Results & Photos of the Newmarket 5k - Sun 3rd Dec 2023

There was a record turnout of 491 runners for this years Newmarket 5k in NW Cork on Sun 2nd Dec 2023, a huge jump of almost 32% on the 323 that turned out last year. When you consider that this is a 5k race in north-west Cork in the middle of Winter, it's an impressive number.

When I was taking photos of this race at the start, I could tell it was something special. There were club singlets from across Munster and it was just locals. It looks as if a few fast runners from the UK made the trip over just for this race.

When I was waiting for the runners at the finish line, the clock was just turning 14:00 and the first few men were already in the home straight as can be seen above. This is in marked contrast to many of the local road races where there are huge gaps at the front of the race. 

In the Newmarket 5k, just 4-seconds separated the first 3 men with 8 going under 15 mins! An amazing 69 runners broke 17 mins with 208 under 20 mins.

Top 5 men & women...
1 Cathal O Reilly Kilkenny City Harriers AC     14:15 MS 12
2 Carl Avery England     14:17 MS 40
3 Paul Hartnett East Cork AC     14:19 MS 214
4 Ryan Creech Leevale AC     14:22 MS 115
5 Emmet Jennings Dundrum South Dublin AC     14:26 MS 245
61 Dymphna Ryan Dundrum AC     16:49 FS 17
73 Holly Carroll Blarney/Inniscara AC     17:04 FS 81
81 Carol Finn Leevale AC     17:15 FS 996
92 Lisa Hegarty Leevale AC     17:32 FS 220
106 Michelle Kenny Leevale AC     17:44 FS 266

Full results HERE

Photos... 

1) There will be around 450 photos going up on the Running in Cork Facebook page.

a) Pre-race & start

a) Finish line - 1 of 5 (14:00-17:30)
b) Finish line - 2 of 5 (17:30-20:00)
c) Finish line - 3 of 5 (20:00-22:40)
d) Finish line - 4 of 5 (22:40-26:40)
e) Finish line - 5 of 5 (26:40+)

Some welcome visitors from the UK to the Newmarket 5k race with some fast finishing times! (L-R) 2nd Carl Avery (40) 14:17, 13th Peter Smallcombe (584) 15:08, 12th Ellis Hetherington (222) 15:04 & 9th George Lowry (292) 15:02

Dymphna Ryan (17) of Dundrum AC was the first woman home in the Newmarket 5k finishing in a time of 16:49. Also pictured is fellow club member Philip O'Dwyer (981) finished in the same time

One of the rising stars on the Cork running scene...2nd place for Holly Carroll of Blarney/Inniscara AC with a time of 17:04

Results of the Run the Line 5k in Carrigaline - Sat 2nd Dec 2023

The month Run the Line 5k was held on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven Greenway on Saturday 2nd Dec 2023 and had 18 finishers.

Hopefully they'll continue on into 2024 with a free 5k run on the first Saturday of every month.

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 2nd Dec 2023

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 2nd Dec 2023. Approximately 501 runners and walkers took part in the 8 events in Co Cork.

Report... Conditions were bitterly cold for this weeks 5k parkruns in Co Cork with the Tramore Valley Park being cancelled due to ice on the course. The other parkruns seem to be a bit more sheltered or near the sea and these went ahead.

Pobalscoil na Tríonóide parkrun... The 5k parkrun in Youghal was cancelled due to a bereavement.

"Some very sad news has reached us of the untimely passing of our ever present Breda Foley. From the very early days of parkrun in Youghal Breda became a constant source of encouragement to all participants. Fondly known as our Cheerleader Breda positioned herself at the side of the school each and every Saturday morning and all who passed got a "well done" whilst videoing the proceedings on her phone. To say the parkrun community has lost a true diamond is an understatement. Pobalscoil na Tríonóide parkrun will be the same but different going forward. Our thoughts are of course with Breda's Family at this very sad time. May She rest in Peace.

We will not be running this Saturday as a mark of respect to Breda. However please come and support us on December 9th to celebrate what a great person Breda was and how important she was to the Youghal parkrun community."

