Ireland's three 800 metre representatives at last summer's European Championships have each chosen to open the new season at the Scottish Indoor Championships in Glasgow this weekend, although only two will meet in their specialised event.
While the Irish record holder, David Matthews, and James McIlroy, who made such phenomenal breakthrough last season to finish fourth at the Europeans, stay with their accustomed distance, James Nolan, the current national champion, has decided on the 1,500 metres.
The Kelvin Hall in Glasgow has attracted some strong competition for this time of the year and should provide the trio with a useful test in the build-up the World Indoor Championships which take place the first weekend in March at Maebashi, Japan.
Nolan has just returned from a spell of warm weather training in the Canaries and is using the longer distance to provide some basework before moving back to the 800 metres.
"I'm hoping to go that extra round in the championship races this year and that means getting as strong as possible over the winter," he says. "Right now I'm exactly where I want to be for this time of the season, but it will take a few races before things really get going."
Last year, Nolan finished just outside the medals at the European Indoors in Valencia, and, with the experience of championship races now behind him, his ambitions for Maebashi are one step higher.
Matthews is content to begin his season over his standard distance, and, like his UCD team-mate Nolan, has targeted Maebashi as the main date for the months ahead.
McIlroy, however, intends to have a limited racing program during the indoors and concentrate on developing the speed which saw him lower his 800 metre best by some six seconds last summer to one minute 45.32 seconds. At this stage the World Indoors are not a part of his plans, and the only occasion when the three are likely to meet indoors this season will be the National Championships in Nenagh on February 14th when, according to Nolan, there is likely to be "sparks flying" between the three.
Also heading to Glasgow this weekend is national 400 metre record holder Karen Shinkins. The Newbridge native also made significant improvement last summer by lowering the national record to 52.13 seconds and missing the European Championship final by just one place. She opened her season at the BLE Games in Nenagh last weekend with victory in 54.63 seconds, and has also made the World Indoors the main focus for the months ahead.
"I'm certainly a few steps ahead of this time last year, although I know it will be harder to make such progression again this season," says Shinkins.
"The problem now is trying to juggle my final year in college with the training, but hopefully by the summer I'll be able to concentrate full-time for the World Championships in Seville."
Meanwhile, Catherina McKiernan has laid to rest fears she would not be fit to defend her London marathon title after recent minor surgery to her right knee which forced her to withdraw from two cross-country races this month.
"I'm not where I was in my training this time last year, but it will come," she said. "It's early days still."
