2017

:00:13. > :00:30.This is a class performance. This very fine race indeed. A world class

:00:31. > :00:36.performance. Mo Farah begins 2011 in winning style. We have found another

:00:37. > :00:43.star here. The world No 1 and she looks the part. What a marvellous

:00:44. > :00:52.piece of running this is. An easy, easy victory.

:00:53. > :00:58.Welcome to Holyrood Park here in Edinburgh, for the Great Edinburgh

:00:59. > :01:02.International Cross Country and we have a magnificent afternoon of

:01:03. > :01:09.athletics. There is the monument of Scotland, known locally as the

:01:10. > :01:13.Monument of Disappointment. When it was built, they ran out of cash. And

:01:14. > :01:17.we have the Scottish Parliament just behind us and they have come out to

:01:18. > :01:21.enjoy some top class cross country. Many have come to take a peak at a

:01:22. > :01:27.British athlete who has dominated all over the last few years and

:01:28. > :01:36.added too more global golds to his haul in 2016. He is so good now we

:01:37. > :01:41.have to call him Sir! Here we go, can Mo Farah win his third Olympic

:01:42. > :01:45.gold medal. No British athlete has ever been able to do that. Try and

:01:46. > :01:50.work my way through the field and try to get close to the front.

:01:51. > :01:55.Somebody catches my leg and straight to the ground. At that point, there

:01:56. > :02:00.is nothing you can do about it. I was panicking. I was back in the

:02:01. > :02:05.mind, no, it can't happen, I have worked too hard. You have to make

:02:06. > :02:09.some sacrifices. Who wants to be away from where they have friends

:02:10. > :02:16.and family? You have got to get up. I have to. He is quickly up. Just

:02:17. > :02:23.got a little clip there. I promised my daughter I was going to get a

:02:24. > :02:28.gold medal, I can't let her down. Here comes Mo Farah. They succumb to

:02:29. > :02:34.the inevitable and bow to his superiority. Mo Farah wins the gold.

:02:35. > :02:38.I work hard and spend a lot of time away from my family and everything

:02:39. > :02:44.and I just had to believe in myself and get through it, get through it.

:02:45. > :02:49.I wanted to do it for my kids. I was tired, but you have to get over it.

:02:50. > :02:53.It is the next race. They will attack again, but Farah has more to

:02:54. > :03:02.give. Mo Farah is going to get gold for Britain again. The double

:03:03. > :03:07.double. I felt like I did my kids proud and my nation proud. He will

:03:08. > :03:12.be here. He had a few years where he didn't run much cross country. He

:03:13. > :03:21.was here last year, but he didn't win. Gareth Heath from America won.

:03:22. > :03:27.We will talk more about him in a moment and Callum Howkins had a

:03:28. > :03:33.great 2016. -- Hawkins. He is becoming a real star of British

:03:34. > :03:41.distance running. Challenges for Mo for the elite men race and we have

:03:42. > :03:47.the elite women and they add up to points in total and plenty o' keep

:03:48. > :03:52.you entertained. And it is not just the elite athletes here, thousands

:03:53. > :03:57.come to blow off the cob webs after Hogmanay and see if they can tackle

:03:58. > :04:03.this course below Arthur's Seat. Here is the story of that race. Yes,

:04:04. > :04:12.today isn't just about the elite athletes. We have the Great Winter

:04:13. > :04:17.Run. And we have have 3,500 people taking on the course. It attracts

:04:18. > :04:30.many different people for many different reasons. There is a lot of

:04:31. > :04:35.devastation and death. Exercise helps me deal with those challenges

:04:36. > :04:41.that we have every day. I did the run last year, with four other

:04:42. > :04:48.members and we decided to sign up again this year and I think we have

:04:49. > :05:00.ended up with 13. We will all be there and probably sing them over

:05:01. > :05:06.the finish line hopefully. JJ will have the story of that race later.

:05:07. > :05:11.Paula and Brendan have joined me. Happy new year. I'm a virgin to this

:05:12. > :05:17.event and I was told wrap up warm, it is like a spring day. You brought

:05:18. > :05:24.it with you. It was sleet here in previous years I saw watching at

:05:25. > :05:29.home. It is an iconic fixture in the schedule. What does it show the

:05:30. > :05:35.elite men in terms of their training? All eyes are on Mo. You

:05:36. > :05:41.have got to go down a bit and take it easy in the back end of the year.

:05:42. > :05:46.Now he is getting up again ready for the World Championships in London.

:05:47. > :05:51.He did take it easy. I don't think he is 100%. And for the first time I

:05:52. > :05:58.can remember, you look at the race and there are three athletes who

:05:59. > :06:04.could beat Mo. We haven't said that for many years. And they're very

:06:05. > :06:09.good athletes. Gareth Heath beat him last year and have won it three

:06:10. > :06:15.years running. He fancies himself as Mr Edinburgh? Yes and it is a happy

:06:16. > :06:19.hunting ground for him. He won over the shorters ditans -- shorter

:06:20. > :06:24.distance twice and he said he prefers it the muddier the better.

:06:25. > :06:31.It is not that muddy. It is firm under foot. That will suit Mo more I

:06:32. > :06:37.think and play more into his hands. But Callum Hawkins should run well.

:06:38. > :06:41.A lot of British guys want too race well and go away for training. This

:06:42. > :06:46.is the Great Scotland Run. He established himself as a name. He

:06:47. > :06:52.has taken huge steps forward. The way he ran in Rio, to walk away from

:06:53. > :06:59.a ninth position disappointed is the sign of somebody with a long way to

:07:00. > :07:04.go. That half marathon record he ran there in Scotland stood him in good

:07:05. > :07:09.stead. He has prepared well and raced well in the European cross

:07:10. > :07:14.country. So in good shape and wants to finish the cross country part of

:07:15. > :07:19.his winter on a high note. If he had a good 2016, what about Laura Muir.

:07:20. > :07:24.She started this year with great intent with that wonderful run where

:07:25. > :07:30.she smashed that world, that British record should I is a I for the

:07:31. > :07:33.indoor 5,000 metres. A fantastic performance and a fantastic year she

:07:34. > :07:40.had. She is getting excited about this year and talking about doubling

:07:41. > :07:45.up in the European indoors and in London in the 5,000 and the 15

:07:46. > :07:50.hundred. While Mo said he is stepping away from the track after

:07:51. > :07:55.this year, we may have the new Paula Radcliffe actually. She is quicker.

:07:56. > :08:01.But she is a strong runner mentally. She is running in the relay today.

:08:02. > :08:05.Which not part of over all match. But it is a mixed sex race with two

:08:06. > :08:08.men and two women. She will be in that. But now let's look at the how

:08:09. > :08:46.the afternoon will pan out for you. Well, Laura Muir had a magnificent

:08:47. > :08:53.year in 2016. Let's remind you about the landmarks and the bench marks

:08:54. > :09:01.she pushed herself to last year. Laura Muir leading. This is

:09:02. > :09:08.aggressive running from Laura Muir. Down the back straight, she has

:09:09. > :09:17.opened up, a long, long way ahead. It is a massive performance.

:09:18. > :09:24.3.57.51. That is a new British record. Laura Muir is positioning

:09:25. > :09:31.herself. She knows there will be a move and she is going to be amongst

:09:32. > :09:36.it when they move. Laura Muir's race looks run. Poor Laura Muir. She was

:09:37. > :09:41.driving hard down the back straight. Hassan trying to get back on terms.

:09:42. > :09:45.This is what she wanted in Rio. A much more representative run from

:09:46. > :09:55.the Brit. Watch the clock. Oh, my word! 3.55.24. She has smashed the

:09:56. > :09:59.British record. Rio was the big thing for the season and you didn't

:10:00. > :10:04.get what you wanted, you must look back on the year with a huge amount

:10:05. > :10:08.of pride? Yes definitely. I think someone asked to pin point one race

:10:09. > :10:14.I thought was my favourite and I don't think I could. There was so

:10:15. > :10:19.many different times where even just things, become bg British champion

:10:20. > :10:27.and running and breaking the record. 20 #16 was the year that I stepped

:10:28. > :10:34.up to that world stage. Hopefully this year I can build on that. You

:10:35. > :10:40.started 2017 with a bang, straight into another record, 5,000 metres

:10:41. > :10:44.indoors. Was it a surprise too you how fast you ran? Yes and no.

:10:45. > :10:49.Because I knew from my training I had been going well and running PB

:10:50. > :10:55.sessions and I knew a good time was on the cards. But you never believe

:10:56. > :11:01.it until you have it on paper. It was hard, it was my first 5K in a

:11:02. > :11:05.while and the first indoors. It was door and I ran a bit by myself. It

:11:06. > :11:11.was great to run that quick in January and I'm excited for the

:11:12. > :11:14.season. I assume the target this summer, World Championships in

:11:15. > :11:20.London, back in the tough 1,500 metres? Yes, 1,500 will be sort of

:11:21. > :11:26.yeah the main forefront this year. But not ruling out the 5K. The time

:11:27. > :11:31.table does work for that. We will have to see how the summer goes and

:11:32. > :11:35.try both distances and hopefully come London I will be in great shape

:11:36. > :11:40.for either or both. That is interesting. Is that a natural move

:11:41. > :11:46.for you do you think? Yes, I think it is not a move up as such, I'm

:11:47. > :11:51.going to stay at 1,500, but I'm shown I have that strength over 5K

:11:52. > :11:59.and we know the ability is there. It is hard to tell until you race

:12:00. > :12:04.against these girls, running a world class 5K is different to a little

:12:05. > :12:08.one in Glasgow. The 1,500 is still the favourite at the moment. When I

:12:09. > :12:13.broke the record in the London stadium, that was amazing the

:12:14. > :12:19.atmosphere was, I don't think I have experienced anything like it. To

:12:20. > :12:23.have that in London especially having missed out on 2012 so, it one

:12:24. > :12:30.my first big Championship at home. It will be special. What about a win

:12:31. > :12:36.on home soil? In the relay? Yes that would be great. I have run the relay

:12:37. > :12:41.the past couple of years a and we won last year. I would love to bring

:12:42. > :12:45.home the gold as captain and try and set up the rest of the team for the

:12:46. > :12:51.races. What an incredible 12 months for her. Crammy was almost

:12:52. > :12:57.speechless when she said he wanted to double up. Did it take you by

:12:58. > :13:06.surprise? No, I think she knows how strong she is over 1,500. The 5,000

:13:07. > :13:14.she ran in a controlled way and finished very strongly. Could she do

:13:15. > :13:24.that? Very feasible. The last person at World Championships to double

:13:25. > :13:30.indoors was Zarbo. Maybe she had less speed over 800 metres. She may

:13:31. > :13:34.go for the 1,000 in Birmingham indoors. She has her head screwed on

:13:35. > :13:38.and aiming at the right direction. I think she has got to keep going as

:13:39. > :13:46.she is and stay healthy and focussed. You feel she could be that

:13:47. > :13:54.person that almost the vacuum after Jessica Ennis-Hill retired, perhaps

:13:55. > :13:59.Laura's year will be... Or the new Paula Radcliffe as Brendan said! The

:14:00. > :14:07.first event is the relay. Two men, two women. Steve Cram will talk you

:14:08. > :14:13.there it. Happy new year to you and all the people watching and the

:14:14. > :14:20.great vantage point half way up Arthur's Seat. Four athletes in each

:14:21. > :14:24.team. One kilometre lap. Great Britain may start as favourites,

:14:25. > :14:31.partly because Laura Muir is running. We start with the men and

:14:32. > :14:36.we have the male and then a female. This is for the Stewart Cup. So it

:14:37. > :14:41.is a separate event from the over all races which are adding up to the

:14:42. > :14:45.team challenge. The two junior and the two senior races over the longer

:14:46. > :14:52.distances. This is a separate event for the Stewart Cup. A lot of pride

:14:53. > :15:01.at stake and a lot of good athletes on show. The US. A hoping to spring

:15:02. > :15:06.a shock. Last year the Scottish team beat Great Britain, probably because

:15:07. > :15:13.they had Laura Muir. Her team got James Bowness going on the first

:15:14. > :15:22.leg, char sheen Thomas, James West and Laura.

:15:23. > :15:31.Jake Wightman going for Scotland on the first leg, Brendan has joined me

:15:32. > :15:39.in the box, always a fun event, really, but the athletes take it

:15:40. > :15:42.very seriously, great distance to be doing, one kilometre, you can give

:15:43. > :15:46.it your all. Absolutely right, and it is the sort of thing athletes

:15:47. > :15:53.will have enjoyed over the years, this is a new initiative, and this

:15:54. > :15:56.was introduced in Kampala for the first time, and I'm sure we'll see

:15:57. > :16:02.athletes from around world running in a mixed relay, they will find a

:16:03. > :16:08.new boost for cross-country, certainly for the first time in

:16:09. > :16:10.Kampala. The Scottish team on the inside is young Jake Wightman, I am

:16:11. > :16:14.not surprised he was in the British team, you would think he would be a

:16:15. > :16:19.more favourite athlete over this distance at this time of year. He is

:16:20. > :16:24.running well, running one lap of this course, then handing over to

:16:25. > :16:31.the next athlete. In his case, that will beam Aharon Henry. In the case

:16:32. > :16:45.of the British team, it is Charlene Thomas. Jake Wightman is stretching

:16:46. > :16:52.out, Bowness having fun here, here won as part of the British team.

:16:53. > :16:55.Wightman having a little slip, struggling to hang on, Great Britain

:16:56. > :16:59.need to stay close to give Laura Muir a bit of a chance on the last

:17:00. > :17:05.leg. Jake Wightman has been in good shape already this season, he has

:17:06. > :17:12.won a couple of shorter races, and look at the speediest binding.

