** The Gift **
Short days, long nights, cold mornings, dreary evenings, it isn’t easy being a runner in Ireland in Winter. Throw in the attraction of a warm house, a belly full of mince pies, Christmas spirits and now we are needing serious motivational help.
I have watched cooking programs on TV where they tell us how to cook 6 courses of food but none say how to do it after a 5 mile run on Christmas morning.
I ran on the Greenway early this morning wearing a Beanie Hat with a built in light. Am I the saddest person in Ireland. No I’m not, lovely company and the sun came up while we ran.
I entered for a race in February early this week.
When you think of the seasonal pressure to give gifts to others then why not be kind and give a gift to yourself.
Gift yourself an entry to a Race a few weeks / months away. A little present from yourself to yourself, to show you love your running you, and you want to keep it going. A nice race that you always fancied.
Don’t worry about the cost of it. What will be spent for Christmas will make it feel small.
It will keep you motivated to get out and train when others are lying in bed.It will help you think twice before your over indulge.
Indulge is Ok, doing the dog on it is not. Nothing like the thought of a race coming up in a few weeks to help a bit of discipline and control.
If your partner is stuck for a present for you, tell them they can pay for the entry fee.
You can enjoy Christmas but just make a plan of celebration mixed with training. More room for the Turkey.
If you don’t mind yourself, appreciate yourself, look after yourself, then how can you expect anybody else to?
Runners run, it is good for us and our mental and physical health. Anything to get us out the door as often as possible is the aim of the game.
Have a lovely weekend
#pwr
UPCOMING 40th ANNIVERSARY of THE GREAT RACE, RIVERSTICK, 1986 - 1999... by Tom Scriven
Riverstick Athletic Club was based in the village of that name, along the Cork - Kinsale road and in the main attracted athletes from the Ballymartle / Belgooly / Riverstick areas. The Club was affiliated to The National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland, (NACAI) a former Association representing Athletic and Cycling Clubs in Ireland.
The Club organised a Spring season Cycle Race and an Annual Summer Sports Day which in the past included cycle races on grass as well as Track and Field athletic events. The Club organised Cross Country Race events on behalf of the Cork County Board as one of the affiliated Clubs on a rotational basis.
In many Clubs in that era, there was a cross-over between the NACAI and the GAA, in Provincial or National Championships, members or Clubs represented their counties and wore colours similar to their GAA counterparts. Many of the sports days were held in the local GAA Clubs sportsgrounds while the Cross- Country races were held in a nearby farm, very often on the farm of a committee member. Traditionally, the Tricolour flag would be displayed at the event.
As the popularity of athletics increased in the late 70s and 80s, a second sports day, held in Belgooly, was added to the Programme of Events, a Summer 10 Mile Road Race together with a Stephens Day 4 Mile Road Race were organized to reflect the increasing interest in Road Races Nationally.
In February1986, a further event was introduced, a Cycle/Road Race Biathlon, dubbed 'The Great Race'. The distances of the cycling and running sections of the Biathlon were chosen to attract cyclists and runners. The 1986 event, was held through the local Riverstick Wood tracks incorporating an extended triple cycle loop followed by a double running loop of the wood tracks. The 1987 event used a new course, a double 7 Mile cycling loop along the Glounagalt and Heathbourne Hall circuit followed by a 5.3 Road Race on an inner circuit.
The event was transferred from a Spring date to an Autumn one to allow cyclists and athletes participate at the close of the cycling and athletics seasons. The traditional Open, Junior and Veteran category winners were awarded prizes, while a Perpetual Trophy was presented to the winner annually.
The event was held annually up to 1999, (The 1988 event was not held due to a Compliance issue), changing trends and increasing compliance aspects resulted in a discontinuing of the event. Participating in Road Races and Triathlons increased in popularity attracting entrants from biathlon style events.
The event is still fondly remembered, the late Paddy O'Donoghue was a tireless Organiser. Paddy's father, Maurice, was a Founder member and Life-President of the Riverstick Club, the event celebrated his memory.
Participants were in the main cyclists or runners and despite some specific training often found the changeover difficult, resulting in a short distance of shuffling style running until the normal striding style was restored. The traditional tea and refreshments provided after the event help restore the normal walking gait.
On any future trip through Riverstick, spare a thought for the participants of that initial Great Race through the notoriously hilly Riverstick Wood Circuit of nearly 40 years ago! It was indeed a 'Great Race'!'
The crew at the Glen River parkrun have put together the image above showing the extra 5k parkruns in Co Cork over the Christmas period.
1) The usual 5k parkruns on a Saturday will be held on the 20th & 27th of December. Mallow, Macroom, Youghal, Midleton and Tramore Valley won't be holding any additional parkruns.
2) Bere Island and Castlehaven will be holding an additional parkrun on New Years Day.
3) Glen River, Ballincollig, Clonakilty and Glengarriff will be holding additional parkruns on Christmas Day and New Years Day.
All the extra parkruns will start at the usual 9:30am time.
Keep an eye on Mallow and Ballincollig for flooding and cancellations.
I've just updated Jerry Forde's marathon list and it now stands at 538 completed... and some of those are ultras!
The most recent one was the Dublin marathon at the end of October 2025.
If someone said to you that they did 538 road races, it would sound impressive but to complete 538 marathons as a wheelchair athlete is just mind boggling.
Just multiplying 538 x 42.2kms gives a distance of about 22,703 kms, that's more than halfway around the earth.
You can see Jerry Forde's list of marathons HERE
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| Newmarket 5k raises €5000 for Cancer Connect charity |
After a grim morning of heavy rain, the conditions for the 2025 Newmarket 5k road race couldn't have been more different as the clouds parted and the sun came out for the 1pm start.
