Niall Bruton and Shane Healy will be looking to get a fast time behind them when they compete over 800 metres at an invitation meeting in Santry this evening. The competition includes an Irish selection, Birmingham University, a team from Ballymena/ Ballybrack and two leading US universities, Cornell and Pennsylvania.
Bruton will be having his first race in Ireland this season after a limited number of races that included a win over 3,000 metres at the Europa Cup earlier this month.
"A fast race is just what I need to sharpen up before Cork next week," says Bruton. Healy is also using the 800 metres as preparation for the Cork City Sports next Saturday. Along with Bruton, he's down to run the 1,500 metres that will include the world record holder Nourredine Morceli.
James Nolan of UCD is also stepping down a distance to compete over 400 metres before switching back to the 800 metres for Cork.
Meanwhile, Catherina McKiernan will face her first serious challenge since winning the London Marathon two months ago when she encounters a high quality field over 11 km at the Oporto road race in Portugal on Sunday.
She takes on Ethiopia's Fatuma Roba and Kenya's Tegla Loroupe, who ,along with McKiernan, are the top female marathon runners in the world.
"It's a good race to run in and I'm delighted to be invloved in it," said McKiernan. "Compared to the other two, I don't have much experience in road running, but we'll do the best."