:17:13. > :17:19.Bowness coming around the outside, trying to close the gap. -- the

:17:20. > :17:23.speed he is finding. The USA in third place, then some gaps starting

:17:24. > :17:30.to appear. A little luck from Jake Wightman, kicking away a little

:17:31. > :17:35.early, Bowness has done a good job, handing over to Charlene Thomas or

:17:36. > :17:42.Great Britain. Scotland will have Hendry on the second leg. That was a

:17:43. > :17:45.good performance by James Bowness, gauging that really well. Now

:17:46. > :17:52.Charlene Thomas on the inside, the American athlete running strongly.

:17:53. > :17:57.The three of them now pulling away, so Scotland, USA and Great Britain

:17:58. > :18:01.making a meal of this one. Charlene Thomas has really set off

:18:02. > :18:05.aggressively for them. Yes, she has, she is very happy that the cause is

:18:06. > :18:13.not too muddy out their really looking forward to taking the bat on

:18:14. > :18:19.in a good position, and she has set out with intent to do that right

:18:20. > :18:23.now. Charlene needs to judge your effort well, it is not very far, the

:18:24. > :18:29.first leg may have been the quickest we have ever seen, and according to

:18:30. > :18:33.our statistician, 2.36, that is pretty quick, I think the quickest

:18:34. > :18:38.previously was 2.3 nine. Laura has the record for a woman. Charlene

:18:39. > :18:46.gauging the effort, the Americans closing the gap, Leanne Farber, then

:18:47. > :18:53.Hendry for Scotland. Alex Bell had a great record of 800m, representing

:18:54. > :18:56.England in red and white. Just going through the camera there. So it is

:18:57. > :19:03.all bunching up, Charlene Thomas will hand over to James West. And a

:19:04. > :19:09.little bit of a gap, I know the Americans were very keen that they

:19:10. > :19:16.had a chance here. This is turning into a bit of a scrap between Great

:19:17. > :19:23.Britain and America. Farber moving closely behind Charlene Thomas, so

:19:24. > :19:33.now the pressure will be on James West. That is a good run there from

:19:34. > :19:40.that position, the Irish are moving through.

:19:41. > :19:49.Charlene just holding a good position here, very good performance

:19:50. > :19:53.from the Irish athletes, moving into third place, closing down on the

:19:54. > :19:59.American, but good from Charlene, judging her effort well. Yes, she is

:20:00. > :20:03.not as comfortable on the hills as Farber, who makes up ground there,

:20:04. > :20:07.but every time she gets a chance to use the extra pace as, she is doing

:20:08. > :20:16.that, and I think she should be able to hand over with the US if she is

:20:17. > :20:18.able to get back in front, excellent run from Monday behind. The

:20:19. > :20:35.Americans doing really well, and Farber will know Will Lear

:20:36. > :20:41.instantly, always sporting a beard, and they will be taking on James

:20:42. > :20:45.West. The others are a little bit too far adrift. James West has got a

:20:46. > :20:51.job on his hands, I was watching some online clips recently, Will

:20:52. > :20:58.Leer training with Nick Willis, the two times Olympic medallist, up in

:20:59. > :21:03.Flagstaff. Will Leer has an interesting thing, he knows Laura

:21:04. > :21:08.Muir is going last, he would not know much about James West, he is at

:21:09. > :21:12.university now, and he might be thinking, if I can get a gap and

:21:13. > :21:15.give Heather a bit of Aileen on Laura Muir, they might have a

:21:16. > :21:24.chance, but it will be hard to do that. -- a bit of a lead. James West

:21:25. > :21:27.is running a strong second place, getting closer to him. If he were

:21:28. > :21:31.clever, he might settle for just being behind the leader when they

:21:32. > :21:35.come to the change, but the pressure is mounting on the USA, and Laura

:21:36. > :21:40.Muir is in fine form, standing on the start line. She will be getting

:21:41. > :21:43.nervous, anxious about where she will take the baton, but the

:21:44. > :21:48.American is running well, James West are running well, the Irishman

:21:49. > :21:50.running strongly in third place. A little bit of the back story is that

:21:51. > :21:55.at the world cross-country there will be a mixed relay of this

:21:56. > :22:02.fashion, so slightly hit by the fact that it is in Uganda, a lot of

:22:03. > :22:06.countries will not be sending full teams. It will really help to bring

:22:07. > :22:10.world cross-country back to the strength it has enjoyed in previous

:22:11. > :22:15.years. If you compare to these two men in terms of their best 1500m, no

:22:16. > :22:20.contest, Will Leer is much quicker than James West, who is just 20

:22:21. > :22:27.years of age, at Loughborough now. They have both been caught by Kelly,

:22:28. > :22:35.and the Scottish athlete now getting closer. Will Leer happy to sit and

:22:36. > :22:41.watch now, I suspect he will be trying to save it and at least get

:22:42. > :22:45.through 400m, but when you hand over, Laura Muir will love the

:22:46. > :22:50.position. What about Scotland? Well, a real burst there, maybe a little

:22:51. > :22:54.bit early, a couple of hundred metres to go. A real burst by the

:22:55. > :22:58.Scottish athlete, running powerfully, young James West is

:22:59. > :23:03.holding it, the American, Will Leer, we expected him to be quicker and

:23:04. > :23:08.closer. Now James West is about to hand over to Laura Muir, who is on

:23:09. > :23:13.the start line. She sees the Scottish press coming down first,

:23:14. > :23:16.but it is not for her. The Scottish athlete is and the inside, then

:23:17. > :23:25.Laura Muir takes over in a great place. A great performance from the

:23:26. > :23:38.Scottish athlete, who is based in the United States. His team-mate

:23:39. > :23:44.came in... Jo has been replaced by Gemma Reidy, Laura Muir's young

:23:45. > :23:52.training partner, show the match so she knows she will not be catching

:23:53. > :23:59.Laura Muir. You know what coach said to her? Just run as hard and as fast

:24:00. > :24:02.as you can, and she is, it is not going to be about tactics - she is

:24:03. > :24:07.going to try to run away from them all, and she is doing it in style.

:24:08. > :24:11.She only really knows how to run that way, too late all on the

:24:12. > :24:15.ground, to put it all out there, and she is really strong at the minute.

:24:16. > :24:18.She is really strong mentally, because she has come back from that

:24:19. > :24:23.training in South Africa in really good shape, backed that up in the

:24:24. > :24:27.week with the 5000m race indoors, just wants to build on that again

:24:28. > :24:35.today, but a really strong time down. Yeah, she will be heading down

:24:36. > :24:37.to South Africa on Tuesday, some of the other British middle-distance

:24:38. > :24:41.contingent are already down there. She spent a fair bit of time there

:24:42. > :24:46.in November and early December before coming back, she had

:24:47. > :24:52.Christmas and New Year at home. Great 5000m record in doors on

:24:53. > :24:56.Wednesday, then back to South Africa, back to altitude, then we

:24:57. > :25:01.will see her at the indoor in Birmingham, going for Kelly Holmes's

:25:02. > :25:05.1000m indoor record. This is something we will see a lot of this

:25:06. > :25:11.year, Laura Muir at the front of the field, this time it is a relay,

:25:12. > :25:15.later it may even be 5000m, but like Paula said earlier, this is the way

:25:16. > :25:21.she knows how to run, from the front, running fast, hard, and my

:25:22. > :25:24.goodness, she is doing that today. Well, she will be delighted to be

:25:25. > :25:28.winning this, equally delighted if their training partner Gemma can

:25:29. > :25:35.hold onto second place behind her, the 18-year-old doing a good job,

:25:36. > :25:42.she has got the Irish and USA athletes behind, but they are so far

:25:43. > :25:45.behind Laura Muir. Big heroes of Scottish sport and Scottish

:25:46. > :25:49.athletics, Laura doing what it does best, getting a great reception from

:25:50. > :25:54.the crowd, they are nowhere near her, it will be interesting to see

:25:55. > :25:59.what sort of time she runs. She is good at frontrunning, you saw that

:26:00. > :26:06.with the 5000m record, she ran that pretty much on her own for the last

:26:07. > :26:14.two kilometres. A comfortable win, storming away from the field, Great

:26:15. > :26:28.Britain Winnie 4x1km relay and the Stuart Kuttner, USA in second place.

:26:29. > :26:34.-- win the. -- the Stewart Cup. We think we have seen a record in the

:26:35. > :26:38.men's race, 2:53 for Laura Muir, which is nearly ten seconds faster

:26:39. > :26:42.than last year. Admittedly, it is not as muddy this year, but given

:26:43. > :26:46.that she was running pretty much on her own, that is a brilliant

:26:47. > :26:53.performance, and that is why she finished so Parkhead everybody else.

:26:54. > :26:57.Coming home strongly, powerfully, ten seconds faster than last year,

:26:58. > :27:01.and if she translates that onto the track, there will be fireworks all

:27:02. > :27:09.summer, what a great performance, great start to the year by Laura.

:27:10. > :27:18.Yeah, to: 49 for the last element in doors in the week? -- 2:49. She did

:27:19. > :27:24.not really need to run like that today, she was controlling it, but

:27:25. > :27:28.when she is out free, no pressure, that is when she can put more effort

:27:29. > :27:35.in. She is very good at gauging that effort, she lays it all out and does

:27:36. > :27:43.not overcook it. What a 2017 she has ahead of her, she is with Gabby now.

:27:44. > :27:47.Thanks, Steve, ten seconds quicker than last year, the cause is not as

:27:48. > :27:54.muddy as last year, but you seemed very fresh to us! No, I just wanted

:27:55. > :28:00.to do a good job for the team, and when I saw the other girls, I

:28:01. > :28:06.thought I had to break at home for them. Winter training in South

:28:07. > :28:12.Africa has gone very well, 2017 has started well with the 5000m indoor

:28:13. > :28:15.record, you are going for the 1000 in Birmingham - is it all mapped out

:28:16. > :28:20.for you over the next few months? How much cross-country will there

:28:21. > :28:26.be? This is probably the end of the cross-country for me, it is all

:28:27. > :28:30.mapped out, the big goal this year is the records, I am hoping I can

:28:31. > :28:35.perform the best I can when I get there. You have gone from being the

:28:36. > :28:40.hunter to be handed in the last six months, a different mindset in 2017.

:28:41. > :28:45.I was not used to being the one to watch, but now I am figuring there,

:28:46. > :28:51.it is great, people recognise that I am running fast, I want to keep up

:28:52. > :28:54.there. Wonderful in front of the home crowd, congratulations. Steve

:28:55. > :29:00.Cram can mop up all the results there and talk us through it.

:29:01. > :29:16.No doubt about the winning team, Great Britain, a big win.

:29:17. > :29:23.Great Britain getting the afternoon off to a good start, but that was

:29:24. > :29:27.not part of the overall competition. Which is a great shame with such an

:29:28. > :29:30.emphatic victory! The events that do count for the overall match the

:29:31. > :29:35.junior men's and women's race and the elite races. The points are

:29:36. > :29:54.scored across all those races. It was won by Great Britain last

:29:55. > :30:01.year, USA will be hoping to reclaim it, the junior races, the best four

:30:02. > :30:05.scores count, but the best sex in the senior races. We will keep you

:30:06. > :30:07.across the score through the afternoon. Juniors to start, over

:30:08. > :30:21.two Steve Cram for the junior men. This race contained the favourite

:30:22. > :30:24.Alex Yee. He won last year and went to the European cross country

:30:25. > :30:29.Championships as the favourite and sadly fell. He almost tried to get

:30:30. > :30:34.up and then ran over again. He got up and finished 11th. So everybody

:30:35. > :30:36.was looking to Alex Yee to see if he could make up to that are

:30:37. > :30:41.disappointment in December at the Championships. He started off with

:30:42. > :30:49.real intent. Teams from Europe, and the USA. Europe wearing blue with

:30:50. > :30:58.orange shorts. The USA in all blue. Britain in their familiar British

:30:59. > :31:06.strip. Once things settled down, there wasn't much to choose. The

:31:07. > :31:13.British were well represented. There was some problems with slipping and

:31:14. > :31:19.slidy. Scott -- slipping and sliding. The first couple of laps

:31:20. > :31:25.were pedestrian to be fair and then things started to heat up as the man

:31:26. > :31:37.who is the first to break ranks was one of the Americans.

:31:38. > :31:44.He has been suffering from a cold over Christmas and new year. It was

:31:45. > :31:50.the American Affolder who was the first to put his foot down and as

:31:51. > :31:54.soon as he did that, Alex Yee started to struggle. You can see him

:31:55. > :32:00.at the back. It was left to Scott Beattie to try and hang on to the

:32:01. > :32:04.American. He was being followed by Gonzalez, who finished in the top

:32:05. > :32:09.ten at the European Championships. And this this tricky section. They

:32:10. > :32:13.don't go up as high as they used to, but there are some twists and turns

:32:14. > :32:18.and you have to be careful about where you put your feet and there is

:32:19. > :32:22.a stream they cross. Proper cross country section on the other side of

:32:23. > :32:30.the road here. On the third lap as they were coming down here, Affolder

:32:31. > :32:35.was leading, Scott Beattie up there. Shields was close by. A bit of,

:32:36. > :32:40.there was a lack of concentration or whatever, as they were heading down

:32:41. > :32:46.and Scott Beattie took a tumble. That was a shame, because he was

:32:47. > :32:50.looking comfortable at that point. He was quickly on his feet, but it

:32:51. > :32:54.meant any chance he had of challenging the American had gone.