Macroom parkrun... Well done to Maria Neville who completed her 250th parkrun! Maria has done parkruns in 20 different locations but 223 of them have been in Macroom. Maria has also taken on a volunteer role on 123 different occasions. Maria's first parkrun was in Macroom back on the 13th of February 2016.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 250 this week, 255 last week. Long term average 284

First 3 men & women...

1 Michael O DONOGHUE Male VM45-49 19:31

2 Shane O'CALLAGHAN Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 19:40

3 Colm DOYLE Male JM15-17 19:43

22 Helen O'CALLAGHAN Female VW45-49 Riverstick/Kinsale AC 21:52

31 Mairead PEREZ Female VW50-54 Eagle A.C. 22:45

44 Kate RYAN Female SW25-29 St Finbarrs AC 23:39

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/303/

Tramore Valley Park: 155 this week, 182 last week. The long term average is 171.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Tramore Valley Park results... 

Glen River: 51 this week, 78 last week. The long term average is 74.

First 3 men & women...

1 Rob CROSS Male VM50-54 18:57

2 Seamus LEDDY Male VM45-49 Abbey Runners Leeds 19:34

3 Brendan HALLISSEY Male VM45-49 21:09

12 Fiona BANE Female VW40-44 24:59

20 Claire MCGONAGLE Female VW55-59 27:06

23 Miriam HARKINS Female SW30-34 27:35

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/183/

Mallow Castle: 41 finishers this week, 52 last week. The long term average is 62.

First 3 men & women...

1 Tobi GRAB Male VM45-49 Leevale AC 19:45

2 Peter MCSWEENEY Male VM40-44 20:16

3 Sean CROWLEY Male VM45-49 20:26

6 Ailbhe MCDAID Female VW35-39 22:08

8 Johannah MCSWEENEY Female JW11-14 23:15

13 Elaine KELLEHER Female VW45-49 24:28

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/111/

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 50 this week, 48 last week. The long term average is 56.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Youghal results... 

Macroom Castle Demense: 46 this week, 40 last week. Long term average is 51.

First 3 men & women...

1 John O'DONOGHUE Male SM30-34 19:26

3 Darren CREED Male SM30-34 20:31

4 Matt MURPHY Male SM18-19 22:50

2 Martina KIELY Female VW40-44 St Finbarrs AC 19:38

11 Noreen STEWART Female VW40-44 24:18

14 Marie CONDRON Female VW35-39 West Muskerry A.C. 24:57

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/454/

Clonakilty: 23 this week, cancelled last week. Long term average 36.

First 3 men & women...

1 Chris HAYES Male VM35-39 22:24

2 Declan RICE Male VM40-44 22:49

3 Donnacha LEHANE Male VM45-49 Eagle A.C. 23:12

4 Maura REGAN Female VW45-49 Eagle A.C. 23:13

6 Sandra WALSH Female VW50-54 24:18

10 Alice BRADY Female VW40-44 Dunshaughlin AC 26:04

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/407/

Glengarriff Woods: 51 this week, 78 last week. The long term average is 60.

Top 3 men & women...

1 John LONGAN Male SM30-34 St Finbarrs AC 18:30

2 Trevor MCGUIRK Male VM40-44 20:52

3 Cathal D'HONDT Male JM11-14 22:53

5 Genevieve COLLINS Female SW30-34 23:38

19 Hilje LABUSCHAGNE Female VW35-39 28:12

20 Deirdre O'BRIEN Female VW45-49 Bantry Athletic Club 29:07

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/325/

Bere Island: 18 this week, 23 last week, long term average of 46. 

First 3 men & women... 

1 Ben MURPHY Male VM40-44 21:17

4 Breandan MURPHY Male SM20-24 26:04

7 Tadhg HOBBS Male JM15-17 30:24

2 Michelagh MURPHY Female SW18-19 22:29

3 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 23:48

5 Laura WALSH Female SW18-19 27:32

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/415/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 25 finishers this week, 28 last week. Long term average 28.

First 3 women & men...

