Special Report by Owen Morgan
In London, it used to be said that you were never more than six feet away from a rat.
In some parts of Cardiff last Saturday, there’s a fair chance you were never more than six feet away from a runner.
Bute Park and Llandaff Fields were inundated with thousands of participants taking part in two very different events.
From primary school children to pensioners, first time fun-runners to Paris Olympians – all could all be found striding around the scenic parks.
And that’s before you start factoring in the various park runs taking place in and around the capital on a typical Saturday morning.
Just a few weeks after hosting the massive Cardiff Half Marathon, the city was once again enhancing its growing reputation as a running mecca.
Club runners competing in the senior men’s race.
The MoRunning event around Bute Park on Saturday morning featured hundreds of moustached, yellow headband-wearing fund-raisers.
The event, features 5K, 10K and half marathon challenges, as well as a Mini Mo category for children.
As well as the facial hair and bright headbands, there were Super Marios galore striding, jogging or trudging around the beautiful autumnal hues of Bute Park in support of the Movember charity.
Whether first time shufflers or experienced runners, those taking part were raising much needed money and awareness for men’s health issues, while enjoying all the benefits of one of the most accessible sports around.
Meanwhile, over at Llandaff Fields there was a considerably more competitive air to proceedings, but no less entertaining or diverse in its nature.
The Cardiff Cross Challenge is a sporting gem, which sparkles more brightly with each passing year.
Since achieving World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold Label status – the only UK race to do so – the already well established event’s reputation and prestige has soared amongst top domestic and global cross country runners.
While rugby’s Autumn Internationals may grab the greater sporting headlines just up the road at the Principality Stadium, Llandaff Fields hosts sport in one of its purest forms annually at this time of year.
Saturday’s event attracted world class athletes from as far afield as Ethiopia, Kenya, Denmark and the Netherlands as well as hundreds of club runners, some of whom walked to the venue from their homes around the city.
In essence, the Cardiff Cross Challenge hosts three events in one.
The elite runners from across the globe are aiming for glory and cash prizes in the main event.
Alongside them are the finest domestic cross county athletes who are not only vying for overall victory but domestic honours in the UK Athletics Cross Challenge Series. Cardiff is the opening fixture in a competition which also stops off in Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds and Nottingham.
The third element of the day is the John H. Collins Gwent League fixture, incorporated into the event annually. It is contested by runners affiliated to grassroots clubs assembled from across south Wales and the south west of England.
All of which produces the rare spectacle of Olympic athletes literally rubbing shoulders in the heat of competition with talented club athletes and recreational runners of all ages and abilities.
Throw into the mix some of the most promising school age runners from all over the United Kingdom and you have more than 2,000 runners brimming with talent, promise and enthusiasm.
Some stats from Saturday’s senior men’s race give some indication of the quality the event now attracts.
Niels Laros, of the Netherlands, finished sixth in the men’s 1500m final at the Paris Olympics, breaking the European Under-20 record in the process.
In Cardiff, the man who won the 2024 European Athletics Rising Star Award, finished 10th overall. Laros’ fellow Dutchman Steffan Nillessen, who was ninth in that Paris 1500m final, finished just inside the top 20.
Wales’ highest finisher in the senior men’s race on Saturday was Dafydd Jones. The Swansea Harrier, who just missed out on a top 10 finish, spoke of his delight at Cardiff hosting an event which gives him the opportunity to take on world class athletes on his doorstep.
“It was a really good field. There were a fair few Europeans here, a lot of the Dutch guys, and a fair few East Africans as well.
“So, I felt like it was a good field to compare myself to,” said Jones who represented Great Britain at last year’s European Under-20 Athletics Championships in Jerusalem.
“It’s actually really encouraging that Wales is putting on such a great cross country event,” added Jones.
“We’re putting on these events and getting some really top athletes here. I really appreciate having this on the doorstep and having a lot of people cheering my name along the course.
“It’s a really good course. I feel like every year it sort of changes, depending on the conditions. It was a fast course today, quite a few firm spots and few muddy spots. It’s testing, but it’s quick.”
The senior men’s race was won by Keneth Kiprop, who returned to Llandaff Fields having won at the same venue 12 months ago.
After last year’s victory, the Ugandan went on to win a bronze medal at the World Under-20 Championships in Peru. He also has a top eight finish at the World Cross Country Championships to his name.
The quality was just as high in the senior women’s race, which was won by another teenage Ugandan star. Like her compatriot Kiprop, 17-year-old Charity Cherop had won a world under-20 bronze medal in Peru.
Like the men’s race, there was plenty of home grown talent on show, including Cari Hughes, who had been tempted back to Wales from St Moritz where she has been based with the OAC Europe team.
Hughes, who hails from Angelsey and represents Cardiff Athletics, finished a brilliant fourth place in the overall senior women’s race and second in the UK Athletics Cross Challenge.
The result sets up Hughes perfectly for the next fixture in the UKA Athletics Cross Challenge Series in Liverpool in two week’s time. Like Jones, she will hope to impress at the event which acts as the Great Britain trial for the European Cross Country Championships in Turkey next month.
Hughes, who won gold for Great Britain in the under-20 team event at the European Cross Country Championships said after Saturday’s race: “I honestly had no clue what form I was in.
“My coach was saying that I was in good shape in training, but we’ve only been doing threshold and stuff, so coming out here and racing is a totally different game. I just gave it my all, like every race.
On her prospect for the European trials, Hughes added: “We’ll see. There’s two weeks to go, a lot can happen. I’m just going go there and race a normal race and see what happens.”
“Hopefully I will make the team. That would be great. But you never know, Liverpool is always a super tough competition.”
There were top class athletes throughout the day’s schedule of events which ranged from primary school races right through the masters 65-plus categories in the senior races.
The women’s Under-17 and Under-20 race featured one of the most prodigious talents in British endurance running – Innes FitzGerald.
The 18-year-old Exeter athlete won the European Under-20 Cross Country title in Brussels last year and warmed up for a possible defence of her title in Turkey next month by winning comfortably in Cardiff for the second consecutive year.
With such talent now the norm at the Cardiff Cross Challenge, organisers hope the event will continue to go from strength to strength.
Announcing a continued sponsorship deal with Sportshoes.Com ahead of last weekend, Welsh Athletics chief executive James Williams, spoke of his hopes for the event’s future.
“The Cardiff Cross Challenge is the highest quality Cross Country event in the UK,” said Williams.
“We have an ambition to make this event one of the best in Europe and the World, Sportshoes.com share this ambition and we are delighted that they are partnering with us once again in 2024.”
If last Saturday was anything to go by, the ambitions for the Cardiff Cross Challenge and the city’s reputation as a running capital will continue to grow as fast as some of the athletes spotted racing around its leafy parks.
