Great national cross country title win for Offaly athlete

A TALENTED emerging runner with an Offaly athletics club had the biggest win of his career last Sunday when he captured the National Novice Cross Country Championship in Navan.

A member of Tullamore Harriers Athletics Club, Michael Murphy won a tough race in cold conditions in 19.37, two seconds ahead of Craughwell's William Fitzgerald and clear of Ennis's Dylan Casey who was third in 19.51.

It was a fantastic win by the young Kilbeggan man, who only concentrated on athletics in the past few years. Coached by Tullamore man, Robert Denmead and a student at Dublin City University, Murphy has shown great courage and dedication to reach this level after dealing with problems with his heart back in 2021 – he had two heart surgeries to deal with a heart rate that would go unusually high during training and has been able to train at a consistently high level since the second one in 2022.

His win on Sunday had controversy attached to it but it was nothing to do with him as a Meath athlete Kevin McGrath was initially declared the winner before it was discovered later that evening that he was in fact ineligible to compete for the novice title.

Murphy had actually been ahead of the Bohermeen AC athlete with 400 metres to go but was pipped in a sprint finish.

McGrath should not have been in the race as he won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the National Senior Indoor Athletics Championships in 2022 – the rules clearly stipulate that any athlete who has been a winner of a national senior indoor or outdoor medal from 1500 metres up can't compete in the novice category.

The son of a Donegal native, Mick and Kilbeggan woman, Teresa Murphy, Michael has had an excellent cross country season and was sixth U-23 at the National Senior and U-23 Cross Country Championships a couple of weeks ago - it is expected that he will gain his first international vest when the Irish U-23 team is announced this week for the Celtic International in Scotland on 13th January.  He becomes the first ever Tullamore Harrier to win the Mens' National Novice CC title.

A huge field of 160 athletes started the 6,000m race and Murphy ran an excellent tactical race as he sat at the back of the leading pack through the first half of the race.  With 2,400m to go he gradually started to reel in the leader and was at the front of the field with 400m to go.  William Fitzgerald from Craughwell AC passed Murphy 250m from the finish but Murphy rallied again and sprinted into the lead with 100m left to take victory by ten meters, his first ever national title.

Michael's father Mick is also a member of Tullamore Harriers and has competed in several marathons while his sisters Laura and Emma are very successful Irish dancers, winning several prestigious medals.

It has been a great cross country season for Tullamore Harriers. Tullamore woman Danielle Donegan had the best run of her young life when taking bronze in the National Senior Cross Country Championships in Kilkenny in November. She won gold in the U-23 and will represent Irish in the European U-23 championship in Brussels on December 10.

Another Tullamore Harriers' athlete, Ava O'Connor is also competing in the U-23 race – the Emo woman is on an athletics scholarship at Adams State University in Colorado, USA,