London International Cross Country

Saturday 20th January 2024, Parliament Hill, London

The Inaugural London International Cross Country, part of the UK Cross Challenge series takes place at Parliament Hill, London and incorporates the Home Countries International and area match. It also includes the World Cross Country selection for the 1^stsenior man and woman, and selection for the British athletes wishing to compete in the World Universities Cross Country Championships in February.

A top level quality domestic field from the UK is expected to be competing on the multiple 2k lap course. This will be a prestigious event to win as an individual and also it is not often the home countries and areas teams get to do battle over cross country.

Team managers:
Senior Men – Eamonn Martin
Senior Women – Sue Lamb
Junior Men – Keith Holt
Junior Women – Jo Newcombe

Team Selection

Event	Athlete – Club – Coach	Biog – optional but very useful! Include any recent performances, interesting facts or reasons for selection.
Senior men	Jack Gray – Cambridge & Coleridge – Mark Vile	Naturally a prolific race Jack performed with a flourish towards the end of last winter finishing 2^nd in the English National Cross Country, 3^rd in the Inter Counties Cross Country having also ran well for England over Cross Country in Diest, Belgium where he came 7^th. He took this good form and greater confidence into the track season and ran PB’s for 5000m (13m41.62) and 10,000m (28m27.60) before returning to the roads this autumn and running well in both the Southern Road Relay (1^st on leg 3) and the National Road Relay where he was 2^nd on leg 1. Jack ran below par at the Trial at Liverpool and is keen to get back into shape he will be racing the Valencia 10k the weekend before the London event to ensure he is in racing shape.
	Alfie Manthorpe – Sheffield & Dearne – John Wood	This will be an England Cross Country debut for Alfie however, he was due to run in Elgoibar, Spain on 7^th January but industrial strikes in Spain prevented him travelling. Although he did just gain a GB vest at the Brussels European Cross Country Champs. Championships finishing in 44th position in the senior race. His qualification run at Liverpool where he was 9^thfollowed on from a great win at the Wolverton 5 the week before in 23m30 secs so this has been a great winter so far for Alfie. This follows a summer where Alfie set PB’s for 1500m, 3000m and 5000m on the track.
	Zak Mahamed – Southampton – Idris Hamud	Zak was a little disappointed with his run in the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels finishing 27^th in the senior race having finished 2^nd in the U23 12 months earlier. He qualified at the Liverpool Trial where he was 6^thhaving won the Great South run 10 miles in October in 46m 41s. this came after great progress in the summer where he clocked PB’s in both 5000m (13m47) and 10,000m (27m56). He has gained great experience in his racing cross country for England in various European venues and having now ran in many European Cross Country Champs and last year’s World Cross Country Champs for GB.
	James Kingston – Tonbridge AC – Mark Hookway	This will be an England debut for James over the country however, he was due to run in Elgoibar, Spain on 7^th January but industrial strikes in Spain prevented him travelling. However, he has just represented GB in the European U23 championships in Brussels finishing 21^st. This follows a good run at the Liverpool Trial in November to qualify also having won both the Southern and National Cross Country titles last January and February. James set PB’s for 3000m and 5000m on the track last summer.
Senior Women	Niamh Bridson-Hubbard – Blackheath and Bromley – Phil O’Dell	Niamh finished 8th in the European Trial in Liverpool gaining her selection in the GB team for the European Cross Country in Brussels where she finished an impressive 19th position. Niamh has also had a great summer season running PB’s in 800,1500 & 3000 on the track. Niamh finished 3rd in the National Cross Country last season and also competed for England in Elgoibar and Diest last Cross Country season.
	Phoebe Barker – Tonbridge AC – Richard Owen	Phoebe finished 13th at the European Trial in Liverpool and also competed as part of the England Team in Seville where she finished 12th. Phoebe’s great form comes from a strong summer season running PB’s in 5000 on the track and 10K on the road and Phoebe’s impressive run in the 4 stageNational Road Relays.
	Amelia Quirk – Bracknell AC – Mick Woods	Amelia finished 6th in the European Trial in Liverpool and qualified to run in the GB team in the European Cross Country in Brussels and finished in 14th place. Amelia ran for England in Seville earlier this season where she finished 7th. Amelia also represented GB in the World Cross Country in Australia last season with an impressive 25th place and 2nd Britain home. Amelia completed for England in Elgoibar and Hannut prior to the World Cross in preparation of her World Cross selection. Amelia followed on her great Cross Country form onto the track finishing 3rd in the BUCS championships over 5000.
