Eurocross is an annual international

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

Diekirch Diekirch (; ; or (locally) ; from ''Diet-Kirch'', i.e. "people's church") is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with List of towns in Luxembourg, town status in north-eastern Luxembourg, in the Diekirch (canton), canton of Diekirch and, until its ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

in February. It is one of the

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 ...

permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It is sponsored by the

ING Group ING Group N.V. () is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, whol ...

. First held in 1969, Eurocross is organised by the local athletics club (Celtic) and the course follows near the Stade Municipal in Diekirch. There are two major races: a 10.2 km race for men and a 5.3 km race for women. In addition to these primary competitions, there are races for runners of various youth levels, as well as a popular, mass race for amateurs. The course follows a steep incline up a hill on a stepped dirt path, which then loops back on to downhill section. The race takes place over a number of laps thus the uphill and downhill sections can make for a particularly difficult cross country course. The main races typically attract international-calibre athletes from Europe and Africa. Past men's winners include IAAF World Cross Country Championships medallist Josephat Machuka and European Championships medallists Mustafa Mohamed and Carsten Jørgensen. The women's side has featured Gabriela Szabo (an Olympic and world champion), 1993 World Cross Country champion Albertina Dias and Dorcus Inzikuru, a steeplechase world champion. The Eurocross typically gives out over US $12,500 in total prize money for each meeting.Civai, Franco & Gasparovic, Juraj (2009-02-28)
Eurocross 10.2 km (men) + 5.3 km (women)
Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2010-03-01. The 2010 race, which was the 40th edition of the competition, was held simultaneously with the 94th Luxembourg national cross country championships.Events
Celtic Diekirch. Retrieved on 2010-03-01.

Past senior race winners

Key: *''Note: The women's course was shorter than the typical 5.3 km between 1990 and 2005.'' 20091122 Veerle Dejaeghere Warandeloop 2009

References

External links

from Celtic Diekirch website {{IAAF Cross Country Meetings Cross country running competitions Athletics in Luxembourg Recurring sporting events established in 1969 Sports competitions in Luxembourg Cross country running in Luxembourg Annual sporting events in Luxembourg 1969 establishments in Luxembourg Winter in Luxembourg