Dublin's Peter Matthews and Seamus Power have pulled out of the Cross Country Challenge to be staged at Stormont, Belfast on Saturday. Both runners were originally included in the Irish A team but are instead availing of an opportunity to train in Kenya. Both will be seeking qualification times for the Olympic games in Australia later this year.

Rosemary Ryan has also opted out of the international event which will include Ireland's Catherina McKiernan and Britain's Paula Radcliffe. Ryan has also decided to use the next couple of weeks to train for the IAAF Grand Prix cross country race in Durham later this month.

It was also confirmed that McKiernan will not be competing in the World Cross Country championships in March in Vilamoura, Portugal because of its proximity to the London marathon in April to which the runner is committed. Sonia O'Sullivan, a double winner of the event in Morocco in 1998, has made no decision whether or not she will take part.

The three runners will be replaced on the Irish team on Saturday, and it is likely that Maureen Harrington will take the place of Ryan in the women's event.