Most of the top finishers still washing the mud from their spikes after Sunday’s National Cross-Country Championships in Derry can look forward to more pleasant conditions next time. From the absolute slog of the Templemore Sports Complex to the fast and furious gravel of Parchal Urban Park.
Sunday’s event doubled as the trial for the European Cross-Country which takes place on December 14th in Lagoa, the popular coastal tourist spot in the Algarve. The course at Parchal Urban Park resembles a BMX track in parts. The man-made speed ramps and sweeping hard bends present a very different sort of challenge to Sunday’s treacherously soft battleground.
It was the first time the National Cross-Country was hosted by a Derry club. Spartans AC did an excellent job of managing the course and spectators on an afternoon of driving wind and rain. Both senior races produced worthy champions in Brian Fay and Fiona Everard, both coming from behind in the latter stages.
The Athletics Ireland selection committee met on Monday to finalise the team selections for Lagoa, with the top three in each of the senior, under-23 and under-20 races automatically qualifying. The senior women’s team may also be boosted by the return of Fionnuala McCormack, with Fay already talking up the medal prospects on the men’s side.
RM Block
Only three seconds separated the top three on Sunday, with Fay – the Irish 5,000m record holder – kicking past Nick Griggs and Cormac Dalton in the last 100 metres. He made it 10 different winners of the senior men’s race in as many years.
Griggs, who doesn’t turn 21 until December 18th, will again focus on the under-23 race in Lagoa, having finished a close runner-up last year. The Tyrone athlete has also won silver and bronze in the under-20 race in 2022 and 2023, and led the team to under-23 gold in 2023.
“Cross-country is so unpredictable, so definitely, to be on the podium, I won’t be able to complain about that,” said Griggs. “Second there twice, third once, I don’t want to be lofty and say the win, but obviously the aim will always be to go there and win.
“I’m going to get some good training in the next few weeks. We’ve a very good team as well, so hopefully some chances of a medal team-wise, and individually for myself. Obviously it’s great to go to Euro Cross and compete, win a medal. But it’s a strength-builder mainly, for the track.”
Jonas Stafford (eighth) and Niall Murphy (10th) also made the top 10 in the senior race on Sunday, thus joining Griggs in the under-23 race. It remains unclear if Abdel Laadjel will return from the US after the 22-year-old Dubliner finished a terrific ninth in the NCAA Championships in Missouri on Saturday.
Running for the University of Oregon, Laadjel produced the best Irish finish in the ultra-competitive race since David Rooney finished seventh in 2012. If Laadjel does make the trip back, then the Irish team, with three to score, will be hard to beat.
There is further incentive, with potential selection for the World Cross-Country at stake. The worlds are now staged biennially, with the next edition set for Tallahassee in Florida on January 10th.
McCormack may also have an interest in Tallahassee. The 41-year-old showed no signs of slowing down when finishing 10th in the New York City Marathon earlier this month, just seven weeks after finishing ninth at the World Championships marathon in Tokyo.
Two years ago, when the European Cross-Country was staged over a muddy course around Laeken Park in Brussels, McCormack finished fourth, just seven days after clocking a 2:26:19 marathon in Valencia. That fourth-place finish in Brussels was her record 18th appearance in the event.
Leading the women’s team will be Everard. The Cork athlete won her second senior title on Sunday, after running down Niamh Allen in the last third of the race. Danielle Donegan from Tullamore also qualified automatically in third.
The Irish senior men haven’t won a team medal in the European Cross-Country in 25 years, coming close with a fourth-place finish in Brussels two years ago. Fay is coached by Nic Bideau and returned from his Melbourne training base especially to qualify for Lagoa.
“Honestly, I feel we’ve sent some vey strong teams the last couple of years and the senior men have finished just outside the medals,” said Fay. “I feel like this year is the year we can really try push for that team medal.
“So that’s the goal, to help get that team medal in any way I can. I feel we can put three guys in the top 12, top 10. I’m also hoping to do the World Cross, so hopefully we’ve a few guys to go after that as well.”
