[1] The event was first held in Edinburgh in 2005 after the city was awarded the Great North Cross Country which relocated from Durham.

[5] The grassy, occasionally muddy,[6] course in Holyrood Park ran in a circular, clockwise pattern.

[8] It had relatively difficult routes in the past, with runners twice having to climb and descend Haggis Knowe (a steep hill) in 2009.

[9] The meeting attracted cross country athletes of the highest calibre, with past competitors including six-time World Champion Kenenisa Bekele, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Tirunesh Dibaba and Eliud Kipchoge.

[10][11] The meeting was broadcast by the BBC annually,[11] and received sponsorship from VisitScotland (in 2006) Bupa (from 2007 to 2014) and PureGym in 2016.