1992 and 1995); the ...

and

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

. Some of Italy's best runners have taken victory at the Campaccio, such as steeplechase world champion

Francesco Panetta Francesco Panetta (born 10 January 1963 in Siderno) is a former Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of th ...

, Olympic marathon winner

Gelindo Bordin Gelindo Bordin (born 2 April 1959) is an Italian former Long Distance Runner, winner of the marathon race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is the first Italian to have won an Olympic gold in the marathon and the only male to win both the Boston M ...

Gabriella Dorio Gabriella Dorio (born 27 June 1957 in Veggiano, Veneto) is an Italian former athlete and Olympic gold winner. She won two medals, at senior level, at the International athletics competitions. Biography She first participated in the 1976 Summer Ol ...

(1984 Olympic champion) and Olympic medallist Paola Pigni-Cacchi. On the 6th January 2025, during the 68th edition, the Olympic Silver Medalist of the 10.000m at the Paris 2024 Games,

Nadia Battocletti Nadia Battocletti (born 12 April 2000) is an Italian female middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 5000 m and 10000 m races at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Battoclet ...

, wins the women's race, marking the return of an Italian winner in the event for the first time after 31 years, when had triumphed

Silvia Sommaggio Silvia Sommaggio (born 20 November 1969) is a retired Italian long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres as well as cross-country and road running. Biography She was born in Camposampiero. Her father was Gianfranco Sommagg ...

Past senior race winners

Key:

Winners by country

References

;List of winners *Civai, Franco & Lorange, Francois (2011-01-10)
Campaccio Classica del Cross

. Retrieved on 2011-01-12.

External links

Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese – official website
{{EAA Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1957 Sport in Lombardy Cross country running in Italy Annual sporting events in Italy 1957 establishments in Italy Winter in Italy San Giorgio su Legnano

History

Past senior race winners

Winners by country

See also

References

Further reading

External links