Mo Farah to start 2015 at Edinburgh cross-country
The double Olympic champion did not participate in either the Commonwealth Games or the Diamond League meeting which preceded it at Hampden this summer, citing injury, but he has been successful in Scotland before, having won the 8k race at the same Edinburgh event in January 2011 – to date the last cross-country race he has competed in anywhere.
“Next year will be an important year for me, and I’m looking forward to returning to the Great Edinburgh Cross Country to kick off my season,” the 31-year-old said yesterday.
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Hide Ad“For many years I ran cross country to build my base for the summer track season, and it will be nice to return to Edinburgh and try to repeat my winning run of 2011 there.
“It was a fantastic feeling winning the Great North Run [in Gateshead] in front of a home crowd in September, and I’m sure there will be plenty of support in Edinburgh for my first event in 2015.”
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There is free entry to the televised event at Holyrood, and Scottish Athletics hope the presence of one of the world’s most popular athletes will boost the attendance.
“It’s excellent news,” the governing body’s chief executive Nigel Holl said yesterday.
“We missed him in the summer. We understood why he couldn’t make it then given all the injury issues he faced, so it will be particularly good to see him in action in Scotland again at the start of next year.
“It’s a unique event. Apart from the stunning environment of Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat, it seems to have been run in fantastic weather the past few years, so hopefully that will continue in 2015.
“And it’s a free event, so people coming along can see one of the world’s greatest distance runners for free.”
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