The track season might have only just finished but the cross country season is already looming into view.
Not only are there only 80 days to go to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade on 13 December, the first World Athletics Cross Country Tour event of the 2026-27 season will take place this weekend.
As is customary, the TCS Lidingöloppet in Lidingö near Stockholm raises the curtain on the cross country season and is the first of five World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze events scheduled to take place on the Europe calendar on the road to Belgrade 2026.
The focal point of the TCS Lidingöloppet is the blue riband 30km which features a mass participation field of 18,000 runners - with 35,000 runners due to take part in all events which form part of the Lidingöloppet programme.
The favourites for the women’s 30km title are Nordic cross country champion Evelina Henriksson, who has finished third at the last two editions of the Lidingöloppet along with Danish-based Kenyan Sylvia Medugu, who won this title on four occasions between 2018 and 2022, and Emma Eriksson, the bronze medallist in the trail race at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships.
The men’s 30km line-up features reigning champion William Morabwe, another Kenyan who is based in Denmark, along with former Swedish marathon record-holder David Nilsson and fellow marathon specialist Archie Casteel who has a 2:10:06 PB and recently competed for Sweden at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
The 15km field includes last year’s third-placer Karl Ottfalk who continues his journey to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade where he is likely to make his debut in the U23 race having finished fourth and fifth respectively in the U20 race.
However, the outstanding favourite in the men’s 15km is Burundi’s Egide Ntakaturimana who recently smashed his national 5000m record with 12:46.73 in Brussels before finishing ninth over 5km at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.
World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze calendar
2026
26 September - TCS Lidingöloppet (Silver) - Lidingö, Sweden
1 November - Cross Internacional de San Sebastian (Silver) - San Sebastian, Spain
8 November - Cross della Valsugana (Bronze) - Levico Terme, Italy
29 November - International Warandecross (Silver) - Tilburg, Netherlands
29 November - Carsolina Cross (Bronze) - Trieste, Italy
27 December - Cross Internacional de Amurrio (Silver) - Amurrio, Spain
31 December - Intersport Sylvestercross (Bronze) - Soest, Netherlands
2027
11 January - Gran Premio Cáceres de la Diputación (Silver) - TBC, Spain
