Cross de Atapuerca

The course of the race passes through the archaeological site in Atapuerca.

The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cross country season. In its initial years, it was usually the first permit meeting in the European Athletic Association's cross country season,^[1] and it now begins the IAAF Permit Meeting series, having replaced the Cross de Soria event in 2010.^[2]

The Cross de Atapuerca has attracted high calibre athletes, including World Cross Country Champions Gebregziabher Gebremariam and Leonard Komon, and Marta Domínguez – the 2009 World Champion in the steeplechase.^[3][4] Around 2500 athletes took part in the 2009 race, which was broadcast on Teledeporte, the sports channel of Spain's state broadcaster TVE.^[1][5] It is part of the Spanish cross country running circuit and was ranked as the country's second best meet in 2008.^[1][5]

The distances for the professional senior competitions are 8.760 km for men and 4.825 km for women. In addition to the elite races, a separate mass race is held for amateur runners. The Cross de Atapuerca also features a number of different categories and distances based on age: four levels for children, youth (under 16s) and junior (under 18s) competitions, and finally a masters race for runners over 35.^[6]

The course of the race traces a path through the fields around the town of Atapuerca and passes through the Archaeological Site of Atapuerca before looping back to complete a circuit.^[7]

Past elite race winners

The 2008 winner Alemayehu Bezabeh became European champion in 2009.

Edition	Year	Men's winner	Women's winner
I	2004	Jesús Antonio Núñez (ESP)	Nieves Zarza (ESP)
II	2005	Isaac Viciosa (ESP)	Sara Valderas (ESP)
III	2006	Hicham Chatt (MAR)	Marta Domínguez (ESP)
IV	2007	Elijah Chelimo (KEN)	Simret Sultan (ERI)
V	2008	Alemayehu Bezabeh (ESP)	Margaret Muriuki (KEN)
VI	2009	Gebregziabher Gebremariam (ETH)	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
VII	2010	Teklemariam Medhin (ERI)	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
VIII	2011	Imane Merga (ETH)	Linet Masai (KEN)

See also

• European Cross Country Championships

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Spain's Bezabeh claims second at Cross de Atapuerca; Monteiro takes bronze in women's race. European Athletics (2009-11-08). European Athletic Association. Retrieved on 2009-11-16.
2. ^ IAAF Cross Country 2010 / 2011 season to begin and end in Spain. IAAF (2010-10-22). Retrieved on 2010-10-24.
3. ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2008-11-10). ‘Hurricane’ Bezabeh defeats World XC silver medallist Komon in Atapuerca. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-17.
4. ^ Valiente, Emeterio (2009-11-08). Gebremariam and G. Dibaba secure Ethiopian double in Atapuerca. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-09.
5. ^ ^{a b} Dominguez to kickstart her Cross Country season at European Athletics permit race in Burgos. European Athletic Association (2009-11-07). Retrieved on 2009-11-16.
6. ^ Programa. Cross de Atapuerca. Retrieved on 2009-11-16.
7. ^ Circuito. Cross de Atapuerca. Retrieved on 2009-11-16.

External links

• Official website (Spanish)
• ANOC profile (Spanish)
• Race profile from RFEA (Spanish)