The Cross Internacional de Soria, also known as the Campo a Través Internacional de Soria, 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 that takes place in

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...

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 ...

. First held in 1994, it usually takes place in late November and gained

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 meeting status in 2007. It was previously a

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (EAA, 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 h ...

permit meeting. The competition features elite races of 10 km for men and 8 km for women. The men's and women's race had initially been competed over distances of 9 km and 6 km respectively, but the course lengths were increased in 2006.Valiente, Emerterio (2006-11-19)
Eritrea and Kenya take the cross country spoils in Soria

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. The course, known as the "Monte Valonsadero", was used in the early 1990s as a training ground by

Fermín Cacho Fermín Cacho Ruiz (born 16 February 1969) is a Spanish track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 1500m at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the silver medal in the 1500m at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Born in ...

and

Abel Antón Abel Antón Rodrigo (born 24 October 1962 in Ojuel, Cabrejas del Campo, Soria) is a Spanish former long-distance runner on the track and road. Anton won back-to-back world championships in the marathon in 1997 and 1999. He was a sena ...

, two of the region's foremost athletes. After inspecting the area, Miguel Ángel Pérez and Adolfo Caballero (members of the Athletics Delegation for Soria) suggested that a cross country meeting should be held there.Historia del Cross Internacional de Soria
.

ANOC The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Every two years, it gathers all it ...

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. It is a grassy course set in the Sorian countryside,World medallists gather in Soria

(2003-11-21). Retrieved on 2009-11-29. and it is at a particularly high altitude – 1063 metres above sea level. Many World Championship medallists have competed at the course, including

Gebregziabher Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (Amharic: ገብረግዚኣብሄር ገብረማርያም; born September 10, 1984, in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning ...

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase ( Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean former long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal i ...

Meselech Melkamu Meselech Melkamu (born 19 April 1985) is an Ethiopian Long-distance track event, long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics, 2008 African Athletics Championshi ...

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 Athletic ...

. The meeting tends to be dominated by runners from

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 ...

and Spain.Valiente, Emerterio (2006-11-17)
East Africa versus Spanish armada in Soria on Sunday

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. The high standard of runners that the meeting attracts means that the Cross Internacional de Soria is consistently ranked among the best cross country meetings in Spain by the

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. ...

– the Spanish governing body for

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 ...

Past senior race winners

Vivian Cheruiyot Cross de la Constitucion 2006

References

;General
Soria course profile
.

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. ;Specific

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Spain Recurring sporting events established in 1994 Sport in Soria Cross country running in Spain Annual sporting events in Spain 1994 establishments in Spain