The sixty-eighth Senior Women's National Cross-Country Championships took place at Stowe Park, Buckinghamshire, a National Trust property. The race was sponsored by sports company View From for the third consecutive year. The 8km course consisted of farmland and included some challenging hills.
There wasn't much mud on the course and the weather was fine. The main race turned into a battle between three-time champion Andrea Whitcombe (Parkside AC) and Tara Krzywicki (Charnwood AC). At the halfway stage these two led with Birhan Dagne (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies) 50 metres back in third, Amy Waterlow (Sale Harriers) was fourth and 1996 champion Alison Wyeth fifth. At the highest part of the course Whitcombe had opened up ten metre lead on Krzywicki and looked to be heading for gold but Krzywicki battled back bravely and overtook Whitcombe just before the last hill. Krzywicki held on for the win completing the course in 27:21, 40 metres clear of Whitcombe. In the fight for the bronze Wyeth chased the tiring Dagne but was unable to pass her before the finish line.
Tara Krzywicki told Athletics Weekly about her comeback win "I told myself to just relax, I thought, if I'm knackered, I'm knackered. Then I sensed up the last couple of hills Andrea was tiring. I threw myself down the last hill to give myself a bit of momentum for that last horrendous climb to the finishing straight. "I got her behind me and thought, 'Oh God, Oh God, I can still hear her!' "But I managed to run off the top of the hill and I'm so pleased because the National is something everybody wants to win, isn't it?"
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