Last year, Cork's Fiona Everard shocked everyone in the Kilkenny mud, now she defends title

“This has been the first year in so long I’ve come into it healthy, it seems foreign to me."

LEARNING DAY: Fiona Everard of Ireland competing in the senior women's 9000m during the 2023 European Cross Country Championships. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

This year will be different. Fiona Everard won’t come in under the radar. Now she’s the national champion, her ability in this domain well established. But at Sunday’s 123.ie National Cross Country Championships in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh, the 26-year-old Bandon athlete will face a very different test.

The Castle Irvine Estate will have significantly better underfoot conditions than the quagmire athletes endured in Gowran 12 months ago. Everard kept her head – and her footing – far better than most in that gloopy hellscape to finish 37 seconds clear of the runner-up. She’d love a repeat showing on Sunday.