The cream of Irish cross country running will be taking to the Tramore sod on November 23rd as Waterford AC plays host to the National Championships.

The 12-race event will be held on the interior of Tramore Racecourse with Under 12, 14, 16, 18, junior and senior athletes (both male and female) competing for All-Ireland honours.

The local club was awarded the event following its successful hosting of the National Half Marathon Championship on September 7th.

“We’re delighted to get the chance to organise one of the biggest events on the Irish athletics calendar,” said Waterford AC’s Des Colbert.

“It’s a major undertaking, with 1500 athletes expected to compete on the day and 3,000 spectators expected to line the course.

“From what I can gather, every available bed in Tramore has already been booked up and, as of Monday there were 1500 beds booked locally so there’s no doubting the scale of this event.”

The top runners from each province will compete for national honours, with Ferrybank AC expected to feature prominently in the junior section.

The senior event, a competition that Waterford has enjoyed many a medal-winning day in over the years, will feature significant representation from Ferrybank, West Waterford and Waterford AC.

This is the first time the Championships have been run in East Waterford since 1985, with several national meets having been held in Dungarvan in the interim.

“It’s a great honour for us to host it,” said Des Colbert. “We’ve put a lot of time into organising this event and we want to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible.

“We’ll be laying out the course over the next few days and that should prove quite an interesting challenge. On the day itself we’ll have about 40 people stewarding and we hope it’s going to prove an enjoyable event for competitor and spectator alike.”