ATHLETICS: Her course record of 31 minutes 28 seconds will be the main target of Sonia O'Sullivan in this afternoon's Women's Mini Marathon, which covers a 10km course around the streets of Dublin and starts on Fitzwilliam Square at 3 p.m.
The presence of Catherina McKiernan will add much to the spectacle, but the truth is that she is still far short of the competitive edge that would be needed to test O'Sullivan.
The Cavan athlete is gradually clearing out the cobwebs after some three years of injury, and it will be several more months before she approaches the sort of form O'Sullivan displayed last Monday at the Great Manchester Run, her first race after a far shorter lay-off with injury.
After doing all the front-running, O'Sullivan came home third in 32 minutes flat, and with that first test now behind her, the 31.28 she set when winning in 2000 looks certain to be threatened.
For McKiernan, who races O'Sullivan for the first time on Irish soil and the first time anywhere since 1997, the return to the event she won three times (1997-99), with a best of 32.31, is still another step in the right direction. Yet she is intent on running at her own pace, and leaving the spotlight to fall on O'Sullivan.
Though it's really all about the participation side of things, with over 35,000 expected to line the streets today, there are several other serious athletes to mix it with the Irish duo - including Maria McCambridge of Dundrum, who has twice finished third. Last year's winner, Pauline Curley of Offaly, returns to defend her crown, along with other leading domestic runners such as Annette Kealy and Anne Lennon.
