It has been regarded as the 'Toughest race in the World' and was first held in 1903 at the Hamilton Park racecourse in Scotland. This race, then recognised as the International Cross Country Championships, was adopted 70 years later by the IAAF and renamed the World Cross Country Championships (WCC). The annual men's race over approximately 12km has historically been an eagerly anticipated affair, offering middle and long distance runners an opportunity to wage battle for their respective countries. From 1973 to 1985 there was a mixed array of winners with Finland, Belgium and Scotland being just some of the countries represented on the top podium. Distinction was lauded to Carlos Lopes of Portugal, John Treacy of Ireland and Craig Virgin of the U.S.A, each winning on two occasions during this time. In 1986 however, in the small village of Colombier, around five miles from Neuchâtel, Switzerland, John Ngugi of Kenya clenched the first of his five titles. Kenyan dominance was then on the cusp of a wave with William Sigei winning in 1993 and 1994, and the long limbed Paul Tergat elegantly running to five successive wins from 1995 to 1999.

Thereafter the dominant Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia has reigned supremely and from 2002 to 2008 has won the title on six occasions. Amongst the purists there is no question that Kenenisa Bekele is the best exponent of cross country running there has ever been, however after having tasted his first defeat in the Edinburgh Cross Country in January 2010 and thereafter suffering with an injury, the news looked good for the challengers for the 2010 stranglehold. Further encouragement was added when the 2007 champion Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea opted instead to run the Lisbon Half Marathon and in doing so broke Samuel Wanjuri's (Kenya) World Record by running 58:23. With these two titans of cross country running not participating, as is so often heard in sport, 'the race was wide open'.

Having visited Kenya on a number of occasions I am only too well aware of the significance of the WCC and what it means to it's people and athletes. From 1981 Kenya has enjoyed a meteoric rise in success with Jackson Ruto setting the mould as the first ever Kenyan finisher in the championships, finishing 22nd. Two years later at the Riverside Bowl in Gateshead Some Muge recorded the same time as Bekele Debele of Ethiopia and Carlos Lopes of Portugal but finished in third place. This was an historic moment as it was Kenya's first individual medal. The name Kipkemboi Kimeli may not be too familiar with many observers however he has gone down in history as Kenya's first ever individual winner, after he skipped away barefoot in 1985 to win the junior title. In 1986 having accumulated progressive experience from the previous few years of the WCC, Kenya was now in a position to unveil their hope, which came in the form of loping strider, John Ngugi.

Kenyan athletic success in the Senior Men's race is now fully imbedded as aside from the individual success of Messrs Sigei, Ngugi and Tergat, they have won 18 team titles in a row in 19 out of the past 21 years. The past number of years however, has seen the Senior Men's title effectively be monopolised by Kenenisa Bekele and the last victory by Paul Tergat in 1999 has been a constant reminder of the elusive catch. When I arrived at the Myslecinek Park, Bydgoszcz in Poland I was positively upbeat that a Kenyan athlete would reclaim the prized individual title. This was the first time in 20 years that Poland had hosted the WCC with the previous occasion being at the Sluzewiec Hippodrome, Warsaw, in 1987. To the superstitious observer would it be any coincidence that in 1987 John Ngugi and Wilfred Kirochi won the respective senior and junior titles? The athletes with the responsibility and/or the burden of leaving Poland with success were decided by the Kenyan National Championships. These championships/trials are always a savage affair and this year's competition was no different. The depth of quality was astounding with experience and records counting for nothing. With so much at stake no respect is given to Olympic or World Champions once competitors toe the line, it is a pure case of 'dog eat dog' and 'every man for himself'. This year a few of the casualties from the Kenyan trials included:

Mike Kigen finished 58th - a 12:58 10,000m performer who finished 5th in the 2006 WCC.

Sammy Kipketer finished 50th had a 10,000m best of 26:49 to his credit.

Josphat Menjo finished 51st had a best of 27:04 in the 10,000m and represented Kenya in the 2007 World Championships over 10,000m

Linus Chumba finished 45th and represented Kenya in the 2009 WCC finishing 25th.