:32:55. > :32:58.This is the stream they cross. One or two others just stepping

:32:59. > :33:07.carefully across there. The American looks strong and for a while looked

:33:08. > :33:16.like he may have it all his own way. Europe giving chase with Worku and

:33:17. > :33:21.Gonzalez. Britain were struggling to see where their challenge would come

:33:22. > :33:32.from with Yee at the back of the field and that tumble for Scott

:33:33. > :33:39.Beattie. The American is an interesting cashing character. One

:33:40. > :33:44.rumour I was if his grandfather said if you break four minutes, I will

:33:45. > :33:55.buy you a Porsche. He didn't have to run that quick today. But he had a

:33:56. > :34:01.real tussle in the last lap. Gone is zalez looked like he could challenge

:34:02. > :34:08.him. But he made his move at the right time and had enough finish. He

:34:09. > :34:13.didn't look back. Nothing he could do about the American. He was

:34:14. > :34:21.rewarded for his front running and a great performance. Really strong

:34:22. > :34:26.over the last 150 metres. Afold ffolder with the win. Disappointment

:34:27. > :34:33.for Britain. The USA starting their afternoon off very well. Gonzalez

:34:34. > :34:38.first and Lundy next and the Americans packing well behind the

:34:39. > :34:42.winner. Beattie lost his number, got up and recovered to still finish the

:34:43. > :35:14.first British athlete in eighth place. The full result:

:35:15. > :35:24.I have with me the winner of the men's junior elite race. Noah

:35:25. > :35:28.Affolder. You had it in the bag from early on. Yes, there is some fast

:35:29. > :35:33.kids from all over Europe and the country. A and I wanted to represent

:35:34. > :35:43.my country well and make, show people I deserve to be here. For

:35:44. > :35:48.Team USA what a great start? Yes we have an amazing group and we came

:35:49. > :35:56.out here, felt great coming out and I think we just put it together

:35:57. > :35:58.today. In the junior women's race, as with the men's initially, Great

:35:59. > :36:17.Britain looked as if they had the favourite in Harriet. Having

:36:18. > :36:28.seen the performance of men, they had to be wary. The first lap there

:36:29. > :36:34.was a big group and Emilia Quirk of Britain was there. Just turned 17.

:36:35. > :36:37.Harriet just hung around for a bit to check I think whether there was

:36:38. > :36:43.going to be any real challenge. A shorter race for the women. Four

:36:44. > :36:47.kilometres. They had one short lap of a kilometre and then went on the

:36:48. > :36:51.two big laps. Harriet very strong and Paula just to bring you in on

:36:52. > :36:57.Harriet, it was a great performance at the European Championships, she

:36:58. > :37:03.comes from great endurance stock, mum and dad both international

:37:04. > :37:12.athletes and she ran a canny race? Yes and she is from great cross

:37:13. > :37:15.country stock. She knows all about cross country running and had a

:37:16. > :37:19.great run in the European cross country and seems to have trained

:37:20. > :37:27.well and come here with a definite intention to go out and maybe

:37:28. > :37:31.everyone else work hard. After the first lap, you can see the way the

:37:32. > :37:39.teams were sitting. Britain had some work to do. The USA started with

:37:40. > :37:43.real intent and put altheir junior women had started quickly. But two

:37:44. > :37:52.or three of the British athletes moved through the field nicely.

:37:53. > :38:00.Quirk was in the chasing group. The gap got bigger and bigger. A good

:38:01. > :38:06.piece of front running. Lau who performed well in the Europeans and

:38:07. > :38:13.some thought could have been greater to Harriet Knowles-Jones. She was

:38:14. > :38:23.nowhere and was content to sit with the chasing group, which, in which

:38:24. > :38:28.she had some come patriots from Europe. It was closer for the team

:38:29. > :38:34.competition. Just to reiterate that it is the points that add up when we

:38:35. > :38:38.have the senior men and women to come. The total points will

:38:39. > :38:43.determine who wins the team challenge. Nothing Harriet can do

:38:44. > :38:48.about what is going on behind her. Stuck to her task. The only thing

:38:49. > :38:56.you need to do is to make sure nothing silly happens. As Paula said

:38:57. > :39:05.she is a good exponent of the cross country art. One of our bright young

:39:06. > :39:13.talent and you look at some of people who have won this and we hope

:39:14. > :39:18.they will have good senior careers. Harriet Knowles-Jones, clear winner,

:39:19. > :39:23.giving Great Britain their first victory in terms of team

:39:24. > :39:30.competition. Individually any way and she would be able to turn around

:39:31. > :39:38.and see a real good battle going on behind in terms of the minor places.

:39:39. > :39:46.Amelia Quirk came fourth. That meant Great Britain and the USA were in a

:39:47. > :39:52.right tussle. We had to wait for the fourth counter to get across the

:39:53. > :39:59.line. Some big gap there is and Harriet Knowles-Jones managed to put

:40:00. > :40:29.ten seconds between herself and the second placed athlete, Lau.

:40:30. > :40:39.The USA just pipped Britain by one point. The winner of the junior

:40:40. > :40:44.race, Harriet Knowles-Jones, well done, that went to plan? Yes,

:40:45. > :40:49.completely. I have been talking with my coach since the Europeans and we

:40:50. > :40:54.knew I was strong enough and then sit in and push on on the last lap.

:40:55. > :41:02.I made a move on the hill that was probably a bit early. But it pulled

:41:03. > :41:05.off. I had a good team and Amelia finished high up. My whole family is

:41:06. > :41:21.here, 18 of them! That helps. That is not her family, that is the

:41:22. > :41:24.winning American team who won by one point. Let's add the points together

:41:25. > :41:44.from the junior men. Plenty of work for Britain and Mo

:41:45. > :41:50.Farah to do. He is still to come in the elite men's race. He added to

:41:51. > :41:54.his global gold haul in Rio. Can he kick off 2017 with a victory.

:41:55. > :42:02.Garrett Heath will have something to say. He was the winner last year.

:42:03. > :42:19.Muddier conditions though. Will it suit Mo? Yasmine Can will be the

:42:20. > :42:23.woman to beat. And Callum Hawkins finished ninth in Rio and is

:42:24. > :42:27.emerging as a star to watch. It has been some year and probably

:42:28. > :42:32.running-wise the best I have had. Going to London it was just about

:42:33. > :42:39.the London marathon was about qualifying for Rio to go out and run

:42:40. > :42:45.an almost 90 second PB, I couldn't ask for more. In Rio, I felt better

:42:46. > :42:51.shape than I did at London. So I felt like I should go for it and see

:42:52. > :42:56.what happened and ended up finishing ninth, which was a, I had a sneaky

:42:57. > :43:03.feeling I cowl get that. Would get that. I goal was top ten. So to get

:43:04. > :43:10.that, I couldn't put it into the words. In the Great Scottish Run, I

:43:11. > :43:14.hadn't done much training and since even the Great Scottish Run things

:43:15. > :43:17.have been going well and went on to the European cross count are and

:43:18. > :43:23.finished third and got a medal. That is a great finish to the year. I

:43:24. > :43:28.think the race is stronger than last year. It will be tougher. I think

:43:29. > :43:35.just maybe the same, grind it out, do what I usually do, put myself

:43:36. > :43:41.amongst it and see what happens. And we will be one of those looking for

:43:42. > :43:49.a Mo scalp. That elite men's race is at 10 to 3. Earlier wit Tuz turn of

:43:50. > :43:55.the masses. Thousands of runners attempting to blow off the Hogmanay

:43:56. > :44:06.cob webs or start off with a new year resolution. It is not juts the

:44:07. > :44:14.-- just the elite runners and here the conditions are perfect. I love

:44:15. > :44:20.running. It is a great start to the year. You know the track, how do you

:44:21. > :44:29.find it. I tough but good. About the hills. They're a bit cheeky? OK.

:44:30. > :44:36.From Dublin, we come each year, we run the 5K and watch the athletes.

:44:37. > :44:39.S. Do you know the track? No, I have never been around the track. I'm not

:44:40. > :44:44.sure. How was your training over Christmas. Not the best. A lot of

:44:45. > :44:53.unhealthy food. But I will probably struggle. Good luck. The runners

:44:54. > :44:58.were split into three waves. The white wave was first to set out.

:44:59. > :45:00.Everyone taking part has a reason for doing so and a lot are doing it

:45:01. > :45:12.for charity. This is a popular choir in the city,

:45:13. > :45:14.so this is not just an individual challenge, it can be worn for a

:45:15. > :45:32.community also. Sometimes in our lives... #

:45:33. > :45:39.IDs to be a vocal coach with the council. I started my first choir

:45:40. > :45:44.with 31 people. -- I used to be. It has just grown and grown since then.

:45:45. > :45:49.With the aim of the choir, Sing in the City, we have over 550 members

:45:50. > :45:54.at the moment, which spans nine choirs in Edinburgh, Fife,

:45:55. > :46:00.Musselburgh. Singing in a group like that can be so uplifting, so much

:46:01. > :46:03.fun. And it is such a great team, everybody is a real part of it, we

:46:04. > :46:13.all take part in as many things as we possibly can. Music, to me, is

:46:14. > :46:17.everything. I have been playing and singing since I was 13. Made a lot

:46:18. > :46:25.of life choices so that I could follow music. And it is... It is

:46:26. > :46:29.everything to me, it is just everything that I love, everything

:46:30. > :46:33.that I am, everything that I want to be done it as every single emotion,

:46:34. > :46:40.you can find everything in it, you can get so much from it. If you give

:46:41. > :46:44.to it, it gives back. I work as a nurse, and that is obviously quite a

:46:45. > :46:48.demanding job, and I can have a really bad day, and by the time I

:46:49. > :46:52.come here on Tuesday after about half an hour I have forgotten how

:46:53. > :46:59.bad it was. I have completely relaxed, enjoying it. I might not

:47:00. > :47:02.smile as much as Kirsty encourages us to do! But inside I am definitely

:47:03. > :47:11.smiling all the way through the three hours. I asked my members why

:47:12. > :47:15.they came. I thought it was going to be about music and singing, but I

:47:16. > :47:19.realised people came to sing for completely different reasons than I

:47:20. > :47:23.do. They came because they had a stressful job, they had maybe just

:47:24. > :47:36.had a brief and, an illness. You name it, there were multiple reasons

:47:37. > :47:40.why people came. -- a bereavement. I did the run last year, we put it on

:47:41. > :47:45.the Facebook page to see if anyone else wanted to join us, I think we

:47:46. > :47:49.have ended up with 13, but we have done a lot of these things, we have

:47:50. > :47:53.been going out now together for I think three years. So partly it is a

:47:54. > :47:55.physical thing, but it is also the whole social aspect that goes with

:47:56. > :48:03.it. Hearing them sing at the start,

:48:04. > :48:09.cheering them saying at the end when we come down that long hill, it is

:48:10. > :48:14.going to be fantastic. Hopefully, of the 13 us, we will not be running

:48:15. > :48:18.together, we are at different stages, but we will be there when we

:48:19. > :48:19.come across the finish line, probably sing them over the finish

:48:20. > :48:38.line. There is the start of our final wave

:48:39. > :48:40.of runners! It is not just the finish line they have got to look

:48:41. > :49:02.forward to, because they are going to be greeted by this lot.

:49:03. > :49:07.This pair of paramedics at the front are not just health cover, they are

:49:08. > :49:08.taking on the challenge and want to raise awareness for healthy working

:49:09. > :49:25.lives. It is an NHS initiative which we

:49:26. > :49:28.started in Fife. We have done it for a number of years to encourage

:49:29. > :49:36.people to have a healthier, happier lifestyle. The nature of our work is

:49:37. > :49:41.about devastation and death, so when we go over together, you know, you

:49:42. > :49:51.chat and talk about the jobs that you have went through, so it is the

:49:52. > :49:56.de-stressing. Physical exercise helps me with the daily challenges,

:49:57. > :50:01.it helps me put things to bed, as I say. When I am out, I feel good, and

:50:02. > :50:06.things that have bothered me for 24 hours or so, ten or 15 minutes of

:50:07. > :50:11.running, beautiful beaches, beautiful scenery, running along,

:50:12. > :50:18.looking out over the sea, seeing Edinburgh in all its glory. I mean,

:50:19. > :50:22.where would you get a better setting than that? Personally, it has

:50:23. > :50:27.benefited me because I encourage it, so I feel as if I have to maintain

:50:28. > :50:31.it myself. I keep myself fit and healthy. One of the hardest things

:50:32. > :50:37.is to get other people encouraged. People do not believe they can do

:50:38. > :50:40.it. They say, I am not a runner, I cannot run, but once you start, the

:50:41. > :50:46.more you do it, the easier it gets. There is no special equipment apart

:50:47. > :50:49.from a pair of trainers. One of my goals in 2017 is to make Healthy

:50:50. > :50:54.Working Lives more popular, also because it is such a stressful job,

:50:55. > :50:58.just giving everybody this outlet that we are lucky enough to enjoy,

:50:59. > :51:04.trying to encourage that for everybody else. Hopefully improving

:51:05. > :51:09.mental well-being. It is a great one to run, everyone is there for the

:51:10. > :51:13.same reason, blow the cobwebs off for 2016, I love taking part, it

:51:14. > :51:16.keeps me motivated for the rest of the year, and hopefully we can

:51:17. > :51:23.encourage other people to join us and have great fun.

:51:24. > :51:30.Not surprisingly, they are finding because a breeze, and they are

:51:31. > :51:40.certainly enjoying themselves. -- the course.

:51:41. > :51:49.These two kept me going, saying, nearly there! Are you pleased with

:51:50. > :51:54.how you got on today? Yeah, it was good, great to hear the choir

:51:55. > :51:59.singing at the end, wasn't it? How special was it, hearing the choir?

