The World Cross Country Championships have been around since 1973, historically drawing the best distance runners in the sport with the likes of Paul Tergat and Lynn Jennings in the 90s, Kenenisa Bekele, Paula Radcliffe, and Tirunesh Dibaba in the 2000s, and most recently stars like Joshua Cheptegei and Beatrice Chebet.

However, since the pandemic, it’s struggled to regain its footing. Part of that has to do with a crowded championship schedule due to postponements and delays from COVID. But also, cross country in general has also taken a hit from the International Olympic Committee, which has repeatedly punted on adding it to the program for the Winter Olympics despite vocal support by World Athletics president Seb Coe.

Despite the distinct lack of promotion and hype around the World Cross Country Championships, we’re now just days away from its return to U.S. soil for the first time since 1992. World Athletics published entry lists on Tuesday, but take them with a grain of salt as the lists do not differentiate between expected starters and alternates, and at least one country’s team has experienced significant visa issues.

Nevertheless, here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s (Jan. 10) races. The final start lists will be published the night before the race.

_____________________

How to watch: The races will be broadcast on Peacock (starting at 9:35 a.m.) and will be televised on CNBC (starting at 10 a.m. ET)

Schedule (All times ET):

• 9:45 a.m. – Mixed 4x2K Relay
• 10:20 a.m. – Women’s U20 6K Race
• 10:55 a.m. – Men’s U20 8K Race
• 11:35 a.m. – Women’s Senior 10K Race
• 12:20 p.m. – Men’s Senior 10K Race

Results: Results and the medal table will be available here. | View the course map here.

We shared our gut reactions to the entries being released on the latest episode of The CITIUS MAG Podcast earlier this week.

4x2km Mixed Relay | 9:45 A.M. ET

A relatively recent addition to the program, the 4x2km mixed-gender relay has managed to attract more than a few high-profile middle-distance runners to an event that has traditionally been a celebration of 10km excellence. First contested in 2017, Kenya has won three of the four mixed relay golds on offer, and have to be the betting favorites with a lineup headlined by World 1500m bronze medalist Reynold Cheruiyot.

Kenya’s most intriguing challenge comes in the form of the Australian team, where Jessica Hull and Linden Hall are two of the most credentialed women in the whole field and Olli Hoare will feature for the men. The lineup initially included 19-year-old wunderkind Cam Myers, but he’s no longer on the list—Jack Antsey takes his place instead.

Heavy-hitter women will give France and Ethiopia shots at the podium as well with Agathe Guillemot and Hirut Meshesha, respectively, both 3:56 1500m runners. And Morocco is fielding a team of familiar NCAA faces that includes South Carolina alum Anass Essayi, current Gamecock Salma El Badra, and Oklahoma State’s Fouad Messaoudi.

Last, but not least, Team USA will have a good shot at a medal (and maybe even the win) with two members of the most recent World team, Ethan Strand and Sage Hurta-Klecker, alongside Fifth Avenue Mile champ Gracie Morris and Virginia alum Wes Porter. Gold may be a stretch, but the Americans certainly have as good a chance as any of reaching the podium.

_____________________

Women’s Senior Race | 11:35 A.M. ET

With just 101 women entered, we’re still firmly in the “small post-COVID field” era—102 women entered at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, and 107 women entered at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

A quick talent overview:

• Olympic and World 10,000m champion Beatrice Chebet is starting a family in 2026, so she won’t be there to defend her title this weekend at the 2026 World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.
• And with the absence of Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, there are no 2024 Olympic or 2025 Worlds women’s medalists from the 5000m or 10,000m at the World Cross Country Championships entered.
• Of the 27 finalists in the women’s 10,000m from the World Championships in Tokyo, just 7 are entered in the senior women’s race.
• Of the 16 finalists in the 5000m in Tokyo, only 2 are entered.
• Of the Paris Olympic finalists, 6 of the 25 finalists in the 10,000m and just 2 of the 16 finalists in the 5000m are entered.

No Chebet, No Problem

Kenya has won seven of the last nine senior women’s team titles at the World Cross Country Championships, including the last two. In the last two, they were led by Chebet taking the individual crown. In her absence, the team will instead be led by 10K record holder Agnes Ngetich, who was third overall in 2023. Her 14:01.29/28:46 5000m and road 10K PBs make it clear that she’s the strongest runner in the whole field.

