Junior starlet Maher going flat out for another national crown at Nenagh

DEFENDING champion, Patrick Maher (Leevale AC) will be among the stars in action at the Woodies DIY AAI national junior indoor championships in Nenagh tomorrow.

The Leevale athlete, who represented Ireland in the 400m hurdles at last year’s world junior championships in Canada, reverts to the 400m flat, and it was in this event he made a major breakthrough last year before going on to break the 400m hurdles record — twice — en route to the world junior championships.

Edmund O’Halloran (Leevale) is set to compete in the 60m against Paul Whelan (Dublin Striders) but his primary event is the 60m hurdles. He is set to advance from here to the national senior indoor championship at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena next month when he can claim that title too.

The men’s and women’s middle-distance events should also prove exciting, with athletes of the calibre of Dean Cronin (Blarney/Inniscara AC), Liam Markham (Ennis Track AC) and the Sli Cualann pair, Niamh Kearney and Claire Earls, in the 800m and 1500m events. Star billing will go to Kate Veale (West Waterford) who was fourth in the Youth Olympics last year and was in record-breaking form at the Munster Indoor Championships last weekend when she set a new national junior record at 13:10.86 in the 3,000m walk. Her main opposition will come from Maeve Curley (Craughwell AC) and Emma Prendiville (Farrenfore Maine Valley AC).

The postponed Woodies DIY Novice and Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country Championships take place in the Charleville Demesne in Tullamore tomorrow.

Almost 1,000 runners have already entered the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park on April 10. The majority of these are from Britain and their participation will be a significant boost to tourism in Dublin as they travel to the city for the weekend with family and friends.

The 2011 Run will once again incorporate the Irish 10k road championships under the auspices of Athletics Ireland and will feature many of Ireland’s top distance runners.

The 2011 Run will again feature a County Challenge competition for the Ronnie Delany Perpetual Trophy. Using chip technology the county with most finishers in a particular time frame are recorded and declared the winner. Laois won the title in 2010.

The Run is the largest mixed 10k race in Ireland and is preceded by the Junior Great Ireland Run for participants between the ages of eight and 15. RTÉ Two will broadcast the Run live in a special programme.