John McDonnell's University of Arkansas Distance Medley Relay team took the title with a fast an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 9:35.13 at the Southeast Conference West Challenge meet held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas on 18th January. Alistair Cragg ran the 1,600m leg anchoring the team to victory. In the loaded 3,000-meter run Dubliner Westley Alkin kicked in at the end to claim the individual title with a time of 8:12.16, beating out Alabama's Peter Kiprono from Kenya.

Una English (Dublin City Harriers) placed 22nd at the XXI Cross Internacional De Italica Meeting held in Seville/ Santiponce, Spain on 19th January. English covered the 6.6-kilometre course in 23.02. Merima Denboba (Ethiopia) won the women's event in 21.41 with countryman Keneisa Bekele winning the men's 10.8k race in 31.31.

Stephanie O'Reilly (Co Wicklow) won the Women's Invitational Mile Run at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational held in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 19th January. O'Reilly, a Providence College graduate ran 4.47.62, four seconds clear of runner-up Chantelle Dron from America.

Karen Shinkins placed 4th running 7.80 in the prelims in the 60-metre event at the Kroger Invitational held in Rector Fieldhouse at Virginia Tech on 17th - 18th January in Blacksburg, Virginia. Shinkins also ran 24.43 in the 200m-event placing second in her section and 10th overall. Corkman James Grufferty (East Tennessee) placed 20th in 3,000 metres in 8.47.07.

Damien Bateman ( McNeese State University) won the mile run (4.25.99) at the McNeese State Jeff Davis Invitational held on 18th January.

Antoine Burke leaves for South Africa on Friday, 24th January. The Limerickman who was a member of the Irish 4 x 400-metre team in Munich last summer will race there on the 31st January. Burke's former college teammate 1500m runner James Nolan already in South Africa- having arrived there in November- will race on the 31st as well.