NI aces out to make mark on World stage before Games tilt

So you are constantly assessing every day you go in, every session you do. Finding out what’s needed.

“You have to think on your feet sometimes, you might have a session planned and programmes done out and you could land and some players could be nursing an injury, feeling lethargic and you have to adapt and change the training session.”

With the Northern Ireland team, he comes under the umbrella of head coach Rice, who is a lecturer at St Mary’s University Belfast and a former international herself. “She is very clued in,” McNicholl says. “She is like Gregory O’Kane in that respect, she lets you do whatever you need to do to get the players in the right condition, gives you full authority to do whatever you have to do. She is a very good manager, very open-minded.”

With the Commonwealth Games due to start at the beginning of next month, he believes they have given themselves the best opportunity of fulfilling their potential.

He states: “They are as fit as they will ever be and are in great condition now.

“Like, going from their stats, they are hitting their fitness records, well within a top four team in the world.

“So we would be fully confident that they are going to do themselves justice. It’s a different stage. They are going over to play against Australia in their opening game. The Australia team are ranked number one in the world and are professional athletes.

“Our girls are amateur, some of them are semi-professional, so it is going to be a big ask to compete with professional athletes, but they will never be in a better position to do so. I am looking forward to watching it and seeing them do themselves justice for all the hard work they have put in.” FIVE Northern Ireland athletes comprise half the Ireland team which will be competing in today’s World Half Marathon in Valencia, Spain.

Annadale’s Paul Pollock and Kevin Seaward of St Malachy’s have delayed their departure to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games marathon in order to race in this important event. The rest of the Games team left a few days ago for a two-week training camp on the Gold Coast.

This will be Pollock’s fourth World Half with his most impressive being an outstanding run of 62 mins 10 secs in Copenhagen back in 2014. The Holywood doctor’s times this year have been more modest reflecting his heavy training concentration for the Gold Coast Marathon.

He did, however, easily win the Brighton Half Marathon last month in a time of 67 minutes.

While Cardiff teacher Seaward has his eyes also firmly set on the marathon in Australia, he will be hoping to do well in Spain following a useful PB last August of 64.52 when winning the Newark Half Marathon.

The Games bound pair may however be upstaged by South Belfast’s Stephen Scullion who ran a superb time of 63.16 in the Houston Half back in January.

The 29-year-old Belfast Half Marathon silver medallist has never quite fulfilled his potential but a good run on Sunday may well inspire him to seriously concentrate on the marathon distance for the future.

In the Women’s event double, Belfast and Dublin marathon champion Laura Graham will be entering new territory as it will be her first ever World event.

The Mourne Runners mother-of-four recently ignored the travel chaos of the cancelled Bath Half to race in the British Champs in London where she smashed her PB by almost two minutes in a time of 75.15.