ATHLETICS
ALISON Carr, whose athletics career seemed over when she rejected an American sports scholarship 12 years ago, has been named by Scotland to make her international comeback not once, but twice - on the same weekend.
After just one year back in the sport she has been selected for the inter-league cross-country match at Birmingham a week on Sunday and as reserve for the World Cross Challenge in Belfast a week on Saturday.
Following two withdrawals from Scotland's team for the match in Northern Ireland (Sue Ridley and Hayley Haining), Dundee Hawkhill Harrier Carr has now been summoned to the team proper, and has agreed to run.
She will join Vikki McPherson, the Commonwealth Games team captain, Aberdeen's Debbie Kilner, and Trudi Thomson, who also steps up from the reserves.
The match attracts some of the world's leading athletes, and the Dundee housewife's appearance there will cap a remarkable return to the sport.
Carr, a year behind Liz McColgan at St Saviour's, beat the former Liz Lynch's school and Dundee schools 1500 metres records, as well as winning the British Schools cross-country title.
Despite the offer of a university scholarship in Iowa - McColgan had gone to the USA a year earlier - Carr never took up the opportunity, and left the sport soon after.
``I never dreamed when I started back that I could come this far, so soon,'' she said.
Her performances in the four Scottish women's league matches this winter - a first, a second, and two thirds - earned her a place in the inter-league team, but the Belfast event is more prestigious, and she has opted for that before trying a couple of serious half-marathons next year.
McPherson's form in Belfast will indicate how realistic are her hopes of regaining her place in the UK team for the world cross-country championships in South Africa in March. She missed out this year, having raced the event for the previous three.
At least four members of the men's team named for Belfast have a prior date this Saturday in the BUPA international at Durham.
Tom Murray, the World Mountain Racing Trophy silver medal-winner from Spango Valley, has just recovered from flu and said he may opt out of the Belfast fixture if he cannot produce reasonable form in Durham. Teams:
Men: Stephen Wylie (Cambuslang), Glen Stewart, David Ross (both Leslie Deans Racing Club), Adrian Callan, Graham Wight (both Shettleston), Robert Quinn (Kilbarchan), Tommy Murray (IBM Spango Valley).
Women: V McPherson, Hayley Haining (both City of Glasgow), Sue Ridley (Edinburgh Woollen Mill), Debbie Kilner (Aberdeen). Reserves: Alison Carr (Dundee Hawkill Harriers), Sheila Fairweather (CoG), Trudi Thomson (Babcock Pitreavie).
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