1 Ciarán BOUSE Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 20:45

2 Florence FITZGERALD Male SM30-34 21:16

3 John SANTRY Male VM40-44 Dell EMC Running Club 24:45

6 Sharon LEVIS Female VW40-44 26:19

9 Mairead COLLINS Female VW35-39 27:42

10 Frances LYNCH Female VW60-64 Sanctuary Runners 30:05

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/336/

For more information about the weekly 5k parkruns in Co Cork, go to this page HERE.

Guest Post: Goals ...by Pat Walsh

 ** Next Year **

As we close out this year and pick up our last races, then thoughts turn to next Year.

What do I want? 
What mistakes have I made? 
How can I make it a good year and one to remember?
Is it short and fast, am I a speedie? 
Or Is it long Race and a quality finishing time?

Pick the 2 to 3 ‘A’ races you want to do as a GOAL, and structure your training around those. You can't do everything. It is NOT possible to peak at 10’s / Half Marathons / FULL while hitting 5k PB’s. If you train hard you can do well in them all but you are not delivering true potential. Yes, you can start the year on shorter races, get your speed up and then move to longer distances. Once you know how your training fits together, look for additional races that compliment your ‘A’ races and act as stepping stones towards these main goals. 

Some tips for these races.

Practise pacing. Use shorter distances to run harder if you want long. Use longer races to build stamina if you want short and fast.

Learn to Relax and smile. Enough negativity in the world. Enjoy your runs. Best results are when you are relaxed and ready for what is ahead. Don’t be a slave to the watch. The time will be the time and accept it.

Practise Negative splits (2nd half faster). Going hard straight from the gun isn’t always the best idea. Finish strong.

Run on Heart Monitor instead of Pace. (Always interesting) Every day is a school day. Run with a friend sometimes and act as Pacemaker for their PB. Enjoy the run and learn from your race stats what worked. Great feeling.

I run because I love to, I run where I want to. I run for my health and sanity. I'm old enough to appreciate I can still run and wise enough not to be too bothered about times.

I will to continue to follow those rules that have served me well. Waterford Half tomorrow. Good way to start December and close out the racing year.

R.I.P. Shane Mc Gowan. The greatest ever Irish songwriter.

‘Where e'er we go, we celebrate
The land that makes us refugees
From fear of priests with empty plates
From guilt and weeping effigies
Still we dance to the music
And we dance'

#PWR #AndWeRun

Friday Jigsaw: 650 parkruns at the Glen

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo taken by Mick Dooley at the 5th anniversary of the Glen River 5k parkrun. If you add up all of the tops, you get 650 parkruns.

You can find the 221-piece jigsaw HERE

New 'Active Travel' routes to run alongside new Cork to Limerick Motorway...

A number of refinements to the proposed Cork-to-Limerick motorway were announced this week. The one part of the project that caught my eye was the active travel infrastructure for walking and cycling which has been expanded from 80km to 100km. 

The proposed route is shown above. It will start at a new intersection near Blarney and runs to Patrickswell in Co Limerick.

The Orange dotted line shows the active travel route running alongside the motorway. The Purple dotted line shows where the active travel route leaves the new road and instead runs alongside the parts of the old N20 which will be downgraded.

For example, the new motorway will pass to the east of Mallow. Going north, the active travel route will diverge around Mourneabbey and then follow the old N20 into Mallow. It will then follow the old N20 north to Newtwopothouse and then branch east towards Doneraile where it will meet up with the new road again.

The image above shows what the active travel route will look like alongside the new motorway (Orange on map). The pathway is supposed to be around 3-4 metres wide so there is plenty of room for people to walk, run and cycle.

The image above shows what will happen to the old downgraded sections of the N20. The hard shoulder will be removed and a new active travel route will be placed alongside it (Purple on map).

Assessment... This is going to be a huge improvement in terms of areas to walk, run and cycle. This is very much like the 'Urban Greenway' that is proposed for Waterford to Tramore.

While it's probably not the most scenic, it's going to provide many kms of pathways that are safe and free from traffic. I wouldn't be surprised if there some future races used these new paths for some if not most of a route.

