England Team selected for Hannut CrossCup
After a year's hiatus, we're delighted to have selected an England team to take part in this CrossCup series; a World Athletics World Tour Gold Level event with strong entries from across Europe and Africa.
Selected by the England Cross Country Association, their main aim is to provide opportunities to both up-and-coming athletes and athletes who are showing progress within the sport
Senior Men's team manager Eamonn Martin said:
"This event sits nicely in the calendar of a packed domestic winter fixture list - although inevitable clashes happen (this year with area championships), we continue to give overseas opportunities to athletes to gain different experiences of racing abroad on typically very different courses."
Selected teams
Senior men
- Richard Slade (Chiltern/Bath Uni, Matthew Seddon)
- Jacob Cann (Newham & Essex Beagles)
- Oscar Bell (Herts Phoenix, Andy Hobdell)
- Jack Millar (Bristol & West, David Bedwell)
Senior women
- Sophie Wallis (Bowser) (Lincoln Wellington)
- Jess Gibbon (Reading AC)
- Lucy Jones (Herne Hill, Luke Gunn)
- Amelia Quirk (Bracknell AC/Birmingham Uni, Mick Woods)
U20 men
- Evan Grime (Salford Harriers & AC, Ian Grime)
- Quinn Miell-Ingram (Radley, Wendy Miell-Ingram)
- Matthew Pickering (Aldershot, Farnham & District, Mick Woods)
- Jack Marwood (Salford Harriers & AC, Ian Grime)
U20 women
- Isobelle Jones (Wolverhampton & Bilston)
- Eliza Nicholson (Blackheath & Bromley, Tom Craggs)
- Lauren Russell (Highgate)
- Lizzie Wellsted (Colchester Harriers, Andy Henderson)
Senior men
Picked as a replacement for David Stone at the Elgoibar Cross Country, Richard Slade (Chiltern/Bath Uni, Matthew Seddon) went on to finish a commendable 7th in Elgoibar on his England cross country debut - beating the rest of his fellow countrymen in the process. Previously 21st in the English National in September and 14th in the London UK Cross Challenge last January, this has been a step up for Richard this winter.
Having spent much of his time in the US in more recent years Jacob Cann (Newham & Essex Beagles) was 17th in the English National in September before finishing 8th in the Liverpool European Trial - narrowly missing out on selection. He has recently made his debut for England in Elgoibar, Spain finishing a creditable 10th, and now moves on to Hannut to test himself again.
Oscar Bell (Herts Phoenix, Andy Hobdell) was 15th at the Liverpool European Trial having finished 23rd in last March’s World Cross Country Trial at Wollaton Park. He is a previous winner on several occasions of the Metropolitan Cross Country league. Having finished 9th in the CAU Inter Counties at Loughborough in 2023 he is making steps in the right direction.
Jack Millar (Bristol & West, David Bedwell) has always been a solid performer over the country having finished 8th in the World Trial at Woolaton Park last March. With a 4th in the Belgian CrossCup in Diest last season he came into this winter with promise. After finishing 8th in the National at Weston Park in September he then came 10th in the Belgian CrossCup in Roeselare in October.
Senior women
Jess Gibbon (Reading AC) finished 6th in the European Trial at Liverpool gaining her selection for GB in the European Cross Country Championships in Turkey. Jess had a great race finishing second Briton home to score for a team silver medal. Jess started her cross country season running for England at one of the first EnergyVision CrossCups in Diest where she came away with an impressive win (pictured top). Jess has won the EnergyVision CrossCup in Hannut the last 2 years and she is in form to run well again this year.
Sophie Wallis (Lincoln Wellington) gains her selection from her impressive 8th placed run at the European Trial in Liverpool. Sophie has shown great improvement in 2024 gaining considerable PBs over 3000m, 5000m, 10,000m and on the road over 5 miles and 10k. Hannut sees Sophie making her England Cross Country debut.
Lucy Jones (Herne Hill, Luke Gunn) is another athlete to have a successful year of PBs on the track and road over 1500m, 3000m and 5000m; this great form was carried through to the ECCA Cross Country Relays at Mansfield where Lucy finished first on leg 1 for her club, Herne Hill Harriers. Lucy has also been selected for her great performance in the European Trial at Liverpool and joins Sophie making her England cross country debut.
