Catherina McKiernan: Euro cross country course 'wasn't running'

Catherina McKiernan says she doesn't envy today's athletes.

Dean Casey of Ireland competes in the U23 men's 7000m during the European Cross Country Championships at Laeken Park in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

It’s one of the cringiest cliches in sport that all you can do is your best, but never does it feel so real, so applicable, as at the World Cross Country Championships.

Ahead of Saturday's event in Belgrade, Catherina McKiernan knows expectations must be kept in check for the eight Irish competitors, given there’s a good reason they call it the world’s toughest race.