:52:00. > :52:01.It really gave us a lift, it spurred us on at the end, it was really

:52:02. > :52:12.good. V-Day is a challenge for anyone, but

:52:13. > :52:24.with an accordion, how did you find that? -- five kilometres. Really

:52:25. > :52:28.enjoyed it, music around the hill! I did not manage up the hill, but the

:52:29. > :52:32.rest of the way round, two kilometres in, that was it. I think

:52:33. > :52:47.they were all trying to run away from the! -- from me! Really enjoyed

:52:48. > :52:52.it! The views are stunning, beautiful, stunning views. Were you

:52:53. > :52:59.happy with your time? I don't even know what the time was, we just come

:53:00. > :53:04.and have a good time, we just enjoy ourselves. 3500 competitors have

:53:05. > :53:15.kicked off their year in fine fashion in Holyrood Park - are you

:53:16. > :53:19.inspired? Get Inspired is on the BBC website, find inspirational stories

:53:20. > :53:24.from people just like you, as well as hints, tips and practical guides

:53:25. > :53:29.to give something ago. There is also an activity finder to help you find

:53:30. > :53:32.something to try new you. You can ask us questions through our social

:53:33. > :53:37.media accounts on Twitter and Facebook, and maybe you can inspire

:53:38. > :53:49.someone else to give something a try. We are passing the baton over

:53:50. > :53:53.to you. It is an inspiring backdrop, that is Holyrood Palace, behind at

:53:54. > :53:56.the parliament, these iconic buildings of Edinburgh, such a

:53:57. > :54:00.beautiful corner of the city, and we have shifted our position so that we

:54:01. > :54:05.have the incredible Arthur's Seat behind me. Those who were not

:54:06. > :54:09.running with the masses today, many have taken a walk up in between the

:54:10. > :54:13.races just to stretch their legs a little bit and end themselves an

:54:14. > :54:16.afternoon snack or slice of cake. But the international match not

:54:17. > :54:20.going particular the well for Great Britain, they are lying in third

:54:21. > :54:26.behind Europe and USA, who are out in lead. They will be looking to

:54:27. > :54:30.pick up points in the elite racers, the women are next, and one woman in

:54:31. > :54:35.the field for Great Britain is the most decorated in the field, 12 gold

:54:36. > :54:39.medals, two silvers, 11 cross-country championship, Great

:54:40. > :54:42.Britain will be hoping Steph Twell goes well.

:54:43. > :54:49.I want to say we are going to be dominant, we have a history for

:54:50. > :54:53.cross-country, so I am going to put it out there that we will be the

:54:54. > :54:59.main threat! But you do have to closely examined the competition and

:55:00. > :55:04.Team Europe. We have a close neighbour, Finola McCormack, from

:55:05. > :55:08.Ireland, she will be a good rival, especially on this kind of terrain.

:55:09. > :55:12.We have also got gold and silver medallists from the European

:55:13. > :55:15.cross-country championships, that will be a good contention,

:55:16. > :55:20.opportunity to race in similar situations. It is trying to balance

:55:21. > :55:23.the team competition to get the best performance. So I think everyone

:55:24. > :55:31.will be looking for the highest position possible, but you are

:55:32. > :55:36.racing as an individual as well. Yeah, a tough course for the women

:55:37. > :55:43.to navigate, but not as tough as in some years, not as muddy and afoot,

:55:44. > :55:47.not as windy, no rain, no snow. It is going to be an interesting race,

:55:48. > :55:48.GB looking to get points, Steve Cram will talk you through it. Over to

:55:49. > :55:57.you. As you say, and maybe not as

:55:58. > :56:03.difficult as they have been over the years, and we have a big crowd out

:56:04. > :56:06.watching, which is wonderful to see. They are seeing some of the best

:56:07. > :56:12.cross-country exponents in the world. The USA will be hoping, as

:56:13. > :56:15.they are leading at the minute after the junior races, that their women

:56:16. > :56:19.can at least hang on to Great Britain and Europe. It will be

:56:20. > :56:29.tough, I think, because the European team and the British team are very

:56:30. > :56:39.strong. Marielle Hall running the USA team. Fionnuala has been in the

:56:40. > :56:43.top two in the last few years, she has won in pretty good form, a

:56:44. > :56:46.little disappointed with the European Championships, because this

:56:47. > :56:52.is the lady who ran away with the race on that occasion, jazz in

:56:53. > :56:58.Cannes, the former Kenyan, now running for Turkey. -- Yasemin Can.

:56:59. > :57:03.With those two in the European team, it will be tough for Great Britain.

:57:04. > :57:06.I know Steph Twell was hoping that Great Britain could dominate, but I

:57:07. > :57:16.think it will be difficult. She is leading the team, a lot of

:57:17. > :57:24.experience in there. Steph Twell, a Scottish athlete as well. So away

:57:25. > :57:30.they go, six kilometres, not a long race really for some of these women,

:57:31. > :57:34.a pretty short distance, four laps of this 1500m course, the testing

:57:35. > :57:38.section across the road, it will be interesting to see how they settle

:57:39. > :57:43.down, and indeed whether or not anyone really fancy setting an early

:57:44. > :57:55.tempo. Because I think certainly the European trio at the front, the two

:57:56. > :58:02.former Kenyan is running for Turkey, McCormack running for Europe on this

:58:03. > :58:06.occasion. Paula, we have seen you commentating on the European race, I

:58:07. > :58:10.said Fionnuala was disappointed, only because she set very high

:58:11. > :58:16.standards for herself and is in good shape, but she never really got in

:58:17. > :58:20.contention. No, she didn't, she didn't run aggressively at all, not

:58:21. > :58:25.any manner we usually see Fionnuala attacking the races, anyway she has

:58:26. > :58:30.set out today. Six kilometres on a firm course like today is short for

:58:31. > :58:35.her, less in her court than the Europeans would have been, but she

:58:36. > :58:39.was not 100% there, walked away frustrated after that race. She will

:58:40. > :58:43.have trained hard over the break, come here knowing that she has

:58:44. > :58:47.always raced here well, and she wants to underline that and make

:58:48. > :58:52.amends for that disappointment in the European Championships. You were

:58:53. > :58:56.right, she really has raised well here, first on two occasions, second

:58:57. > :59:01.on three occasions since then, this is a figure and a format we have

:59:02. > :59:08.seen for her, heads down, in the league, on a course which has often

:59:09. > :59:12.been more difficult than this. -- in the lead. It is fairly firm on the

:59:13. > :59:23.far side, not muddy on the near side, and the Lula -- Fionnuala

:59:24. > :59:26.McCormack, from Ireland, representing Europe, this is an

:59:27. > :59:34.adventure loves, and she runs extremely well in it. -- and event

:59:35. > :59:38.she loves. So Fionnuala has gone to the front already, and as Paula was

:59:39. > :59:43.saying, she did not really get the chance to do this at the European

:59:44. > :59:51.Championships. The two former Kenyans, just to give you an idea,

:59:52. > :59:57.Can ran both the five and ten in the Olympics, finishing seventh in the

:59:58. > :00:01.10,000m, one better in the 5000m. And that is the pedigree, the track

:00:02. > :00:07.pedigree that they can bring to this. OK, if it was really muddy and

:00:08. > :00:10.cold, sometimes we think, OK, the Kenyans, but we have seen great

:00:11. > :00:14.African athletes commit to unwrap and running really well. If they are

:00:15. > :00:19.fit, and they obviously are, although it is a test for everybody,

:00:20. > :00:21.these conditions, I do not think it would frighten them, but good to see

:00:22. > :00:32.Fionnuala going with them at this early stage. FOSTER:, PAULA

:00:33. > :00:37.RADCLIFFE: When the two Turkish athletes went by, they have a change

:00:38. > :00:42.of pace that Fionnuala doesn't have. They can put in a change of pace

:00:43. > :00:48.quickly and Fionnuala finds it hard to react to that. She is more

:00:49. > :00:55.relying on it will be a steep uphill. The biggest dangers are not

:00:56. > :01:01.the mud, but it is that long grass and falling because of that. And

:01:02. > :01:06.when they go up the hill and jump the stream, it is slate under foot

:01:07. > :01:16.and the spieps will slide -- spikes will slide on that. BRENDAN FOSTER:

:01:17. > :01:25.These are the three class athletes from Europe. Two fantastic

:01:26. > :01:38.performances from the Turkish runner. Now she is taking the

:01:39. > :01:45.position that a lot of people expected, Can, there is issues about

:01:46. > :01:51.athletes transferring country, she was born in Kenyan and moved to

:01:52. > :01:55.Turkey. She is representing Europe today. But whoever she is

:01:56. > :01:59.representing, she is a very good athlete. STEVE CRAM: I don't think

:02:00. > :02:04.that is the issue, I don't think anybody wants to deny good athletes

:02:05. > :02:09.the chance to compete. For athletes to able to transfer quickly. We are

:02:10. > :02:14.going to see Kenyans running in the American team. You take Mo as an

:02:15. > :02:20.example of somebody who moves, whether you move at 10, or 15 or 23.

:02:21. > :02:27.If you have lived there long enough, that is fair enough. When it is an

:02:28. > :02:33.obvious transfer to run for a count are. As good as she is, she might

:02:34. > :02:37.not make the Kenyan team, but she will make the team for Turkey. It is

:02:38. > :02:44.something the authorities are looking at strongly. A lot of

:02:45. > :02:49.athletes feel strongly about it. Fionnuala has been vocal about it.

:02:50. > :02:52.It is not aimed at the individual athletes, but it is about the

:02:53. > :02:55.process and the process should be reviewed to make it more difficult.

:02:56. > :03:03.I think you have to spend more time in a country before you get a chance

:03:04. > :03:06.to run for the country. BRENDAN FOSTER: You can't help feeling there

:03:07. > :03:09.is transfers of convenience. They live in their home country and

:03:10. > :03:15.represent a different country. When they move to live and train and come

:03:16. > :03:23.up with the culture of that country, then they should represent that

:03:24. > :03:38.country. But these two representing Turkey and both travelled from

:03:39. > :03:41.Kenya. It is 24 degrees in Kenya. Fionnuala McCormack proud to

:03:42. > :03:43.represent Ireland and Europe. The European team are taking the prizes

:03:44. > :03:54.here. STEVE CRAM: You can see the

:03:55. > :04:02.standings in this race are not much of an improvement for Great Britain.

:04:03. > :04:08.Although Steph Twell leading and Pippa Woolven there. Great Britain

:04:09. > :04:11.not able to improve their overall position at this point. Europe will

:04:12. > :04:16.be dominant and after this race Europe could be in a good position

:04:17. > :04:21.in terms of overall competition against the USA. It will come down

:04:22. > :04:25.to the men's race. I expect Europe given that they're in the top three

:04:26. > :04:38.positions and they have another couple of athletes in that chasing

:04:39. > :04:46.group as well, Bobocel coming back to form. It will be a long race for

:04:47. > :04:54.Fionnuala. The two Turkish athletes are away. There is fifth and sixth

:04:55. > :04:58.coming through for Europe. So at the moment, they're in a dominant

:04:59. > :05:01.position and these two, well I'm sure they will continue to go away.

:05:02. > :05:08.They have raced each other regularly. And as Brendan said, it

:05:09. > :05:11.was quite, it was actually quite almost summer conditions at the

:05:12. > :05:17.European cross country Championships. Often they're held in

:05:18. > :05:22.cold and icy and snow in Sardinia there was nice conditions for all

:05:23. > :05:26.the athletes to enjoy. It is not quite like that today. But by

:05:27. > :05:33.Edinburgh's standard's it is spring like. BRENDAN FOSTER: By Edinburgh's

:05:34. > :05:38.standards it is summer conditions! Often here we have had snow and wind

:05:39. > :05:42.and rain. But we have still had some class athletes and here are two

:05:43. > :06:02.class athletes representing Europe. Fionnuala McCormack is in third

:06:03. > :06:08.place. But she is in the middle of a clean sweep with the European

:06:09. > :06:20.athletes representing Europe being one, two, three, four and five.

:06:21. > :06:25.STEVE CRAM: A world on Gemma Steel. We have got this great group of

:06:26. > :06:33.distance runners. Laura Muir is throwing her hat into the ring for

:06:34. > :06:40.5,000 metres and Eilish McColgan who is in South Africa doing winter

:06:41. > :06:44.work. A word on Gemma. It has been a difficult period for her? PAULA

:06:45. > :06:50.RADCLIFFE: Yes, it has been a tough last year, she suffered with illness

:06:51. > :06:53.and with motivation and with not finding her body responding to the

:06:54. > :07:03.training in the way it had done before. And then seeing the other

:07:04. > :07:07.girls move on so well around her. She struggled with that decision

:07:08. > :07:11.about moving to America and whether she should stick to the shorter

:07:12. > :07:18.distances. She ended up stuck in the middle of all of those. She needs to

:07:19. > :07:25.go back to basics and she is being coached by Rob Denmark and

:07:26. > :07:32.concentrate on getting back to her best. She runs best when she is not

:07:33. > :07:47.worrying. STEVE CRAM: Gemma Steel third last year. A long way off that

:07:48. > :08:00.at the moment. Can and Akdag going through. The three European Athletic

:08:01. > :08:04.l Leiths lead -- athletes leading. Barca and Bobocel coming through.

:08:05. > :08:22.And then America. Lots of new year's eve races around

:08:23. > :08:36.the world. I think Steph Twell also ran in the race and got fourth. But

:08:37. > :08:43.starting the new year into January, Can where she left off in 2016,

:08:44. > :08:52.leading for Europe. And that lead getting a bit bigger. Fionnuala

:08:53. > :09:00.might hope Akdag will come back to her. That gap opened up very

:09:01. > :09:06.quickly. Since then the gap to Can is growing. But the other gap is

:09:07. > :09:15.not. Fionnuala will be keeping focussed on that and can she reel it

:09:16. > :09:19.in. The points there, Europe after two laps leading, dominating in

:09:20. > :09:23.first five places. Six to count here. Britain into second place in

:09:24. > :09:29.this particular race, but still languishing in the current match

:09:30. > :09:35.standings. Pippa Woolven going through. Steph Twell not going so

:09:36. > :09:40.well. I would expect her to be up with the other Europeans, much

:09:41. > :09:45.better position. Pippa Woolven leading for Britain. Steph was ill

:09:46. > :09:53.over Christmas. She said she hoped she was over it. But she is not

:09:54. > :09:58.quite back to 100%. Look how hard fin knew lace work -- Fionnuala is

:09:59. > :10:06.working. A big gap. And she is fine running on her own and would often

:10:07. > :10:13.be running on her own at the front. She won the Lotto Cup front-running.