21-year-old Maurine Chebor, who won the Kenyan cross country national championships in October, will make her global championship debut. In 2025, she ran personal bests of 14:50.68 for 5000m and 32:07.5 (at altitude) for 10,000m.

Ethiopia bets big on young talent

Last year, Ethiopia finished the year with 12 women in the top 20 fastest 5000m runners of the year, so their talent pool is deep. However, the biggest names like World championship 10,000m bronze medalist Gudaf Tsegay, Frewenyi Haily, Brike Haylom or Medina Eisa are not on the team. Instead, they’ll rely on a slew of young stars that have proven themselves strong at cross country through recent U20 championship races and will get their first senior team nod.

The core four to watch for them:

• 20-year-old Senayet Getachew was the 2023 World U20 cross country champion
• 20-year-old Asayech Ayichew was the silver medalist at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships U20 race and winner of the Ethiopian national championship
• 19-year-old Aleshign Baweke, the 2024 World U20 3000m champion
• 21-year-old Lemlem Nibret, 5th in 2023 and 8th in 2024 at the World Cross Country Championships U20 races

Uganda looks for a medal upgrade

In the last three straight championships (and four of the last five, Uganda has landed on the third step of the podium in the women’s race behind some combination of Kenya and Ethiopia. In 2024, they were only three points behind Ethiopia for the team silver.

For this year, they’ve got three women who have competed at global championships in recent years—Joy Cheptoyek (7th at the 2025 World Championships in the 10,000m); Sarah Chelangat (5th place at the 2024 World XC Championships); and Rebecca Chelangat (19th at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships U20 race). The only blemish on their recent record is that both Chelangats were DNFs in the 10,000m at the Tokyo World Championships last year.

The rest of their pack will include Risper Cherop and Kereen Chemusto, who both competed at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2025.

Can Weini Kelati lead Team USA to a medal?

The United States has not earned a team medal at the World Cross Country Championships since 2011 and they finished a distant fourth (69 points behind Uganda’s bronze) in 2024. Weini Kelati, the U.S. record holder at the half marathon and the reigning U.S. cross country champion, brings the most experience to Team USA, having competed at the 2023 and 2024 World Cross Country Championships. Her best finish was 14th place in 2024. Kelati and her coach, Stephen Haas, were excited by the prospects of a home cross country championship so much that they pushed a half marathon record attempt in Houston to Barcelona next month, which means she should be in good form.

Katie Izzo, who bravely chased Kelati in Portland last month, will look to improve upon her 31st-place finish from the 2023 World Cross Country Championships to improve the U.S.’ medal prospects. Karissa Schweizer (56th in 2019) and Ednah Kurgat (18th in 2023) are also making their second trip to the World Cross Country Championships.

Emily Venters and Grace Hartman (coming off a 6th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships that helped deliver a national title for NC State) round out the squad in their Team USA debuts.

Other major storylines to watch

• Great Britain’s Megan Keith is coming off a silver medal at the European Cross Country Championships last month in Portugal. This will be her second World Cross Country Championships after taking 52nd in 2023 but she’s leveled up greatly since then.
• Australia’s Lauren Ryan may have the most experience with the course as a former All-American at Florida State. This was a can’t-miss event for her after a year highlighted by a 14:40.39 personal best for 5000m and a ninth-place finish in the 10,000m a the World Championships.

_____________________

Men’s Senior Race | 12:20 p.m. ET

This is the biggest field since the pandemic. 145 men are entered, which is a slight increase from the 138 that were entered at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia and 134 that were entered at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.

A quick talent overview:

• World champion Jimmy Gressier is the only medalist from the men’s 10,000m and 5000m in Tokyo that is entered for this weekend’s World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.
• Of the 25 finalists in the men’s 10,000m from the World Championships in Tokyo, 11 are entered.
• Of the 16 finalists in the men’s 5000m from the World Championships in Tokyo, six are entered.
• Of the Paris Olympic finalists, 9 of the 25 finalists in the 10,000m and 4 of the 22 finalists in the 5000m are entered.

The battle for the title will likely come down to Jacob Kiplimo, the two-time defending champ, taking on Ethiopian track stars Berihu Aregawi and Biniam Mehary. But it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Gressier or any of the top Kenyan runners challenging near the front as well.

