The Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio 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

Llodio Laudio in Basque or Llodio in Spanish is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Geography and Demography Llodio is an important industrial center located at 50 km NW from the provinc ...

in the Basque Country,

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 ...

, around late November. The event was first held in February 1985 and changed to an end-of-year competition soon after, holding its second edition in December 1985.Civai, Franco & Gasparovic, Juraj (2010-11-30)
Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio

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 2010-12-03. The competition is hosted by the Club de Atletismo de Laudio. The day's events comprise ten races – there are separate international, elite races for men and women over 9760 metres and 7640 m, respectively. Two further races over the same distances are held for amateur runners and there are also three types of age-group races for both male and female runners.INFORMACIÓN DE LA PRUEBA - Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio
.

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. ...

(2010). Retrieved on 2010-12-03. The races take place on grassy circuits around the

Estadio Ellakuri es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

and wet weather often makes the ground muddy, making the competition more difficult for runners. Around 1000 runners took part in the event in 2009. The top-finishing runners in the elite races are mainly from Europe (particularly the host country, Spain) and

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 ...

. Past winners of the competition include double Olympic champion

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 ...

, former

World Cross Country Champion 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 Int ...

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 ...

and track

World Champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Charles Kamathi Charles Waweru Kamathi (born 18 May 1978, near Nyeri, Kenya) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning the 10,000 metres distance at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton. Career Early life and career Kamathi started r ...

and

Sally Barsosio Sally Barsosio (born 21 March 1978 in Keiyo District) is a Kenyan distance runner. , Barsosio is the youngest ever medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics, at 14 years and 182 days. Career In 1993, aged 15 years 153 days, she wo ...

. Among the Spanish winners of the race are 1995 World Marathon Champion

Martín Fiz Martín Fiz Martín (born 3 March 1963 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava) is a long-distance runner from Spain. Career Fiz won the marathon at the 1994 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki and repeated his success at the 1995 Worl ...

and Olympian

Alessandra Aguilar Alessandra Aguilar Morán (born 1 July 1978 in Lugo) is a Spanish long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. She represented her country in the event at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at the World Championships in Athletics the foll ...

. Jon Brown's win in 1996 preceded his victory at that year's

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 championship ...

. The elite races currently hold permit status from the

European Athletics 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 ...

and they are used as a selection meeting for the Spanish national team at the

, which is held in December. The competition previously held

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 ...

status from 2004 to 2006.Valiente, Emeterio (2004-11-28)
Gebremariam outsprints Tariku Bekele in Llodio

. Retrieved on 2010-12-03. While the men's race has been continuously held over roughly 9–10 km, the women's race has gradually been extended since its inception. Women competed over 4.3 km throughout the 1990s until it was adjusted to a 5.6 km race from 2001 to 2005. Since 2006, the women's course has varied around the 7.5 km mark. The 2012 edition of the race was not held due to financial constraints.

Past senior race winners

References

;List of winners *Civai, Franco & Gasparovic, Juraj (2010-11-30)
Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio

. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.

External links

Official website
{{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics competitions in Spain Sport in Álava Recurring sporting events established in 1985 Cross country running in Spain Annual sporting events in Spain 1985 establishments in Spain