:10:14. > :10:19.A shorter race. But today having to watch these two former Kenyans now

:10:20. > :10:24.representing Turkey, makes them members of European team. The two

:10:25. > :10:28.top places at the European Championships, Fionnuala out of

:10:29. > :10:41.medals on that occasion, but in the top three here today. She has got

:10:42. > :10:48.time to catch Akdag. Here is the battle for fourth, Barker and

:10:49. > :10:55.Bobocel. Woolven and Arter the two best of the British athletes.

:10:56. > :11:02.BRENDAN FOSTER: You said Steph twelve was not running well, but

:11:03. > :11:11.these athletes are running away from the British contingent. But Can is a

:11:12. > :11:19.very good athlete. There is only Paula Radcliffe who has ran better

:11:20. > :11:24.than her at 10,000 metres. There is Akdag, she was second in the

:11:25. > :11:27.European championships. Whatever country this lady represents, we

:11:28. > :11:34.know she is Kenyan and represents Turkey and has been selected by

:11:35. > :11:38.Europe, we no there is a lot of contentious issues there, about

:11:39. > :11:43.transferring, but at the end of the day, we are looking at a fine young

:11:44. > :11:53.athletes who is running very well today. She looks comfortable on this

:11:54. > :12:03.surface. I think your comment about how good she is. Akdag is an average

:12:04. > :12:20.steeplechaser on the track. That is maybe in evidence today. They're

:12:21. > :12:36.coping with the ground very well. She will hear the bell and head on

:12:37. > :12:40.to the last lap. Fionnuala still has time catch Agdag. I suspect the

:12:41. > :12:45.Irish athlete, they're of course both are upping for the same time v

:12:46. > :12:52.team, but she has a great chance of second spot. Can in the lead. That

:12:53. > :13:00.lead increasing all the time to Akdag in second. Just about to cross

:13:01. > :13:07.the line. She does so. 14 seconds adrift. Another gap of five seconds

:13:08. > :13:14.to McCormack. That gap is one which she could close on the last lap.

:13:15. > :13:20.Akdag may rally. But it gives her something to focus on her ahead of

:13:21. > :13:27.her. Here is the chase for fourth place. Bobocel there and the two

:13:28. > :13:33.Romanians and the two Americans. Arter and Woolven the best of

:13:34. > :13:45.British athletes. Claire Duck going through. Steph Twell having a

:13:46. > :13:51.struggle. We are looking at a fine performance by Can. I think there

:13:52. > :14:05.will be an exciting race in second place, second and third between

:14:06. > :14:10.McCormack and Akdag. It would have been good in Laura Muir had ran. She

:14:11. > :14:13.is an athlete in form and I wouldn't be surprised if she had taken place

:14:14. > :14:18.in the longer race she would be in contention. Some hope for the future

:14:19. > :14:23.with Laura Muir running this kind of distance and look at the

:14:24. > :14:30.determination of Fionnuala McCormack. She is closing Akdag, she

:14:31. > :14:35.is probably frustrated that she is running behind athlete s who don't

:14:36. > :14:38.fairly represent Europe. But Europe have four, well they have the first

:14:39. > :14:46.four and another one in close contention. Before we see Charlotte

:14:47. > :14:52.Arter running the first Briton and further down the field we see Steph

:14:53. > :15:00.Twell not running so well today. PAULA RADCLIFFE: You can see the

:15:01. > :15:06.contrast in form between Can and she is seeing how big the gap is. But

:15:07. > :15:11.back to Akdag, her head has dropped and she is definitely tired. I don't

:15:12. > :15:17.know if she is getting information that Fionnuala is closing on her.

:15:18. > :15:21.But soon she will realise. That frustration Fionnuala has been open

:15:22. > :15:26.about the fact that she was frustrated with the result in the

:15:27. > :15:32.European Championships and that will serve as extra motivation.

:15:33. > :15:38.You have got to use that sort of thing in a positive manner, not just

:15:39. > :15:43.keep complaining - you have to use it to fire yourself up, say, these

:15:44. > :15:48.rules... Seb Coe has got a big intro, he has spent his first year

:15:49. > :15:52.in the IAAF trying to clean up governance, but this is a big issue,

:15:53. > :15:56.it is about athletes transferring countries, because of convenience,

:15:57. > :16:00.often for other reasons than just who they want to represent, where

:16:01. > :16:04.they live, and they have to deal with that. It is absolutely

:16:05. > :16:09.something that has to be covered by the new integrity unit, which is

:16:10. > :16:13.being set up now at the IAAF, because let's be honest, there is

:16:14. > :16:16.cash changing hands for people to move and race for different

:16:17. > :16:19.countries, and that shouldn't be allowed to happen. There should be

:16:20. > :16:27.setting criteria that you have to satisfy to represent a country. We

:16:28. > :16:29.also have to be evenhanded about it, because we have had athletes

:16:30. > :16:34.competing for Great Britain who have shifted allegiance, and that is the

:16:35. > :16:38.point, you have to make sure that it is legitimate. Obviously, people are

:16:39. > :16:43.allowed to, but it is up to the IAAF to draw up a set of guidelines based

:16:44. > :16:46.on that. Anyway, use it in a positive way, and Fionnuala

:16:47. > :16:52.McCormack has tried to do that, a lot of motivation to try to beat one

:16:53. > :16:56.of the athletes are won medals at the European cross-country

:16:57. > :16:59.championships, nowhere near Can, the European champion, a clearly there,

:17:00. > :17:07.but a great scrap on for second place. 38, Akdag, is trying to hold

:17:08. > :17:12.off Fionnuala, who has closed very quickly. -- her team-mates. That

:17:13. > :17:16.five second gap was sort of staying the same, all of a sudden it is down

:17:17. > :17:20.to a couple of seconds. There it is, and she has done what every good

:17:21. > :17:29.coach tells you, when you catch them, go straight past them. That is

:17:30. > :17:32.what I was told anyway, you, Paula? Absolutely, especially on

:17:33. > :17:36.cross-country, when they are tired, go past strong, that is a kick in

:17:37. > :17:45.the stomach for someone who is already tired. So great performance

:17:46. > :17:50.from the champion, dominant all the way, a great display, really, of

:17:51. > :17:54.cross-country running, she has had a great summer in 2016, representing

:17:55. > :18:00.Turkey at the Olympic Games, the European champion now wins in

:18:01. > :18:03.Edinburgh, and it is a dominant win for Can of Europe. And what a great

:18:04. > :18:08.performance from Fionnuala McCormack. In the last five years,

:18:09. > :18:12.she has finished in the top two, she has done it again, a real gutsy run

:18:13. > :18:19.from McCormack of Ireland representing Europe, beating Akdag,

:18:20. > :18:23.who finished well ahead of her at the European Championships, some

:18:24. > :18:29.revenge for Fionnuala McCormack, great glass lap. She takes second,

:18:30. > :18:33.Europe fill the top three places. They put more success behind them,

:18:34. > :18:44.because the athletes chasing in, six counts, a really good battle for

:18:45. > :18:48.fourth and fifth. Barker comes in, the two Romanians doing well. Pippa

:18:49. > :18:53.Woolven, just behind her team-mate Charlotte Arter, the first British

:18:54. > :19:00.athletes are seventh and eighth. America doing well, that will mean,

:19:01. > :19:04.as we see the athletes crossed the line, a real mountain to climb for

:19:05. > :19:11.Great Britain in terms of the team competition, although they are doing

:19:12. > :19:15.reasonably well. A disappointing performance. 12, she comes across

:19:16. > :19:22.the line in 16th place. It will be Europe who dominate. -- a

:19:23. > :19:31.disappointing performance for Steph Twell, it may well be that the

:19:32. > :19:35.points gap, if you like, between what the European women have done

:19:36. > :19:45.here will put them in a really dominant position going into the

:19:46. > :19:47.senior men's race. Judd coming through in 24th, as you can see on

:19:48. > :20:11.the caption there. So a fantastic race for Europe, we

:20:12. > :20:14.will clear up the standings in a moment, but second over the line for

:20:15. > :20:19.Europe, Fionnuala McCormack of Ireland, how was it for you today?

:20:20. > :20:23.It was tough, but it was good, I enjoyed it more than the Europeans,

:20:24. > :20:29.partly because of the course, partly because I felt more competitive. You

:20:30. > :20:37.always do well in Edinburgh. Yeah, island and here, I have ran here so

:20:38. > :20:41.many times. -- I love it here. I didn't know whether I was safe in

:20:42. > :20:46.second, there was so much support, great atmosphere. It looks like that

:20:47. > :20:50.was a fantastic result for Europe as well. I could only hear some of it

:20:51. > :20:55.as I was going around, and obviously the two in front for most of the

:20:56. > :21:00.race were from our team, and then I heard the next two as well, so good

:21:01. > :21:03.for Europe. Well done, Fionnuala, Steve Cram can clear up the

:21:04. > :21:09.standings. Well, yes, I can confirm how well

:21:10. > :21:21.Europe did there, Fionnuala's performance, top three finishes for

:21:22. > :21:24.Europe. As I said, six counts, Europe completely dominating that,

:21:25. > :21:30.they will come out as the victors with 28 points. The important thing

:21:31. > :21:40.is the gap that gives them between Great Britain and the USA. 72 points

:21:41. > :21:43.each, 44 points, if my maths is correct, that means that in the

:21:44. > :21:48.match, Europe have gone from a position where USA were dominating

:21:49. > :21:53.to a point where Europe are now dominating as we head towards the

:21:54. > :21:58.senior men. It is going to make that mens reas

:21:59. > :22:07.very interesting indeed, and that is going off in about 15 minutes' time.

:22:08. > :22:19.-- men's race. On the 2.5 kilometres race, we can

:22:20. > :22:26.hear some of the juniors' stories. We are the best team in Edinburgh!

:22:27. > :22:33.We are raising money for a trip to Gothenberg. Some of us are running

:22:34. > :22:39.individually. A number of his friends are running, and he thought

:22:40. > :22:44.would be a good idea if he had a go himself. It is a fantastic step in

:22:45. > :22:49.the right direction, a challenging start to his life, he was born five

:22:50. > :22:53.weeks premature, he picked up a virus, and then he was on life

:22:54. > :22:57.support for the best part of three weeks. He recovered from that, but

:22:58. > :23:02.he was in and out of hospital for the first seven years of his life,

:23:03. > :23:04.culminating in an operation at Great Ormond Street, and they turned his

:23:05. > :23:19.life around. They were fantastic. I am running because my daddy has

:23:20. > :23:26.had three brain tumours and has had a brain cancer, and he has had three

:23:27. > :23:31.surgeries on his head, and my mum's friend has had a stroke, so I am

:23:32. > :23:36.running for her as well. We are taking a group of children from

:23:37. > :23:38.school to take part in the run, and we are here to have fun and support

:23:39. > :23:55.the charity as well. It was amazing, fantastic! I was

:23:56. > :24:01.really, really happy that I finished it. I never thought that I would

:24:02. > :24:06.actually finish it, because me and my dad do a few runs every week, but

:24:07. > :24:15.I always stop and get tired. Today is the first time I haven't stopped.

:24:16. > :24:22.Good man! Well done to him and all the kids taking part, great to see

:24:23. > :24:26.so many out today. They surely enjoyed the senior women's race, and

:24:27. > :24:31.in the overall standings Europe are ahead, a big lead and head of USA.

:24:32. > :24:38.Britain a long way back, I am afraid, I am not even sure Mo Farah

:24:39. > :24:41.can turn this one around! I am not sure it is mathematically

:24:42. > :24:46.impossible for Great Britain to win, but it may be a battle for second

:24:47. > :24:49.place between USA and GB, which will make the head to head more

:24:50. > :24:54.interesting between Garrett Heath and Mo Farah, and he beat Mo Farah

:24:55. > :24:59.last year, and he will be looking to see if he can claim back another

:25:00. > :25:05.incredible scalp. Mo Farah had the most wonderful 2016 with his two

:25:06. > :25:10.golds in Rio, adding to his overall haul of nine global goals in a row,

:25:11. > :25:12.an incredible achievement, finishing the year with that knighthood. Steve

:25:13. > :25:21.Cram caught up with him yesterday. An amazing performance by an amazing

:25:22. > :25:30.man, the greatest we have ever seen, I rise Sir Mo Farah! I have to begin

:25:31. > :25:39.with huge congratulations, Sir Mo, what an honour that must be. An

:25:40. > :25:42.amazing honour, to be called Sir Mo, just unbelievable, in terms of where

:25:43. > :25:49.I came from, where I started. I never imagined this in my life. When

:25:50. > :25:57.you sign an autograph, is it just Mo Farah? Or have you been practising

:25:58. > :26:00.Sir Mo? Mad Mo! You still have to get down to business, World

:26:01. > :26:05.Championships, last year on the track, still applying? No,

:26:06. > :26:11.definitely, my last year on the track, 2017 in London, what an

:26:12. > :26:15.amazing way to finish. Has he got another? He is kicking

:26:16. > :26:26.again! Mo Farah is going for it! It is going to be a glorious win! Mo

:26:27. > :26:30.Farah for Great Britain! It is gold! It is all about London 2017, how do

:26:31. > :26:34.I get the best out of myself? How do I plead for that race? As an

:26:35. > :26:47.athlete, you want to end your career at the top. -- how do I peak? After

:26:48. > :26:53.the London Olympics, it changed me as an athlete, my dream came true,

:26:54. > :26:58.so my point is, like, you have achieved that, let's see what you

:26:59. > :27:02.can do in the marathon now. I believe on the road I have got a lot

:27:03. > :27:06.to learn. It has taken me quite a long time to achieve what I have,

:27:07. > :27:11.and I think the marathon is the same way, do you just go for fast times

:27:12. > :27:15.and practice in training? Or do you try to learn in races, race against

:27:16. > :27:20.other athletes? There is a lot of stuff to be worked on. If I bring it

:27:21. > :27:27.back, 5000 and 10,000 in the summer, both events deal? I would like to,

:27:28. > :27:34.if my body lets me! For sure 10,000, comeback in the 5000 if I can. If

:27:35. > :27:38.you had a choice... The ten. They succumb to the inevitable,

:27:39. > :27:44.bowed to his superiority, Mo Farah wins the gold!

