A fortnight is a long time in athletics - just ask John Ferrin. Earlier in the month the veteran Belfastman, better known for his exploits on the road, could finish only second to Dermot Donnelly in the Northern Ireland Cross Country Championship.

Now in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the McDonnells National Championship, which was held at Stranorlar yesterday, Ferrin emerged from the backmarkers to claim the title with Donnelly in distant pursuit in eighth place.

Victory came just 24 hours after Ferrin had celebrated his 32nd birthday and within two months of his decision to pursue an international career with Ireland. Now he is to have the honour of wearing the green singlet on home terrain in the World Championship in Belfast in four weeks' time.

A winner of the Belfast marathon on two occasions in the last three years, Ferrin was conceding all the advantages to more senior cross country runners in a race with few parallels in terms of weather. Sleet and rain, carried on gale force winds, swept the course for most of the day to intimidate all but the most intrepid.

It held no fears for the iron man of the roads, however, after he had gone out strongly to contest the lead in the early stages with David Burke, Noel Cullen, Michael McCarthy, Noel Berkeley and Donnelly. At that point one looked to Donnelly to make the decisive burst, instead it came from the man who had only seen Donnelly's back in the concluding stages of the Northern Ireland race.

With more than 5,000 metres to go, Ferrin decided to strike out for home and suddenly the man, fated it seemed to fill one of the minor placings in cross country races, was gone. "I knew I was running well coming into the race but yes I have to say that I'm surprised to have won it," said Ferrin. "It was the perfect boost for me before the World Championships and hopefully I can now take it on from here."

With three finishers in the top 10, Mullingar won the team award for the third year running, fitting commentary on the strength of one of the great power bases of cross country running in this country.

On a day when the conditions asked pertinent questions of all athletes, none met the challenge more impressively than the winner of the women's senior championship, Breda Dennehy.

From temperatures of 80 degrees when she left Florida, the bleakness of a February day in Donegal may have seemed a planet apart. More than that, she contracted a sinus infection last week which meant that she had to go without food for four days.

From this improbable background, the 29-year-old Cork woman, making her first appearance in the championship, built a superb win in 26 minutes 26 seconds, nine seconds clear of Anne Keenan Buckley, with Teresa Duffy in third place.

"I deliberately chose to arrive 48 hours before the race because if I'd been here any longer, I'd surely have picked up a cold," she said. "Oddly the cold didn't bother me on the day. I was too busy concentrating on getting to the finish as quickly as I could.

"In those kind of conditions, I knew there was no way I could hope to make up ground if I didn't go with the pace. So I gambled on going out hard - and it paid off."

Maureen Harrington, seeking a third consecutive win in the event, got stuck in the mud and trundled home in 14th place, almost two-and-a-half minutes behind the winner. She now faces an anxious wait before knowing if she is in the squad for the World Championships. Inspired by a big run from Helena Crossan in seventh place, the host club, Finn Valley, retained the team title, but Ferrin apart the local hero of the day was undeniably Gary Murray in the men's junior race.

After a splendid duel with St Malachy's student Joe McAllister, Murray appeared to have lost his chance when he slipped in the mud and fell on his face going into the last bend. Undaunted, he picked himself up and in a remarkable surge caught McAllister before the line - to the undisguised delight of the home crowd.