special to Irish Runner.com by Eoghan Young-Murphy

Mark Carroll may cap off a glorious distance running career by claiming the Irish marathon record in New York on Sunday.

For the past decade, the Corkman has been the one shaft of light in what has otherwise been a gloomy period for Irish distance running. Had he been around a years before, his name would be placed highly on the scroll of heroes in the history of Irish sport, such has been his brilliance.

He has landed every National record from 3,000m to 10,000m, usurping the likes of John Treacy and Eamonn Coughlan, and may well have added the 1500m mark to his collection if he has been involved in the right race at the apex of his fitness.

Sadly, because of African dominance of the sport and the use of performance enhancing drugs, the accomplishments of Carroll have not received the fanfare they merit. His 5,000m national record of 13:03.93 ranks him ninth on the European all-time list, and many of those that precede his have either had their careers tainted by drugs, or were born in Africa but decided to switch allegiance for financial gain.

Yet his debut marathon clocking of 2:10:54, set in New York in 2002, sits favourably alongside John Treacy's National record of 2:09:17. Injuries mean that Carroll will be attempting to complete only his second marathon: he contested the event in London last year but failed to finish.

One of the young athletes who, as a teenager, was no doubt inspired by some of Carroll's achievements is Vinny Mulvey. Mulvey, now a friend Carroll's has much in common with the Providence grad: he is based in America and is unjustly plagued with niggling injuries.

He may not possess the deep reserves of talent of Carroll, but his diminutive frame, work ethic and deep reserves of stamina have suggest that he could find his niche at the 26.2-mile distance.

He harbours modest ambitions for his marathon debut in New York. His coach, Mick Byrne wants him to enjoy his first marathon. Mulvey wants to run controlled and within himself and register around 2 hour and 22 minutes. Mulvey will then turn his attention to Cross-Country, to the Irish Cross-Country Championships in Sligo later in the month.

Another Providence grad, Marie McMahon Davenport will also be making her debut in New York on the weekend. Davenport, coached by Ray Treacy seems ready to translate her success on the track to the road race. For Davenport, 30, who lives in Guilford, Connecticut, the ING New York City Marathon will be her 26.2-mile debut. "I always knew I was going to run at this distance," she said, "and New York was always my number-one choice." Even a modest performance by Davenport should put her in the Top 5 of the Irish All-Time list. Catherina McKiernan's brilliant performance of 2:22:23 at the 1998 Amsterdam Marathon is the Irish record followed by Carey May (2:28:07), Sonia O'Sullivan (2:32:06), Regina Joyce (2:32:56) and Monica Joyce (2:34:49).

2005 ING New York City Marathon website