AMORPHOUS was a new one on Mary Sweeney. She had seen planners use many descriptions before but this one necessitated consulting a dictionary.

POLITICIANS canvassing for votes in the general election are getting plenty of ‘stick’ on the doorsteps from people experiencing difficulties in obtaining planning permission in rural areas, a planning conference heard.

MARK CARROLL produced a strong sprint to the line to earn second place in the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in New York’s Central Park on New Year’s Eve.

I WOULD like to compliment Michael Kingston on his letter (Irish Examiner, July 24) about An Taisce.

NOEL BERKELEY will not line up for Sunday’s Ballycotton 10 but “The King of Ballycotton” predicts a classic spectacle involving most of Ireland’s leading distance runners, a couple of Kenyans and UK internationals.

ANDY COLEMAN (Enfield AC) finally broke Noel Berkeley’s stranglehold on the Nike Ballycotton 10 when he outfoxed the Dubliner to snatch a victory that left just six seconds separating the top two —49:52 to 49:58 — in a thrilling finish.

JEFF SCOTT, who is married to Carrignavar athlete Michelle Murphy, is a regular Yuletide visitor to Cork and yesterday he highlighted his visit with an all-the-way victory in the Belgooly Festive Four Mile Road Race while another visitor, Canadian international Sarah Dupre, married to Leevale athlete, David Healy, reclaimed the women’s title.

MARTIN McCARTHY (Leevale) took his first major step towards a planned marathon debut in London next year when he won the AVIA Cork half marathon in 67 mins 34 secs from the Austrian international, Peter Wuundsam (LCC Vienna), over a new course around Blarney and Rathduff yesterday.

A humanitarian crisis is looming in Zimbabwe with acute food shortages leaving hundreds of thousands of people starving.

An Irish aid worker, who is defying President Robert Mugabe, says Zimbabwe is in chaos ahead of weekend elections.

Irish aid agency Trócaire has said it will not be bullied out of Zimbabwe, despite the decision of the government to pull out its four monitors because of the threat of violence.