Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year.

Unlike the World Championships for the sport, the European Cross Country Championships consists of six races in age categories, with separate senior, under-23, and junior races for both men and women.

There are individual and national team medals awarded in each race.

[1] The first edition of the competition featured only senior races and 180 athletes took part.

Updated after 2019, including the team rankings for each category and the mixed relay.