Berkeley full of running as he chases seventh Ballycotton 10

NOEL BERKELEY (Dundrum South Dublin) may be going for his seventh win in Ireland’s premier road race, the Nike Ballycotton 10, on Sunday, but his enthusiasm hasn’t waned.

At 38, the teak-tough Dubliner, who has made East Cork his home in recent years, was bubbling with enthusiasm in Killeagh yesterday. Last Sunday he took a bronze medal from the national cross-country championships in Rathdrum where he led his club, DSD, to a clean sweep of team titles.

“I have to admit that I am still feeling the effects of that. I feel a little bit tired today, but I expect I will be OK on Sunday and I am looking forward to that race. With Cathal (Lombard) in there it is going to be a really good race,” he said.

Cathal Lombard, who chased his Leevale clubmate, Martin McCarthy, home in the national cross-country championships, adds a new dimension to the race. He will be joined by Cian McLoughlin (Clonliffe Harriers) who finished fourth on Sunday, just four seconds behind Berkeley. Andy Coleman, who spearheads the UK challenge, could pose an even greater threat if he is to reproduce his old form. After running 62:28 in the Great North Run last year, he suffered an injury and was having his first race back when he won the Watford Half Marathon recently.

Gerry Ryan from Galway and young William Harty who followed Berkeley across the line last year, will also be in the line up, but Berkeley, known nationally as The King of Ballycotton, is the one they are going to have to beat. After finishing second to Gary Staines who set the course record at 47 minutes in 1995 he came back to win in 1996 and 1997, missed the 1998 event, and came back to win it four times in a row. Five in a row is always difficult, but the Dubliner is confident he can pull it off: “I felt I ran really well on Sunday. I knew when I saw the course that the boys were going to be very difficult to beat, but to win a bronze medal at 38 - 13 years after I won a silver medal - made me very happy. I was shattered but elated.”

The race for the women’s title is wide open, but Gladys Ganiel from the US, now working in Dublin, could provide the answer. The former Providence runner was second scorer for Dundrum South Dublin when finishing seventh in the national cross-country championships on Sunday.

There will be some interesting contests amongst the vets with the spotlight on runners like Pat Heffernan and Clareman Pat Nugent, who have just turned 40.

Wales will have a line up of 11 athletes, including Sean Tobin whose mother hails from Cork and is one of two strong runners from the Swansea Harriers team along with Mark Roberts. Mark Jennings from Cardiff appears to be their leading light.

The event has always enjoyed good weather, but the forecast for Sunday is not so good and race organiser John Walshe has advised competitors to come early: “If the weather conditions are bad there might be a problem with parking in the fields, so we will be operating a park and ride system. This year we will have a marquee in the schoolyard and we will not be using the old hall.”