For Immediate Release

25 November 2014
For Attention of Sports Desk
FARAH RETURNING TO GREAT EDINBURGH XCOUNTRY IN JANUARY
Double OIympic champion Mo Farah will return to his roots when he opens his 2015 racing
schedule at the international Great Edinburgh XCountry at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh on
Saturday 10 January.
Farah, who forged his distance running reputation as a winter mudlark and the reigning World,
Olympic and European 5,000m and 10,000m champion will be contesting his first cross country
race for four years when he lines up in the televised new year event in the Scottish capital, part of
the prestigious IAAF Cross Country Permit series.
As a 15-year-old, Farah made his name on the national scene as a runaway winner of the
intermediate boys race at the 1999 English Schools Cross Country Championships in Luton. Seven
years later, in 2006, he claimed his first international title when he won the senior mens race at
the European Cross Country Championships at San Giorgio su Lugano in Italy.
Now, as he prepares for a 2015 summer track season in which he intends to defend his World
Championship 5,000m and 10,000m crowns in Beijing, the 31-year-old home hero of London 2012
will be laying the groundwork with his first cross country race since he triumphed in the 8k Great
Edinburgh International race in January 2011.
Next year will be an important year for me and Im looking forward to returning to the Great
Edinburgh Cross Country to kick off my season. For many years I ran cross country to build my
base for the summer track season and it will be nice to return to Edinburgh and try to repeat my
winning run of 2011 there. said Farah.
Farahs US coach Alberto Salazar was best known as a marathon man a three time winner of the
New York City Marathon but he was a firm believer in the benefits of cross country during his
own trailblazing distance running career. He won the US title three times and finished runner-up
to Mohammed Kedir of Ethiopia in the 1982 World Cross Country Championships in Rome,
relegating Kiwi Rod Dixon to third place.
Salazar played a key role in guiding Farah through a testing time this year, helping him back to
international prominence. After finishing eighth on his testing marathon debut in London in April

and then missing the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow because of illness, Farah won the 5,000m
and 10,000m at the European Chamionships in Zurich in August, adding to the double golds he
achieved at the 2012 Olympics and 2013 World Championships.
He then broke Steve Ovetts 36-year-old British two miles best time in Birmingham before ending
his racing schedule for the year on a high, becoming the first British man to win the Great North
Run since Steve Kenyon back in the mists of 1985.
It was a fantastic feeling winning the Great North Run in front of a home crowd in September and
Im sure there will be plenty of support in Edinburgh for my first event in 2015. said Farah.
The Great Edinburgh XCountry, televised live on BBC, is part of a new year festival for runners of
all abilities, based at Holyood Park, next to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.
The popular Great Winter Run, held on a scenic 5k course that loops around Arthurs Seat,
provides the public with a perfect opportunity to dust off the New Year cobwebs before watching
the worlds best test themselves in the international cross country races.
For entry to the Great Winter Run visit www.greatrun.org/winter
Ends
Notes to Editors
Nova International
The Great Edinburgh XCountry is brought to you in partnership with Event Scotland, City of
Edinburgh Council and event organisers Nova International.
Nova International, headed by Olympic medalist Brendan Foster, is one of the UKs leading event
management and sports marketing agencies. The companys current brand portfolio also includes
some of the biggest running events in the world, all based on the Great North Run, the worlds
leading half marathon with 57,000 entries.
Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in
Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova has established itself as a market leader in the world of sports
marketing and event management.
For more information please visit www.greatrun.org
EventScotland
EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting
portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotlands international
profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about
EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org.
Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews. EventScotland is part of VisitScotland, the

national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world,
gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland.