English returns with US athletes

PHIL ENGLISH, winner of the highest accolade ever awarded to an Irish athletics coach working in the USA, will return home next week with 23 American High School cross-country athletes from Washington State.

English, a native of Cullen in Tipperary, became the first Irishman to receive a US National Award for Coaching earlier this year. The science teacher at Eisenhower High School in Washington State was named the 2001 Girls Cross-Country Coach of the Year. For the past 16 years he has brought teams drawn from the State of Washington to Ireland for both cultural and sporting activities including races around Munster.

Next week they visit London and will arrive in Cork on December 30 for a race in Midleton on New Year’s Day. They leave for Limerick on New Year’s Eve and will have a race in Killenaule on January 5 at 2pm.

Meanwhile, the Belgooly Four Mile Road Race on St Stephen’s Day is now as traditional as the Christmas Pudding and the event, supported by SuperValu Kinsale, draws increased entries each year.

Many of the top international athletes have won the title over the years including Sonia O’Sullivan, Marcus O’Sullivan, Mark Carroll, Martin McCarthy, Una English, Valerie Vaughan and John Griffin from Tralee while, last year, race walker Robert Heffernan won the men’s title and Breda Dennehy-Willis the ladies.

The event attracts visiting athletes in Ireland for the festive season and this year will be no exception. It starts at 12 noon and caters for all categories.

Entries will be taken on the day (until 11.45am) at Belgooly GAA Club.

The GOAL mile will be held at venues throughout the country on Christmas morning in aid of John O’Shea’s Third World Charity.

Everyone can be timed over a series of mile races and many well known celebrities will take part. Tullamore Harriers promote theirs at the Tullamore Track at 10am, while Ballycotton Running Promotions will promote the Cork edition at the CIT Track between 10am and 12.30pm.

Tullamore Harriers also have their annual Santa Claus Run to Riada House, the General Hospital and Consolation Home on Christmas morning. On New Year’s Eve they promote the 45th annual around-the-

houses road race to herald in the new year. It is a carefully handicapped event and there will be plenty of seasonal prizes on offer to the respective category winners.