:27:45. > :27:48.So where are you at right now? In Edinburgh for the cross country, how

:27:49. > :27:52.does that fit into your preparations? It is something I have

:27:53. > :27:57.done over he is, I finished second last year, Brendan, I am coming back

:27:58. > :28:04.next year! -- over the years. My training has been going OK, but it

:28:05. > :28:07.is early season, you have to think about the long-term. The cross

:28:08. > :28:14.country will be challenging, a lot of good guys. Callum is going to

:28:15. > :28:18.give me a hard time, then a few Americans, then Garrett Heath, who

:28:19. > :28:22.beat me last year. It is not like Mo Farah is coming in to win the race,

:28:23. > :28:28.it is not as easy as that. When I turn up, I will give 110%, see what

:28:29. > :28:33.I can do. Garrett Heath won last year, the short race a couple of

:28:34. > :28:38.years ago, he loves coming here to race Mo Farah. Yeah, it is going to

:28:39. > :28:44.be tough, those guys will want to hand you down and try to beat you as

:28:45. > :28:47.quickly as possible. But that is what makes cross-country exciting as

:28:48. > :28:54.an event. It is going to be a tough one. In my opinion!

:28:55. > :28:59.A really interesting period in his life now, Mo Farah, he has done

:29:00. > :29:03.everything, nothing left to prove on the track, but this year, with the

:29:04. > :29:07.home World Championships, perhaps if it was not in London it would not

:29:08. > :29:11.hold as much appeal for him. It will be the motivation to get him through

:29:12. > :29:16.his final year on the track, will it be different, his preparation? I

:29:17. > :29:21.think a little bit, yes, because of everything that he has achieved,

:29:22. > :29:23.because like you say, he has those back-to-back world titles,

:29:24. > :29:29.back-to-back Olympic titles, so he needs the fire of it being back in

:29:30. > :29:33.London, back in that stadium where it did not all start, because it

:29:34. > :29:38.started in 2011, but where he achieve that success in 2012. It is

:29:39. > :29:42.important for him to go back there. And because he knows it is going to

:29:43. > :29:46.be his last year, that will be important, to go out on a high note

:29:47. > :29:51.and really underscore his superiority, that is important to

:29:52. > :29:55.him. Just as it is important to come here and race over cross country,

:29:56. > :30:00.because that is where he started. Physiologically, so many miles in

:30:01. > :30:04.the legs, so many winters of preparation - father time is coming,

:30:05. > :30:08.his body is getting older, but he has always been able to manage his

:30:09. > :30:14.body well, not succumb to injuries. He doesn't seem to have do miss

:30:15. > :30:18.races, this final season, if you like, on the track, will he take it

:30:19. > :30:20.down a little bit? The hajj sessions, will his body be able to

:30:21. > :30:29.take those? -- hard sessions. That is the key and earlier Mo did

:30:30. > :30:35.struggle with injuries and being able to recover. He struggled in

:30:36. > :30:40.2008 with carrying too much injury. He has learned from that and he will

:30:41. > :30:44.listen too his body. He will acknowledge that is the key

:30:45. > :30:48.difference, he can still do the hard sessions, but he can't do them

:30:49. > :30:52.back-to-back and he needs to take longer to recover. But he is good at

:30:53. > :30:57.that and he has that maturity and strength behind that as well, which

:30:58. > :31:01.backs him up and enables him to just rest more between the key sessions,

:31:02. > :31:09.as long as he ticks those off he is in shape. One looking to his take

:31:10. > :31:13.his scalp is Garrett Heath who seems to love this Edinburgh course and he

:31:14. > :31:22.has had three victories back-to-back and beat Mo last year. We have been

:31:23. > :31:32.trying to find out what it is about Edinburgh that makes him tick. It is

:31:33. > :31:37.between Heath and Murray. He is thundering down the course. Victory

:31:38. > :31:44.for Garrett Heath he has beaten the great African. He can see the finish

:31:45. > :31:52.line. No danger for him in second. Across the road for the last time

:31:53. > :31:57.for last year's winner. She he was not sure how he was going to be

:31:58. > :32:00.doing. He has been superb. Garrett Heath wins the four kilometre

:32:01. > :32:10.challenge. Great performance from him. The American two in a row. The

:32:11. > :32:14.sprint is on. Garrett Heath has thrown down the gauntlet to Farah.

:32:15. > :32:22.Farah struggling to catch the American. Garrett Heath, this will

:32:23. > :32:29.be a massive victory. Now taking on Mo Farah and he is going to beat

:32:30. > :32:33.him. Garrett Heath of the US a, the surprise winner. Mo Farah settling

:32:34. > :32:41.for second. I love cross country, it brings

:32:42. > :32:44.different strategy you don't see on the track. You never know what

:32:45. > :32:48.you're going to get with the snow and the mud and the rain. It makes

:32:49. > :32:54.it hard to go in with a specific plan of what to do. So you get out

:32:55. > :33:01.and adjust as things get thrown at you and be ready to go. Every year

:33:02. > :33:05.coming back here, I build more confidence each time it has gone

:33:06. > :33:11.well. I have won the year before. So this year I'm confident, but you

:33:12. > :33:18.know, I know Mo is fit and raring to go and Callum and a bunch of the

:33:19. > :33:24.guys in the US team. And you can't count Europe out. There will be

:33:25. > :33:29.plenty of hungry guys and I hope... I hope I will be there at the last

:33:30. > :33:33.lap and ready for another show down coming down the last stretch. He

:33:34. > :33:47.would never challenge Mo on the track. But he is hard as nails. He

:33:48. > :33:52.is a ski champion as well. He loves to challenge. He loves it here and

:33:53. > :34:00.he gets himself ready for this race each year. You can't say Mo has

:34:01. > :34:05.focussed on this race. He not have turned up in shape. But he won't

:34:06. > :34:09.have focussed in the same way. Cross country is a different style of

:34:10. > :34:13.racing as we saw from the footage where he was trying to sprint on the

:34:14. > :34:21.mud. Mo couldn't get the traction he can get on the the track. He can't

:34:22. > :34:25.dominate it as well, because you run more according to feel in cross

:34:26. > :34:32.country, more like Mo will experience on the roads. You can see

:34:33. > :34:42.he is more muscular and it is suited with the conditions being slippy and

:34:43. > :34:47.he was able to get the grip. And the cadence, it is not the same as the

:34:48. > :34:55.choppier style of Heath that is more effective over difficult ground and

:34:56. > :35:03.uneven ground. And Callum Hawkins is a challenger, in terms of pecking

:35:04. > :35:08.Order in Britain, Callum will be one when Mo moves, he will be hoping to

:35:09. > :35:16.take his place. Yes and that is good to see that queue of lads coming up.

:35:17. > :35:20.Andy Butcher as well. They all raced well in the European cross country

:35:21. > :35:27.Championships and they were not afraid to mix it with the two

:35:28. > :35:30.Turkish athletes. Callum will have a lot of home support and growing in

:35:31. > :35:38.confidence and strength and maturity. Let's see if Britain can

:35:39. > :35:46.have a strong end to the race. Steve Cram will call this final elite

:35:47. > :35:50.men's race. STEVE CRAM: As for as the team challenge, Europe are in a

:35:51. > :35:58.dominant position. One athlete I haven't mentioned who may figure, as

:35:59. > :36:02.we will come on to him in a second. I'm sure Garrett Heath will get a

:36:03. > :36:08.big welcome from the Edinburgh crowd. Three wins. Two on the short

:36:09. > :36:22.course and last year, it was still a shock to see, although it was seeing

:36:23. > :36:29.him doing it. Aya, another former Kenyan running for Turkey, remitting

:36:30. > :36:37.Europe -- representing Europe. Again dominant in Europe. Where Callum

:36:38. > :36:43.Hawkins chased him home. Brilliant 2016, ninth in the Olympic marathon

:36:44. > :36:52.and he led that race for a decent time as well. Representing Great

:36:53. > :36:58.Britain and Northern Ireland, Sir Mo Farah. He will have to get used to

:36:59. > :37:03.that. Sir Mo Farah introduced to the crowd. You don't need to keep

:37:04. > :37:12.repeating his phenomenal performances in the last six years.

:37:13. > :37:29.Away they go, the men's race over eight kilometres. That is two short

:37:30. > :37:33.laps and four long laps. An intriguing race in prospect I think

:37:34. > :37:39.we have here. No surprise that right from the start to the cheers of

:37:40. > :37:43.local crowd, Callum Hawkins slips himself into the lead. He had a look

:37:44. > :37:51.behind and Garrett Heath not far away. As Paula said, conditions do

:37:52. > :37:58.have a real impact in cross country year on year. Courses, ground

:37:59. > :38:02.underfoot and it doesn't, different conditions means that certain

:38:03. > :38:07.athletes can thrive when in other conditions they don't. And it will

:38:08. > :38:13.be interesting to see whether Garrett Heath can repeat that

:38:14. > :38:21.brilliant performance on a firmer less muddy course. At the end of the

:38:22. > :38:34.day, the pedigree that he has shown, Hawkins has shown, and Kaya and Mo

:38:35. > :38:39.Farah. Andy Vernon moving up. A strong British contingent. Mahamed

:38:40. > :38:46.Mahamed moves up from the junior ranks. He represents the seniors for

:38:47. > :38:50.the first time. Johny Taylor and Ellis Cross and Jack Martin and

:38:51. > :38:57.Graham Rush. A big British team and I'm not sure they will be able to

:38:58. > :39:01.drag themselves back into the lead in the overall challenge, but they

:39:02. > :39:08.will want to finish ahead of the USA and Europe here if they can. Paula,

:39:09. > :39:13.actually both of you didn't mind going to the front in your careers.

:39:14. > :39:17.The one thing Callum Hawkins runs with is a lack of fear. He has

:39:18. > :39:23.respect, but no fear of anybody. PAULA RADCLIFFE: That is the way you

:39:24. > :39:27.need to attack cross country and marathon running. You need to have

:39:28. > :39:32.respect for the courses, but not be afraid. Callum's lack of fear if you

:39:33. > :39:36.like comes from his confidence in the preparation and in the training

:39:37. > :39:42.he has done. He knows he is in the shape of his life and ran well

:39:43. > :39:48.through last year, went away and built on that again in his altitude

:39:49. > :39:53.training. He came out and committed to racing there. He wasn't afraid to

:39:54. > :40:01.go with the leader and to cover the moves and racing like that again

:40:02. > :40:04.here today. Brendan, we are used to seeing Mo Farah not necessarily

:40:05. > :40:10.being at the front at the start. But already Mo is well back in the pack.

:40:11. > :40:16.Have these guys gone off quick? A couple of short laps. Pearson we

:40:17. > :40:21.wouldn't expect to figure. They have gone off quickly. They have gone off

:40:22. > :40:28.too quickly. They will have to settle. It is eight kilometres, it

:40:29. > :40:35.is a good distance, it is six laps to run. You can tell they're going

:40:36. > :40:42.quickly. If you look at the gaps opening, it tells you this race has

:40:43. > :40:51.started with a fierce pace. Pearce has decided to take them on and he

:40:52. > :40:56.is acting like a pace maker. But Callum Hawkins, who I saw at the

:40:57. > :41:00.start, they have taken it to Mo. Maybe Mo is in the race has given

:41:01. > :41:07.them extra urgency. But they will have to slow down soon. 2.51 that

:41:08. > :41:14.first kilometre, given you have another seven to go, that was swift.

:41:15. > :41:20.It is cross country and you should be careful about times. But when you

:41:21. > :41:25.think of how good Kaya, the form he is in, he is happy to sit back,

:41:26. > :41:29.maybe watching Mo a bit. Mo is right back in the pack. I would have

:41:30. > :41:34.expected to see him at the front or near the front of the chasing pack.

:41:35. > :41:41.Accepting these three have put their foot down early. But Mo at the

:41:42. > :41:45.moment a long way, not so much in terms of distance, well, actually it

:41:46. > :41:50.is quite a distance! Paula is looking and thinking the, yes. At

:41:51. > :41:56.the front two of the favourites, Hawkins and Heath opening a gap.

:41:57. > :41:59.PAULA RADCLIFFE: Is not exactly an intentional sitting back and

:42:00. > :42:03.controlling the field as we have seen so many times on the track.

:42:04. > :42:09.This is people taking the race to Mo and at the moment he is struggling

:42:10. > :42:14.to respond to that. I wonder if there was some team tactics in that

:42:15. > :42:20.Pearce got the ball rolling on the first lap. Garrett Heath can build

:42:21. > :42:24.on that. But he would be surprised to see Hawkins saying you're not

:42:25. > :42:33.having it your own way. As we see these two at the front, you can see

:42:34. > :42:38.scrolling through all the athletics you can watch on the BBC through the

:42:39. > :42:40.summer, in addition to the events and the trials for the World

:42:41. > :42:44.Championships and the Diamond League in London before we head back to

:42:45. > :42:47.that same stadium for the World Championships. All of the Diamond

:42:48. > :42:55.League races throughout the season, you can see highlights of those as

:42:56. > :43:01.well on the BBC. Plenty of athletics to look forward to right the way

:43:02. > :43:08.through until September. It all starts here. What a year we hope is

:43:09. > :43:16.in prospect or Hawkins and Farah. But fade, not -- but today, not

:43:17. > :43:21.often you say this, just waiting for his name to come through, the 16th.

