by T. Patrick O'Dowd
Unfortunately for the Irish runners that did compete at the World Cross Country Championships, much of the focus was placed on a runner that didn't. Irish athletics fans were wondering what surprises Sonia O'Sullivan would provide in Oostende after her disappointing showing at the World Indoor Championships two weeks earlier in Lisbon.
Anne Keenan Buckley photo by T. Patrick O'Dowd
Rumours ran rampant among the press corps and fans alike about Sonia's fitness and health leading up to the race. Stories ranged from the flu, fatigue, a head cold or the effects of medication taken for an infected tooth. Whatever the malady, it would have served her better to simply bow out gracefully and let her followers wonder what if, rather than jeopardise an already fragile ego. But in her defense, the Cobh Olympian persevered hoping to help the Irish team, which had already lost Rosie Ryan to injury. After completing less a quarter of the two-kilometre loop, her darkest doubts were realised. The mud and the pace left nothing in her legs and she dropped out offering her spikes as souvenirs to a nearby youth. She commented, "This is not like an injury where you know you have a problem. It's only when you start the race that you really know how you feel, and I just did not feel right out there. I felt okay warming up but not in the race and there was just no point in continuing."
On the opposite end of the running spectrum was a brilliant performance by the ageless Anne Keenan-Buckley who finished 20th - her best international placing. Keenan-Buckley was out fast and occupied a spot in front of the lead pack for the first kilometre. On being in the lead she commented, "I knew I had to get out fast at the start because if you didn't then there was no way you were going to make your way up in that mud. It was extremely difficult in places and at times you were sliding all over the place. If not for a fall on the second loop, the North Laois runner would have surely placed even higher. She was in 13th place at the fall and said, "I got up as fast as I could and lost only a couple of places." She crossed the line in 15.37 followed by Maria McCambridge and Una English in 22nd (15.42) and 31st (15.55) place respectively. Kerrywoman Freda Davoren ran gallantly placing 79th (17.01) and could simply not fill the shoes of Ryan or O'Sullivan.
In the Senior Men's short course race, Ireland had only two entrants, St Malachy's Gareth Turnbull and Leevale's Fiachra Lombard. Short on races and long on ambition, Turnbull battled for position early in the race but was unable to hold the hopeful pace for very long. Irish Runner.com caught up with duo after the race.
A disappointed Turnbull told Irish Runner.com, "It just didn't materialise in the second half. I wanted to finish where I was in the first lap [18th] and just hang on but I couldn't. It is a terrible course. You have to conserve where you can't run on the mud and half the course is runable with nice gravel bits. I think the lack of racing really hurt me. I was counting on the short course trial. It was important to get a race under the belt. I haven't raced since Durham. I missed Stormont and the trials of course. I know what I've got to do and what it will be like in Dublin next year. Well, we all have bad races and I would rather have it now than in the summer. I am concentrating on the Under-23 Championships at the World Junior Games in Beijing. I'm only 21 so there are plenty more years of this."
A more optimistic Fiachra Lombard commented about the course, "The homestretch is nice but after that you hit the mud. My goal was to go out hard and see if I could hold it. I ended up 84th, which wasn't too bad for my first go at it. I am looking forward to running in Dublin next year. The hills weren't bad - it was mainly the muck. I'm glad I ran today and not tomorrow, the course will be very tough after three races."The Irish Junior men's team ran beyond expectations finishing in the middle of team standings earning 13th place of the 25 teams. Patrick Guidera, an experienced international runner from Clonmel A.C. placed 43rd in 27.48. William Harty (K.C.K. A.C.) showed he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future whether on the roads, track or the turf as he placed 65th in 28.12.
Keith Kelly photo courtesy of George Aitkin
The biggest surprise was the brilliant 8th place finish (146 points) by the Senior Men's long course team where they beat perennial power Ethiopia (9th - 170 points) and edged rival Great Britain (13th - 212 points). The team was comprise a splendid blend of seasoned veterans, stalwarts and up and coming youngsters. The rain-soaked, mucky conditions didn't panic the Irish squad and if this is what it takes for success these course form could be identical to next year's Dublin turf.
Going into to race the thick conditions were thought to favour Séamus Power but it was training partner Peter Matthews who wallowed in mud and achievement. From the start Matthews was in the Top 30 and never relinquished is spot. Tired from a long cross-country season in December, Keith Kelly was not himself in Malmö, Sweden for the European X-C championships but a rested and track-sharp Kelly was ready for anything in Belgium. The depth of the mud put smaller, lighter runners at a distinct disadvantage but that couldn't be seen with Vinny Mulvey as he placed a remarkable 56th place spot on his first appearance on an Irish international team. Power still showed he's a force even when he's not in his best form as grinded out a Top 50 (44th) placing.
After singing a few songs, the top four runners settled down enough for a few words. Reaping the benefits of full-time training Peter Matthews said, "I thought they might be going out a bit hard and I said to myself, 'pick your way through the mud.' The mud didn't bother me too much so I could run on the fast parts. On the straightaway I made up a few places each lap. I stayed strong and it really helped me out in the mud. That was the way I wanted to run the race."
Keith Kelly could not hold down his excitement and if not for team manager Jerry Kiernan's calls for a cool down, Kelly would no doubt be still talking. Here's a small portion of his comments, "Ray [Treacy] said to me, "Get out in the middle of the pack, feel your way through, then slowly look at every jersey in front of you and pick them off one-by-one. Before I know it, I realise I'm in the top 30! I pass a Kenyan guy then a French guy and I say, 'What's going on here?' It was brilliant. I don't know where the strength came from. I couldn't muster up a fast finish but I picked off the Aussie guy. It was obvious that the conditions favored someone like me because every time I came through a muddy section of the course I'd close probably fifteen yards on whoever was in front of me. I was horsing through the mud. A lot of the light guys couldn't handle it they were slipping. There was a Kenyan and I said, 'I'll make him my marker' and I had him by the third patch of thick mud. I'm only twenty-three and looking at Berkeley, I probably have another fourteen more years of cross in me! Next year is the goal in Dublin. We'll have the same guys around; we're going to have a great team. Ray said I would eat the mud up and be strong. He [Ray Treacy] tells me I'm in great shape and I don't believe him and time after time he's dead right in his prediction. I still maintain that if I was in the short course race I would have finished in the top 15 because I know the guys in there and that I could beat some of them."
Vinny Mulvey, the youngest member of the team at 22 saw his hard work and sacrifice pay off saying, "My goal was top 70 and this morning I said, 'Why not, I'll just aim for top 60.' I'm just delighted with 56th. I think had not been so muddy and so severe, I could've finished higher. It is going to make me aim so much higher now. It was definitely worth the sacrifice of coming home. That's all I was thinking of during the race - the whole three months I took off [from Iona college]. It was a brilliant day - a great atmosphere with the team, singing songs all day."
Séamus Power added, "It was very, very tough - conditions were tough. My legs just couldn't get in any rhythm. I'm happy enough being the third man home but I'm delighted to see the boys up there. Especially Keith Kelly, the young fellah. I couldn't see Vinny behind me but I heard he was right behind me in the 50's and that's good for the team. I got in the 30's but I couldn't keep the rhythm going. You won't come through too great in mud so I wanted to get in a good position early. That's what I did but my legs got heavy and I found myself coming back. Still, it was a good day for me and it was a great team performance."
Hopefully, there will be a World Cross Championship in Dublin next March.