BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA - Keith Kelly, from Drogheda, Co Louth, defended his title while Kate O'Neill, originally from Milton, Massachusetts, won her first Mayor's Cup Championship at Boston's Franklin Park on Sunday, 26th October.

Kelly, 26, a Providence College graduate and who represents New Balance AC, beat runner-up the young American miler extraordinaire Alan Webb, 21, of Fairfax, Virginia (Nike International), by 36 seconds. Kelly's time of 23.19 over 8-kilometres was 29-seconds faster than he ran for the same 8k (23.48) in 2002 when the Providence College graduate took home his first Mayor's Cup Revere bowl.

Passing the mile mark in 4.32, Kelly led Karl Savage, 24, of Zap Fitness in North Carolina; Paul Mwangi, 36, of Westchester Track Club in New York; and Webb. By two miles, Kelly (9.18) had taken a seven-second lead over Webb (9.25) and the field, consisting of chasers Savage, Mwangi and - farther back - John Mortimer, 27, of the Boston Athletic Association; Vinny Mulvey, 25, of Ashbourne, Co Meath; and Cain Williams, 28, of the BAA and who resides in Providence.

Kelly extended his lead during the first time that the course led runners through the so-called "wilderness" loop, emerging from the woods with a lead that he extended to 18 seconds (14.37 to 14.55) over Webb and Mwangi by 5-kilometres. By that time, Savage had faded, and Mortimer ran in fourth place 15.13, trailed by Mulvey in fifth and Williams in sixth.

Any question of whether Kelly would receive a late challenge was answered when Kelly hit the four-mile mark (18.52), having placed even more distance between he and Webb (19.17), who now ran alone in second. Mwangi (19.24) trailed Webb by seven seconds with Mortimer (19.28) another four seconds behind in fourth.

Kelly's long, loping stride seems to have closed just a bit from three years ago when he made his first major impression in the U.S. in winning the 2000 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship, but his dominance has remained intact. He cruised a final time over the course's landmark, Bear Cage Hill, while the gap between the five finishers behind him remained similar over the final half of the race. Webb (second place, 23.55), Mwangi (third place, 24.02), Mortimer (fourth place, 24.08), Mulvey (fifth, 24.21) and Williams (sixth, 24.25).

Kate O'Neill, 23, currently residing New Haven, Connecticuit and who competes for Nike, pushed the women's pack through the initial mile. Amy Rudolph, 30, of Providence (adidas); Atalalegh Ketema, 20, of Ethiopia (Westchester Track Club); and Kathy Newberry, 25, of Williamsburg, Virginia (adidas) ran as a group with O'Neill with Kate's twin sister, Laura (New Haven and Nike), and Ann McGranahan, 24, of North Carolina (Zap Fitness) just steps behind. The women's championship race is 5-kilometers, and by two miles the group had whittled itself down to Rudolph, Ketema and Newberry but Kate O'Neill still appeared to hold the advantage. With a finish which includes 600-meter perimeter run around The Playstead (large, open field), the race came down to a two-person battle between Rudolph and O'Neill. O'Neill tested Rudolph with a burst with 400 meters remaining and the result was clear. O'Neill took first (16.33) by two seconds over runner-up and US Olympian Rudolph (16.35). Newberry was third in 16.37, McGranahan was fourth in 16.43, and Laura O'Neill was fifth in 16.54.

Top Irish runners in the women's competition were Róisín McGettigan, like Kelly a Providence grad coached by Ray Treacy who placed 7th in 17.16 followed by Dundrum's Aoife Byrne (9th, 17.30) who is in America training with the Providence group and Orla O'Mahoney from UCD in 14th at 17.50.

Kelly intends to run a full, fall cross country schedule, and the New England Championship at Franklin Park on 9th November is next for him. Subsequently, he will return home to race the Inter Counties on 30th November in Mullingar with the intention of earning a position on the Irish team to compete at the European Championship in Scotland on 14th December.

Thanks to Jack Fleming of the Boston Athletic Association for this report and New York Road Runners Alison Wade for the brilliant photos.

Men's Race 8000 metres: 1) Keith Kelly, 26, New Balance - Boyne AC, 23.19; 2) Alan Webb, 21, Nike International, 23.55; 3) Paul Mwangi, 36, Westchester TC, (Kenya) 24.02; 4) John Mortimer, 27, Boston Athletic Association (BAA), 24.08; 5) Vinny Mulvey, 25, Raheny Shamrock AC, 24.21; 6) Cain Williams, 28, BAA, 24.25; 7) Jose Zayas, 24, Puma North America, (Jamaica) 24.42; 8) Michael McKeeman, 27, Bryn Mawr Running, 24.43; 9) Bill Frawley, 33, Philadelphia TC/Puma 24.45; 10) Mark Stallings, 23, Bryn Mawr Running, 24.46; 11) Stephen Ondieki, 28, Westchester TC, (Kenya) 24.48; 12) Jason Bialka, 24, Athletics East, 24.49; 13) Nick Conway, 28, Willow Street AC, 24.56; 14) Stephen Drew, 25, Ottawa Lions TFC, 24.57; 15) Adam Stuhlfaut, 27, Reebok Boston, 24.58

Men's Teams: 1) Boston Athletic Association, 69 points; 2) Bryn Mawr Running Co, 73; 3) Philadelphia Track Club, 134; 4) Reebok Boston, 158; 5) Westchester Track Club, 194

Women's Race 5000 metres: 1) Katie O'Neill, 23, Nike International, 16.33;2) Amy Rudolph, 30, Adidas, 16.35; 3) Kathy Newberry, 25, Adidas America, 16.37; 4) Ann McGranahan, 24, Zapfitness, 16.43; 5) Laura O'Neill, 23, Nike International, 16.54; 6) Atalalech Ketema, 20, Westchester TC, 16.58; 7) Róisín McGettigan, 23, New Balance - Slí Chúlainn, 17.16; 8) Sarah Hann, 30, New Balance, 17.19; 9) Aoife Byrne, 22, Dundrum South Dublin, 17.30; 10) Kim Thalmann, 24, BAA, 17.31; 11) Kasie Enman, 24, Athletics East, 17.33; 12) Cheryl Bauer, 22, Unattached, 17.41; 13) Janelle Kraus, 45, BAA, 17.45; 14) Orla O'Mahoney, 26, BAA - University College Dublin, 17.50; 15) Amy Decamp, 24, BAA, 17.52

Teams. 1) Boston Athletic Association, 66 points; 2) Reebok Boston, 95; 3) Westchester Track Club, 157; 4) Genesee Valley Harriers, 162; 5) Athletics East, 174