Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza – 2025 – Junior Men’s Report

The Juan Muguerza Cross-Country, also known as the Elgoibar Cross-Country, is an annual cross
country running competition which takes place each January in Elgoibar, the Basque Country,
Spain. The race is a memorial to local runner Juan Muguerza, a multiple national champion who
was killed in 1937 during the bombing of Mungia in the Spanish Civil War.

Records show that from 1946 the race has been a fixture in the cross country calendar almost
without exception every year since its entry into the winer Calander. In fact, there have only
been three occasions when the race has not taken place. 1950, in 1981 the race was suspended
due to snow and in 2021 the race could not take place due to Covid restrictions which brings us
to 2025 and the 77 th running of this most prestigious race.

The junior men’s team was a mixture of youth and experience and with two athletes from the
recent GB European team taking part, it was reasonable to anticipate some good results.
The calm before the storm. Left to right: Miles Waterworth (no 202), Jack Marwood (no 205),
William Rabjohns (no 203), and Brandon Pye (no 204).

The gun fired and with the smoke still hanging in the air the charge to get to the head of the pack
was on. It was clear from the very start that both France and Belgium had brought strong teams
which was going to provide an excellent test the English athletes. The early pace was aggressive
which even caught out the speedy Will Rabjohns (3:41.79 – 1500m). The leading French athlete,
Antoine Puydebois (no 209) lead the procession with the eventual winner, Sem Serrano (only
noticeable by his one orange shoe and one black shoe (no 201) tucked in the pack. Serrano was
always likely to provide the main challenge following his 9 th place finish in the European
Championships in Antalya, Turkey.

The 5535m course, consisted of one short lap around the track, followed by one medium lap
which took in the lower section of the complex, followed by two large laps. The course offered a
multitude of challenges which ranged from running on a track, to tight turns around a field of
relatively long grass (soft underfoot), followed by two challenging hills on the long outer lap.
As the athletes completed the medium lap and prepared to tackle the hill section, Will Rabjohns,
and Brandon Pye had settled into 4 th and 7 th place respectively with Miles Waterworth and
Liverpool under 17 1 st placer, Jack Marwood, down in the high teens. At this stage the French
pairing of Puydebois and Rafael Besnas Greco (no 208) were pushing the pace in a concerted
effort to break the relaxed looking Belgium, Serrano. From an England point of view Rabjohn
seemed to be handling the hills well and had moved into a podium position. The question now as
they entered the final lap was, could Will hang on.

As a spectacle the race was over with the Belgium, Sem Serrano (no 201) running clear of the
fading Frenchman, Puydebois (no 209). Further back Rafael Besnas Greco finally got the better
of Will Rabjohns to secure the third place on the podium with the fast-finishing Englishman
taking 4th.

Next to finish for England was Brandon Pye in 7 th . The athletes now flooding over the line made
spotting the finishers difficult. As the dust settled it was encouraging to see the Liverpool under

Keith Holt – Junior Men’s Team Manager

All in all, it was a good team performance and a great learning experience was had by all as they
continue on their individual development pathways. It was clearly a tough challenge.

Keith Holt
Additional information to aid clarity.
Picture Key –
9120 – Team Photo
9122 – The early charge
9124 – Will Rabjohns in 5 th place and Brandon Pye in 7 th
9137 – At the end of a tough race