	Ellie Wallace – North Somerset – Julian Emery	Ellie finished 14th in Liverpool at the European Trial with an impressive improvement on last years 34th place. This great form comes off a successful summer season seeing Ellie run PB’s in 1500, 3000, 5000 on the track with a 1st place finish in the BMC Grand Prix in Loughborough over 5000 and PB’s in 3K, 5K, 5M and 10K on the road.
U20 Men	William Rabjohns – Poole AC – Mark Pauley	William has proven himself on the both the country and the track this year. A third place in the South of England cross country championships back in January set the scene. This was capped the following month with an excellent third place in the English National cross country Championships. Arguably these achievements were eclipsed in the summer when William finished 5^th in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Port of Spain in a personal best time of 3:46.46.
	James Dargan – Aldershot Farnham & District – Mick Woods	James has enjoyed an excellent year which began with a 4^th place finish in Hannut, followed by 2^nd place in the English National cross country championships. James transitioned well from the mud of cross country by quickly adding the TCS Mini London Marathon to his list of success. In June James added the England Athletics U20 5000m title to his list of victories before taking 4^th place in the European U20 Championships in Jerusalem.
	Quinn Miell-Ingram – Radley – Wendy Miell-Ingram	Quinn has made great strides this year and is building on his 15^th place in the Inter Counties and 8^th place in the English National Cross Country Championships. Despite his 20^th finish in Liverpool this year he was in fact the 2^ndathlete available for selection. Last weekend a fine 4^th place on his England debut in Elgoibar, Spain saw Quinn show that he adapts quickly to international racing and it will be good to see him against his peers in this event.
	Jake Stevens – Invicta East Kent – Donald Carter	Jake has made significant improvements in his track times this season but it was his cross country performances in February and March this year that where the real highlights. A fourth place in the English National cross country Championships was followed by a fourth place the following in month in the CAU Inter Counties. Jake is working hard to break the sequence and is aiming the make the podium in future.
U20 Women	Eliza Nicholson – Blackheath & Bromley	Eliza has proven herself as an athlete capable of running on the cross country, track and road surfaces. In 2023 at the English National and English Schools Cross Country Championships, Eliza finished 8^th in both events in the U17 age group. In the summer Eliza represented England at the Commonwealth Youth Games finishing 3^rd and claiming the bronze medal in the 3000m. In October 2023, Eliza recorded the 2^nd fastest leg in the U17 Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park. A month later Eliza finished 3^rd at the Cardiff Cross Challenge.
	Innes Fitzgerald – Exeter – Gavin Pavey	Innes is the current European U20 Women cross country champion. In Brussels Innes maturely dominated the field on a challenging muddy course to win by a clear margin to claim the individual gold medal along with the team gold for GB & NI. On the domestic scene Innes has been victorious in all the key cross country races, namely, Liverpool and Cardiff Cross Challenge fixtures, English National and English Schools Cross Country Championships and the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships. During the 2023 track season Innes ran a pb of 4.15.04 for 1500m and recently clocked a time of 9.06.26 for 3000m indoors.
	Jess Bailey – Leven Valley – Matthew Long	Jess represented GB & NI at the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels finishing a credible 8^th, and 2^nd scorer for the U20 Women gold medal winning team. Prior to this event Jess placed 2^nd at the Liverpool fixture and 4^th at the Cardiff fixture of the Cross Challenge series. In the summer of 2023 Jess represented England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago finishing 4^th in the 3000m. In November 2022 Jess represented GB & NI at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand where is she won the U20 Women’s up-and-down mountain running race.
	Isobelle Jones – Wolverhampton & Bilston	Isobelle finished 17^th overall (6^th U17) at Liverpool. Isobelle’s performance at Liverpool is a continuation of her good form over the cross country this year. Earlier in the year Isobelle finished 2^nd at SIAB, 6^th at the English Schools and 14^th at the National cross country championships. Isobelle also ran for England at the Cardiff 5km road race in May clocking a time of 16:06. This will also be Isobelle’s debut for Team England cross country although she was due to run in Elgoibar, Spain on 7^thJanuary but industrial strikes in Spain prevented her travelling.