REIGNING WORLD AND EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS JOIN STAR-STUDDED BUPA GREAT EDINBURGH CROSS COUNTRY FIELD

Reigning World and European cross country champions, Kenya’s Emily Chebet and Portugal’s Jessica Augusto will be competing in a star-studded Women's International field, at the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country in the New Year.

The pair will be competing against Kenya's current World 5000 metre and 10000 metre gold medallists,Vivian Cheruiyot and Linet Masai over six kilometres in Holyrood Park on 8 January 201. Chebet scored a shock World Cross Country victory in March, when she let her legs do the talking in Bydgoszcz and destroyed her more fancied opponents, which included Masai and Ethiopia's top two athletes, Meselech Melkamu and Tirunesh Dibaba. Now the 24 year-old Kenyan will be aiming to add to her laurels in the BBC televised event, the fourth venue of this winter's IAAF Cross Country Permit Series. Augusto, after her runaway success at the European Championships, will be carrying European hopes of a victory. It is a formidable task given the dominance of African runners who have won the event since it was first staged in the Scottish capital in 2005.. But 29-year-old Augusto had her confidence bolstered after her recent win in Albufeira, and will be determined to lift herself once more before switching her attention to the roads and making her debut in next spring's Virgin London Marathon. "It has the makings of a classic cross country clash and I wouldn't like to place a bet on who will win," said Peter Riley, the meeting's elite athletes' coordinator. "The three Kenyan's will start favourite but I'm sure Augusto will be shown the respect she deserves. Her competitors underestimate her at their peril. The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country, the fourth leg of the IAAF's Permit Season 2010/2011, will be broadcast live by BBC Television and will also feature international men's 4km and 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. The event is free for spectators, with all the action underway from 1pm. Ends Editors Notes Media Accreditation If you would like to apply for media accreditation to attend the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country please apply on line - http://www.greatrun.org/mediaaccreditation/ The Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country takes place on Saturday 8th January in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh between 13:00 – 14:30 for a full timetable visit http://www.greatrun.org/Events/Information.aspx?ctid=184&id=2 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: • 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 • And a new 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 provider, 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 Ends

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