FORMER BRIT 4KM RACE WINNERS FACE DAUNTING TASK IN BUPA GREAT EDINBURGH CROSS COUNTRY

Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country defending champion Ricky Stevenson and Nick McCormick another previous winner of the 4km race will be tested to the limit at the 2011 meeting on January 8.

Stevenson was a shock winner of the event 11 months ago when against a domestic field he stunned his more experienced opponents including pre-race and the country's number one Mo Farah, with the biggest win of his career. Now the 22-year-old New Marske athlete along with fellow countrymen McCormick who has chalked up two previous successes, will face world class opponents around the Holyrood Park course. The event has been thrown open to overseas competitors and the organiser's decision will see reigning Olympic champion's Asbel Kiprop and Brimin Kipruto both shooting for the title. Kiprop and Kipruto who claimed the 1500 metres and 3000 metres steeplechase gold medals respectively at the 2008 Games, will be joined by fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, a former World 5000m champion, who was also runner-up over that distance in Beijing. The Brit duo of Stevenson and McCormick will also be severely tested by Spaniard Arturo Casado an outstanding winner of the European Championships 1500m title last August, who will be carrying the hopes of mainland Europe. Peter Riley the meeting's elite athletes' coordinator, said: "This year, as we’re also staging the first ever Men's International Team Challenge between British and N. Ireland, American and a Europe Select squad, we have had the opportunity to invite foreign stars to compete in the short course race. "I'm sure the action will be fast and furious and although the African contestants must start favourites, I believe it will be highly entertaining for spectators. "These guys and I include the British runners, race at a phenomenal pace on the track and now we're going to see them fetch that lightning speed to a specially adapted, albeit demanding course in Holyrood Park." The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country which also hosts a women's international 6km race as well as the 4km Men’s race and the Men’s International Team Challenge will complete an exciting day of running. Beforehand hundreds of youngsters take part in the 2.5km Bupa Junior Great Winter Run followed by thousands runners of all abilities taking on the 5km Bupa Great Winter Run. Ends Editors Notes Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country 2011- New format The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country has changed its title for 2011 and was formerly known as the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country. The 2011 Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country will consist of 3 races, with a new International Team Challenge event. • A short 4.2 kilometre course with the best male athletes in the world competing • A 5.7 kilometre event contested by the world’s best female athletes • The International Team Challenge which will see Great Britain and Northern Ireland Senior Men take on the United States and a European Select team over 8 kilometres. Each country competing in the International Team Challenge will consist of nine athletes per team and the first six athletes to complete the course will receive a score based on their position. The team with the lowest overall score wins. Entry into Holyrood Park is free for spectators and organisers are encouraging the public to take advantage of the opportunity to see the world’s best athletes compete, as well as the cream of young Scottish athletes on show within the main events and the Scottish Inter District Championships. The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country completes an exciting day of running in Holyrood Park, which starts as hundreds of youngsters take part in the 2.5km Bupa Junior Great Winter Run followed by thousands runners of all abilities taking on the 5km Bupa Great Winter Run. Both events are part of the Bupa Great Run series, organised by Nova International, also organisers of the Bupa Great North Run and the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run. Nova International The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country Run and Bupa Great Winter Run is brought to you by a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council, EventScotland and event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Bupa Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova has established itself as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com City of Edinburgh Council This event is part of the City of Edinburgh Council's Activcity programme, which promotes sport and physical activity events throughout the city. The Bupa Great Winter Run is a great example of an event which helps the people of Edinburgh to get active! www.eventsedinburgh.org.uk. Edinburgh's sporting calendar for 2011 is shaping up to be truly exhilarating, the Touch Rugby World Cup in June, the Nocture City Centre Cycle Race in July, and the Golden Oldies World Hockey the World Karate Championships in September just a taster of what is on offer. For more information, visit www.eventsedinburgh.org.uk. EventScotland EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org

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