Nadia Battocletti will open her cross country campaign at the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca in the senior women's 7.318km, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, in Spain on Sunday (23) afternoon.
And the Italian is just one of a significant number of leading European middle and long distance runners who will be in action this weekend in the build-up to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa on 14 December.
Battocletti has already announced her intentions to defend her senior women’s title in Lagoa and the Cross International de Atapuerca will be her first race of the new cross country season.
The world and Olympic 10,000m silver medallist will face a familiar rival in Great Britain’s Megan Keith, the silver medallist behind Battocletti in the U23 race at the 2022 SPAR European Cross Country Championships and the 10,000m bronze medallist at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome where Battocletti completed the long distance double.
The line-up also features a strong Spanish cohort including Marta Serrano, Carla Gallardo and European marathon silver medallist Majida Maayouf along with international opposition from Kazakhstan’s steeplechase specialist Daisy Jepkemei and rising Kenyan star Sheila Jebet.
The men’s race features Abdessamad Oukhelfen and Aaron Las Heras, both of whom were part of Spain’s gold medal-winning team at the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, and Kenya’s world 5000m finalist Mathew Kipsang.
Aouani eyeing race domestic success at Cinque Mulini
European marathon champion Iliass Aouani returns to competitive action in the Cinque Mulini in San Vittore Olona, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, on Sunday.
This will be Aouani’s first race since winning bronze in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Like Battocletti, he has also been pre-selected for the Italian team for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
"I'm feeling great. I'm obviously not at my peak, but I'm definitely in good shape. Hasn't an Italian won the Cinque Mulini since Alberto Cova in 1986? I'd say it's time to reverse the trend, and I expect to be a leading contender,” said Aouani as quoted by FIDAL.
The senior men’s 8.2km also features 1500m specialist Pietro Arese who anchored Italy to gold in a sprint finish in the mixed relay at last year’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya along with Italian cross country champion Luca Alfieri.
International opposition will be provided by last year’s winner Matthew Kipruto from Kenya and 18-year-old Eritrean Saymon Amanuel.
Valentina Gemetto, who was part of Italy’s gold medal-winning team at the 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, leads the domestic challenge in the senior women’s 6.2km which also features reigning champion Yenenesh Shimket from Ethiopia.
National teams for Lagoa to take shape across Europe
European 10km champion Yann Schrub headlines the senior men’s field at the Cross d’Allonnes, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, on Sunday when the French team for Lagoa 2025 will take shape.
Schrub, who became the first French winner of the senior men’s race at the 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels, faces strong domestic opposition from the likes of Fabian Palcau and Hugo Hay.
International opposition will be provided by Kenyans John Aimun and Vincent Kimaiyo, who finished first and second over 10km in Lille last weekend in 27:13 and 27:20 respectively, and Ethiopians Abrha Gebru and Milkesa Fikadu.
The women’s race features Alessia Zarbo, Manon Trapp and European indoor 1500m champion Agathe Guillemot with international opposition coming from former world 3000m steeplechase champion Norah Jeruto from Kazakhstan.
The Portuguese Cross Country Championships will be held in Lagoa on Sunday at the venue which will be used for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on 14 December.
The focus of attention will be on recently crowned world 1500m champion Isaac Nader who looks set to contest the mixed relay in Lagoa. Standout entrants for the senior races include reigning champion Miguel Moreira and Portuguese 10km record-holder Jose Carlos Pinto in the men's race and European 10km fourth-placer Mariana Machado in the women's race.
As is customary, the Liverpool Cross Challenge on Saturday (22) will serve as the British trial race for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
The entry-lists feature reigning European U20 cross country champions Innes FitzGerald and Will Barnicoat who will be targeting their third successive titles in the women’s U20 and men’s U23 races respectively in Lagoa.
Standout names in the senior races include Rory Leonard, Andrew Butchart and brothers Zakariya and Mahamed Mahamed in the men’s race while last year’s European U23 cross country champion Phoebe Anderson takes on Abbie Donnelly and Jessica Warner-Judd and last year’s winner Kate Axford in the women’s race.
Multiple European U20 and U23 medallist Nick Griggs and European 10,000m Cup winner Efrem Gidey lead the entry-lists for the Irish Cross Country Championships in Derry on Sunday.
