Cross country is a long distance race run over rough terrain. The first cross country championship, held in 1876, was a failure, since all of the runners got lost in the English countryside. International competition, between France and England first took place in 1898, the Cross des Nations, predecessor of today's world championship, was inaugurated in 1903.

Although they are no longer Olympic events, cross country races were run in individual and team for the first time in 1967. In 1998, a short 4 km (men and women) race was added in to the long 12 km (men) and 8km (women) races in the world championships.

There are many variations of these very popular races. Competitions over difficult terrain, particularly on mountains, are held all over the world; they are most popular in Europe.