Rampant victory! Lornah Kiplagat wins the women's senior race in style (© Getty Images)
Reigning World Cross Country champion Lornah Kiplagat will be the big favourite in the women's race at the 'Lotto Iris Crosscup' in Brussels on 23 December 2007.
The race is the third leg of the IAAF Cross Country permit meeting season, and has been chosen by the Dutch athlete in her preparation for the 2008 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on 18 January.
Brussels will be the only cross country race which Kiplagat, who won the 2007 World Cross title in Mombasa, Kenya, will take part in during the first part of the season ahead of her Dubai appearance. The 2005 European XC champion considers the course in Brussels as an ideal opportunity to test her endurance and speed before the marathon.
Last month Kiplagat broke the World records for both the 20km and Half Marathon at the 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy. In a formidable defence of the title she won in Debrecen in 2006, on the picturesque streets of the northern Italian town, the 33-year-old shattered her own World 20km record by 24 seconds with a time of 1:02:57, before storming through the last kilometre to claim gold and a new Half Marathon World record in a time of 1:06:25, which sliced a huge 19 seconds from the previous World record set by South Africa's Elana Meyer in 1999.
Kiplagat, 33, has a marathon personal best of 2:22:22, from when coming fourth in Osaka in 2003. She is a former marathon winner in Osaka, Rotterdam and Los Angeles.
Chris Turner for the IAAF
