Andrew Coscoran and Brian Fay are scheduled to run in Thursday’s Weltklasse in Zurich, Switzerland, which is part of the Diamond League.
In the men’s 1500m, Coscoran of the Star of the Sea club, will take on a field that includes seven men with sub-3 mins 30 secs times to their credit this season. Among them is the newly crowned world champion Josh Kerr of Scotland who ran 3:29.38 to take the world title. Mohamed Katir of Spain with a time of 3:28.89 from the Bislett Games is also listed to run.
Coscoran set an Irish record of 3:30.42 at the Diamond League Silesia meet and made the 1500m semi-finals at the world championships.
Fay, of Raheny Shamrock AC, is scheduled to face Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Henrik Ingebrigtsen of Norway in the 5000m. Kejelcha, fifth at the World Championships, has run a personal best 12:41.73 this season; Ingebrigtsen has a time of 13:13.99. Fay, the Irish 5000m champion, ran an all-time best 13:01.40 in mid-July but went out in the heats at the World Championships; as indeed did Ingebrigtsen.
On Saturday, the Diamond League moves to Shenzhen in China, where Sarah Healy is down to run the 1500m. Also listed are the young Ethiopian Worknesh Mesele, who has a season’s best 3:57.00, and the experienced Australian Linden Hall, with a personal best 3:57.27 from the Silesia Diamond League.
Healy set an Irish U23 record of 3:59.86 in the 1500m semi-finals at the World Championships. A month earlier, she had finished runner-up over the same distance behind Sophie O’Sullivan at the European U23 Championships.
Ireland’s top mountain runner Zak Hanna of Newcastle and District AC will line out in Saturday’s Vertical Nasego, in Italy – a 4.5km race with a lung-busting kilmetre of climb in the Brescian Alps – for a fourth time.
In 2020, when Hanna first competed in this classic race, he finished second in 36 mins 22 secs. A year later, he ran a faster time of 36:18 but finished fourth. Last year, Hanna was again second, with his time of 34:21 knocking almost two minutes off his previous best. Winner was Patrick Kipngeno of Kenya I 33:41, who will be back to defend his title.
On the roads, Northern Irish races could take centre stage this weekend with the Waterside Half Marathon in Derry and the Laganside 10km in Belfast both taking place on Sunday.