Carroll looks for a big race to silence his critics

MARK CARROLL has spent most of his career chasing Africans around the tracks of Europe and this experience, although frustrating, could stand to him tomorrow when he makes his marathon debut in New York.

The 30-year-old Corkman could be regarded as the forgotten man of Irish athletics despite the fact that he holds the national records for 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m all world class times no other male Irish athlete has held all of those marks at the one time.

Now he faces the unknown but also the biggest pay day of his career but write him off at your peril.

"He has had a pretty frustrating couple of years but now everything appears to be going right for him. His big run in Central Park was a pleasant surprise," his agent Ray Flynn, said referring to his first ever half marathon in which he set a new course record at 63:11, beating the old mark by three minutes.

It was a performance that made a lot of people sit up and take notice particularly those who saw his move to the marathon as a last throw of the dice.

"That's not how it is at all," he insisted. "The marathon was always on my mind it was just a matter of deciding when and where."

He went against the advice of his coach, Jimmy Harvey, is choosing tomorrow's New York showpiece but he felt, that after a serious knee injury that required surgery less than a year ago, this was the time to introduce a new challenge to his life.

"I was not in shape at the European championships I did not have the time to get in the background I needed but I had to be happy with the performance under the circumstances."

"But, since then, everything has gone right for me. I have had absolutely no blips and all my performances reflect this.

"I don't want to make any predictions but all I can say right now is that I have arrived in New York in the best shape of my life."

He is excited by the challenge ahead of him tomorrow, when Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia will defend his title against the all out threat from the two Kenyans who chased him home last year, Japhet Kosgei and Rodgers Rop. It took a new course record - 2:07:43 - to win that battle.

"I have watched that race and I think I have learned from it," Carroll said.

"They were running 4:55 miles and suddenly they upped the pace to 4:30. The race was won in 2:07 and that would indicate that it is best to be patient and they will come back."