St Gallen awaits runners for tomorrow's FISU World University Cross Country Championships ©FISU

Switzerland will host the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Cross Country Championship tomorrow for the first time since the inaugural edition took place in Lausanne in 1978.

The race will take place at St Gallen on a course described by a Swiss Athletic Federation spokesperson as "demanding".

While equable weather is forecast for race day, the 21st version of this event is likely to be run on ground left heavy by recent rainfall.

The looping 1,600 metres course also has a testing climb out of the start.

Organisers had been expecting a near record 24 countries to take part.

African runners are expected to face a strong European challenge at tomorrow's FISU World University Cross Country Championship in St Gallen ©FISU
African runners are expected to face a strong European challenge at tomorrow's FISU World University Cross Country Championship in St Gallen ©FISU

However, because of late visa requests, student-athletes from Kenya and Sierra Leone could not travel to Switzerland.

Still, some 160 athletes from all five continents, based at the University of St Gallen Campus, are expected to take to the start-line.

While the dominance of Africans in distance running is well established - especially within the university ranks with student-athletes from the countries of Algeria, Morocco and Uganda - the teams from Australia, France and Turkey promise to be strong challengers.

Both male and female competitors cover six laps of the same course, with the women starting at 12.30pm and the men at 2pm.