World Cross Country Champs, Tallahassee 2026: who, what and when guide

Everything you need to know about Saturday’s big event in Florida including key contenders, British hopes and how to watch the races unfold.

When the World Cross Country Championships was last staged in the United States – in Boston in 1992 – it was one of the most eagerly anticipated footraces on the calendar. The world top milers and marathoners would meet in neutral – and often muddy – territory against leading 5000m and 10,000m runners with global titles at stake.

Due to the number of missing star names and entire nations at the 2026 event on Saturday in Tallahassee, it is no longer accurate to call the event the greatest race in the world. But absent friends will be missing a real treat with a challenging an imaginative course and the promise of enthusiastic crowd support in Florida.

Features that runners have to negotiate at the Apalachee Regional Park include an “alligator alley”, a man-made “rollercoaster” ramp, a 90ft long sand pit, a 20ft-long and knee-deep water section and a 100ft stretch of mud that pays homage to the Florida Everglades. As for the weather, temperatures of around 21-24C are forecast with light winds and a small chance of showers.

The event is also being held at the unusually early date of January 10 compared to its traditional late March slot in an attempt to attract athletes before the indoor and road racing seasons hot up. Although it doesn’t seem to have worked particularly well in its first attempt, given that even leading US runners like Grant Fisher and Cole Hocker have preferred to focus on upcoming indoor races instead.

So who is in Tallahassee to contest the races?

Senior men

Jacob Kiplimo, the world half-marathon record-holder, leads the way as the Ugandan aims to become only the fourth man in history behind John Ngugi, Paul Tergat and Kenenisa Bekele to win three successive world cross-country crowns.

Kiplimo is now trying to make a career out of marathon running and placed runner-up in London last year in 2:03:37 on his debut at 26.2 miles before winning in Chicago in 2:02:23 in October.

His biggest rival on Saturday is likely to be Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia, the nearly man of world distance running after taking silver medals at the 2023 and 2024 World Cross plus silver in the 10,000m at the 2024 Olympics and 3000m in the 2025 World Indoors.

Joining Aregawi in the team is Bereket Nega, who beat Aregawi in the Ethiopian trials, plus teenage sensation Biniam Mehary.

Leading the Kenyan team is world half-marathon silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo.

Jimmy Gressier of France and Thierry Ndikumwenayo of Spain lead European hopes. The duo placed one-two at last month’s Euro Cross in Portugal with Ndikumwenayo taking the win, but Gressier is the world 10,000m champion.

Gressier is joined by 2023 Euro Cross winner Yann Schrub in the French team.

Elsewhere, look out for Moh Ahmed of Canada, Adriaan Wildschutt of South Africa and Ky Robinson of Australia, while the US team is led by trials winner Parker Wolfe and includes Nico Young and Graham Blanks.

Senior women

With reigning champion Beatrice Chebet taking a baby break in 2026, there will be a new champion. European cross-country champion and Olympic and world 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti of Italy is also missing, so who can take advantage of these absences?

Agnes Ngetich of Kenya holds the world 10km record and won bronze behind Chebet in Bathurst, Australia, in 2023. Kenyan trials winner in the build-up to the event, meanwhile, was Maurine Chebor.

READ MORE: Valencia 10km preview

Senayet Getachew, the world under-20 champion in 2023, is part of a strong Ethiopian squad that includes Asayech Ayichew, Shure Demise and Aleshign Baweke.

Ugandan hopes are led by Joy Cheptoyek, and Sarah Chelangat while the host nation challenge is led by Weini Kelati Frezghi.

Under-20 races

When this event was last held on US soil, on a snowy Boston course in 1992, Paula Radcliffe won the under-20 women’s race from Wang Junxia of China as Radcliffe’s team-mate Jenny Clague was fourth.

In the junior men’s race, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia was beaten into second place by Ismael Kirui of Kenya as Hicham El Guerrouj, the future world 1500m and mile record-holder, finished 14th for Morocco.

This time all eyes will be on Marta Alemayo, the young Ethiopian who won the women’s title in Belgrade two years ago at the age of just 15.

Alemayo, however, was only third in her trials and Yenenesh Shimket, who clocked 8:32.01 for 3000m last year, could prove the strongest Ethiopian.

Kenyan trials winner Cynthia Chepkirui has enjoyed a great run of form lately including victory at the Cardiff Cross Challenge in early November.

In the under-20 men’s race, contenders include Andrew Alamisi of Kenya, Abraham Cherotich of Uganda and Ayele Sewnet of Ethiopia, although the latter are set to lose their long streak of team medals that dates back to 1982 due to visa problems scuppering their efforts to field a full team.

READ MORE: Visa issues tip of the iceberg

Willem Renders, the European cross-country under-20 champion, flies the flag for Europe and is Belgium’s only competitor in Tallahassee.

The main British hopes lie in the mixed relay, with the team aiming to repeat the medal winning success of Belgrade 2024, while Megan Keith will be hoping to make her mark in the women’s race.

The full British team can be found here.

READ MORE: Belgrade 2024 flashback

Coverage for the World Cross varies from country to country but UK viewers can watch the action here whereas BBC is also planning to show the races.