The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word CONFLUENCE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
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More clues leading to the result CONFLUENCE
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "place where cross-country runners meet" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case place where cross-country runners meet = confluence.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 CONFLUENCE mean?
CONFLUENCE noun- The place where two rivers, streams, or other continuously flowing bodies of water meet and become one, especially where a tributary joins a river.
- The act of combining which occurs at the place where rivers and the lake meet.
- A convergence or combination of forces, people, or things.
- The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other
- In rewriting systems, property describing which terms can be rewritten with other, equivalent terms.