Lemoncello calls on kids to witness World Cross

ANDREW LEMONCELLO'S message to all young athletes who come to watch the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Holyrood Park on Sunday is simply "be inspired".

"Actually being there gives you a real sense of how fast these guys are and what is needed to get there – it's far more beneficial than watching on TV."

Scotland's only representative in either of the men's races, senior or junior, the 25-year-old Fife AC member from St Andrews will be running in his first World Championships and admits there is a tendency to look on the Africans with awe and then sit back and do nothing.

"You can only try your best and you'll never know unless you try," says Lemoncello, who hopes this weekend's events will make the sport more popular, both by bringing awareness to it and by getting people motivated. Certainly no-one could accuse the budding Olympic steeplechaser of not giving athletics his best shot.

After completing a post-graduate degree in Florida he has been based at Flagstaff, Arizona for the last year, rubbing shoulders with many of the athletes who are responsible for a big upsurge in distance running in the US. "They're currently enjoying the sort of boom British distance running had in the seventies and eighties," he explained.

Despite the fact his first international honours came as a hill runner, Lemoncello is guarded about where exactly he can finish in Sunday's senior 12 kilometres race.

"I've never run the World Cross before and my fitness level's not quite where I'd want it to be after a virus; so I'll really only know afterwards if I've run well or not. But I'd like to be top Briton and my fitness has come on in leaps ands bounds since the Trials (he was fourth). I've been looking for every session going well and it has, so that's a good indicator for me."

One of Lemoncello's friends, John Pierce, has come into the US team for Dathan Ritzenheim, the American champion who starred in the Great Edinburgh Cross two years ago and was one of the main non-African hopes in the race.

Britain's Mo Farah, tenth last year, declined selection to concentrate on his preparations for the Beijing Olympics, a factor also in the non-availability of several of the leading British women including Jo Pavey.

But Craig Mottram, the half-Scottish Aussie whose mother comes from Aberfeldy, will be there, even if his chances of making the podium are slim.

The Capital has already had a preview of what to expect when the Great Edinburgh Cross was held in January and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia sprinted away from his Eritrean rival Zersenay Tadese after a tremendous duel in front of the whooping, flag-waving supporters of both men, who are sure to be there in force again.

Bekele, the man with 11 individual gold medals to his credit, five in the long race, five in the now-discontinued short race and one in the junior, still has work to do and has revenge on his mind after being forced to drop out in Mombasa last year due to the intense heat and humidity, allowing Tadese to take the title for the first time. Since then Bekele has won the World 10,000 metres track title in Osaka, set a World Indoor two miles record and won the shorter Great Edinburgh race over 9.3 kilometres.

Poised to take advantage of any slip by either man are Moses Kipsiro of Uganda, who also failed to finish in Mombasa but was the World 5000m bronze medallist last year, and Gideon Ngatuny of Kenya, who was fourth last year.

UK Trial winner Laura Kenney, who this week became a fully-fledged Scot for future Commonwealth Games and other non-IAAF competition, leads the British team in the women's 8K race which again will be African-dominated.

With last year's winner Lornah Kiplagat of Kenya not defending her title, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia will be seeking her third title in four years and bidding to lead her team-mates Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu to a clean sweep of the medals.

But Melkamu, just one second behind Dibaba in third place in Mombasa, may have other ideas and both she and Burka, who was fourth last year, have impressive speed should any outsider, such as Australia's Benita Johnston, still be around at the finish.

A top-20 finish for Kenney would be excellent, top ten exceptional.

To whet the appetite, the Home Internationals take place over the same course tomorrow with Edinburgh's Chris O'Hare one of the favourites for the under-17 race.

Timetable: 11am: Welcome the World 5k round Arthur's Seat; 1pm: IAAF World Junior women; 1.30pm: IAAF World Junior men; 2.05pm: IAAF World Senior women; 2.45pm: IAAF World Senior men.