By Owen Morgan

The 25th anniversary of the Cardiff Cross Challenge had everything.

From world class Kenyans, to eager primary school pupils, and masters athletes determined to earn league points for their clubs, they came in their hundreds to tackle the Llandaff Fields course.

Now, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold event, the Cardiff Cross Challenge attracts an even more diverse range of athletic talent than ever before.

In the senior men’s and women’s races, World and European Cross Country Championships hopefuls literally rubbed shoulders with club athletes from across the United Kingdom.

As well as being a World Tour fixture, Saturday’s event incorporated the first race of the British Cross Challenge and the John H Collins Gwent League, which is contested by clubs from across South Wales and the South West of England.

The senior women’s and masters race was won in impressive style by rising 18-year-old Kenyan star Pamela Kosgei.

The early running in the 6.4km race had been made by Jenny Nesbitt, who represented Wales over 5,000m at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games back in August.

However, it was Kosgei, sister of marathon world record holder Brigid, who eventually broke clear to take the first win of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour season.

Kosgei, who finished fifth in the steeplechase at the World Under-20 Championships in Colombia this summer, said: “It was a bit scary to start with but I managed to win and enjoyed it.”

Runner-up was Amelia Quirk, of Bracknell AC, who was the first athlete home in the British Cross Challenge category.

The result will be a boost to Quirk’s hopes of sealing a place on the Great Britain team for December’s European Cross Championships at next month’s trials in Liverpool.

Another eyeing a place at the Europeans in Turin will be Pontypridd Roadent Nesbitt, who was the first Welsh athlete to finish in Cardiff, crossing the line in fifth place.

The senior men’s and masters race was dominated by a high quality trio of African athletes in the shape of Kenya’s Edward Zakayo and Ugandan duo Joel Akayo and Rogers Kibet.

The leading group set such a blistering pace, by the third and final circuit of the immaculately prepared course they were lapping runners representing their clubs in the Gwent League fixture.

Approaching the final straight of the 9.6km race, it was Commonwealth Games 10,000m fourth placer Zakayo who broke away to take the win ahead of Ayeko in second and Kibet in third.

Zakayo, who hopes to make the Kenyan team for the World Cross Country Championships in Australia next February, said: “The race was good today but I felt I wasn’t in shape as this year has been so busy for me.

“I tried to make the team for the World Championships (in Eugene) and then I did the Commonwealth Games, so I was doubting myself here today. But on the last lap I began to push and got a lead and realised I could make it.”

Leeds athlete Emile Cairess, was the first British athlete to cross the line in fourth place, while the first Welsh finisher was Ciaran Lewis, who finished in 14th place overall.

The Les Croupiers athlete, who was representing his club in the Gwent League fixture, was delighted to be the first home soil athlete to finish in the 500-plus field, especially as it was his first race after a long injury lay off.

“It’s a massive surprise,” said Lewis. “I’ve only been back running for 14 weeks after nine months off through injury.

“I’m over the moon. It’s the start of the season and I don’t really like cross country, either!

Lewis was particularly proud to finish ahead of fellow Welshman Dewi Griffiths, who finished 11th in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games marathon and is a seven-time Welsh cross country champion.

“He’s run 2:09 for the marathon and 61 for the half,” said Lewis. “It’s stuff like that I aspire to. I’ve always admired Dewi. So, yes, it’s nice to beat him. He was also really nice to me at the end, too. He said it was nice to see me back. So that means a lot too.”

Despite the success of his comeback, Lewis aims to return to competitive running gradually this side of Christmas, but his longer term ambition is to make the Great Britain team for next October’s World Half Marathon Championship in Latvia.

“After Christmas there’s the BUCS cross country and then I want to try and run towards 62 or 63 for a half marathon and try to get into the World Half Marathon Championships team,” said Lewis.

“There’ll be lots of races after Christmas, but at the moment I’m just happy to be back racing, enjoying myself and finding my feet again.

“I’ve got plenty of time to run a fast time, but it’s going to be hard because competition in Britain at the moment is really, really strong.”

There were a number of other fine individual performances by Welsh athletes across the 11-race schedule, which kicked off during the morning with under-11 boys and girls races.

Cardiff’s Bryony Boyce won the girls under-13 race, while Swansea Harrier Libby Hale was triumphant in the girls under-15 race.

It’s been quite a year for Hale who won last year’s under-13 race before going on to complete the Welsh under-15 800 and 1500m double in the summer.

In the under-17 men’s race, Carmarthen Harrier Iwan Thomas finished second to Cambridge and Coleridge athlete Isaac Morris.

Results from Saturday’s event can be found at https://wales.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2022/GBR/ccc22/event/