Kiplimo Kimutai finished 37th and had a half marathon P.B. of 59:44 to his credit.

Michael Kipyego finished 30th and represented Kenya in the 2007 WCC in Mombasa finishing 6th

Matthew Kisorio finished 20th and was 3rd in the Junior Men's race in 2007 and 6th in 2008 both in the WCC.

Mark Kiptoo finished 19th and was the team Captain for the 2008 and 2009 WCC finishing 7th and 14th respectively.

Titus Mbishei finished 13th and had the rare distinction of defeating Kenenisa Bekeke in the 2010 Edinburgh Cross Country race. He finished 2nd in the Junior Men's race in the 2009 WCC.

John Thuo finished 8th and represented Kenyan in the 2008 WCC in Edinburgh finishing 18th.

Bernard Kipyego finished 7th and in 2009 was 2nd in the World Half Marathon Championships. He represented Kenya in the WCC finishing 2nd in the Junior Men's race in 2005 and 3rd and 10th in the Senior Men's races of 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Naturally to make the Kenyan Senior Men's team from the trials is a major achievement in itself, as in the past it has been labelled the 'Mini World Championships'. This year the race was won by a 19 year old in Paul Tanui by a massive 30 seconds. He finished 4th in the Junior Men's race of 2009 in Amman and then was transferred to Fukuoka, where he had been racing on the track and road circuit. The course for the trials at the Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi was relatively flat and it suited Tanui, who arrived on race day mentally and physically prepared. This win was a major upset and it was a question of whether he would be able to translate this outstanding breakthrough when it mattered on the 28th of March in Poland. Tanui was backed up in the team by:

Lucas Rotich who finished 2nd in the trials and who was 3rd in the Junior Men's race in the WCC in 2008.

Joseph Ebuya finished 3rd in the trials and had the rare distinction of being the first person ever to inflict defeat on the great Kenenisa Bekele in a cross country race (that he has finished). In 2006 he was 4th in the Junior Men's race and also in 2006 was 2nd and 3rd in the 5,000m and 10,000m respectively in the World Junior Track Championships. In 2008 he finished 4th in the WCC.

Hosea Macharinyang finished 4th in the trials and represented Kenya in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 WCC finishing 6th, 5th and 11th respectively.

Leonard Komen finished 5th in the trials and has the unique record of finishing 2nd and 4th in the Junior Men's race and also, 2nd and 4th in the Senior Men's race in four successive championships from 2006 through to 2009.

The team was cemented in 6th place by Richard Mateelong, a renowned steeplechaser who was 3rd in the World Championships in 2006 and again 3rd in the 2008 Olympic Games. He was involved in the very dramatic last lap finish in the 2009 Berlin World Championships, where he eventually won the silver medal. As Team Captain he was following in the successful footsteps of Kiptoo and Tergat.

I had heard and read that the preparations in the Kenyan camp, held at the Kigara Teacher's Training College in Embu, under the tutelage of the newly appointed coach David Letting, had gone to plan, auguring well for the championships. Linet Masai, a strong favourite for the Senior Women's race commented, "I look forward to a good race. It has been good in the training camp and we must show our ability to the world". In the Daily Nation newspaper it stated, "Alright Kenyan cross country team, go out there and do what you do best". The entire squad was under no illusions as to the weight of expectation but was ready and prepared for the tasks ahead.

With anticipations high and appropriate preparations having been put into place, such as arriving on the Wednesday, well in advance of the Sunday competition, Team Kenya was ready for the opening race, the Junior Women. In relatively pleasant conditions of 10 degrees with minimal wind, the race took off at its usual frenetic pace. It wasn't long before the front was lined with Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes. Purity Rionoripo, Faith Kipyegon , Ester Chemtai (the granddaughter of the legendary Ben Jipcho- Former Commonwealth Champion and Olympic silver medallist) and Mercy Cherono pushed on forging the pace and dictating the race. The instructions from the coach were to simply run at the front and to remain as a group. The free uninhabited running was exemplified by Chemtai and Kipyegon, as they both ran barefoot and simply appeared to skip over the muddier sections of the course. With around one lap remaining, Cherono pushed the pace further and was able to make a gap that was never closed, to win with ease by seven seconds from her compatriot Purity Rionoripo.

