Fionnuala McCormack finished fifth for Ireland at the European Cross-Country Championships in Sardinia on Sunday.
The double former champion was edged out again by Yasemin Can, with another Kenyan-born Turkish transfer, Meryel Akda, coming second.
Norway's Karoline Grovdal and Ancuta Bobocel of Romania were third and fourth.
For McCormack it was just one of those days that didn't go according to plan. "The last lap was a bit of a blur - the whole race was a bit like that and that's what disappoints me," she said.
"It was just a grind and that's not the way my cross-country races have been so far this year.
"I don't really know what to think about it - I feel like I just had one of those days that you just don't want to have on a championship day. That doesn't happen to me that often so I don't know how to explain it."
