Two-time national champion Fiona Everard is set for her third consecutive appearance at the European Cross Country Championships this weekend in Lagoa, Portugal.
The 27-year-old, who spent her college years in Galway, now faces a familiar dilemma for elite athletes: whether to commit fully to sport or transition into the working world.
After finishing her studies, Everard returned to her family home in Enniskeane, West Cork, in August – a temporary move that has allowed her to focus on training. The results speak for themselves: she claimed her second national title last month in Derry.
“I actually finished in Galway over summer, so I stayed there until the end of track season and then moved back to Cork. I’m trying to wait until the new year and then I’ll be on the job look,” Everard told Athletics Ireland.
A biomedical science graduate, Everard admits it took some persuasion to take time off from work and study. For now, she’s relying on her parents, but stressed it isn’t a long-term plan.
“It was my Mum that convinced me to give myself a few months to see how I found it. It was never going to be long-term, but I’ve seen over the last few months, it is a really big help.
“You’re definitely recovering better and putting a lot more time into it. I definitely have enjoyed it, but I’ll be back to reality in January, I think… I’m 27, so you want to not be relying on them long term, it wouldn’t be that sustainable.”
Before deciding on her next steps, Everard has one more challenge: a 7470m race on the sandy, twisting course in Lagoa.
It’s a stark contrast to the mud-soaked conditions she navigated so well at the national championships in November.
“Definitely wouldn’t be the course I’d pick out… but you can’t control it. I think you have to run in whatever the course is.
“Surface-wise, it seems like it’s going to be close enough to a road race… training has gone well, so hopefully I can still run a decent race.”
Fiona Everard was one of three Cork women who made the podium in the 5000m at the National Championships earlier this year
Irish women have a proud history at the European Cross Country Championships, collecting six medals since the event began in 1994.
The last podium finish came in 2022, and Everard hopes the team can return to those heights, if not this year, then sometime in her career.
“I would like to think we can get there, especially as a team. When I was younger looking at the European teams and especially the senior women’s team being sent they were always so strong and producing great results both as a team and individuals.
“It would be nice to think we could make an impact on that and get back to that.”
Her individual goals remain private, but she aims to improve on her top-40 finish from 2023.
“I think this year it’s hard to put an exact position on it. I think with standards changing and just with the course I’m not sure how it will have an impact.
“Not too sure yet what I will be happy with. I think a lot of the time with these races you don’t know until you are running how happy you will be with it.
“I think the last two years I have been kind of disappointed with how I have gotten on… I just want to put in a good performance at the race, so it does justice to the training I have done… if I can do that and give it my all in that respect, then I should be happy with it.”
