Fagan looks to Europeans after fine Great South show
Friday October 31 2008
Lost in the hype and excitement of the Dublin marathon last Monday was the exceptional performance by an Irish distance runner in the Great South Run 10-mile road race in England.
Irish Olympian Martin Fagan split a couple of Kenyans to finish second in a time of 46 minutes and 58 seconds -- 15 seconds off the winner, Bernard Kipyego.
The Mullingar runner dropped out of the marathon in the Beijing Olympics, for which he qualified with an excellent time of 2:14.06 in Dubai -- the fastest time by an Irishman in six years and 13th best on the all-time list.
Unfortunately for Fagan, his Achilles tendon let him down in Beijing at precisely the 16-mile mark, when he hoped to make his move in the race. The 25-year-old might have struggled on but he did not want to have a repeat experience of what happened him when he ran in Dubai, when he also had to struggle and ended up with a stress fracture that took him weeks to overcome.
"It really was a shame that the injury came against me because I felt really comfortable at half-way, but I think it was the right decision at the time and it meant that I was able to pick up the pieces within a short time of getting back into training again," Fagan said of his Beijing experience.
Four weeks ago he also showed that he is the best distance runner to come on the Irish scene for a few years when he finished sixth in a top-quality Great North Run half-marathon in Newcastle, clocking a time of 62:20.
Now Fagan has returned to his high-altitude training base in Flagstaff, Arizona, to start fresh preparations for his next assignment, the European Cross-Country Championships in Brussels on December 14.
"That is my next target," said Fagan, who also has a couple of creditable times on the track, including 28:18.30 for the 10,000m, in which he finished 11th in the 2006 Europeans in Gothenburg.
This is excellent news for the Irish team management as they are very keen to have the strongest possible teams in action, with Fionnuala Britton expected to make herself available for the women's event and perhaps match the silver medal she won in the U-23 event two years ago.
The teams will be selected on the basis of results at the National Inter-Counties Championships at Tramore racecourse on November 30.
- Tom O'Riordan
