Sarah Lavin clocks up miles in training but record ambitions remain on track

The absence of an athletics track at University College Dublin isn’t making life any easier for an athlete who hopes to break Derval O’Rourke’s senior Irish hurdle records in the near future.

The iconic track, where Eamonn Coghlan was part of a team that set the 4 x 1 mile world relay record in 1985, was shut down in 2011 for health and safety reasons and the nearest alternative in Irishtown is currently undergoing repairs.

Limerick hurdler Sarah Lavin is on a scholarship at the university but with no base on campus on which to train for her and the likes of 2014 European Championships 800m bronze medallist Mark English, time-consuming trips across the city are the only other option.