Amelia Quirk (Bracknell AC/Birmingham Uni, Mick Woods) is an experienced cross country runner competing in European and World Cross Country in 2023. Amelia showed great form going into the European Cross Trial this year finishing 9th at the Cardiff Cross Challenge but after an incident during the race she did not finish where expected. Amelia’s win at Telford 10k shows she has returned to great form.
U20 men
Evan Grime (Salford Harriers & AC, Ian Grime) is the youngest member of the team and is making good progress as an endurance athlete. He finished 2nd in the CAU Inter County Championships (which included the British Athletics Cross Challenge) in Wollaton Park in March 2024. He then built on this when he won the London Mini Marathon in April. Evan then turned his attentions to the track and was successful in making the European U18 Championships (1500m) in Slovakia, running 3:59.10 in the final. The summer went well and Evan reduced his 1500m time to a respectable 3:47.72. This season’s cross country is going well with a 2nd U17 finish in the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool.
Quinn Miell-Ingram (Radley, Wendy Miell-Ingram) has continued to develop as a cross country runner with an excellent 3rd place in EnergyVision CrossCup - Roeselare, Belgium, running in the first ECCA fixture of the season at the end of October. This was followed with a 4th place in the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Cardiff two weeks later. These two races helped Quinn prepare for the British Athletics Cross Challenge (which included the Euro Trials) in Sefton Park where he finished 5th, securing a place in the Great Britan European team for Antalya, Turkey. 48th place in Antalya does give a true picture Quinn's cross country pedigree.
Matthew Pickering (Aldershot, Farnham & District, Mick Woods) has made great strides in the last twelve months and is now ready to take the next step by running for England. Matthew ran very well in last year’s EnergyVision Diest CrossCup finishing in a creditable 6th place when running for the South of England. Last summer he had a 12th place finish in the rearranged ECCA Saucony English National Cross Country Championships (4th placed Junior).
Jack Marwood (Salford Harriers & AC, Ian Grime) is a natural cross country runner; he finished 5th in both the ECCA Saucony English National Cross Country Championships and CAU Inter County Championships last winter. Jack has started this season well finishing 6th in the junior race (2nd U17) in the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Cardiff. He followed this up with a 13th place finish (1st U17) in the British Athletics Cross Challenge, in Liverpool. This run placing him at the top of a very strong group of U17 cross country runners this winter.
U20 women
Isobelle Jones (Wolverhampton & Bilston) finished 5th in the European Cross Trial at Liverpool gaining selection for GB&NI at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey finishing 36th. Last year Isobelle represented England on the road at 5k in Italy where she finished 2nd and also represented England Cross Country at the Home Countries International finishing 9th. In the 2024 track season Isobelle ran a 3000m PB of 9:20.62.
Eliza Nicholson (Blackheath & Bromley, Tom Craggs) represented GB&NI at the World Country Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia finishing an impressive 25th. Prior to that Eliza was runner up at the both the Inter Countries at Wollaton Park and the Home Countries International at Parliament Hill. Eliza did not compete in the summer track season due to injury but is now fully fit again and no doubt will show her cross country credentials in Hannut.
Lauren Russell (Highgate) gains her first England cross country vest following her 11th position at the European Trial at Liverpool. In the 2024 season Lauren was runner up in Diest competing for the South of England. Other notable performances include finishing 7th at the English Schools' Cross Country Championships and 9th at the Inter countries. In 2023 Lauren represented GB&NI at the World Cup U18 championships finishing 6th.
Lizzie Wellsted (Colchester Harriers, Andy Henderson) finished 3rd at the European Cross Trial at Liverpool securing selection for GB & NI at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey finishing 18th. Earlier in the current cross country season Lizzie finished 2nd in the Cardiff Cross Country Challenge. In the summer Lizzie represented GB&NI at 5000m at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Lima, Peru finishing 12th.
History of the event
Typically held throughout the winter months, the CrossCup competition was created as a men's only event in 1941 and in its first decade a number of Belgian champions competed, including Gaston Reiff and Marcel Vandewattyne. It became increasingly international in nature and the 1950s saw Olympic medallists top the podium, such as Derek Ibbotson, Gordon Pirie and Franjo Mihalić.
Despite the growth of foreign competition, Gaston Roelants (the 1964 Olympic steeplechase champion) was dominant at the competition in the 1960s and two more Belgian Olympians, Emiel Puttemans and Vincent Rousseau, extended the national-level success from the mid-1970s through to the 1990s. A women's race was introduced in 1977 and attracted high level foreign competition from 1990 onwards.
Event website