The forecasted challenge from Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, who was vying for her third successive victory never materialised and she ended up as the fourth Ethiopian finisher, in 11th position. This opening contest set the mood for the remaining races. African vests flooded the first 15 positions with Gulshat Fazlitdinova of Russia, who was 2nd in the European Championships in December 2009, being the first European finisher in 16th position. Making her debut in British colours was the 16 year old Emelia Gorecka, who entered the race carrying a three year undefeated record in Britain. Against high calibre runners, up to three years her senior, her 23rd position illustrated that she has the mental and physical fortitude to compete with the best. With careful nurturing of her talent Gorecka could well be a face of future British distance running.

With four runners to score in the team stakes, Kenya secured a clean sweep and the perfect score of 10 points. In doing so, the Junior Women's team matched the performances of Vivian Cheruiyot, Alice Timbilil and Viola Kibiwott in Vilamoura in 2000, taking the first three places. Mercy Cherono appears to be another exceptional talent. Having already been the 2007 World Youth Champion and 2008 World Junior Champion, both over 3,000m, she was 2nd in the 2009 WCC and now holds the title of World Champion. At the 2009 Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year Awards she won in the category of "Most Promising Sportswoman". Clearly this is a name to look out for in the very near future. For me the ease with which she dismantled the field and finished full of running was most impressive.

The rousing tune of the Kenyan National anthem was audible for the first time and this then set the course which was to follow. In the interim between the Junior Women's race ending and the start of the Junior Men's I spotted my good friend Noah Ngeny, the Olympic 1500m champion and 1000m World Record Holder. Having exchanged pleasantries I was introduced to the team Manager- 'The Big Boss'- Henry Alukhaba. He was in buoyant mood after the opening race had brought such success and he quickly enveloped me in his huge Kenyan flag for a photograph! The next race was the Junior Men's and similar to the Junior Women's, it was another African procession. Caleb Ndiku, Clement Langat and Japhet Korir all ran at the front controlling the tempo and injecting the pace, when necessary. During a ferocious third lap Ndiku, who was third in the Kenyan trials and already a World Youth silver medallist over 1500m with a P.B of 3:38, pulled away with only Moses Kibet of Uganda for company. That company did not last too long as the strong Ndiku pressed hard to win by two seconds. Sadly for Kibet his exhaustive efforts resulted in the chasing Kenyan pack catching him and he ended up out of the medals in 5th place. Clement Langat finished strongly gaining two places on the final lap to secure the silver medal. This was a particularly interesting placing as Langat had finished 7th in the trials and had originally failed to make the team. Paul Mutero however, who finished 2nd in the trials was later found out to be over age and therefore ineligible for the team. Langat was drafted into the squad as a replacement and well, as they say, he made the most out of the opportunity! One week earlier Caleb Ndiku had been in the training camp and jobless but now he was a World Champion and recruited to run for the Nisson Foods Athletics Club in Tokyo, leaving on the 15th April! It will be interesting to watch his progress and development.

John Travers was the lone competitor in this race for Ireland and I thought he gave a very good account of himself. It can be easy to get carried away with the occasion especially when you are making your debut at this level in spite of all the pre-race advice being dispensed. However, I felt John did his club Donore Harriers proud, as he battled throughout, finishing a determined 59th and in the process took the scalps off Richard Goodman (G.B&N.I.), who was 5th in the European Junior race and Jonathan Hay (G.B.&N.I.) who was 23rd in the same race. When I examined the results afterwards, it was a great accomplishment for John to have finished as 9th European. This performance should certainly provide the ideal springboard for his summer season and those which follow.

