WEST Belfast native Philip Goss has returned home from Romania, where he won not one but two bronze medals in the European Masters Off-Road Championships.
Philip had earned both medals across a weekend of running back in September in the Carpathian Mountains in Rasnov.
The weekend saw Philip compete in two separate races, starting with a Vertical/Uphill only race before culminating in the classic 'Up and Down' race on the Sunday, which saw him finish eighth and third respectively, earning him a double bronze with an individual award on the Sunday and also as part of the Irish squad which competed in the steep and extremely technical mountain race.
Philip Goss crosses the finish line in Romania for the bronze
Philip has been involved with cross-country running his entire adult life, and joined the North Belfast Harriers running club at just 16 years of age, where he has been a proud member for over 24 years.
Now 41, Philip has become not only a terrific runner for the North Belfast running club, but a fantastic representative for his country having competed in Irish colours since his debut at the World Masters Mountain Championships in 2022.
Philip spoke with the Andersonstown News this week and spoke about his journey to European glory in Romania.
"It's the most recent competition on that stage I've competed in, it was great. It was a race on the Friday, which was the Uphill race where you are racing in a brutal 3.7km and an ascent of 825 metres which is tough to do, but yeah I managed to finish in eighth which I wasn't too happy with, but there was a bit of a strange start.
"I was shoved and knocked off my stance by another competitor, but nonetheless eighth helped going into the country point scoring so it worked out okay.
"Then we went onto the Sunday, most of the same competitors that had beaten me on the Friday so to get one back on them and overcome the Polish, Germans, French and Belgians was great and I was delighted to earn a third spot and then eventually help earn Ireland a bronze as well."
The Irish team which went to Romania showed real strength in the Off-Road racing championships, having came up just two points short of the gold, showing how competitive it was at the most recent European bout.
"We actually finished third, and while we were happy, seeing that we were two points off the top was frustrating because we came very close to that, but it was a great team performance.
"You run as individuals, it is a solo sport really, but at the end you're competing with each other and it works out well because we all compete against each other as a group but it would spur on you to better one another and ultimately it helps the final points tally for Ireland.
"It's a points based system and the less cumulative points the better, so we all compete to earn as high a ranking as possible. So, not only did my third earn me a bronze solo medal, it helped the national team too which is just an amazing thing to say, as it was always a lifelong ambition to represent Ireland and do the country proud."
Philip's first encounter with the top level Off-Road running competitions came back in 2022 where he represented Ireland for the first time.
Following that first competitive outing in Clonmel, he followed it up on the Portuguese trek a year later where he and the Ireland squad crowned their European Championship with a silver medal.
Although despite his success in the Off-Road circuit, Philip has maintained his ability and training with the North Belfast Harriers and the use of more local mountain ranges with Cavehill and the Black Mountain often cited as areas ideal for training.
"When it comes to these championships, the tough thing is when you are in Europe. A lot of these mountain ranges are steeper than what we have here," said Philip.
"I would regularly train in Black Mountain and Cavehill. Doing their trails are a good fitness regiment but when it comes to preparation for the steeper climbs it can be harder and I'd have to go elsewhere across Ireland for better training in those conditions.
Philip Goss representing Ireland in the Slovenian mountains near Ljublijana
"If I'm free on the weekends I'd go down to the Mournes. They are a far more challenging set of hills and even a bit closer to home heading to the Lurig trail or Carnlough. They can be really helpful in my preparation for heading to Europe or further afield."
The most recent double success is a true inspirational story, and Philip's consistency to perform on the grand stage is truly empowering to many of the younger athletes on these shores, but his only regret was not maneouvering into the Off-Road or 'Mountain Running' sooner.
"People think that it's cross-country, but it is a very different task when you are doing the Off-Road racing," said Philip.
"I would be a regular cross-country runner with the North Belfast Harriers, and it is a more popular form of race running, but if I knew I was as good as I was at the Off-Road then I'd have tried to get into it a lot sooner than I did.
"The experiences have been amazing, but I now have my sights set on a few races in the future. One is a bit closer to home with the Lurig Mountain Race in the Antrim Glens, I've had a number of seconds and thirds but I would love to finally win one of them."
Not only does Philip have the pleasure of taking to the podium for Ireland in the past number of years, but he is also a back-to-back Rith an Chairn (King of the Mountain) champion having competed in Maghera in aid of fundraising for the Irish language.
"The Rith an Chairn race is special, and it's great to have won it two years on the spin," said the West Belfast native. "It's a shorter race and it's maybe not as gruelling, but it's for a great cause and promotes the Irish language and it's a great honour to have.
"Next for me though, I will be aiming to get to next June where the World Championships in the Off-Road racing takes place in Switzerland. I would love to represent Ireland there again and hopefully take a podium on the world stage."
Philip returns to racing action this weekend where he will be once again representing the Irish in the British and Irish classic in Dublin where he will be hoping to maintain his winning run and get one over on Britain.
"Every year we face a strong British contingent and this year it won't be any easier, we will go head-to-head though with them and hopefully we can get the job done, but we are expecting a tough test in Dublin this weekend, but we will see how we get on."
