The popular cross-country international will not be staged from 2020

The Great Stirling XCountry and Great Stirling Run events have come to an end, with organisers confirming that the popular cross-country international and separate road running festival will not be staged from 2020.

First staged in the North East of England in 1988 before moving to Scotland in 2005, the Great XCountry (formerly the Great North Cross Country) has a rich history of elite competition and has seen athletes such as Paula Radcliffe, Liz McColgan and Haile Gebrselassie take part. In recent years the crowds have been treated to performances from Mo Farah as well Scottish athletes Laura Muir and Callum Hawkins.

This year the televised international event, which took place alongside a mass participation run and the Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships, moved to Stirling after 14 years in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile the marathon, which formed part of the Great Stirling Run and has also featured a half-marathon in the past two years, was first staged in 2017.

“We’ve taken the difficult decision not to stage the Great Stirling XCountry or the Great Stirling Run from 2020,” said a spokesperson for organisers The Great Run Company.

“For the last 10 years we have been staging world class cross country competition in Scotland through the Great XCountry.

“Unfortunately, the costs of staging this event are increasing at the same time as commercial revenue is declining and the reality is, the event is no longer economically viable for us to stage.

“When the Great Stirling Run was conceived three years ago it was our ambition to build a world class marathon in Stirling. We’ve invested in the event over that time, but sadly we haven’t been able to deliver that ambition and the event in its current format is unsustainable.

“We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Stirling Council for their excellent support and of course to everyone who has taken part in the event.”