Track is slowing down, cross country and road racing is speeding up. Here is the slate of the weekend’s competitions and viewing options.

Upcoming competitions

College cross country is ramping up, and the USTFCCCA has all the weekend’s meets and results.

Two last track and field competition of the seasons are this weekend. One is the DecaStar in Talence, France, the high-level decathlon/heptathlon competition on Saturday and Sunday which caps the IAAF’s season-long Combined Events Challenge.
Meet website | IAAF preview

The other is the Great North City Games, a USA versus Britain street competition of a few selected events held on Saturday. There are some pretty good competitions slated, but the best will be the men’s long jump–the UK brings Olympic champion Greg Rutherford and national record holder Chris Tomlinson, while the US brings Christian Taylor and Will Claye, the triple jump gold and silver medalists.
Meet website | Runnerspace page

Fall road racing season is beginning to get rolling. The Giro Podistico Internazionale di Castelbuono, the oldest road race in Europe, will have its 100th running on Sunday. Held on a difficult criterium course in the Sicilian mountain village of Castelbuono, this year’s headliner is Olympic steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi, who takes on two more Olympic medalists in Thomas Longosiwa and Tariku Bekele.
Race website | IAAF preview | Runnerspace page

Also on Sunday is England’s Great North Run, the world’s second-largest half marathon which goes from from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to South Shields. Tirunesh Dibaba, the reigning Olympic 10,000 meters champion, will be making her half-marathon debut as she seeks to transition from track running to road running. Both men’s and women’s fields are deep and tough and the racing will be fast.
Race website | IAAF preview | Runnerspace page

Moving to the US, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon will be on Sunday morning. Headline names are Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein and Boston Marathon champion Sharon Cherop.
Race website | Preview | Runnerspace page

The USA 5km Championships are on Sunday in conjunction with the CVS Downtown 5k in Providence, RI. The headliners include Molly Huddle, Andrew Bumbalough, and (critics get ready) Alan Webb.
LIVE webcast from 11:15 AM ET
Race website | Runnerspace preview | USATF preview

Not spectator-oriented or even competitive, but something you might want to check out: Terry Fox Runs happen on Sunday all over Canada and the world. For comparison’s sake, the Terry Fox Foundation gave out 50% more money to cancer research in 2011 alone than the Lance Armstrong Foundation has in its entire existence. And if you don’t know who Terry Fox is, educate yourself–he’s only Canada’s greatest athletic hero, far eclipsing even Wayne Gretzky.

Track on the tube (and series of tubes)

Reports are that Bruce Jenner’s trip to Eugene and the Olympic Trials will be on the next episode of E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. In other news, just punch me in the face, will you please?

The USA 5km Championships will be webcast live on Sunday from 11:15 AM (Eastern time).

The Diamond League finale from Brussels will be on NBC from noon until 1:00 PM on Sunday. Since the meet took place last Friday, you probably already know what happened, but it’s worth watching Aries Merritt’s hurdle race one more time.

Run For the Dream: The Gail Devers Story will be on Showtime Family Zone at 8:50 AM on Monday.