Irish team selection for December's European Championships will be on the line this Sunday when the 123.ie National Senior and Even Age Cross Country Championships take place at Gowran Demesne in Kilkenny.
The European Cross Country Championships are slated for 10 December in Brussels and the top three finishers in each of the senior, U23, and U20 races this weekend will secure a place in that Irish travelling party.
The Irish women's team earned bronze at last year's Europeans in La Mandria Park in Italy.
In the absence of 2022 winner Sarah Healy (UCD AC), the women's senior race, which runs simultaneously with the U23 category at 1.45pm, will crown a new champion on Sunday with West Limerick AC's Íde Nic Dhómhnaill expected to vie for gold after recent wins in the 5,000m nationals and Autumn Open International Cross Country.
In the men's senior and U23 race (2.30pm), UCD AC's Darragh McElhinney will aim to defend his title in a field that will also include 5,000m national record holder Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock) and Autumn Open champion Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley).
Sunday's action at Gowran Demense will kick off with the girls and boys' U12 races from 11.30am and 11.43am respectively.
