Fagan quietly confident about his chances on home soil

ATHLETICS NEWS:MARTIN FAGAN has been reduced to running on a treadmill in his final preparations for Sunday's European Cross Country Championships in Santry. It's not that he's gotten soft, or is carrying an injury. Fagan had hoped to avoid the worst of the weather in the run-up to Santry by remaining at his high-altitude training base in Flagstaff, Arizona, but instead heavy snowfall there in recent days has forced him off the roads and into the gym.

It’s far from ideal preparations for Sunday’s event, as the course in Santry will inevitably be wet and muddy given the rain of recent weeks.

But Fagan is not overly concerned. All the hard work has been done already, and he’s hopeful the benefits of training at altitude for the past few months will fully kick in on Sunday.

In fact, he’ll only fly in to Dublin on Saturday, confident that will maximise the benefits athletes typically feel when returning to run at sea level – thus leaving him primed to lead the Irish charge in the senior men’s race.

“The weather has really taken a turn for the worse here,” Fagan explained yesterday from Flagstaff, having just completed 20 miles on the treadmill, 12 in the morning, and another eight in the evening. “There is already three foot of snow on the ground and they are expecting more over the next few days. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to the airport on Friday.

“But apart from being snowed in, training has been going pretty well. I actually don’t mind training on the treadmill. I keep telling myself it’s making me tougher.”

Fagan has been based at Flagstaff, which lies at 7,000 feet, since graduating from Providence College in 2007, and for the most part has benefited from the endurance boost that usually comes with living and training at such altitude.

He’s also endured his fair share on injuries, including an Achilles’ strain which cut short his track season this summer, and plans to run the New York marathon.

Although he has raced sparingly since, winning the Boston half-marathon in October, and last month finishing fourth in a Thanksgiving Road Race in Connecticut, he sounded quietly confident about his chances on Sunday – particularly given the added incentive of home advantage.

“I really am very excited for the race at the weekend. It’s a special opportunity to run at home, and in front of my friends and family. I think this is going to be the difference for me and the rest of the team.

“I know everybody is going to raise their game and take advantage of running on home soil.

“I honestly believe we have the strongest senior men’s team in a long time, so getting a team medal is going to be my first priority. With this in mind, I’m planning on running a much more conservative race. I’m usually pretty aggressive when it comes to racing, but it’s very important for me to think of the team this time instead of an individual medal.

“Of course I would love to get into the individual medals as well and I know that I’m good enough to be up front, so hopefully I can get in the individual as well as the team medals.”

Fagan was on course for a leading finish in Brussels last year until he fell and ended up 24th. It was a bitter blow given he’d failed to finish the Olympic marathon in Beijing – yet these are the sort of setbacks which has left him even more fired up for Sunday.

“I’ve had so much bad luck in championship races and I think I deserve some good fortune.”