Kampala 2017 Diaries: Aarhus 2019 has ideas on how to increase interest in World Cross Country

RunBlogRun opines: Using the spirit of the Copenhagen based World Half Marathon Championshps in 2014, which was a wonderful day of running the fine Danish city, Aarhus will innovate to create an exciting World Cross Country. We look forward to their discussions on how to bring cross country back to its previous global prestige. Kampala is adding to the excitement of the sport, we look forward to seeing a second World Cross Country that is asking the question, how do we make cross country better?

Aarhus has a history of a concern for low carbon footprint. We look forward to Aarhus showing how to keep our footprint from cross country events to a minimum.

AARHUS (DEN): Organisers of the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus are planning to use their event as a platform to get the sport back onto the Olympic programme, informs insidethegames.biz. “We want to produce an event which will reignite a serious discussion about the re-admittance of cross country to the Olympic Programme. It’s not our discussion, but we want to enable it,” said director of the Danish Athletic Federation Jakob Larsen, who is proposing innovative changes when the event is staged in Aarhus in 2019. As well as a kids’ race and a mass participation race which could be integrated with the elite race, Larsen proposes the reintroduction of old school elements into the races. “We propose introduction of challenging course elements located in “Challenge zones”; some based on well-known elements of “Old School” cross country, others inspired by cyclo cross, XC eventing and Obstacle Course Runs,” he said. Larsen will discuss some of his ideas with the IAAF in Kampala in the run-up to the World Cross Country Championships on Sunday.

To read the Long read by Mike Rowbottom, please go to: http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1048475/exclusive-innovative-plans-detailed-by-aarhus-2019-organisers-to-get-cross-country-back-at-olympics