ROY KEANE admits the pain of defeat has worsened since he became a manager.

Dejene Berhanu is a late replacement for world marathon record holder Paul Tergat in Sunday’s BUPA Great North Run in the UK.

UK middle distance runner Jo Pavey will face top Africans Berhane Adere and Susan Chepkemei when she makes her half-marathon debut in next month’s BUPA Great North Run.

Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Zersenay Tadesse will head the African challenge for top honours in this month’s BUPA Great Manchester Run.

MARK CARROLL will line up for Sunday’s London Marathon happy in the knowledge that, for the very first time, he has prepared specifically for a marathon.

THE absence of the likes of reigning champion Gary Murray (injured) has thrown today’s national senior inter-club cross-country championships at Santry Demesne wide open. And it could be just the race for Vinny Mulvey.

A FRUSTRATED Mark Carroll walked away from the New York City Marathon last night admitting: “I’m having a biomechanical breakdown.”

Derartu Tulu became the first Ethiopian woman to win the BUPA Great North Run with an emphatic victory.

Ethiopian great Derartu Tulu will return to Portsmouth to compete in the BUPA Great South Run on October 9.

Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan is almost certain to switch from being a track specialist to a marathon runner next year.

Sonia O’Sullivan was not despondent after missing out on an IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships medal in New Delhi today.

Sonia O’Sullivan, a past winner of several IAAF World Championship titles, chases yet another over the half marathon distance in New Delhi on Sunday.

Dejene Berhanu’s late decision to compete in the BUPA Great North Run paid dividends after his emphatic victory resulted in a new course record.

SONIA O’SULLIVAN recalled yesterday how the tremendous backing displayed by Irish fans in Athens Olympic stadium banished any thoughts of retirement after her Games ambitions were ruined by illness.

Haile Gebrselassie, the world’s greatest-ever distance runner, will start a serious road running career by competing in next month’s BUPA Great North Run in Britain.

THE streets of Cork city were thronged yesterday as 5,000 athletes took part in the 2003 Evening Echo Ladies Mini Marathon.

GILLIAN O’SULLIVAN, Ireland’s silver medallist from the world championships in Paris, will walk alongside the runners in the BUPA Great Ireland run in the Phoenix Park on Sunday week.

PAULA RADCLIFFE secured her third world record of the year yesterday with a stupendous performance over five kilometres, to win the Flora Light Challenge for Women in London’s Hyde Park.

Sonia O'Sullivan admitted her appetite for marathons has disappeared after a disappointing performance in the New York City Marathon.

SONIA O'SULLIVAN intended yesterday's BUPA Great North Run to be a dress rehearsal for the New York Marathon. And if yesterday's results are anything to go by, her visit to Central Park on November 3 could hold promise beyond belief.

Tyneside

Sonia O’Sullivan starts her quest for a second BUPA Great North Run victory tomorrow insisting: “I’ve never felt fitter.”

Sonia O’Sullivan’s superb world 10 miles record in this morning’s BUPA Great South Run may have proved another decisive step towards the gifted Olympic 5,000 metres silver medallist running in November’s New York Marathon.

Speculation that double European silver medallist Sonia O’Sullivan will run an autumn marathon increased today when the Irish star announced her racing programme for the next six weeks.