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

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.

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.