:43:22. > :43:26.Mo has started very slowly by his standards. Well the others have

:43:27. > :43:29.started very quickly. We haven't seen Mo Farah in the middle of a

:43:30. > :43:34.pack like this and coming under pressure for a lot of years. His

:43:35. > :43:39.early career he did win occasionally and lose sometimes. His recent

:43:40. > :43:47.career, he tends to win. If he doesn't win, he is right in

:43:48. > :43:51.contention. I noticed Hawkins looking back and a little smile when

:43:52. > :43:55.he saw the gaps were opened and the great Mo Farah and he literally is

:43:56. > :44:01.the greatest athlete we have had, in the middle of the pack, 12 seconds

:44:02. > :44:05.behind and Callum Hawkins, the man who grew up last year. There is Mo

:44:06. > :44:10.working hard. He has always known about working hard. That is what he

:44:11. > :44:13.does. You can bet that wherever he finishes today, Mo will give an

:44:14. > :44:22.account of himself and be committed to the event. He may not be as fit

:44:23. > :44:26.as he normally is and not as fit as he will be in August in London.

:44:27. > :44:31.There is Mo Farah, athletes around him. A slight look of disappointment

:44:32. > :44:40.on his face. He is out of contention so far and Callum Hawkins is running

:44:41. > :44:47.as an excited young man in front of his home crowd. He is doing the job.

:44:48. > :44:51.The Americans are packing well. 28 points after two short laps. A long

:44:52. > :44:56.way to go. The deficit between themselves and Europe means they

:44:57. > :44:59.over all the USA are back in fronts ahead of Europe and Britain not

:45:00. > :45:02.really I don't think going to lift themselves. Mo trying to move

:45:03. > :45:04.through the pack at the minute. But its all down to Callum Hawkins at

:45:05. > :45:24.the front. Heath up there with Korir and

:45:25. > :45:28.Chelanga, the American team full of Kenyans, most of whom went there to

:45:29. > :45:34.college and had been given US citizenship. Mo a long way down

:45:35. > :45:43.there. I bet there have not been many years that Ben Connor has been

:45:44. > :45:47.running alongside Mo in a cross-country race. If you look at

:45:48. > :45:51.him closely, you will see a different look on his face - he

:45:52. > :45:55.knows he is not in control today, these three guys have got a big

:45:56. > :46:03.league now, and it is up to them to decide how this race goes. -- big

:46:04. > :46:09.lead. If these guys do not slow, Mo has no chance of catching them.

:46:10. > :46:13.Callum Hawkins has done his homework, he is a marathon runner,

:46:14. > :46:16.exceptional half marathon recently, good cross-country just before

:46:17. > :46:21.Christmas, and on his home patch, the race he has been aiming for.

:46:22. > :46:24.Look closely at Mo Farah, the expression on his face that you do

:46:25. > :46:29.not see when he is in control on the track. He is at the mercy of other

:46:30. > :46:35.athletes, whereas normally the others are at his mercy - he

:46:36. > :46:38.controls, he dictates, he orchestrates races when he wins

:46:39. > :46:46.them. He is not doing that today. It is almost panic on his face, what do

:46:47. > :46:51.I do here? I have come here, had a great end to the year, I wanted to

:46:52. > :46:55.race well, and this is not going well. It is a bigger panic than we

:46:56. > :46:59.saw when he fell in Rio, because then he knew he was still in

:47:00. > :47:04.control. The really impressive person here is Callum Hawkins, when

:47:05. > :47:08.you look back as far as Kaya, who beat him in the cross-country

:47:09. > :47:12.championships, yes, a different style of race, but a huge distance

:47:13. > :47:19.back to the man who we finished eight long distance behind in

:47:20. > :47:25.Sardinia. -- who he finished a long distance behind in Sardinia. So

:47:26. > :47:31.approaching kind of halfway in this race now, Callum Hawkins just had a

:47:32. > :47:38.little luck behind to see who he has got for company, Korir, who was in

:47:39. > :47:44.the Olympic final with Mo Farah, and Garrett Heath. Look at Mo, he is

:47:45. > :47:47.working hard, he has got an self-induced second place as far as

:47:48. > :47:53.Great Britain are concerned, moving ahead of Jonny Taylor and Dewi

:47:54. > :47:58.Griffiths, but still out of the top ten. He has moved up 20 seconds

:47:59. > :48:03.behind the leaders, a hard day at the office for Mo Farah. But this

:48:04. > :48:07.sort of thing, I know what you guys are saying, I think he will want to

:48:08. > :48:11.run as well as he can, he's going to try as hard as he can, but I don't

:48:12. > :48:15.think you will get that distressed afterwards. He knows what is big

:48:16. > :48:23.target is for the year, he knew he had to have some down time after the

:48:24. > :48:26.to build up again, and he is in the process now. The new today was a

:48:27. > :48:35.risk in terms of trying to win it, I don't think any of us three that he

:48:36. > :48:43.might win - Paula, you might have. -- he knew. This is a race that Mo

:48:44. > :48:47.has not aimed for, that is in the summer, and at the end of the day

:48:48. > :48:52.the downtime you are talking about is absolutely right, but it is a

:48:53. > :48:55.great reminder, come out early in the New Year, running against a

:48:56. > :48:59.bunch of quality athletes. Remember, on the track they are not that far

:49:00. > :49:03.behind him when he wins, and he's doing what I thought he would do

:49:04. > :49:09.today, sticking to the task, working his way through the field. He knows

:49:10. > :49:14.this is not the norm, he has a bunch of American athletes ahead of him.

:49:15. > :49:18.If one thing is to find his career, he is always prepared to work harder

:49:19. > :49:21.than anyone else, and Callum Hawkins is setting this up for the other

:49:22. > :49:27.athletes. Garrett Heath is running a quite race in third place, Callum

:49:28. > :49:31.Hawkins is running strongly and well, Korir running very strongly on

:49:32. > :49:34.his shoulder. They are lucky they have an athlete who is prepared to

:49:35. > :49:39.do the work, they are sheltering behind him. It is time for Callum to

:49:40. > :49:44.start thinking about the strategy. He has got to think what he will do

:49:45. > :49:48.in the later stages. This is a great career opportunity for him, an

:49:49. > :49:52.opportunity for him to win a big international race in front of his

:49:53. > :49:56.home crowd, an opportunity to take a big scalp, the first time we have

:49:57. > :50:00.seen a knight of the realm running a cross-country race. Mo Farah is

:50:01. > :50:06.further down the field now, lower down the ranks. It is a great one

:50:07. > :50:11.for Callum. I think he might be trying to hand it back, it is

:50:12. > :50:15.weighing him down today! Probably definitely the celebrations of the

:50:16. > :50:18.end of the year, the fact that he has not focused on this, that will

:50:19. > :50:22.be affecting the way that Mo has raced today. He will not have

:50:23. > :50:26.expected them to go as fast as they did, and definitely that was in

:50:27. > :50:31.Callum Hawkins' plan, he would have known it was to his advantage, to

:50:32. > :50:35.get the pace moving as quickly as possible. Garrett Heath and Korir

:50:36. > :50:43.are having a little bit of a ride on his coat-tails, but they are working

:50:44. > :50:46.hard, having to work very hard to maintain contact. I think Callum

:50:47. > :50:49.Hawkins knows this is best chance to try to win the race, keep turning

:50:50. > :50:55.the screw in the middle of the race, making sure that everybody keeps

:50:56. > :50:59.working hard. So Callum Hawkins, when they complete this lap, they

:51:00. > :51:04.will have two more big laps to go, and particularly on the hills, he

:51:05. > :51:10.gets a little bit of a lead and they work hard to get back. Garrett Heath

:51:11. > :51:15.is having to hang onto Korir. If Korir lets Callum Hawkins go, and he

:51:16. > :51:19.may be sensing that the gap, it is an invisible elastic band, if he can

:51:20. > :51:25.snap it, you get that lead that they cannot hold back against. Callum

:51:26. > :51:28.Hawkins using this bit of the course, Korir understanding, the

:51:29. > :51:32.fact that Korir is just hanging on, that means that he now was pulling

:51:33. > :51:36.away from Garrett Heath. Garrett Heath is losing contact, and he will

:51:37. > :51:41.see, as they go across the stream and away and down the hill, I expect

:51:42. > :51:46.the league to get a little bit bigger. Korir hanging on to Callum

:51:47. > :51:56.Hawkins, the crowds doing their best, great crowds here in Holyrood

:51:57. > :51:58.Park, watching the local from down the road in Glasgow, but nonetheless

:51:59. > :52:03.flying the flag for Scotland and Great Britain here. He is getting a

:52:04. > :52:06.lot of support, and the key thing about this course, whether marathon

:52:07. > :52:11.or cross-country, it gives you the opportunity to learn the course on

:52:12. > :52:15.every lap, and he is learning here stronger up the hill every time

:52:16. > :52:19.around. He is learning that, he is storing that up, and he will be

:52:20. > :52:24.using it to his advantage later in the race. You can see Kaya going

:52:25. > :52:32.through, definitely making up ground on the leads are, as is Mo Farah in

:52:33. > :52:35.this group. Mo is working hard, a familiar sight, he works hard

:52:36. > :52:40.everyday of the year, really grafting. He knows he is not on top

:52:41. > :52:45.form, his adviser, coach and partner was talking about this yesterday,

:52:46. > :52:50.and they said he is clearly not in the form. He is ahead of Andy Vernon

:52:51. > :52:54.and the rest of the British team, apart from Callum Hawkins. This is

:52:55. > :52:59.about strategy for Callum Hawkins, he has never won a big race like

:53:00. > :53:02.this before, never had such great athletes around him, and we are

:53:03. > :53:07.seeing that Callum Hawkins is running the finish out of last

:53:08. > :53:11.year's winner, Garrett Heath. This is his fourth occasion here, every

:53:12. > :53:15.time Garrett Heath has run here before, he has taken the scalp of

:53:16. > :53:19.Olympic champions by winning the race, and he is not going to win

:53:20. > :53:24.this one. He has started to slow on the panel lap, Callum Hawkins has

:53:25. > :53:28.led almost every step of the way, and the pressure of that tells. He

:53:29. > :53:33.has to start thinking, how am I going to win this one? It was

:53:34. > :53:37.interesting, Mo Farah moved up into seventh place, but he actually lost

:53:38. > :53:44.eight seconds and Callum Hawkins, who moved eight seconds further away

:53:45. > :53:47.from Mo. So at the front they are going quicker, despite the fact that

:53:48. > :53:53.people are changing positions behind them. These guys are really forging

:53:54. > :53:57.on, USA, Great Britain, first and second, USA are ahead of Europe, and

:53:58. > :54:01.it is closing up in terms of the overall match standings. The gap

:54:02. > :54:06.between USA and Europe is only 14 points, and that will change with

:54:07. > :54:11.two laps to go. Great Britain are out of it, really. It is down to

:54:12. > :54:16.those two to see who comes out on top. The Americans started very

:54:17. > :54:21.dominantly, but one or two starting to slip back. Hawkins leads, as

:54:22. > :54:26.Brendan was saying, the front runners' curse, have you got the

:54:27. > :54:31.strength, the ability to pull away? Or does the fact that Korir is still

:54:32. > :54:33.close enough, you can hear the breathing, the footsteps

:54:34. > :54:38.occasionally, even though we are in the country, well aware that he is

:54:39. > :54:42.right there with him. This is the section where, Paula, I think he has

:54:43. > :54:46.got a chance of moving away. He moves better over this bit of the

:54:47. > :54:50.ground and certainly up the hill. He might leave it to the last lap to

:54:51. > :54:55.make a big effort, it will be interesting to see whether he tries

:54:56. > :54:59.to get away here. The key is how we gauges is effort, how we manage is

:55:00. > :55:04.what he has got left in his legs. The pace he said off at, both of

:55:05. > :55:09.these guys are tired, you can see the way that Korir jumped there,

:55:10. > :55:18.almost grabbing the rope in the ground, making Callum jump a little

:55:19. > :55:24.bit. He still looks comfortable, Korir, but the smart thing for

:55:25. > :55:28.Callum to do would be to save something to really attack this

:55:29. > :55:33.session on the last and final lap. But it is exciting to see him

:55:34. > :55:36.running so well, we talk about Mo Farah moving forward, moving on to

:55:37. > :55:42.the marathons, moving onto the road. He will have a big challenge to be

:55:43. > :55:46.the best British guy on the roads if Callum keeps improving. And he is

:55:47. > :55:50.improving, trying to stretch and on that stuff part of the course, but

:55:51. > :55:54.Korir has had an easy ride, just following. When he jumped over the

:55:55. > :55:58.water, he looked particularly comfortable. He is doing it in

:55:59. > :56:03.style, Callum Hawkins trying to win this one, he has got great fans

:56:04. > :56:06.urging him along, but Korir is beginning to threaten, moving up

:56:07. > :56:11.onto a shoulder with ease on occasion. These are the chances for

:56:12. > :56:15.Callum Hawkins, this little incline, this jump over the water, can he do

:56:16. > :56:20.it again? He keeps looking over his shoulder. He has to think about

:56:21. > :56:24.tactics, he will hear the bells sound as they come down the hill,

:56:25. > :56:29.one lap to go in front of his home crowd. Can he do something different

:56:30. > :56:34.on the last lap? By leading, he has not been able to break Korir. Korir

:56:35. > :56:40.is a better runner on the track, one minute faster over ten, so we will

:56:41. > :56:46.find out he was better in the country - Callum Hawkins or Korir of

:56:47. > :56:52.America, running next to him? Callum Hawkins leads by just half a metre

:56:53. > :56:56.or so, the European champion, Kaya, has now moved into third place,

:56:57. > :57:01.Chelanga giving chase, Garrett Heath starts to drift back. He has made a

:57:02. > :57:04.brave defence, he got sucked into going out really hard, Garrett

:57:05. > :57:08.Heath, and he is paying for it a little bit. He may have half an eye

:57:09. > :57:20.on Mo Farah chasing behind him, working so hard. For Mo, you would

:57:21. > :57:25.normally expect to see him with Ulad as company. It is a tough day for

:57:26. > :57:31.Mo, but he is still sticking to the task as well as he can. He is 36

:57:32. > :57:35.seconds behind Callum Hawkins. I am loving this! I am loving watching

:57:36. > :57:42.Callum Hawkins do is at most to get away from Korir, on the track he has

:57:43. > :57:55.a better pedigree, one minute quicker over 10,000m, but this is

:57:56. > :58:00.here in Edinburgh in January, Callum Hawkins in front of a home crowd,

:58:01. > :58:04.now working really hard. He probably knows, if he is going to win this,

:58:05. > :58:09.he needs to get a ten metres lead before they come onto that downhill

:58:10. > :58:13.section. He is really trying to win it now, saved a little bit on the

:58:14. > :58:20.last lap, you can see the intense look on his face, I yard at two is

:58:21. > :58:27.growing. Now a chance for Callum Hawkins up the hill, Korir responded

:58:28. > :58:29.quickly. Now a yard or two, can it grow further? Steve was describing

:58:30. > :58:34.the curse for the leader, can you open enough yards? Can you

:58:35. > :58:38.disillusion the other athlete? Look how hard he is working, look at his

:58:39. > :58:43.face, getting fantastic support, but he needs that fantastic support.

