Monaco - The series of 12 individual meetings which make up the calendar of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Events 2011/12 season will kick off in Atapuerca, Spain, on Sunday 13 November 2011.
Over the course of the next four-and-a-half months, many of the world's finest middle and long distance runners will be taking part in the series that traverses three continents before its conclusion at the 81st edition of the Cinque Mulini, the oldest Cross Country Permit meeting, in San Vittore Olona, Italy, on Sunday 18 March 2012.
With the IAAF World Cross Country Championships taking a break this year in its new two-year cycle, this 12-meeting series - with stops in Europe, Africa and Asia - takes on an even more important role in not only representing the very pinnacle of long distance running competition over variable terrain, but as key preparation for next summer's Olympic Games in London.
Cross country running exemplifies the true accessibility of our sport, as even the poorest nations can participate at the top international level, with minimal finance and facilities. It is the purest of activities, requiring nothing but guts and determination to succeed, characteristics which are at the heart of athletics' enduring international appeal. It also brings together runners whose expertise lies in every distance from 1500m to the Marathon on neutral - if sometimes muddy and snowy! - turf.
Besides the now-legendary Cinque Mulini race, several other stops on the tour will also be celebrating notable milestones. The first of the two Italian stops in the series, the Cross Country Internazionale Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, will mark its 55th edition on Friday 6 January. The Cross Internacional de It?lica near Seville, the third of three meetings in Spain, will celebrate its 30th birthday on Sunday, 15 January. And in Albufeira, Portugal, the gun will sound the start for the 35th edition on Sunday 26 February.
As in previous years, you'll be able to follow all the action in the 2011/2012 Cross Country Permit mini-site, which will be launched in November.
CALENDAR
IAAF Cross Country Permits Events 2011/2012
Sunday 13 November - Atapuerca (Burgos), ESP
Sunday 20 November - Soria, ESP
Sunday 12 December - Brussels, BEL
2012
Friday 6 January - San Giorgio su Legnano, ITA
Saturday 7 January - Edinburgh, GBR
Sunday 15 January - Santiponce (Sevilla) ESP
Saturday 21 January - Belfast, GBR
Sunday 12 February - Diekirch, LUX
Sunday 12 February - Chiba, JPN
Saturday 18 February - Nairobi, KEN
Sunday 26 February - Albufeira, POR
Sunday 18 March - San Vittore Olona, ITA
