Ainhoa Sanz and Julen Terán were proclaimed this Sunday in Ordizia Gipuzkoa cross country champions. The Urretxuarra long-distance runner, a classic in the most … top of the podium in this competition, and the Eibartarran, who is also usually a regular in the cross-country territorial, did not find rivals at his level in Oiangu, where the Txindoki cross-country race was held, in which the Guipuzcoan medals were also distributed.
Terán reached the finish line after completing the 6,350 meters of the course in 19:57, ahead of the sub23 Bingen Arambarri (20:12). Sanz, for her part, needed 23:46 in a race over the same distance in which, in the women’s category, there were only three participants. That cross country is not going through its best moment is also palpable in this type of competition in which the best local distance runners of the moment, those who stand out on the track and on the road, decide not to run in the mud beyond events such as, for example, the one that will take place in Elgoibar in January.
This Sunday, in Lagoa (Portugal), Martín Segurola (sub23) and Ander Aramendi (sub20) will represent the Spanish team in the European cross country competition.
2h12 down the road
Iraitz Arrospide finished in 43rd position in the fast Valencia marathon. The long-distance runner from Villabonata completed the 42.195 kilometers in 2:11:52, his best time since the 2:10:59 he also set in Valencia in 2019. “I was going with energy, but in the last two kilometers my calves started to fail,” said the txuri-urdin.
Chakib Lachgar, who after the halfway point of the race projected a time close to 2:07 and who was in the group in which the best Spaniards ran, ended up retiring at kilometer thirty with “strong cramps.”
The Kenyans John Korir (2h02:24, eighth best ever in a marathon) and Joyciline Jepkosgei (2h14:00; fourth of all time) were the winners in a race in which six Spanish men and two women achieved the minimum for the European Championship. Ibrahim Chakir, 16th with 2h07:21, and Meritxell Soler, 9th with 2h23:49, were the best at the finish line.
