Action from last year's JPS Eastern Cross Country athletics at Oberlin High. - file

The JPS Eastern Cross Country Athletic Championship will kick off in just two weeks, on November 14 with scores of students from Jamaica's eastern high schools, running a three to four miles race through the hilly terrain of St. Mary.

This is only the second year in which the Eastern Cross Country Run is being run as a stand-alone event from the annual Eastern Secondary Schools' Championships, with the title sponsor, Jamaica Public Service Company underwriting the event to the tune of $500,000. The Eastern Cross Country Run has been a staple of the Eastern Championships for over 20 years.

The speed and endurance test commences at St Mary High School, continuing on to Orange River Farm and Highgate, before returning to the school.

The categories will see senior boys competing on a 4-mile route, while the senior girls, and junior boys and girls will run a 3-mile course.

The defending champions are many-time winners Oberlin High School, but they could be strongly challenged by Yallahs High and Glengoffe High.