The 7th edition of the Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival in association with Fingal County Council will take place at the Sport Ireland Campus this coming Sunday (October 15th) with a host of star names set to take to competition across the busy schedule.
This year’s Autumn Open is part of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour (Bronze) and will for the first time incorporate a Mixed Senior Cross Country Relay which will see the top two clubs qualifying to represent Ireland at the European Club Cross Country Championships in Portugal next February.
The senior men’s race is set for a 3pm start where Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley AC) will look to go one better than last year’s second place finish in the absence of 2022 champion Darragh McElhinney.
The senior women’s race at 2.20pm looks set to be an ultra-competitive affair with Loughborough’s Abbie Donnelly not returning for her tilt at three-in-a-row.
It could very well be the race of the day and the surprise inclusion of Olympian and 800m champion Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC) adds another layer of intrigue to a race that already looked to have several contenders.
The Athletics Ireland Cross County Xperience will take place after the Autumn Open Cross Country races at 3.40pm. Participants will have the opportunity to run on the same cross country course that hosted the hugely successful 2021 European Cross Country Championships.
With Ministers yesterday stressing again the importance of participation in terms of policy and funding this is a great initiative.
Entry to the Festival is free but registration in advance is required to run in the Cross Country Experience.
