Belfast athlete Dermot Donnelly is planning to retire

Belfast athlete Dermot Donnelly has announced his intention to retire from running at the end of the 2004 track season.

The eight-times winner of the Northern Ireland Cross-County Championship also revealed he would not be trying to qualify for the European Cross-County Championships in Edinburgh.

Donnelly said he had talked things over with coach Malcolm Brown.

The 33-year-old civil servant said he was concentrating on training up until Christmas and not tackling serious cross-country until the new year.

Donnelly, the NI 5,000 metres record holder will not be competing in the Inter-Counties in Mullingar at which Irish athletes will be vying for places on the team for the European Championships.

However, he said he would have a tilt at the World Cross-Country Championship if Ireland decided to send a team for the long course event.