Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1007543
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 JULY 2018 21 ATHLETICS FOOTBALL The biggest trail running event in Malta is back Torq5k returns | Friday 27th July 19:00hrs THE TORQ5K is traditionally the biggest trail running race on the island and is a 5k cross country/trail race organised by local club Agones SFC. Ath- letes taking part will run one loop of five kilometres around the scenic outskirts of Gudja. Participants can run or walk the route and a one-kilometre run for kids will also be held on the day. "Trail Running is in the Club's DNA and trademark. Agones has been the pioneer of trail running Malta, bringing hun- dreds of athletes closer to na- ture and to some undiscovered territory in Malta. The Trail Running Races have been a ma- jor success so much so that this race has now been endorsed by the Malta Amateur Athlet- ics Association, the governing body of athletics in Malta" ex- plained Warren Muscat, Presi- dent Agones SFC. Although classified as a trail run, the chosen route offers runners more of local country lanes, with low rubble walls and a historic chapel en route. Registration can be affected online at www.agones-sfc.eu/ events. Prizes will be awarded to the first three male and female athletes and to the winning male and female teams. Presentation will take place at the Agones SFC annual presentation night on 2nd November 2018. More information can be found on www.agones-sfc.eu/ events and on the Club's Face- book page. Mourinho wants to see Pogba's World Cup focus at Man United JOSE Mourinho believes the World Cup environment helped bring out the best in Paul Pogba and the Manchester United manager wants the France mid- fielder to show the same focus and intensity at the Premier League club. The 25-year-old, who moved to United from Juventus for a then world record fee in 2016, lit up the Premier League with moments of sublime skill but his inconsistency has been equally frustrating for the fans. He was routinely criticised for his performances for United last season, but stepped up a gear in Russia, marshalling the France midfield alongside N'Golo Kante and scoring in the final as the side were crowned world champions for a second time. "I don't think it's about us get- ting the best out of him, it's about him giving the best he has to give," Mourinho told ESPN. "I think the World Cup is the per- fect habitat for a player like him to give (their) best. "Why? Because it's closed for a month, where he can only think about football. Where he's with his team on the training camp, completely isolated from the ex- ternal world, where they focus just on football, where the di- mensions of the game can only motivate. "During a season, you can have a big match then a smaller match, then one even smaller, then you can lose your focus, you can lose your concentration, then comes a big match again." Mourinho said it was easier for a player to keep improving his game as his side progressed at the World Cup. "In the World Cup, the direc- tion of the emotion, of the re- sponsibility, of the big decisions is always growing... You are in the group phase, you go to the last 16, to the quarter-finals, to the semi-finals, to the finals," he added. "This feeds the motivation. This feeds the concentration of a player. So I think it was the per- fect environment for him. "I think players in the World Cup, they really feel that extra commitment with a country... so they play for the team, and only for the team, and the team is the most important thing, and they do everything to try to succeed. "It's the perfect environment for a talented player like him to focus, to fully focus on the job."