Irish national cross country champions Seamus Power and Anne Keenan Buckley are set to take on some of the world's best athletes at the Ras na hÉireann International Cross Country Race in Dunleer on 13 January. Ireland's premier cross country race is now in its 33rd year, and will be a crucial event in the run-up to the World Cross Country championships to be held in Dublin next March.
Englishman Sam Houghian will head the international field in the men's race. Houghian, who finished sixth in the recent European cross country championships, will be up against seven-times Irish national cross country champion Seamus Power. Irishmen Keith Kelly, Peter Matthews and Vinny Mulvey will also be competing.
In the women's race, Irish cross country champion Anne Keenan Buckley will face US National Cross Country champion Priscilla Hein. Buckley enters the race on the back of a fine thirteenth-placed performance in the European championships. Several other major international runners are expected to commit to the Ras in the forthcoming weeks.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