Timeline... It's likely that the new motorway sections will need to be built and finished before other parts of the N20 are downgraded. As for a completion date? Surely it will take until the mid-2030's at the earliest?

More information about the project can be found online at www.corklimerick.ie

Running in Cork News Bites - November 2023

Sometimes I come across some news items of interest but I don't have the time to put up individual posts about them. I'll collect these here every month under the new News Bites post.

Here are a selection of short news items that I came across during the month of November 2023.

29th Nov 2023 - No Cork Ironman in 2024... The Ironman organisation has announced that there will be no Ironman event in Youghal in 2024. This follows the two tragic deaths during the swim leg in 2023. It is provisionally supposed to go ahead in 2025.

23rd Nov 2023 - New 5k & 10k race in Bandon in 2024... While I was updating the race calendar, I noticed that there is going to be a new 5k & 10k race in Bandon on Sunday 28th Apr 2024. For many years, Bandon AC used to organise a 5-mile road race on New Year's Day. It also had a half-marathon event about a decade ago. In recent years, the club has been very quiet on the road race scene so this is their first event in quiet a few years.

Cork clubs fail to turn out for Munster Cross Country - Nov 2023

I usually don't bother with cross country races as there isn't much interest in them. However, someone sent me an email to draw my attention to the Munster Intermediate Cross Country Championships which were held last Sunday.

Normally these Munster XC events are reasonably small events and it's normal for say 3 to 4 of the 6 Munster counties to appear in the adult races. Usually, they're made up mainly of runners from the host county with a smattering from the other counties.

This year, the Munster Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held near Riverstick in Co Cork. Results HERE

In the women's race, there were just 18 participants from all of Munster. Despite the fact that Cork was hosting the event, not one single club from Cork City or County managed to field a team of 4 women.

Clonmel AC and Ennis Track managed to fill the Gold and Silver team positions with no team finishing 3rd for Bronze.

The person that sent me the email noted that the Cork Athletics Board have spent well in excess of €300,000 for a dedicated cross country course that grows grass for silage for most of the year. When there is an event on, they can't even get the local clubs to turn out to support it.

Imagine if that money had been used instead to help develop proper track facilities around the county by way of grants. There have been quite a number of new 400m tracks around the country being completed which can be used by adults and children all year round.

Notice: Newmarket 5k road race - Sun 3rd Dec 2023

This popular 5 km road race is coming up in the town of Newmarket in North-West Cork on Sunday the 3rd of December 2023. This is a fast 5k course and gets a good turnout every year. The race starts at 1pm.

Entries HERE

As you can see from the race flyer above, one of the main attractions this year is that there is a long sleeve dry-fit top included in the entry.

Results of the Clonakilty Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k - Sat 25th Nov 2023

The 13th edition of the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon was held on Saturday 25th November 2023 with a total of 1237 runners taking part across the three events. The weather was cool and dry which contrasts with some of the previous years which were very wet.

As can be seen from the chart above, the numbers were well down on previous years. The marathon with 240 finishers was well down on the 400 or so which normally take part but at least it didn't get cancelled. The half-marathon had 594 finishers which is a steep drop from the usual 900 or so. The 10k had 402 finishers which is down on the 500 of last year.

Why the big drop???... First off, there was the whole debacle of where the event would be held? Going from Clonakilty to Courtmacsherry and back again.

However, the primary reason for the drop was probably the fact that entries only opened with 10-weeks to go. At that stage, a lot of people will have committed to other events and that's not even looking at the expense of trying to book accommodation in Clonakilty at the last moment. Events like this should be opening at least 6-months in advance.

The Clon Crew get a lot of criticism from a number of people but any event that can manage to attract over 1200 runners to Clonakilty on a cold day at the end of November isn't doing too bad.

