Elgoibar 2023 weather was similar to 2022 but the rain was not quite as severe and the sun shone late in the day.
A strong field was assembled as is usual for Elgoibar and the spectacular backdrop in this northern Basque town with the dramatic large rolling hills one side and a highly populated stadium stand on the other was the setting for the 79th running of this international Cross ‘Juan Muguerza’ the oldest international cross country race on the circuit.
Two laps of the track and the lower field before setting off on the multi -lap surrounding hilly circuit outside the stadium found Zak Mahamed and Alex George well inside the top 10 as they ventured up the first of many hills.
One large lap later and Mahamed was in 8th in the 2nd pack chasing a breakaway group of 4. George was in 10th just clear of the pack of 8 behind which included Tomer Tarragano in 15th (37th U23 in the European cross in Turin) and Callum Elson 16th (GB relay representative in the Euros in Turin) both mixing with very good company here.
As the race unfolded and passed half-way Mahamed (2nd in the European U23 cross country in Turin and winner of the Junior race here a few years back) found himself very slightly detached in 9th with George 30metres behind in 10th but showing why his early form this winter at both Cardiff and Milton Keynes was more representative of his current running form this season and this performance here should he maintain it to the finish would be a step up.
The battle behind with Tarragano and Elson locked together in a group and swapping positions from time to time between 16th– 18th respectively was equally engaging. As in most races there were few changes in the positions after half way and the most significant change was the relentless rain subsiding and the sun coming out for the last 2km of the final race of the day. Mahamed was now consolidated in 9th and equally George in 10th safely clear of 11th place. Strong last laps from both Tarragano and Elson found them both ‘dig in’ as their personal battle ensued and at the end Tarragano 15th and Elson 17th were good performances. For Elson this much longer hilly race of 10.6k compared to his recent short distance races at both Liverpool and subsequently the European relay in Turin was a good example of his longer cross country form he showed in both Cardiff and Milton Keynes in October and November respectively.
Again a strong run from Mahamed and exceptional run from George at the longer distance before he ventures indoors for the rest of the winter season.
I have managed many teams in Elgoibar for many years and although there have been several individual top 10 finishers it has been a long time since 2 men finished inside 10 in the one race.
Mahamed, Tarragano and Elson continue their winters over the country with the odd road race mixed in.
Result:
1 Selemon Barega Ethiopia 33m14s
2 Birhanu Balew Bahrain 33m2s
3 Adel Mechaal Spain 33m39s
4 Abderrahmane Aferdi Morocco 33m48s
9 Zak Mahamed England 34m24s
10 Alex George England 34m28s
15 Tomer Tarragano England 35m14s
17 Callum Elson England 35m22s
