special to irishrunner.com by Tim O'Dowd

The early success that Martin Fagan had during the 2005 cross country may have surprised many including Fagan himself.

Despite being firmly ensconced in the hotbed of cross country in the northeast and in the Big East, Fagan had little or no competition during the season. After his opening race at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota where he placed seventh, he wasn't challenged until the NCAA Northeast Region Championships where he was edged by Iona College's Richard Kiplagat who was runner-up at the 2005 NCAA Championships.

During the 2005 campaign, Fagan, 23, won the Fordham Invitational, Penn State Open and the Big East Championships.

In winning the Big East, Martin Fagan was timed in 23.48, recording the fastest collegiate time at New York's Van Cortlandt Park - the most celebrated cross country course in the US and breaking a 27 year-old record.

Fagan, who admittedly had a bad day still managed to finish 16th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Fagan also finished 16th at the 2005 European Cross Country Championships in Tilburg, the Netherlands in December.

Fagan ended his dream 2005-2006 collegiate seasons with a silver medal performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a 10,000-metre personal best 28.41.41.

In August, Fagan, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, competed for Ireland at the European Championships in Göteborg, Sweden in the 10,000 metres where he finished 11th in 28.54.04.

This cross country season, both Fagan and his coach, Ray Treacy are approaching things a bit differently. The most notable change is Providence College's inclusion in the upcoming Indiana State Pre-National meet. The Friars usually skipped this meet in favour of the Penn State Open. Treacy is a master of the NCAA qualifying procedure and formulas and no doubt feels his team will benefit from a go at the Pre-National event.

Treacy's goals for his latest protégé are simple, "Martin has come back to college full of confidence after his European Championship experience. He will look to retain his Big East title and contend for the NCAA's."

Given last year's success on both the track and in cross country, Fagan enters the 2006 season as one of the favourites for the individual title in Terre Haute in November.

Irish Runner.com caught up with Providence College's Martin Fagan to talk about what he's learned and his goals for the 2006 season.

irishrunner.com: You had a great season last fall but fell short at the NCAA Championships a bit, what did you learn from that race?

Martin Fagan: I was very happy with my season last year, but like you said, I fell short by nationals. Coming off an extended track season [10k and 5k at European Under-23 Championships in Erfurt, Germany and 5k at Irish National Championships in Dublin], where other teams are getting in a base, I skipped this period in my training and got too sharp too quickly. To run back-to-back 10k's [Northeast Regional and NCAA Championships] is a very tough thing to do, and I clearly wasn't strong enough to do this and so I fell apart by NC's. Personally, I thought I could win the race, but realistically I probably was good enough for the top 10. Ignoring this, I tried to lead and my tactics for the race were all wrong. You cannot afford to get things wrong at NC's especially with the calibre of athletes running it. I didn't respect these athletes enough.

irishrunner.com: Are you preparing for this season any differently than last year?

Martin Fagan: Ray and I have discussed what went wrong last year and what we have to change to my training to get it right. After lowering my personal best in the 1500m during the season to 3.41 [3.41.89, Århus, Denmark, 6th July 2006], I now know that I can finish with these guys. So, last year, where I got things wrong, was when I was thinking I had to lead races. But this year, I have more confidence in my ability to finish so you will now see me less towards the front of the races.

irishrunner.com: You had a lot of great performances last season in both track and cross country. How did those experiences, especially at the European Cross and the European Athletics Championships help you prepare for this season?

Martin Fagan: I have been fortunate to run the European championships in both on the track and cross. I have learned a lot about the different ways in which the races are run compared to collegiate races. Both times I have come off long collegiate seasons and still have managed to hold my form. What I believe enables me to do this is the consistent 100-mile weeks of Ray's training and the belief in the strength it gives me.

Martin Fagan debuted at Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Indiana on 29th September where he finished 7th covering the 8-kilometre course in 23.56.

Next up for Fagan and his Providence Friars team is the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Cross Country Meet slated for 14th October on the LaVern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Indiana which hosts the NCAA Cross Country Championships on 20th November.