Marathon - Top 3 men & women...
1 Tudor MOLDOVAN 2:30:58 1 M MS Clonliffe Harriers A.C.
2 Mike SHEEHY 2:49:31 189 M M40 West Limerick A.C.
3 Mike GRIFFIN 2:52:06 310 M M40 Mayo A.C.
1 Dolores DUFFY 3:39:04 1449 F F50 Watergrasshill A.C.
2 Kate SMITH 3:42:11 55 F FS
3 Emily AHERNE 3:44:36 201 F FS

Half-Marathon - Top 3 men & women...
1 Niall SHEIL 1:16:52 1463 M St. Killians A.C.
2 John O'BRIEN 1:19:35 1475 M Ballymore Cobh A.C.
3 Dan O'SULLIVAN 1:21:11 1690 M Donoughmore A.C.
1 Lorna WOLFE 1:26:24 1547 F Leevale A.C.
2 Karen WALSH 1:30:09 1146 F
3 Anita LOCKE 1:30:25 1657 F St. Finbarrs A.C.

10k - Top 3 men & women...
1 Mihai SPRINCEAN 29:51 2442 M Clonliffe Harriers A.C.
2 Mark WALSH 30:40 2438 M Leevale A.C.
3 Nathan Ryan O'HEHIR 32:46 824 M St. Finbarrs A.C.
1 Catherine MURPHY 36:24 2402 F Eagle A.C.
2 Genevieve COLLINS 42:22 2238 F Beara A.C.
3 Kate WALSH 43:14 2019 F

The results of all three events can be found HERE

Photos...

1) MyRunResults has a small gallery HERE

2) The organisers have a number of galleries out on the course...

a) Album 1 b) Album 2 c) Album 3

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 25th Nov 2023

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 25th Nov 2023. Approximately 775 runners and walkers took part in the 9 events in Co Cork.

Report... Conditions were cool but dry for this weeks nine 5k parkruns in Co Cork. Clonakilty was cancelled this week due to the Clonakilty marathon.

Glengarriff... Congratulations to Anna Spandrzyx who completed her 100th 5k parkrun! All 100 of Anna's parkruns were in Glengarriff.

Glen River... The Glen River 5k parkrun was 5-years old today. Short report with photos at the bottom of this post.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 250 this week, 255 last week. Long term average 284

First 3 men & women...

1 Darren MCCANN Male VM35-39 17:10

2 Enda GRANDFIELD Male VM40-44 17:49

3 Alan O'SULLIVAN Male VM40-44 18:40

6 Niamh CRONIN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 19:41

21 Siobhan HOLLAND Female VW45-49 Eagle A.C. 21:51

27 Mairead PEREZ Female VW50-54 Eagle A.C. 22:22

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/302/

Tramore Valley Park: 155 this week, 182 last week. The long term average is 171.

First 3 men & women...

1 Barry TWOHIG Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 16:07

2 Ken INCE Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 17:17

3 John O MAHONY Male VM45-49 St Finbarrs AC 17:40

4 Nicole DINAN Female JW15-17 17:47

9 Aoife QUIGLEY Female VW35-39 Crusaders Athletic Club 19:11

19 Clodagh CREEDON Female VW40-44 St Finbarrs AC 20:57

Tramore Valley Park results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/83/

Glen River: 78 this week, 53 last week. The long term average is 74.

First 3 men & women...

1 Loic GAREL Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 19:18

2 Joe MEAGHER Male SM30-34 20:28

3 Kieran RUBY Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 20:32 

17 Ailsa BERKELEY Female VW40-44 Blackrock AC 24:18

18 Rosemary MILTON Female VW35-39 Wibbly Wobbly Wonders 25:04

19 Gillian COTTER Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 25:22

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/182/

Mallow Castle: 52 finishers this week, 55 last week. The long term average is 62.

First 3 men & women...

1 Ruairi MANNING Male SM20-24 17:16

2 Conor LAVERY Male SM20-24 18:40 

3 John KELLY Male VM50-54 Mallow AC 19:30

5 Grace FINN Female SW25-29 Clapham Pioneers 19:59

8 Niamh LAVERY Female JW15-17 22:14

9 Ailbhe MCDAID Female VW35-39 22:30

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/110/

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 50 this week, 48 last week. The long term average is 56.

First 3 men & women... 

