Italian Cross Country Championships

Italian Cross Country Championships
Nadia Battocletti two-time Italian champion.
DateFebruary/March
LocationVarious, Italy
Event typeCross country
Distance10 km and 4 km for men
8 km for women
Established1908

The Italian Cross Country Championships (Italian: Campionati Italiani di corsa campestre)[1] is an annual cross country running competition that serves as Italy's national championship for the sport. It is usually held in February or March. It was first held in 1908 and featured a men's long course race only. A women's race was added to the programme in 1926.

The event includes separate races for both sexes across four categories: open (senior), under-23, under-20, and under-18 (Italian: assoluti, promesse, juniores, allievi).[2] Short races were held for men and women from 1998 to 2006 (coinciding with the period that it was an official distance at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships). Short course champions were also elected in 1970 and 1971, but in no other years.[3] Two championship races were held in 1925: one by FISA on 8 March and another by rival organisation UISA one week later.[4]

The location of the championships varies from year to year and it has previously been incorporated into high level international races, such as the Cinque Mulini and Cross della Vallagarina.[5][6]

  1. ^ Campionato Italiano Individuale Assoluto di Corsa Campestre (in Italian). FIDAL. Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
  2. ^ CAMPIONATI ITALIANI FIDAL: IL DOVE E IL QUANDO DEL 2016. Atletica Valle Dicembra (2016). Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
  3. ^ Italian Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
  4. ^ National Crosscountry Champions for Italy. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2016-04-28). Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
  5. ^ Sampaolo, Diego (2008-01-11). Matelong, Weissteiner aim for cross country success - Vallagarina PREVIEW. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-09-09.
  6. ^ Taylor, Simon (2004-05-28). Run Of The Mills. Runner's World. Retrieved on 2016-09-09.