The National Athletics team will be hoping to win medals at this year’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships that starts today in Guiyang, China.

The team which includes captain Eric Sebahire, Félicien Muhitira, Pontien Ntawuyirushintege and Jean Marie Vianney Uwajeneza, will compete in the 12km race category.

31-year old Sebahire, who is the reigning national men’s 10,000m champion, will be making his fifth appearance at the tournament since his debut in 2009.

Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain.

The course normally ranges from 4-12km depending on age categories and may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country and may also include hilly areas.

Uganda has been endorsed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to host the 42nd edition on March 23, 2017.