Last Sunday I won my 7th Cork Senior Cross Country title. My first one was back in 2005 in Ballymartle at the age of 20. Fellow Leevaler Tony O’Leary also won 7 in the 80’s.

This was my first cross country race in 2 years as last year I was coming off my first marathon and was having knee pain so we thought it was best to give it a miss and not make it worse.

The race started out conservatively and with 4 laps to go I picked it up and kept that tempo to the finish. I felt good over the challenging 10km course in Carrigadrohid so I hope that is a sign that I am wintering well.

The aim for this season is to keep healthy, strong and consistent which will hopefully get me in the best shape to be competitive over the hills and country in the coming months.