Cragg focuses on title glory in Belfast

ALISTAIR CRAGG is favourite to win the Woodies DIY National Cross-Country Championships at his first attempt in Belfast this afternoon.

Cragg represented South Africa in the junior race when the world championships were staged here but it is an event he prefers to forget after floundering in the mud.

He has represented Ireland at all the major championships including the Olympic Games and while Beijing is forefront in his mind, he still has big ambitions for this event and next month’s worlds in Edinburgh.

Said Cragg: “I always wanted to win this championship but this the first time I have had the opportunity.

“I also get an opportunity to see some of Ireland as well and that is something else I have wanted to do for a long time.”

He can share in double glory if his club, Clonliffe Harriers, led by powerhouses Mark Kenneally and Colm Rooney, can win five club titles in a row.

For Gary Murray, this will be something akin to a home course as, outside of his native Donegal, he competes for the St Malachy’s club in Belfast. He has won this title twice in the past three years with Vinny Murray (Raheny Shamrock) punctuating his reign. However if Cragg is in form, he could be unbeatable. He has qualified at 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m (Irish record) for the Olympic Games and ran 13:32 for 5,000m indoors before coming over from Arkansas.

Apart from Murray and Mulvey, Joe McAllister, Mick Clohisey, Gary Thornton and Brian Maher will be pushing the pace while Northern Ireland champion, Brian Campbell, bids to impress the home fans.

In the women’s race, Maria McCambridge (DSD), Fionnuala Britton, Deirdre Byrne and Linda Byrne are all in contention for the title.

The junior race could be a battle between Niall Tuohy and Craig Murphy.

Tuohy (Ferrybank) was very impressive in the Munster schools championships last month when outsprinting Craig Murphy (Togher) in a flying finish fought out in dense fog at Tramore Racecourse.

Tuohy, who is set to join Ray Treacy’s Providence College squad next summer, won the schools 800m title last year and has developed as an all-round middle distance runner. Murphy finished third in an international race in Belgium before the Munster Schools and has been building up to this race for some time.

Their clubs will be battling it out for the inter-club title with Ferrybank fielding a strong team while Steven Macklin’s Togher side has great strength in depth. The ffrench-O’Carroll twins will dominate the junior women’s race once again with Rebecca, who won a silver medal in last year’s European Youth Olympics in Belgrade, defending the title. City of Lisburn sensation Ciara Mageean, who set a new junior record for 1,500m at the senior indoor championships at the Odyssey Arena last month, will command a lot of attention.