1 Peter HOWIE Male VM35-39 Ballymore Cobh AC 17:00

2 Al O'DOWD Male VM50-54 Balbriggan and District AC 19:14

3 Finbarr KELLEHER Male VM35-39 20:33

7 Ornaith KEANE Female SW25-29 22:53

10 Shannon SOTOK Female SW30-34 23:21

11 Ingrid O'DOWD Female VW40-44 Balbriggan and District AC 23:44

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/89/

Macroom Castle Demense: 40 this week, 35 last week. Long term average is 51.

First 3 men & women...

1 John O'DONOGHUE Male SM30-34 18:18

3 John HORGAN Male SM25-29 21:40

4 Enda O'FLAHERTY Male VM40-44 21:59

2 Martina KIELY Female VW40-44 St Finbarrs AC 19:16

12 Claire CURTIN Female VW35-39 24:33

14 Carmel PURCELL Female VW45-49 West Muskerry A.C. 25:28

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/453/

Clonakilty: 22 this week, 28 last week. Long term average 36.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED THIS WEEK DUE TO THE CLONAKILTY MARATHON

Clonakilty results... 

Glengarriff Woods: 71 this week, 68 last week. The long term average is 60.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Trevor MCGUIRK Male VM40-44 20:48

2 Stephen O'SULLIVAN Male VM50-54 21:06

3 Liam BREEN Male VM40-44 21:48

7 Deirdre HARRINGTON Female VW50-54 Durrus Athletic Club 24:01

8 Marian MINEHANE Female VW40-44 24:02

9 Breda MCELHINNEY Female VW55-59 24:10

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/324/

Bere Island: 23 this week, 24 last week, long term average of 46. 

First 3 men & women... 

1 Ben MURPHY Male VM40-44 21:34

3 Breandan MURPHY Male SM20-24 26:59

4 Russell BURGESS Male VM60-64 Skipton AC 27:09

2 Michelagh MURPHY Female SW18-19 21:49

5 Laura WALSH Female SW18-19 27:33

6 Mags O NEILL Female VW45-49 Beara AC 27:38

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/414/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 28 finishers this week, 14 last week. Long term average 28.

First 3 women & men...

1 Ciarán BOUSE Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 20:37

2 Florence FITZGERALD Male SM30-34 21:16

3 Danny MANNING Male VM45-49 22:54

5 Emma O' SULLIVAN Female SW30-34 23:31

11 Marie KELLY Female VW35-39 St Finbarrs AC 27:43

14 Deirdre O'BRIEN Female VW45-49 Bantry Athletic Club 28:44

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/335/

For more information about the weekly 5k parkruns in Co Cork, go to this page HERE.

Guest report from Mick Dooley... The Glen River Parkrun celebrated its 5th anniversary parkrun this morning with all the regulars showing up for the party. 

One group of regulars with over 650 parkruns completed between them and still going strong .

Guest Post: The vital 5 weeks ...by Pat Walsh

 ** The vital 5 weeks **

Just a few weeks left in the Year and who knows what 2024 has in store for us?

Something nice I hope.

From now until the end of the Year can go a long way to starting on the right foot in January.

It is always a difficult time to train with bad weather and a post Christmas hangover can lead to a very poor January if you have been totally inactive.

How to counter it.

Get out now. Run a few miles whenever you can. Set a target of 2, 3 or 4 runs a week. Don’t be worrying about distance or pace, just get out there.

What you are trying to achieve is maintaining some base level of fitness that can then be worked on in January. 

This is far easier and will have much better results than a start from scratch, where are my running shoes hidden approach...!

Little and often also helps with the inevitable Christmas binge that most of us indulge in. You are not trying to improve your fitness, all you are doing is stopping it falling off a cliff.

You can enter a Spring race knowing that it is achievable with some speed work and specific distance runs. 

You can have optimism and confidence about the Year ahead.

You will be keeping the body in some sort of shape and not lose the routine of running and training. 

We cannot go hard 12 months of the year but it is good to just maintain a decent level of fitness. That can mean so many different things to different people, but apply it to your own situation. 

Get out but go easy. 

Be January Ready.