Again the Kenyan national anthem played as the highly anticipated clash between Linet Masai of Kenya and the reigning Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia was warming up. Without the reigning Champion, Florence Kiplagat who was absent through injury, there was to be a new crowning. It was certainly not a two horse race by any stretch of the imagination, as Meselech Melkamu, 2nd on the all-time list for 10,000m with a time of 29:53 and 2nd over 10,000m in the World Championships in Berlin in 2009, was also in the field. From a non African point of view it would be interesting to see how the great American hope Shalene Flannigan would perform after she demolished the field in the American trials to win by 51 seconds. Masai, the 2009 World 10,000m Champion had been in tremendous form having won 4 out of her 5 cross country races prior to this competition. This culminated with her winning the Kenyan trials by an emphatic 20 seconds from Lineth Chepkurui. The race started with a pack of around 15 athletes with the majority being Kenyan and Ethiopian, leaving the former European Champion Hilda Kibet, representing The Netherlands, hanging on. On the third lap Linet Masai went to the front and began to push on. Dibaba, nicknamed 'the baby faced assassin' was unable to respond and suddenly the numbers started to dwindle. It was now down to two; Emily Chebet, who had finished 4th in the trials, 27 seconds behind the determined aggressor Masai. All along Chebet looked comfortable responding quietly behind all the moves that Masai was making. As both athletes entered the finishing straight the 10m gap that Masai had made was decisively closed, as Chebet reeled off a strong finish to win by a solitary second. It was joy for Chebet whose only claim to fame was 3rd in the 2006 African Championships and 9th in the 2007 World Championships, both over 10,000m. As for Masai it was double heartbreak as she was also outsprinted for the title the previous year in Amman. I heard afterwards that Chebet had excelled in the training camp and it was not as much of a surprise to the management as it was for the spectators. Hilda Kibet came through well to finish 10th and two places behind with a spirited run was Shalene Flanagan of U.S.A., all be it 59 seconds down on Chebet.

The rest of the American team scorers- Molly Huddle, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet and Amy Hastings packed well ensuring all finished in the top 25 and in doing so secured the bronze medals. This was the first time since 2003 that their Women's team had finished in the medals and it certainly went a long way in making up for the disappointment of 2008, when they finished in 4th position and only 3 points behind the Australian team. With the seemingly ever present weight of expectation placed upon her, it was great to see the Great Britain and Northern Ireland star Stephanie Twell respond to the challenge and finish in 23rd position. A positive run was welcomed after a disastrous 2009 World Championship where she finished 12th in her 1500m heat in a facile 4:18. This was followed up with a disappointing 11th in the European Under 23 Cross Country race in December. It certainly was a confidence boosting performance and one which I am sure she will take a lot of encouragement from as the season progresses. It is interesting to note that Poland is a happy hunting ground for Twell as it was in Bydgoszcz in 2008 that she became the World Junior 1500m Champion. Furthermore, in 2009 at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meeting in Warsaw she enhanced her then 1500m P.B. to 4:03.62.

From an Irish angle I had watched Linda Byrne finish a close third in the Inter-Counties at the Kilbeggan racecourse outside Dublin and then give an exhibition of front running to take the Irish Inter-Clubs in March 2009. However, the Linda Byrne I watched in Poland appeared flat and never really got into the race, eventually finishing in 69th position, though not far off her best of 57th from the Edinburgh WCC in 2008. Another athlete to have a poor showing was the current European Champion Hayley Yelling who finished in 63rd position. A great stalwart to British athletics over the years she had been feeling unwell prior to the race and obviously it had affected her greatly. As a contrast, a particularly pleased athlete was the great Worknesh Kidane from Ethiopia. She reappeared at the WCC for the first time since St. Etienne- St.Galmier in 2005. Her 9th position was her 12th top 10 finish in a WCC career that has seen her win the Junior Women's title in 1999 and the Senior Women's title in 2003. Her silver team medal took her total to 21 individual and team medals making her the most decorated woman athlete in the history of the WCC.

