Irelands Paul Pollock Finishes Second European in the World Championship Marathon in Moscow Russia

Paul Pollock (Annadale Striders) finished in 21st place in the men's marathon on the penultimate day of the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Moscow, Russia. The flying doctor paced his efforts to perfection as he stormed through the field to finish in a time of 2:16.42, his second fastest ever time for the marathon.Commenting afterwards Pollock said

"It was a very hard race, but I definitely think there's a lot more there, running in temperatures of 30 degrees can add a couple of minutes to your time. The plan was to run the first half conservatively, go through in about 66, 67 minutes. I went through in about 67:45, felt fairly comfortable. I was pouring water over myself all the way, but I coped okay with the conditions. Myself and my coach thought we could be top 10 coming in, but that was unrealistic looking now at all the Africans upfront. 21st and second European though, I have to be happy with that. It's a step in the right direction. "

Pollock made a conservative start to the race passing the 5km point in 16.19 lying in 61st place. The Annadale Strider was running a sensible race as he began to charge through the field around the streets of Moscow. Pollock passed the half way point in 67:59 in 52nd place and at this stage was still on to break his personal best which stands at 2:16.30.

Many of the World best male marathon runners began to wilt in the mid-afternoon Moscow heat, Pollock on the other hand scorched his way through the field like a man on a mission. He passed the 25km point in 40th place and continued to get stronger as he passed the 35km point in 27th place. Pollock made one last surge and finished the race in 21st place in a time of 2:16.42.

The performance meant he was second European across the line and only just outside his marathon personal best of 2:16.30, signifying that there are faster times to come in the future. The performance is even more impressive when you consider he combines the gruelling requirements of marathon training with the gruelling demands of working as a doctor.

Commenting about his ambitions for the next Olympic Games Pollock said"I'm putting the medicine on hold until Rio; I'll do some part-time work only."