Dutch Cross Country Championships


The Dutch Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running organised by the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation that serves as the national championship for the sport in the Netherlands. It is usually held in February or March.
It was first held in 1919 for men only. A women's championship race was introduced in 1963. A men's short race was added to the programme in 1937 and a women's version was added in 1999. The latter races served as with national selection for that section at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships from 1998 to 2006.
Guest athletes from other nations occasionally compete at the competition, but are not eligible for the national title. Several guests have gone on to place first in the race. In the men's long race Ethiopian's Getaneh Tessema and Tadesse Woldemeskle took the 1995 and 1996 titles, respectively. Ukraine's Vitaliy Shafar won in 2011 and Ethiopia's Faisa Dame Tasama in 2007 and 2013. In the women's long race, Ethiopian Zewdnesh Ayele Belachu won the 2015 title and Ana Dulce Félix of Portugal won in 2012.

Editions

Men