Brian Fay and Fiona Everard come from behind to claim senior titles at National Cross Country Championships

Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock AC, Dublin, celebrates winning the senior men's 7500m. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.

On an afternoon when toughness and resilience were priceless commodities, Brian Fay and Fiona Everard proved they had a plentiful supply of both, the pair coming from behind to claim the senior titles at the 123.ie National Cross Country Championships in Derry.

Both had been dropped by their rivals on the penultimate laps of the two 7,500m senior events, but both had managed to dig in, finding something extra, to claw their way back to the front and then power clear when it mattered most.

It was a cold, wet, windy afternoon at the Templemore Sports Complex – the miserable conditions breaking many an athlete in both mind and spirit, submerging several of the track Ferraris and swinging the advantage more towards those equipped to cope in such sludgy underfoot conditions.

By the time the senior races got under way, the underage events had ensured large parts of the course resembled a scene from the National Ploughing Championships, with athletes opting to run wide on the bends as they searched for ever-diminishing grassy sections.

The senior men’s race was packed with quality and it was always likely that whoever could fire the last shot would emerge victorious.

In the end, it was Fay who did that, the Raheny athlete battling to stay in contention through the first four laps before changing gears in impressive style over the final 100 metres.

Danielle Donegan of Tullamore Harriers AC, Offaly, left, and Fiona Everard of Bandon AC, Cork, compete in the senior women's 7500m. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.

Early in the race, Efrem Gidey made a bold, daring move that turned out to be more than a little reckless – the Clonliffe Harrier building a 25-metre advantage.

But given the calibre of opponent behind, that was unlikely to work and after being reeled in, he swiftly dropped back through the pack, his chance evaporating as he finished sixth in 25:32, 19 seconds behind Fay.

With two of the five laps remaining, the leading pack had been reduced to five, with Fay tracking leaders Cormac Dalton and Nick Griggs alongside Darragh McElhinney and Jack O’Leary. At the bell there were just two left at the front, Dalton and Griggs, with Fay having 20 metres to find.

But find it he did, the Irish 5000m record holder re-entering the gold-medal chat midway through the final lap and tracking the leading duo into the home straight before shifting gears in impressive style, hitting the line in 25:13.

Griggs came home two seconds behind and Dalton was close by in third ahead of O’Leary, who secured the final automatic qualifying spot for the Europeans next month in Portugal, eight seconds clear of McElhinney, who will now await the selectors’ decision along with Gidey.

Fay had just returned from a spell in Australia and the 27-year-old had questioned his ability to cope with the mud. “I dropped off a bit, I was working hard,” he admitted.

“But coming into the last lap I was like, ‘Do you know what? I can dog this out for one more lap.’ Then I knew I could try win it, so I sat in. Once I saw the finish line, I was going for it. I’ve come second here before, fourth, fifth, so it’s nice to get the win.”

Back in second, Griggs proved his class is matched by great courage and versatility, the 20-year-old Tyrone athlete taking the U-23 title and leading the Candour Track Club to team gold.

He will lead a formidable Irish U-23 team at the Europeans where he could be backed up by Abdel Laadjel, the Dubliner who finished a superb ninth at the NCAA Championships in Missouri on Saturday.

“Usually I don’t like the mud too much, but today I just told myself to change that mentality,” said Griggs. “I really enjoyed it, I felt really good. Brian ran an unbelievable race and he deserves the win.”

In the senior women’s event, Niamh Allen looked set for much of the race to claim her first national cross country title but just as it was last year, the Leevale athlete found one too good.

This time it was a fellow Cork woman, Fiona Everard, who had the last laugh, the 2023 champion again proving her suitability to muddy conditions and hitting the line a comfortable winner in 26:49, with Allen taking silver in 27:04 and Danielle Donegan third in 27:10.

“I felt really relieved crossing the line,” said Everard.

“I couldn’t be happier. This year I really wanted it. All season I was running with the aim of trying to win it. I put pressure on myself and I knew today it was possible whereas I didn’t think that two years ago. I love these conditions and I knew it would suit me.”

Allen broke clear of the field after the first lap and, having finished 10th at last year’s Europeans, she looked primed to dominate this race but she soon got bogged down in the mud, with Everard and Donegan reeling her in midway through the race.

With just over a lap to run, Everard motored past and from there, the Bandon athlete looked unstoppable, coasting clear to claim her second national title. Allen led Leevale to team victory in second while Roise Roberts in sixth claimed the U-23 title ahead of Amy Greene.

Emma Hickey turned in an outstanding performance to dominate the women’s U-20 race, the United Striders athlete clocking 15:36 and finishing a long way clear of Lucy Foster (15:55) and Eimear Cooney (16:12).

Wicklow native Noah Harris, a student at the University of Tennessee, shook off the jet lag after his return from the US this week to win the men’s U-20 race in 14:02 ahead of Caolan McFadden (14:06) and Tom Breslin (14:11).