NEVER let it be denied that one of the greatest pleasures of sport involves getting a close-up of dedicated athletes undergoing considerable pain and stress. Human nature is essentially cruel, and our innate resentment of sports stars' fame and relative wealth is at least partially compensated by seeing that it hurts. A lot.
In early January, for the spectator bloated by all that stilton and not just any Christmas pudding but M & S Christmas pudding, there is a certain joy to be had in watching disciplined and dedicated cross-country runners ploughing through the mud and
ice and up the nastier inclines in Holyrood Park, while we take the occasional hit from a flask of Irish coffee and reflect that they are doing it so we don't have to.
The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country on Saturday is even sponsored by a private healthcare provider, just to underline our suspicions that this kind of exertion is decidedly dangerous.
It's a taster for the IAAF cross-country world championships taking place in Edinburgh on 30 March, a showcase for an area of athletics that is obviously overshadowed by the summer track grands prix, but is arguably a broader all-round test of a runner's strength and talent.
The women's main event offers another opportunity for the capital to enjoy a close-up appreciation of the formidable talent of the Ethiopian runner Gelete Burka, who is seeking a third successive victory in this event. The confrontation between Burka and the Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot will offer one of the more compelling sporting spectacles on offer in Edinburgh this year. Cheruiyot was one of the stars of the 2007 track season and is in the sort of form to offer a sterner challenge to the Ethiopian.
Paula Radcliffe has graced this event in the past. She won't be there this time, but there will be some competitive British participants, including Hayley and Liz Yelling, Lisa Dobriskey, Kate Reed and Helen Clitheroe, all of them taking the opportunity to get an early start to conditioning themselves for an Olympic year.
With Beijing in mind, the 4km men's race might be one of the less arduous circuits, but there will be an intriguing contest between Michael East and the man who superseded him as the UK's No1 over 1,500 metres, Andy Baddeley. This may be a make or break year for the 29-year-old East, who has never quite lived up to his early promise, substantially due to serious knee and hamstring injuries.
At 24, East was the Commonwealth champion at 1,500 metres. Assuming he will be a little elderly to be a serious contender at London, Beijing will be his last chance to deliver at an Olympics. Baddeley's career has more momentum, and he is probably a better cross-country runner than East.
That tough competition will be invaluable, and it will be interesting to see if East's warm-weather winter training has put him in sufficient shape to be a contender again in 2008. The Edinburgh race could be pivotal to his entire season and career.
Over the 9.3km course there is another compelling duel, of the highest imaginable calibre, between the Eritrean world champion Zersenay Tadesse, and the charismatic Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who has won this race for the last two years.
History and politics are the backdrop to their sporting rivalry, with Eritrea seceding from Ethiopia after a bitter 30-year struggle. With neither country having much to cheer about except sport, these world-class athletes are burdened with their nations' grudges. In the 2007 IAAF Cross country Championships in Mombasa, Tadesse beat Bekele over 12 kilometres. Bekele apparently struggled in the Kenyan heat. That is unlikely to be a problem at Holyrood on Saturday afternoon.
On the track the African runners achieve a rhythm and grace that is as impressive to watch as it must be demoralising for their opponents. Plunging into a brisk headwind carrying cold rain in off the Firth of Forth, they won't appear quite as elegant. Bring along your sympathy, an umbrella and get there early to offer a polite cheer for all those hardy amateurs taking part in the morning's Great Winter Run. The plucky fools.
The full article contains 716 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