Almost like a boxing show, the undercard was over and now came the main event. There appeared to be more spectators on the course and the atmosphere and general buzz had increased. I had a number of discussions with prominent authorities on whether Tanui would be able to spring a surprise or whether Ebuya would, having defeated Bekele earlier in the year, make the definitive breakthrough. It is worth mentioning that the reigning champion and holder of 15 WCC medals, Gebregziabher Gebremariam from Ethiopia was also in the field. So far the Kenyan squad had won the entire individual and team medals and all that remained was for victory in this race for the clean sweep to be sealed. Prior to the championships commencing, a lot had been made of it's progressive demise. Falling numbers and the non-representation of certain countries clearly had its effect. This was really apparent in the Senior Men's race with only 135 starters compared to 337 in 1986 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and 315 in Vilamoura, Portugal. However, for me all that mattered was that this was the Senior Men's race of the WCC and I couldn't wait for it to start! As an accredited IAAF photographer on the day, I managed to secure an ideal viewpoint and snapped away as the speedy procession was led by the Somali runner, Mohamed Isak.

From the official results it is interesting but not strange to note that after such a crazy initial start, Isak failed to make even one lap of the course before dropping out! After the first lap, Ahmed Abdullah of Qatar (formerly Albert Chepkurui), Moses Kipsiro of Uganda, Anis Selmouni of Morocco, Driss El Himer of France and Simon Bairu of Canada joined the Kenyan and Ethiopian teams (which included the 2009 Dublin Marathon winner Feyisa Lilesa, who debuted with 2:09.12) to complete the top 17 or so runners, with Mo Farah of Great Britain and Northern Ireland trying valiantly to catch the group. The reigning champion Gebremariam was the only member of the Ethiopian team to finish the first lap outside the main group, languishing in 57th position.

In the third lap the pace was increased by Samuel Tsegay (5th in the 2009 World Half Marathon in 60:17) and Teklemariam Medhin (a very consistent performer in the WCC with a best of 9th in 2009) of Eritrea who took charge with Joseph Ebuya of Kenya running 10 metres in front of Moses Kipsiro. At this stage the Ethiopian challenge really started to crumble as with two thirds of the race gone, they strangely did not have a solitary athlete in the top 10. The pace was again taken up a notch on the 5th lap and this then saw the break by Ebuya and Medhin. Serious gaps had now appeared in the field and world class runners were now under serious pressure to maintain or contest their positions. Mo Farah was pushing hard to move through the field, however the 2009 European Champion Alemayehu Bezabeth's challenge was disintegrating as he went from 5th to 14th place on the penultimate lap. Having witnessed Ebuya's great run in the Edinburgh Cross Country in 2010 to defeat the almost invincible Bekele I was very confident that he would now deliver and move away from Medhin. It was now a case of 'cometh the hour, cometh the man!' Gradually over the last lap this indeed happened as Ebuya's sheer strength prevailed as he pressed hard and opened a gap that Medhin was unable to close. As Ebuya crossed the line six seconds ahead, he had achieved not only his dream but that of the Kenyan people, finally stopping the no win legacy of the previous 10 championships. He was now up there with the pantheon of WCC winning greats. Behind him Medhin was able to finish without a challenge, Kipsiro however with his electric finish managed to pip Komen of Kenya on the line. This was a particularly disappointing result for Komen as he had already finished 4th on two previous occasions, once as a junior and once as a senior.

Mo Farah consolidated his position for the majority of the race eventually finishing in 21st place and naturally was not overly happy. He had spent a considerable amount of time in Kenya in preparation and he had certainly had hoped to place much higher. As for Tanui he really had an up and down race as he descended to 14th place on the third lap before bouncing to 5th on the penultimate but then proceeded to lose three positions on the final lap before finishing in 8th!

