Alistair Cragg, who turns 22 on the 13th of June, competes for the University of Arkansas under the tutelage of legendary Coach John McDonnell. McDonnell (Crossmolina, Co. Mayo) has coached a multitude of successful Irish runners to international status including the likes of Irish Olympians Niall O'Shaughnessy, Frank O'Mara, Paul Donovan and Niall Bruton.

Cragg was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but has recently declared for Ireland. Both of his grandparents on his mother's side were born in Ireland.

Prior to Arkansas, Cragg ran a year at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. He competed for South Africa as a junior in the 1999 World Cross Country Championships held in Belfast where he placed 56th covering the 8k course in 28.48.

Only a sophomore, Cragg has two full seasons remaining at the University of Arkansas.

When not running or studying, he enjoys living in the Ozark Mountains where he loves to fish and hangout at the lakes. Musically, it is anything and everything that gets him pumped up or relaxed when needed.

Regarding his declaration for Ireland, Liam Hennessey, the new International Secretary for the AAI said, "We are still awaiting formal clearance from the South African federation. But I've been speaking to his father Raymond and that process is almost completed. I understand he has competed for South Africa before but we're unsure at what level, and because he holds an Irish passport there shouldn't be any great difficulty in getting final clearance from the IAAF."

Irish Runner.com: Did you think that the news of your declaration for Ireland would be such a big deal with stories in major Irish papers, press releases and of course the topic of many posts on Irish Athletics chat boards?

Alistair Cragg: Not at all, when I made the decision to declare to run for Ireland I had no idea where my running was heading as it was before competing for the University of Arkansas. I hadn't run for seven months and Coach McDonnell was my last chance at trying to make it anywhere in this sport. So, as it turned out, my running is taking off and reading articles of my performances in a country other than the U.S. is flattering as my country of birth hasn't recognised a single achievement since coming here in January of 2000.

AC: I always wanted to run for Ireland, but never saw the opportunity to go ahead with the declaration. After meeting Coach McDonnell last summer, I kind of knew that training under him would get me to where I wanted to be - on the world circuit. So as Coach Mac was of Irish descent and a man with great respect both here in the USA and in Ireland I asked if and how I could go about running for Ireland. As for declaring for Great Britain, no I don't think so. Actually I didn't even look into it.

IR.com: Equipped with your 13.22.07, have you or Coach McDonnell been contacted by the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) about the prospects of running for Ireland as early as this summer?

IR.com: When I spoke with yourself and Coach in April at Penn Relays, declaring was more of a formality and you were going to concentrate on collegiate competition, has that changed?

AC: I have come to trust Coach Mac with every bit of my Athletic career. I owe him the best I can give during my years here at Arkansas. He has taken me from a 'kid who just couldn't quite make it' to where I am now - knocking on the door to a successful running career ahead of me. I am eager to run for and in Ireland as soon as possible as long as my performances here aren't hindered in the next 2 years.

AC: Coach wants me to get well rested before we begin our hunt to win the NCAA Cross Country Championship in the fall. I think with World Championships coming up next year, this would be a great chance for me to join my newfound compatriots in Ireland and compete against the best the World has to offer.

IR.com: What are your long-term goals in regards to running for Ireland?

AC: I'd love to compete at the Olympics in 2004. As a track athlete our years are limited to experiencing a thing such as the Olympics. I have seen Mark Carroll's records and hope to chase them down. But what I really want is to be able to grow a passion to wear the Green Vest as if it were my home.

AC: With the 1500m final only 40 minutes before the 5000m, the only wise move was to run my strongest event. The heat does come into play, and running one even down there only seems to be in my favour.

AC: I trust Coach McDonnell. He has developed athlete who I can only dream of becoming. He does the thinking and we just do the training, it is made easy for us. Arkansas has a legendary past in distance running.

IR.com: Past interviews with Arkansas Razorback runners have always resulted in telling about their toughest workout. What was the most challenging, fastest or interesting training session you had this year?

AC: Individuals have their own worst nightmare out there. For me it would be the 5 x mile up a hill at the Razorback Golf course. Towards the end of Cross Country season coach would want us to hit 4:20's up there. If you saw this hill you'd understand that 5 x 4:20 is no mean feat. It hurts - it hurts really badly!

IR.com: What are you studying at Arkansas? What's your best guess at a career choice after running?

AC: I am on my way to getting a business degree. With a little guidance from Coach I have realized that my track talents could only take me so far in life, after that it's my brain.