Daniel Ebenyo Wants To Start Kenya Off Right

Daniel Ebenyo won the Kenyan cross country national championships just 13 days after running 2:07:52 at the Chicago Marathon. This will be his first time back in a Kenyan vest since 2023. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the world for the 10,000m, he was not selected for the Olympic team in Paris in 2024 after falling in the selection race at the Prefontaine Classic. He opted to transition to the roads, where he found moderate success with personal bests of 59:30 for the half marathon and 2:06:04 for the marathon. But in 2025, he watched from home as the Kenyan team missed the 10,000m podium for the first time since 2011. Kenya has only missed the podium at the World Cross Country Championships four times since the turn of the Millennium.

The rest of the Kenyan team:

• Kevin Chesang – 20 years old; 28:25 PB for 10,000m at altitude; has never competed outside Kenya
• Denis Kemboi – 19 years old; 2024 World U20 Championships 3000m silver medalist; 13:03.17 PB for 5000m; Beat Cole Hocker at the Stockholm Diamond League
• Robert Koech – 28 years old; 13:12.56/27:51.46 PB for 5000m and 10,000m
• Shadrack Koech – 28 years old; 27:53.59/1:00:12 PB for 10,000m and half marathon
• Weldon Langat – 27 years old; 13:33.86/27:24.73 PB for 5000m and 10,000m; 19th place in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics

Jacob Kiplimo Returns

Major props to Jacob Kiplimo for opting to return to cross country after committing to the marathon in 2025 and finding great success with a runner-up finish at the London Marathon and then a 2:02:23 victory in Chicago. Back in the 80s, it was fairly common for some of the best marathoners in the world to showcase their talent at World Cross Country Championships and Kiplimo is following in those footsteps. Kiplimo is looking to become the first man to go back-to-back-to-back since Kenenisa Bekele’s five-peat (back when World XC was held annually) from 2002 through 2005.

Uganda has not missed the podium at World XC since 2015, but they’ll have to do it with a less experienced squad since 5000m and 10,000m world record holder Joshua Cheptegei, who was their reliable No. 1 in 2017/2019 and then No. 2 in 2023 and 2024, is not on the team.

Rest of the team:

• Dolphine Chelimo – 20 years old; 13:23.24/28:38.35 for 5000m and 10,000m; 12th in the U20 race in 2024
• Dan Kibet – 21 years old; 27:35.86 PB for 10,000m; 11th at the 2024 World XC Championships; 13th in the 10,000m at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo
• Emmanuel Kibet – 21 years old; 13:24.76 PB for 5000m; Never competed at a global championship
• Keneth Kiprop – 20 years old; 2024 World U20 Championships 5000m bronze medalist; competed in the heats of the 5000m at the World Championships in Tokyo.
• Deogracius Musobo – 28 years old; 22nd at the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships

Ethiopia Has The Best 1-2 Punch

Whereas Kenya and Uganda have strong low sticks and not as much as previous years, Ethiopia has the strongest 1-2 punch with two-time World Cross Country silver medalist Berihu Aregawi and 2025 breakout star Biniam Mehary, who was fifth in the 5,000m at the Tokyo World Championships but also won the 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic in 26:43.82 (fastest time of the year). It appears that this will be Mehary’s cross country debut.

Rest of the team

• Bereket Nega – 21 years old; 1:00:03 PB for half marathon; 8th place at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships U20 race
• Tadese Worku – 23 years old; 2021 U20 3000m World champion; 2019 World Cross Country Championships U20 silver medalist; 26:45.91 PB for 10,000m
• Hagos Eyob – 19 years old; 1:00:42 half marathon PB; Never raced at a global championships
• Nibret Kinde – 20 years old; 13:18.97 PB for 5000m; 6th place at the 2024 U20 World Championships 5000m

Jimmy Gressier Leads A Determined French Squad

The aforementioned Gressier shocked the world last year with his Diamond League 3000m victory in Zurich, and did it again with the 10,000m final in Tokyo and then backed it up with a bronze in the 5000m. Before 2025, you’d likely point to his cross country credentials as the most impressive parts of his resume with three U23 European Cross Country Championship titles, a third place finish in the 2021 European XC Championships senior race and then a runner-up last month after stumbling in the closing stages. Expect him to try and hang onto Kiplimo and the leaders for as long as possible.

Yann Schrub, the 2023 European cross country champion and ninth place in the 5000m at last year’s Tokyo World Championships, and Etienne Daguinos, who was 14th in the 5000m in Tokyo, make them a dark horse squad to watch.