:58:44. > :58:48.That is three or four yards, is it enough? It's just needs to grow a

:58:49. > :58:52.tiny bit more, it is easier to break that distance on the cross-country

:58:53. > :58:56.than on the track, because you can always maintained the vision and the

:58:57. > :58:59.site on the person in front of you. On cross-country, with twists and

:59:00. > :59:04.turns, you can build it up more in the mind of the person chasing, and

:59:05. > :59:07.he is trying to do that at the moment, Callum Hawkins, really

:59:08. > :59:17.working hard. Wouldn't it be great to see him going into the world

:59:18. > :59:20.cross-country with this result? I do not think we are going to see it, he

:59:21. > :59:23.doesn't want to make the trip to Uganda, so he will be focusing on

:59:24. > :59:26.the roads for the rest of the winter, but it would be great to see

:59:27. > :59:29.head into that with a strong victory today. That gap isn't quite big

:59:30. > :59:34.enough yet. That is what I was going to say, the gap needs to be bigger,

:59:35. > :59:39.Korir knows it, he is closing again on Callum Hawkins, who made a

:59:40. > :59:42.massive effort to get away. He just wants to make sure, he knows how

:59:43. > :59:46.strong Callum Hawkins has been around this section, so for the

:59:47. > :59:50.first time the American moves into the lead, so Hawkins tries to hang

:59:51. > :59:54.in there, it is going to come down to a big Stig. Does that mean the

:59:55. > :00:00.former Kenyan, running for America, is worried about his kick? Look at

:00:01. > :00:05.Callum Hawkins, this is great to see! As he broken him this time? He

:00:06. > :00:07.has to go hard up the hill, get 15 or 20 metres if he can. Callum

:00:08. > :00:15.Hawkins forging on. Hawkins is dig deep. This is the bit

:00:16. > :00:20.of the course he has tried to extend the lead. A glance over his

:00:21. > :00:27.shoulder. He is sprinting along the top. The gap is growing and he comes

:00:28. > :00:35.to the last water jump! Is he strong enough? Well this is brilliant

:00:36. > :00:39.running from Callum Hawkins. The man from Paisley, being cheered by the

:00:40. > :00:45.home crowd in Edinburgh. He has led from the very first step of this

:00:46. > :00:49.race. A real test of cross country ability, but it is a test of his

:00:50. > :00:56.competitiveness. A slip over the stream. But he has got enough. Korir

:00:57. > :01:01.trying hard to chase him home. Mo Farah couldn't hold off Garrett

:01:02. > :01:06.Heath last year. America won last year and it could be America.

:01:07. > :01:12.Hawkins looks over his shoulder and fights again. Has he got enough? It

:01:13. > :01:21.is going to be tight and Korir just gets it. Korir of the USA just pips

:01:22. > :01:26.Callum Hawkins on the line. Well, we said didn't we it had to be a big

:01:27. > :01:33.enough lead. We thought it was big enough as Garrett takes third. Just

:01:34. > :01:38.for a second around that top corner, a slip, a little slip, across the

:01:39. > :01:44.stream, did that just make him lose a bit of momentum? That just gave

:01:45. > :01:50.Korir the thought, that is all you need, you just need enough of a

:01:51. > :01:57.little thought, that hey I can till catch him. Big finish from Korir to

:01:58. > :02:04.win it. We saw a sprint finish from Heath last year. He has to finish

:02:05. > :02:10.last year. Hard work for Mo today. 46 seconds behind the winner.

:02:11. > :02:15.Finishes in 7th to be the second man home for Britain. That was hard.

:02:16. > :02:20.Isn't it funny that Heath and Farah are still close in terms of race

:02:21. > :02:26.this year, but not one and two, it was sixth and seventh this time. We

:02:27. > :02:30.see Andy Vernon, who has been suffering with a bit of cold. I

:02:31. > :02:35.think 12th. Maybe not a true reflection of his form at the

:02:36. > :02:43.minute. Well, what a finish we had there. Such a shame for Callum

:02:44. > :02:47.Hawkins. He was third at the European Championships and it looked

:02:48. > :02:55.as though he had victory in his grasp here today. Korir is a fine

:02:56. > :02:59.athlete and we said when it came to a sprint finish it might be that the

:03:00. > :03:03.American might have enough. He needed a big gap at the end. It

:03:04. > :03:07.wasn't quite there. And then when Hawkins thought he had it won, there

:03:08. > :03:13.comes the challenge. He tries to respond and Korir again was able to

:03:14. > :03:18.come back again. The crowd doing their best to cheer him to the line,

:03:19. > :03:24.but not quite a lot. But whether a performance from Hawkins. These two

:03:25. > :03:31.well ahead of the rest. America winning. Hawkins second. Let's tidy

:03:32. > :04:09.all of that up. There is a new king of Edinburgh

:04:10. > :04:13.cross country. It is Leonard Korir. But Callum Hawkins ran him close.

:04:14. > :04:19.Congratulations. Thank you very much. I like the race. I can't

:04:20. > :04:24.believe I won. I was already saying is I'm No 2. But I said I would give

:04:25. > :04:32.it all. He missed me by half a second. If I realised. It never

:04:33. > :04:40.looked like you said I'm No 2, I imagine it didn't feel like that to

:04:41. > :04:45.you. Yes I just put it all out there and I was tired at the end. It was a

:04:46. > :04:49.fun race. This guy just wouldn't leave me alone. I was putting

:04:50. > :04:54.everything in to drop it. But he was the stronger man and made some good

:04:55. > :04:59.racing. You made some head way on the the last hill. Were there any

:05:00. > :05:06.tactics you were using to get rid of him? A bit of push it on. I made a

:05:07. > :05:12.dig going into the first lap and I was trying to take the opportunity

:05:13. > :05:19.with every hill. But he just hung in in and he was too strong. After a

:05:20. > :05:27.fan it is a take 2016 -- fantastic 2016. Are your still not going for

:05:28. > :05:31.to cross country. No I'm gearing up for the marathon at London.

:05:32. > :05:35.Hopefully you will have more hotly contested races like that. Well

:05:36. > :05:40.done, that was very entertaining. Now let's get to Steve who will mop

:05:41. > :05:49.up the whole thing for us and find out the team scores. STEVE CRAM: The

:05:50. > :05:56.USA won that race with 27 points. Great Britain and Europe identical

:05:57. > :06:02.points. Charlie Hulson was in eighth place. So Britain are in second

:06:03. > :06:08.place in that race. We add that into the over all total and... It is the

:06:09. > :06:13.USA just by three points ahead of Europe. They win the challenge in

:06:14. > :06:18.2017. Great performance from them. Kicked off by their junior men. They

:06:19. > :06:23.built up a big lead in the first race of the afternoon. That was

:06:24. > :06:26.enough so they could hole on -- hold on, despite the European women doing

:06:27. > :06:29.well and doing well in the men's race. But not good enough. Britain

:06:30. > :06:40.having to settle for third. I have been joined by Sir Mo. Well

:06:41. > :06:45.done, that looked like hard work. Yes, it is a hard day in the office.

:06:46. > :06:49.Got to be honest with yourself, it is not what I wanted. But it is

:06:50. > :06:55.where I am. I have a lot of work do. But it was hard. You mentioned

:06:56. > :07:00.honesty. Are you a bit behind where you would be say in a normal year?

:07:01. > :07:04.Because of what has happened in the last 16 months, in the last

:07:05. > :07:09.extraordinary few months. I'm definitely a bit behind. The last

:07:10. > :07:13.bit of traching hasn't -- training hasn't gone as well as I wanted. It

:07:14. > :07:18.is a team event and I want to represent my country and help the

:07:19. > :07:24.guys. But Arley on it was like ten days before, what do I do? I did a

:07:25. > :07:28.session and I knew from that it is going to be a hard day. But I wanted

:07:29. > :07:32.to come here and represent my country and along with the guys, it

:07:33. > :07:38.is about having fun and cross country is where it started. We saw

:07:39. > :07:42.that footage of you as a kid winning the cross country as a 15-year-old,

:07:43. > :07:47.does it evoke those memories of why you started? Yes, I love the sport.

:07:48. > :07:53.But it is like you know everything you have to work hard and it is good

:07:54. > :07:59.for the youngsters, everyone can come along and watch you and see you

:08:00. > :08:05.working. You're heading into a tough period of training. What is next?

:08:06. > :08:10.I'm going to go back home and go back and hopefully plan my next

:08:11. > :08:14.training camp. I have a bit of work to do. I need to start planning. I

:08:15. > :08:20.have a great team. So I'm not panicking. It is Arley season, it is

:08:21. > :08:25.-- early it is early season and I have to get ready for London. But it

:08:26. > :08:31.is hard work. Everybody wants a piece of you, including the palace,

:08:32. > :08:36.do you know the date? No. Do you know who you're taking. The wife

:08:37. > :08:42.obviously! You have enough kids to choose from. I would love to take my

:08:43. > :08:48.kids, but I think they're too young to understand. Good luck with the

:08:49. > :08:55.rest of the year. 2016 was fantastic. Let's hope 2017 produces

:08:56. > :09:03.more success. And we have a cracking year of sport coming up on the BBC.

:09:04. > :09:06.# There's going to be good time, good time... # I know there's going

:09:07. > :09:44.to be good times! Some fantastic sport coming your way

:09:45. > :09:46.in 2017. This is the next athletics, the indoor Grand Prix from

:09:47. > :10:12.Birmingham on February 18th. The London marathon is always a

:10:13. > :10:17.wonderful day. That is on BBC1. If you're training for that, best of

:10:18. > :10:24.luck and maybe you're inspired by Laura Muir. Who has had a fantastic

:10:25. > :10:29.2017. We discussed your new 5,000 metres record and you're going for

:10:30. > :10:33.the 1K indoor record in Birmingham? Yes, it is great to start the year

:10:34. > :10:37.as I have done and it is great to have a win here on home soil and

:10:38. > :10:41.bring the team through. Looking forward to Birmingham and going for

:10:42. > :10:46.Kelly Holmes' record. Records are important to you. It seems, that is

:10:47. > :10:50.a fantastic goal to set yourself and you're the kind of person who says

:10:51. > :10:54.it. That is an interesting way of doing things to say that is what I'm

:10:55. > :10:59.going for? Yes, I think it is reflected in the way that Laura

:11:00. > :11:02.runs. You run hard and she is not afraid to say, that is what I'm

:11:03. > :11:07.going after and I'm going to work hard to do it and you had better

:11:08. > :11:12.hang on, because that is the way I'm going to attack the races. When you

:11:13. > :11:16.have the confidence from the training and the way she has raced

:11:17. > :11:22.in the last 18 months, it is growing and growing and you know you can run

:11:23. > :11:27.and probably run stronger when you're away chasing the clock. The

:11:28. > :11:30.possibilities of a home World Championships as well, being in

:11:31. > :11:35.London for Laura, this could be a magical year. I think she is lucky,

:11:36. > :11:39.because she did the Olympics was very early in 2012 and now she has

:11:40. > :11:44.the experience of international competition, including the Olympics

:11:45. > :11:49.and 2017 in London and she is keeping us guessing which event she

:11:50. > :11:53.will do. 1,500 or 5,000 or both. That is fantastic. We have seen Mo

:11:54. > :11:58.here and you know, during the commentary we were talking about Mo

:11:59. > :12:02.and the thing about Mo and Laura is the say, athletics is about working

:12:03. > :12:07.hard and Mo in the middle of a race where he wasn't running well, and he

:12:08. > :12:12.was struggling, you could see his face, and you could see him

:12:13. > :12:16.knuckling down and in the words he uses, graft, graft, graft. That is

:12:17. > :12:22.what you have to do and that is what Laura is doing. We will see him on

:12:23. > :12:28.the track for the final time in London and the also the great Usain

:12:29. > :12:34.Bolt. New stars will hopefully emerge. But it will been emotional

:12:35. > :12:38.time too say goodbye to Usain Bolt. Yes he has been the greatest and the

:12:39. > :12:43.sport's blossomed through his performances. He is one of most

:12:44. > :12:49.famous sportsmen in the world and behind him, all the athletes gain

:12:50. > :12:56.inspiration from him and he watches the athletics and encourages others

:12:57. > :13:02.and he is a friend of Mos. I'm getting excited for Laura too. A lot

:13:03. > :13:08.to come and managing your career. Yes it is a big year for athletics.

:13:09. > :13:12.People are stepping down, new people are coming through, but it is

:13:13. > :13:16.athletics showing a great Championships in London, like we saw

:13:17. > :13:25.in 2012, that will be important for the sport. Thank you Paula and

:13:26. > :13:32.Brendan and Laura. Best of luck in 2017. A great day here in Edinburgh

:13:33. > :13:37.then Callum Hawkins ran him close, but it with was a Korir best!