The Cross de l'Acier ( en, Cross of Steel) was 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 ...

competition held in late November in

Leffrinckoucke Leffrinckoucke (; nl, Leffrinkhoeke; vls, Leffrinkoeke) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry Population Twin towns Leffrinckoucke is twinned with: * Węgorzewo in Poland In popular culture The end scenes of ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. First held in 1990, it was one of the foremost competitions of its type in France. Ten races were held at the event for athletes of varying abilities.Cross de l´Acier plays host to world champion Ebuya

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(2010-11-27). Retrieved on 2010-11-29. Around 2200 runners took part in the day's event in 2010. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and disagreements with the National Athletics League, it was announced that the race would be discontinued in 2022 after two years absence. The course of the competition was held around the

Fort des Dunes The Fort des Dunes, also known as Fort Leffrinckoucke and sometime Fort de l'Est, is located in the commune of Leffrinckoucke, France, about east of Dunkirk (Dunkerque). Built from 1878 to 1880, it is part of the Séré de Rivières system of fo ...

– part of a set of

military fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s used in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

known as the

Séré de Rivières system The system was named after Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, its originator. The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers and coasts of France. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during ...

.Armand, Patrick (2010-11-29)
Le Kénya brille sur la neige
. ''Nord Éclair''. Retrieved on 2010-12-03. The men's international elite race covered 9.95 km while the women's race took place over 6.55 km. These races were often used by French athletes to gain selection for the national team at the

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championships ...

, which is held a month after the event. The elite competition held permit status from

. Over its history, the cross attracted elite runners of the highest calibre and former winners include multiple

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizati ...

breaker

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champion ...

, World Cross Country champions

Zola Budd Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) is a South African middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 3000 ...

and

Joseph Ebuya Joseph Ebuya (born 20 June 1987) is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion. Early life and career Ebuya is a rare example of a runner representing the Tu ...

, and track world champions

Fernanda Ribeiro Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH (; born 23 June 1969), is a long-distance runner born in Penafiel, Portugal. The pinnacle of her career was at the 1996 Summer Olympics when she won the women's 10000 m gold medal, establishing a new Olym ...

and

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics ...

.Ramsak, Bob (2010-11-29)
Ebuya and Masai take comfortable victories at Cross de l’Acier

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

. Retrieved on 2010-12-03. Although many of the competition's most successful runners hail from

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

, the race also features prominent European runners:

Paulo Guerra Paulo Alexandre Martins Guerra (born 21 August 1970 in Barrancos, Baixo Alentejo Province) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and cross-country running. After 2001 he mainly ran half marathons. Int ...

and

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

both won the European Championships after winning in Leffrinckoucke a month previously.Palmares
. Cross de l'Acier. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.

Past senior race winners

References

;List of winners
Palmares
Cross de l'Acier. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.

External links

Official website
{{coord missing, France Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in France Recurring sporting events established in 1990 Tourist attractions in Nord (French department) Sport in Nord (French department) 1990 establishments in France Cross country running in France