McKiernan storms to imposing victory

Some delicate decisions await Catherina McKiernan and her coach Joe Doonan in the wake of Saturday's imposing performance in the IAAF Cross Country international race in Durham.

Cutting through the wind and rain in a manner which demoralised her opposition as much as it delighted the Irish contingent scattered in the bleakness of the Akley Head course, McKiernan put 100 metres between herself and an international field when covering the 5.2 kilometres course in 20 minutes, 4 seconds.

Even by the demanding standards of one of the world's most powerful cross country runners, it was an exceptional run; brave, enterprising and enriched still further by the fact that it was achieved basically off a road racing schedule.

Inevitably, it has rekindled hope that after finishing second in the world championship on no fewer than four occasions, McKiernan can finally aspire to the title which has cajoled and captivated her for much of the last 10 years.

Yet, given her spectacular rate of success since converting to road running and the lure of the biggest pay-day of her career in the London marathon on April 26th, it is by no means certain that she will compete in the showpiece of the cross country season, which this year takes place in Morocco on March 22nd. The crux of the problem is that she cannot peak twice in the space of five weeks and while romance inclines her towards the big cross country event, realism suggests that she will go to London.

To prepare properly for Marakesh she must run a half marathon in the intervening period and as it transpires, the only opportunity of meeting that requirement will be in Lisbon on March 15th just a week before the cross country championship.

"It's going to be a big decision and I think it must be made within the next 10 days," said Doonan. "In her present form Catherina is capable of doing well in both races but the practicalities of the situation are that she must prioritise and prepare accordingly."

Although the London assignment may well prove pivotal in McKiernan's career, one suspects that she will pass up the chance of a title win in Morocco only grudgingly. "If I'm still running well in mid March, it would be a pity not to run in the race but neither do I want to do something which may conflict with my London preparations. Either way, it's a decision which will be made in conjunction with Joe Doonan."

In the light of the manner in which the Cavan athlete turned the race into a procession it was easy to lose sight of the fact that the field included some of the most distinguished names in long distance running.

Sally Borsosio of Kenya, the reigning world 10,000 metres title holder, sank literally and metaphorically in the mud on a day when conditions were as bad as anybody could remember. Additionally Paula Radcliffe, Britain's silver medallist in last season's world cross country championship, departed prematurely after complaining that she couldn't breathe easily.

Radcliffe stopped running shortly after the half-way mark, restarted soon afterwards but then bowed to the inevitability of it all. "To have any chance of beating Catherina on the day, I needed to be running well but after suffering with a cold earlier in the week, I quickly discovered that I made the wrong decision in coming here."

Radcliffe looked uneasy during her warm-up routine and the point almost certainly did not escape McKiernan. Totally out of character on these occasions she struck out into the lead from the start and before the field had reached the 800 metres mark, she was already 20 metres clear.

After that, the only point at issue was the margin of her victory and in spite of easing perceptibly over the last 1,000 metres that was emphatic enough to preclude the slightest strain of criticism in relegating the American Liz Wilson and Romania's Mariana Cheirila to the minor placings.

Adjusting to changed priorities after a sequence of nine wins on the road she climbed the hills as powerfully as ever and perhaps more importantly on a day when even the most nimble slithered in the mud she was never less than sure-footed on the descent. The end product was a run which fits comfortably into any list of her best cross country performances.

Singly it was perhaps the most encouraging day in years for Irish cross country running. Apart from McKiernan's invincible performance, there were wins for Gareth Turnbull and Enda Johnson in the supporting races and a good run by Seamus Power in the men's senior race won for the second year by Jon Brown.

As in the case of McKiernan, Brown was prepared to gamble on going early after Power had shown the way for much of the first lap and once in front, the Sheffield runner was never going to be caught. The big disappointment of the race was the Kenyan Thomas Nyariki, who never showed as a potent force in finishing third.

Power, suffering for his early courage, receded to 10th place at one point, but gritting his teeth he then began picking off those in front of him. At the finish he was bearing down on the Dutchman, Kamiel Maase for fourth place, eventually finishing in 32 minutes, 27 seconds, some 55 seconds behind the rampant Brown.

Turnbull, an 18-year-old student at Loughborough who first came to prominence with St Malachy's College, confirmed his rating by beating the cream of British 1,500 metres running to win the senior middle distance race in 12 minutes, 43 seconds.

Conceding all the advantages in experience, Turnbull was not afraid to back strength with bravery and after taking an early lead, he saw off his challengers one by one until only the veteran Keith Anderson remained in distant contact. Hard as Anderson tried, however, he was still seven seconds adrift at the finish.

Johnson, who is studying at St McCartan's College, Monaghan and whose athletics development is overseen by John Treacy, revealed similar talent in winning the under-20 race from the Dubliner Vincent Mulvey.

Undeterred by the weather, Johnson set sail for home a long way out and despite the persistence of Mulvey, currently on scholarship at Iona College, New York, protected his advantage with impressive resource over the last 800 metres.

SENIOR MEN (9.2 kms): 1, J Brown (England) 31mins, 32secs: 2, Y Millan (France) 31:54; 3, T Nyariki (Kenya) 32:13; 4, K Maase (Holland) 32:19; 5, S Power (Ireland) 32:27; 6, C Stephenson (Wales) 32:31; 7, T Van Hooste (Belgium) 32:32; 8, K Cullen (England) 32:33; 9, H Ramaala (South Africa) 32:48; 10, A Pearson (England) 32:48.

SENIOR WOMEN (5.2 kms): 1, C McKiernan (Ireland) 20mins, 04secs; 2, L Wilson (US) 20:22; 3, M Chirila (Romania) 20:36; 4, Z Quaziz (Morocco) 20:42; 5, J Maranga (Kenya) 20:46; 6, L Talbot (England) 20:50; 7, V McPherson (Scotland) 20:54; 8, S Barsosio (Kenya) 21:06; 9,A Wright (England) 21:09; 10, G Urge (Ethiopia) 21:18; 16, V Vaughan (Ireland) 21:49; 18, T Duffy (Ireland) 21:54.

SENIOR MEN'S MIDDLE DISTANCE (4kms): 1, G Turnbull (Ireland) 12mins, 43secs; 2, K Anderson (England) 12:50; 3, P Tulba-Morrison (England) 12:58; 4, J Moorhouse (England) 13:02; 5, S Stewart (England) 13:08; 6, A Whiteman (England) 13:14; 7, J Mayock (England) 13:26; 8, A Graffin (England) 13:28.

MEN'S UNDER-20 (5.4kms): 1, E Johnson (Ireland) 22mins, 57secs; 2, V Mulvey (Ireland) 23:05; 3, N Mapp (England) 23-40: 4, B Keane (Ireland) 23:57; 5, G Melvin (Scotland) 23:57; 6, J Stewart (England) 24:57; 9, F McGlade (Ieland) 24:34; 10, S Ward (Ireland) 24:38; 22, P Reily (Ireland) 26:14.

YOUTH'S UNDER 17: 1, J McAllister (Ireland) 18mins, 41secs: 2, A Symonds (England) 19:03; 3, F McCaffrey (Ireland) 19:10.