The 36 athletes comprising Team USA on Friday took their initial look at the Leopardstown Racecourse used for this weekend's 30th running of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships March 23-24 in Dublin, Ireland.

The Championships begin Saturday with the Junior Women's 6K competition, followed by the Senior Men's 4K race and the Senior Women's 8K. Action continues on Sunday with the Junior Men's 8K race, followed by the Senior Women's 4K, and concludes with the Senior Men's 12K race.

Under ideal distance running conditions that met the athletes at Leopardstown, Team USA's athletes familiarized themselves with the race course. Temperatures in Dublin under partly sunny skies reached the mid-50s, with a slight but not significant breeze. The weather forecast for this weekend is for temperatures in the mid-50s.

"The course exceeds my expectation,” said five-time U.S. long-course champion Deena Drossin. “It's in such great condition. It's a little soft, but not the muddiness that we were expecting, and not as hilly as we thought. The only thing that might be deceiving is the finishing hill, if you want to call it that. It's long and deceiving and rises gradually, and if you kick too early, it might come back and get you. The first 600 meters is really rutty; there's going to be a stretch each lap of a quarter-mile where you are really going to have to concentrate on the ground ahead of you, and not directly on the person in front of you. Other than that, it feels like a well-manicured golf course."

Defending U.S. 10000m champion Abdi Abdirahman also expressed rave reviews about the Leopardstown Racecourse. "It's one of the best courses I've seen in a long time, except for the NCAA championships course a few years ago in Lawrence, Kansas. It's a well-designed course, and it's going to be a fast race. I'm gonna have to be ready to go out hard, and be ready to stay with the lead group for as long as I can." "The course is a lot better than I expected, and as a track runner, I'm excited that there aren't that many hills on the course,” said three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton. “It's a lot flatter than I thought, and it's going to be a quick race. But, the first 600 is going to be the toughest. It's taller grass, and the footing is going to be a little rough. You are going to have to be careful to watch your footing. As long as the rain holds out, we're in really good shape." Favor Hamilton will be competing in her first World Cross Country Championships in Sunday’s Senior Women’s 4K. "The first half-mile is a slight uphill, and you can see the hoof prints from the horses on the ground. You don't want to get your foot caught. That's the scariest part of the course."

U.S. long-course champion and American 10000m record holder Meb Keflezighi said that the start of the race will be crucial for him and his fellow Team USA members in establishing positioning, especially in light of the rough grass at the start of the race.

"I want to be out in the top 15, so positioning will be very important. I want to be in the lead pack at the start, so I'm going to have to move along to the front, and I'm gonna have to work."

For more information on the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, including the full results from this weekend's competition, please visit the USATF Web site at www.usatf.org or the IAAF Web site at www.iaaf.org.