The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SCRAMBLE
S
C
R
A
M
B
L
E
More clues leading to the result SCRAMBLE
- Race to cook eggs, perhaps?
- Move awkwardly — to do this to the eggs?
- Hurry from senior staff room, then walk slowly
- Quickly take off Mel's bra after fiddling with catch at first
- Car's unusual emblem losing ends in motorsport event
- Commotion as new edition of Chambers left ‘hospital’ out
- Jumble sale’s top stuff bringing little enthusiasm at first
- Able to move quickly for a take-off in an emergency
- Jockey beat it black and blue on regular basis
- Go down, not up initially — climb with difficulty
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "cross-country race" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cross-country race = scramble.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SCRAMBLE mean?
SCRAMBLE noun- A rush or hurry, especially making use of the limbs against a surface.
- An emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft.
- A motocross race.
- Any frantic period of competitive activity.
- To move hurriedly to a location, especially by using all limbs against a surface.
- To proceed to a location or an objective in a disorderly manner.
- (of food ingredients, usually including egg) To thoroughly combine and cook as a loose mass.
- To process (telecommunication signals) to make them unintelligible to an unauthorized listener.
- To quickly deploy (vehicles, usually aircraft) to a destination in response to an alert, usually to intercept an attacking enemy.
- To be quickly deployed in this manner.
- To partake in motocross.
- To ascend rocky terrain as a leisure activity.
- To gather or collect by scrambling.
- To struggle eagerly with others for something thrown upon the ground; to go down upon all fours to seize something; to catch rudely at what is desired.
- To throw something down for others to compete for in this manner.
- Shouted when something desirable is thrown into a group of people who individually want that item, causing them to rush for it.