Preview: National Cross Country 2024

New Zealand’s top runners will be flying this weekend as the National Cross Country Championships are held at Mission Estate for the first time.

There are deep fields through all age groups, with current and former champions flocking to the Hawkes Bay for an XC show down. The unique and challenging course rolling through vineyard and concert venue will be the stage for the nations top athletes this weekend. It’s not just the racing driving the racers fronting at Mission Estate, some exceptional hospitality offers are calling for a post-race celebration. Whether you’re racing or wining, it will be a memorable weekend amongst the vines.   

Senior Men
Oli Chignell will be aiming for his third national cross country title to be staged at the unique course designed around the Mission Estate winery in Napier on Saturday.
Chignell won the 10km title in the mud at Grenada Wellington in 2018 and on the Chisholm Park golf course in Dunedin in 2021. The 26 year old former national 10km road and 10,000m track champion will face a strong field. *Oli Chignell has withdrawn as of 31 July 2024*

Daniel Balchin three times national road champion has yet to win a cross country crown after taking a string of silver and bronze medals. He was second to Toby Tasker in the recent Canterbury short course championship. Cameron Graves the 2019 champion in Upper Hutt clocked a personal best half marathon of 1:05:15 on the Gold Coast three weeks ago. William Little will be the runner to watch coming off winning the North Island title in early July and being New Zealand’s sole senior representative at the World Athletics cross country championships in Serbia in March where he finished a creditable 64th. Matthew Taylor the 2022 cross country champion was third last month at the Oceania Championships over 5000m in Fiji.

Also lining up will be Canterbury champion Connor Melton, Wellington champion Eric Speakman, former under 20 champion Toby Gualter, David Lee who was second last year and second to Melton in the Canterbury championship and Ronan Lee, second to Balchin in last year’s national road championships. Lee has just returned from Scotland competing in the world orienteering championships and is looking forward to heading down to Hawke’s Bay.“I used to race on the Mission Estate course when I was at school and it should prove an excellent course,” he said.

Senior Women
Age is no barrier to the in-form 41 year old Lisa Cross as she attempts to claim her third senior women’s title. Cross has had an excellent twelve months of racing winning almost weekly in a number of road and cross country races. Cross won the North Island title and two weeks ago the Auckland senior title. The senior cross country gold was taken out by Cross in 2018 and in 2022.
2023 national champion, Anneke Arlidge will be no push over as she hopes to defend her national title. Arlidge joins fellow world cross country representatives in Serbia; Annika Pfitzinger and Caitlin McQuilkin in the hunt for the medals.  National steeplechase champion and Canterbury cross country champion Eva Pringle and Wellington champion Maia Flint will line up with the talented Rosa Twyford, Hannah Prosser and 2019 national road champion Katrina Andrew making up an impressive senior women’s field.

Under 20s
Catherine Lund highest placed New Zealander with 35th in the under 20 women at the World Cross Country championships should successfully defend her under 20 title from Poppy Martin and Ava Sutherland.
Daniel Prescott, Lorcan Rabbitte, Az Cabusao, under 20 road champion Pai Wynyard, Joshua Gordon-Glassford and Nick Dobbie should battle out the under 20 men. 

Under 18s
George Wyllie and last year’s under 16 champion Ben Oxford head the under 18 men. Siena Mackley, under 16 winner last year Lisa Hellyer, North Island champion Scarlett Robb, Poppy Healy and Courtney Fitzgibbon all have a stake in the medals in the under 18 women.

Masters
In the masters Oliver O’Sullivan should win the 35-39 age group from Jake Hendrickx, Ben Ruthe and Alex Kelliher are in the 40-44, the first three in the 45-49 last year Steve Rees-Jones, Simon Mace and Daniel Clendon return along with Dwight Grieve. Michael Pugh and Chris Mardon return in the 50-54, Ian Calder is down for the 65-69 as is Fred Needham in the 75-79 age group and Peter Ellis in the 80-84.

Ayesha Shafi second in the master women 35-39 last year returns for the 6km along with Pip Tuckey, Karen Donaldson-Barron heads the 40-44 with Rachel O’Brien and Dorota Starzak, North Island winner Rachel Felton, Vickie Rees-Jones, Bex Sharratt and Rosie McIntyre are in the 45-49. Paula Condor and Michelle van Looy will compete in the 50-54, Sally Gibbs and Victoria Humphries are in the 60-64 age group and Deborah Telfer and Karen Gillum-Green renew their rivalry in the 65-69 group.

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The 2024 Mission Estate NZ Cross Country Champs will kick off in Napier on Saturday the 3rd of August. 
Seniors, U20s, U18s and Masters races will be livestreamed via the Athletics New Zealand YouTube channel. Session 1. Session 2
Live results will be available here