Am I a killjoy, Am I a scrooge, Am I a realist hoping to help?

#pwr

Friday Jigsaw: Cork BHAA Clearstream 5k - Nov 2023

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a group photo from the recent Cork BHAA Clearstream 5k in Cork City.

This one has 294-pieces so it's a bit harder than usual. You can find it HERE

Training programme for the 2024 Cork City Marathon

The Cork City Marathon is coming up on Sunday 2nd June 2024. I have a standard 18-week training programme starting on the 29th of January which costs €135. 

If anyone feels that they need more time to prepare then I have a 22-week programme starting on the 1st of January for €165 and a 26-week programme starting on the 4th of December for €195.

The weekly programme is tailored for each individual and requires weekly feedback by email. It's suitable for anyone looking to do their first marathon or for someone who wants to improve their times.

If interested, send an email to johndesmondrunning AT gmail DOT com

If anyone is interested in training for any other race then you can find details on the coaching page... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/p/coaching.html

Cork BHAA calendar for 2024 announced

The Cork BHAA have released their provisional calendar for 2024 and there are 19 events listed. They compares to 17 events in 2023 and 14 events in 2022.

Here are a few of the things that I've noticed...

1) New Races... The two new races are the Amazon 5k in the Tramore Valley Park in late March and the Thermo Fisher 5k in Currabinny at the end of July.

2) UCC 10k... There's no sign of the UCC 10k this year. This was one of the oldest BHAA races on the calendar but hasn't been held since March 2019. It looks as if this one is gone for good.

3) Cork to Cobh... Another one on the missing list is the Cork to Cobh 15-mile. It was put on the calendar for the last two years but I think that was out of hope more than anything else. It looks as if this is another one gone for good as well.

4) 10am is the new 11am... For long as I can remember, nearly all the Cork BHAA races on a Sunday morning have been at 11am. It now looks as if the new de facto start time on Sundays is 10am. It's probably a good move as the roads will be a bit quieter an hour earlier.

5) Tramore Valley Park... You'll notice that the Tramore Valley Park is going to be used twice for races in 2024. One of the challenges of holding a race in or near Cork City is trying to find a quiet and safe course. The Tramore Valley Park has plenty of parking and the course is safe. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more 5k races in there in the years ahead.

Here is the list of events for 2024. Note that it's provisional so there might be some changes.

Sun 7 Jan 10am ESB Cross Country Challenge 5km Beaumont Park, Blackrock
Sun 21 Jan 10am Dupont – IFF 5km Little Island
Sun 11 Feb 10am Janssen Pharmaceuticals 5km Little Island
Sun 3 Mar 10am MTU 5km MTU, Bishopstown
Sun 24 Mar 10am Amazon 5km Tramore Valley Park - NEW

Wed 10 Apr 7.30pm PwC 5km 1 Albert Quay, Cork
Wed 8 May 8pm Pfizer’s 6 Miles Ringaskiddy
Tue 21 May 8pm John Buckley Sports Online entries 5km Lee Rowing Club
Wed 12 Jun 8pm Musgrave 5km Cork Boat Club
Wed 26 Jun 8pm DePuy Synthes 4 Miles Ringaskiddy
Wed 3 Jul 8pm Sterling 5km Sterling (formerly Novartis)
Wed 17 Jul 8pm Gas Networks Ireland 5km Cork Boat Club
Wed 31 Jul 8pm Thermo Fisher 5km Currabinny - NEW
Wed 14 Aug 7.30pm Stryker 4 Miles Community Centre, Carrigtohill
Wed 28 Aug 7.30pm Cork Mental Health (Martin Lawlor Memorial)  5km Little Island

Sun 29 Sep 10am Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Cork 5km Little Island
Sun 13 Oct 10am Defence Forces 5km Tramore Valley Park
Sun 17 Nov 10am Clearstream / Deutsche Börse Cork Marc O’Sullivan Memorial Race 5km Marina
Sun 15 Dec 10am Cork Simon Christmas Run 5km Blackrock Hurling Club Proceeds Cork Simon

If there are any changes, I'll update the race calendar.