Azmeraw Bekele, the winner of the Ethiopian trials was another whose challenge crumbled, as he went from 10th on the 2nd lap to finishing 22nd overall. Ayele Abshero of Ethiopia, the reigning Junior Champion had a baptism of fire with the big boys, as he finished 25th, maybe his time will come. One of the fascinating finishes of the day was from Gitimi Shamba of Tanzania, who finished 34th in racing shoes! Unbelievable! Gebremariam eventually finished in 10th place but he made a dreadfully slow start and was always under pressure to move through. In saying that, he did well with progressive lap placings of 57th, 28th, 18th, 15th 11th and then 10th. As a member of the runner-up team he secured another medal, taking his total to16 WCC medals, now second in line behind Bekele's insurmountable tally of 27. Another fascinating result was that of Carles Castillejo of Spain, who finished a very respectable 33rd after only finishing 35th in the European event in December 2009! I thought Andy Vernon had a well-judged run as he managed to pass eight athletes on the last lap before finishing in 44th place as the 7th European finisher, beating Ayad Lamdassem of Spain, who had finshed 5th in the European Cross Country Championships earlier in the year. Juan Luis Barrios, the Mexican who finished third in the Antrim Cross Country in January 2010 was a distant 63rd and 2:29 minutes down on Ebuya! For those of you out there who have ever "died" in a race you can then sympathize and spare a thought for the South African Xolisa Tyali. He was doing well in 54th position before the wheels came off and he lost 17 places on the final lap to finish 71st!

It was disappointing to note that Ireland did not send any representatives and it would have been interesting to see whether Mark Kenneally would have made a marked improvement upon his best of 68th in the WCC, especially after his outstanding 8th place performance in the European event in 2009. With a total of 20 points Kenya easily won the team prize from Eritrea and Ethiopia. This meant that Kenya had won all the individual and team gold medals. The last time the individual clean sweep was accomplished was in 1994 through William Sigei, Helen Chepngeno, Philip Mosima and Sally Barsosio. Unfortunately in 1994 the Woman's team only finished 3rd behind Portugal and Ethiopia, preventing an identical outcome. As for the host nation Poland, there was to be no fairytale ending, with their best finisher across all races being Katarzyna Kowalska in 36th place in the Senior Women's race.

For me the fairy tale ending unquestionably belonged to Joseph Ebuya, who hails from the small Turkana tribe that makes up approximately 1-1.5 percent of the Nation's total population. Unlike the Kalenjin tribe that has produced about 75% of athletes such as Kip Keino, Henry Rono, Moses Kiptanui, Moses Tanui, Daniel Komen and a plethora of others, the small Turkana tribe has only produced one athlete of note, Paul Ereng the 1988 Olympic 800m Champion. In his formative years Ebuya received no formal education and therefore wasn't able to write his name nor did he possess many of life's basics in terms of a toothbrush, clothes and shoes. He lived a nomadic existence moving from one place to another, making some money for his family by burning charcoal in the forest and then selling it off in town. In 2004 he voluntarily started to join the PACE Sports Management athletes on their 6am runs and eventually his progress caught the attention of the coaches. All the while he had been running barefoot, wearing trousers and a shirt. I can relate to this story as a few years ago I visited Boniface Songok (7:30 3000m and 12:55 for 5000m) in Kenya and as I was driving his car to keep him company, a young lad wearing a shirt and trousers and also barefooted randomly joined him. He was running at around 6 minute mile pace and remained at his side for about 4 miles. It was an effortless fluent movement and it clearly illustrated the art of uncomplicated running.

From the most humble of beginnings Ebuya has now through running been given an opportunity to achieve in life. Cus D'Amato, the revered mentor and early influential father figure of Mike Tyson once said, "A boy comes to me with a spark of interest and it becomes a flame. I feed the flame and it becomes a fire". As World Champion, Ebuya may have many battles, pressures and expectations thrust upon him however, none will ever be as difficult as those he experienced in his younger years trying to live and survive in the semi desert district of the Rift Valley. As Ebuya came through the line proudly victorious wearing the trappings of Western commercialism, it was clearly visible that on his left wrist was a Kenyan beaded bracelet. He has come along way from his homeland where survival was the primary concern but his roots are never far from his heart. Knowing the PACE Sports Management stable I feel he is in caring and knowledgeable hands with great supportive mentors. Hopefully now his flame will burn long like a healthy fire.

With the final race of the 2010 WCC finished, it was certainly a demonstration of Kenyan dominance. They arrived and conquered, their national anthem still ringing in my ears as the crowd began to disperse. A happy Noah Ngeny was busy on my phone calling Kenya and relaying the good news that they were back on top- Ebuya was King! I was left wondering how much the call was costing me!

By Keith McClure