Start of the 2025 Newmarket 5k...
The first wheelchair athlete was Shauna Bocquet of Craughwell AC in Galway with a blistering time of 12 min 51 sec.
1 Shauna Bocquet Craughwall AC 12:51 WCA 29
Shauna is pictured at the top of post holding a donation cheque for €5000 which Duhallow AC raised from the proceeds of the race.
In the men's race, Paul Hartnett of East Cork AC was the clear winner with a time of 14m 21s.
Top 3 men...
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| (L-R) Helen Linehan of the Ayrton Group (race sponsor) with Eoghan O'Connor #710 2nd, Paul Hartnett #322 1st & Ben Smith #935 3rd |
There was a dramatic finish to the women's race with a dead heat between Michelle Finn and Jessica Coyne.
Top 3 women
Both athletes gave it all over the closing stretch and crossed the finish line together.
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| Top 3 women (L-R)... Dee Grady #288 3rd, Michelle Finn #439 1st & Jessica Coyne #143 1st |
Full results HERE
Photos... to follow...
1) There are loads of photos going up on the Running in Cork Facebook page.
a) Pre-race b) Finish line 1 of 5 c) Finish line 2 of 5 d) Finish line 3 of 5 e) Finish line 4 of 5 f) Finish line 5 of 5
2) Mick Dooley has the following photos...
The biggest 10-miler in Munster is the hugely popular John Treacy Dungarvan 10-mile road race which is organised by West Waterford AC and it's coming up on Sunday 1st February 2026.
Dates & Entries...
1) Entries opened on the 1st of Dec 2025 for Athletics Ireland club members
2) Entries for everyone including non-club runners opens on Mon 8th Dec 2025.
The entry link is https://eventmaster.ie/event/nqdPsplH0v
Info... Note that there are 3,750 spaces for this race which is a huge amount. They expanded the entry number by 25% in 2023 to cater for the demand. This remains the level for the 2026 entries.
Remember that most runners are not members of an athletics club. Entries may open on the 1st of December for club runners but the main entry is on the 8th of December.
It took a few weeks to sell out last year so you don't need to panic. Just decide if you want to do this race and then enter as soon as possible.
I attended a fantastic talk Thursday evening in MTU Cork with David Gillick to promote his recently published book, ‘The Race’. It looks at one of Ireland’s most successful 400m runners as he shares the inside story of life on the athletics track.
After his competitive days, he took over the role as the go-to-man for major athletic events as the TV analyst who was first to meet the competitors soon after they finished.
His guests on the night were Derval O’Rourke and Rob Heffernan who brought some unique insights and their own level of Cork charm. Thank you both, brilliant as always.
I am a fan of David Gillick, I admired him as a runner and he is still the Irish 400M record holder since 2009. I honestly think he is the best I have ever seen to handle athletes after they finish an event as a TV pundit. His sensitivity, insightfulness, sympathy, empathy means he can get some beautiful and emotional interviews. Never change the channel until David has done his interview.
He had it all, I thought, but nothing could be further from the truth. The book looks at the struggle mentally and physically to stay at the top and what it means to be world class in a brutally competitive environment. Some highs but deep lows, constant pressure to perform, constant doubting himself, lack of professional back up to help him cope mentally and what all this toll has exerted on him.
Fascinating story from one of our finest athletes. Thanks for taking the time to share your life with us. I would recommend anyone to read the book.
* What can we learn from it all.
No one has it completely sorted, we all have our doubts, short comings, demons in our head.
Never judge anyone else as we have no idea what is going on with them.
Most of the pressure on us to perform is self inflicted.
* What can we do about it.
Be kind to ourselves and others.
Ask for help if you need it.
Open up and let others in.
Be grateful every day for your health and the friendship of fellow runners.
Thankfully listening to David last night it is good to hear he has come to terms with life and embracing the future. We are grateful he took the time to write this book as a personal insight into his life and maybe learn something from it. He is back running for fun and the sheer enjoyment of it.
Thanks to the Irish Athletic Supporters’ Club and Seamas for hosting this great event.
Extract from the book. - Ultimately, I do it not for rewards or attention, medals or money, but the sheer thrill of pushing myself. Running is a cornerstone of my physical and mental well-being.
Nothing more for me to add. Have a lovely weekend.
#pwr David Gillick
The 2025 Waterford Half-Marathon was held on Saturday 29th November with 2023 runners crossing the finish line.
The first man home was Ryan Creech of Leevale AC in Cork in a time of 65m 59s.
It looks as if the course might have been a bit too long this year so if you felt your time was a little bit slower than expected then that might be the reason.
In 2024, the course was certainly short... see previous post.
At least when the course is too long, everyone knows for sure that they at least ran the half-marathon distance.
Top 10 men & women...
Full results HERE
The numbers overall were down about 6.5% on last year as can be seen from the chart below.
4) Refund and transfer windows will release more places in 2026. The refund window will be open from Wednesday, July 1st, to Sunday, July 12th, 2026. The transfer window for the Irish Life Dublin Marathon will open on Wednesday, July 22nd, and close on Sunday, August 30th.
More info about Good for Age entries in this previous post.
Macroom Golf Club recently released an image showing the approach road to the clubhouse which has just been resurfaced.
This is part of the Macroom 5k parkrun course so it's a welcome improvement.
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| First 3 women (L-R)... April Quinn 3rd, Niamh Moore 1st & Kealey Tideswell 2nd |
The Glenville 4-mile was held on Sun 23rd Nov 2025 on what turned out to be a nice sunny morning.
Top 3 men & women...
Full results HERE