NOV 27th: Athletics Ireland have called Alistair Cragg into the Irish team for the European Cross Country Championships to be held in Medulin, Croatia on December 8th.

McKiernan happy to be back

NOV 25th: The first step in Catherina McKiernan's long-awaited return to competitive running ended with a ninth-place finish in yesterday's Lotto Cup cross country in Roeselare, Belgium.

McKiernan set for competitive return

Catherina McKiernan

NOV 23rd: After over three years of injury, Catherina McKiernan will tomorrow make her long-awaited return to competitive running at the Lotto Cup cross country in Roeselare, Belgium.

Cork braced for Power surge

NOV 22nd: Seamus Power will attempt to extend one of the longest winning streaks in the history of Irish sport in Sunday's National Inter-county cross country championships, to be held at Donoughmore in Cork.

New York a bridge too far for O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan crosses the finish line

NOV 4th: Spiderman could have told her. During the summer, Sonia O'Sullivan was speaking to the Welsh runner Jon Brown about the experience of running in the New York marathon. Sonia suggested that the course seemed largely flat and manageable. Brown shook his head.

O'Sullivan rues cautious approach

NOV 4th: Sonia O'Sullivan had few complaints but several regrets. The weather was ideal for marathon running. The pace was manageable, even inviting.

Carroll shines on streets of New York

NOV 3rd: Mark Carroll became the second fasted Irish marathon runner of all time after finishing sixth in the New York City Marathon this afternoon.

New York story: Sonia's tale

O'Sullivan

NOV 2nd: Tom Humphries finds Sonia O'Sullivan at home in New York and taking preparations in her stride as she takes a significant diversion on the road to Athens.

O'Sullivan takes plunge into unknown

NOV 2nd: On Thursday Sonia O' Sullivan spent some time chatting with Greta Waitz, the great Norwegian runner who has won the New York marathon nine times. O'Sullivan and Waitz have known each other for quite a while and the younger woman was happy to sit and listen.

A new role for the Irish in America

NOV 1st: It is odd, given Ireland's history in middle-to long-distance running, that a shamrock-spangled city like New York has seen such little Irish involvement or success in its annual marathon.

O’Sullivan warned by rival coach

NOV 1st: Sonia O'Sullivan may have to join the exclusive club of women who have run under two hours and 20 minutes if she is to win the New York City Marathon on Sunday.

O'Sullivan eyes final record in Big Apple

O'Sullivan

OCT 30th: Sonia O'Sullivan is strongly tipped to set another unique Irish distance running milestone in Sunday's New York City Marathon.

O'Sullivan feels right at home

OCT 29th: Sonia O'Sullivan has spent the last week at her "alma mater" of Villanova University completing preparations for Sunday's New York City Marathon.

Another Kenyan rises to the challenge

OCT 29th: That a Kenyan won yesterday's adidas Dublin Marathon was no surprise, except for his name - Frederick Cherono. Just two years ago Cherono was a hard-working farmer in the Kapsait region of the Rift Valley and like many Kenyans his only experience of running was to and from school.

Running marathon on a shoestring

OCT 26th: Ian O'Riordan talks to Jim Aughney about looking after 8,000 runners and an army of volunteers for the Dublin City marathon

Coghlan returns for New York marathon

Coghlan

OCT 25th: Organisers of the New York City Marathon on Sunday week may have attracted Ireland's two current leading athletes in Sonia O'Sullivan and Mark Carroll, but Eamonn Coghlan, one of the leading Irish athletes from the past, is also concluding his preparations for the 26.2-mile race.

Marathon effort pays off

Radcliffe

OCT 14th: It is appropriate that Paula Radcliffe should be enjoying her greatest success over 26.2 miles because if any athlete has shown that a career is a marathon and not a sprint, it is the 28-year-old from Bedford.

Radcliffe has time of her life

OCT 14th: On a crisp, sun-drenched morning alongside the banks of Lake Michigan here in the Windy City, Paula Radcliffe took another giant stride to establishing herself as the greatest female distance runner in history with a stunning world record in the Chicago Marathon.

O'Sullivan in peak form as New York approaches

O'Sullivan

OCT 14th: These days Sonia O'Sullivan is in such total marathon mode that a five-mile road race will merely stretch the legs. So before coming to Loughrea for yesterday's Great Ireland Run, she ran for two-and-a-half hours - normally the last thing an athlete would do the day before a race.

Radcliffe record crowns her year

OCT 14th: Britain’s Paula Radcliffe won the Chicago Marathon yesterday and shattered the world record with a time of two hours, 17 minutes and 18 seconds.