On Athletics:They say charity covers a multitude of sins, although when it comes to the GOAL Mile that's not strictly true. Running four laps of the track on Christmas Day will very quickly reveal any sinful excesses in alcohol or calorie intake, no matter how much money you donate.

This shouldn't deter you from running what is in some ways the most important race of 2007 - raising vital funds and awareness for GOAL's humanitarian work in 11 developing countries. It's definitely the most important race in the O'Riordan family, albeit for slightly different reasons.

It all started back in 1982 when the late Noel Carroll, the former GOAL chairperson and international athlete, used his famous powers of persuasion to assemble a group of runners in Dublin's Phoenix Park on Christmas Day. They donated what they could to GOAL, then ran a mile as best they could - dealing along the way with inevitable hangovers and other seasonal excesses.

This simple idea worked so well that the following year it was moved to the Belfield track to validate the accuracy of the run, and every year since the GOAL Mile has grown in terms of participants and scale. Last year it raised 320,000 and this Christmas it will be staged in 64 venues and 26 counties.

My father ran that first GOAL Mile in Belfield and for several years after, but he was always careful whom he let beat him. One year he came up against Ciarán Duff, and was almost caught off guard by the ferocious determination of the former Dublin footballer, who still clearly felt it was his birthright to beat all Kerrymen.

Another year Duff managed to come home in front, gloatingly, and that set up a deciding race some time around 1995. This time the O'Riordan reputation came away intact - the only problem being a minor heart scare that has since resulted in a more cautious approach to the GOAL Mile.

My elder brother has run every GOAL Mile since 1984, with the exception of 1990 - when he was ruled out with a severed Achilles tendon. Up until then he had always got the better of me, but now aware of his Achilles heel, I've beaten him every year since. This has resulted in some epic races, which a few years back drew immediate comparison with the great Olympic duels of Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat.

My younger brother, for years the least athletic of the family, was also soon running the GOAL Mile, even though he started out resembling Ozzy Osbourne on a treadmill. My sister is also a proud participant, and when she got married one of the conditions put on the groom was that he be ready for the GOAL Mile. It remains a rite of passage into the family and chances are we're not alone.

In reality, the GOAL Mile is the least competitive race of the year, open to everyone who can run, walk or even crawl four laps of the track. You simply create your own competitive element, like, for example, trying to beat Eamonn Coghlan, who has run every GOAL Mile and will be back in Belfield on Tuesday happy to give you a race.

There is no excuse not to participate, as the race comes with a money-back guarantee that someone will always run slower than you. Not that refunds are ever requested. It's simply a case of showing up, making a (silent) donation to GOAL, and then swallowing your pride.

Some people still believe that any sort of exercise on Christmas Day is somehow sinful, but that's no excuse either. For the serious athlete it represents a training day like any other and is also a key test of dedication.

Sebastian Coe once highlighted that fact when recalling his great rivalry with Steve Ovett, which peaked around 1980, he would run his six or seven miles on Christmas morning, followed by light stretching and a few drills, and then feel happy enough to look forward to Christmas dinner. By around four in the afternoon, however, a nagging feeling would set in that "the other guy" was heading out for a second run, and with that Coe was back upstairs putting on the training gear.

Other people would never miss a run, Christmas Day or otherwise. The best example of that is surely Ron Hill, Britain's former marathon specialist who won the European title on the famous Marathon to Athens course in 1969.

Now aged 69, Hill has run at least one mile every day since Sunday, December 20th, 1964. Obviously there were some days when he struggled more than others, like one morning in 1993, the day after he was hit by a car and suffered a broken sternum. Or later that year, when he had a bunion operation and for a week after ran a mile every day with the foot in plaster.

On Thursday, Hill celebrated the 43rd anniversary of his unbroken daily streak. Today, Hill is scheduled to complete his 150,000th mile since he started logging his training back in September 1956.

That, by the way, is the equivalent of six times round the world, which surely makes four laps of the running track seem like nothing at all.

So some people are counting down the days to Christmas, and others are counting down the days to the GOAL Mile.

This being GOAL's 30th anniversary there is further incentive to run, and to further your donation as well. But if you're running in Belfield, which remains the flagship GOAL Mile, just clear the track for the latest display of brotherly rivalry.