Welcome to the Running in Cork blog, home of the Cork running community. This is the largest website in Cork & Munster for news on road races and general running news. Included are a current race calendar, race previews, photos, results as well as some local, national and international news items.
While the main media outlets have plenty of photos of the damage done by Storm Éowyn around the country, there were plenty of places where the damage didn't make the news.
At the Ríocht AC athletics track in Castleisland, Co Kerry, a lighting pole toppled over and crashed onto the track as shown above. At the time of writing, it's not clear if there was any damage to the track surface.
There was also some damage to the gym building with a door smashed by the high winds.
In two previous posts in March of 2024, I covered the story of the closure of the UCC athletics track at the Mardyke in Co City based on safety concerns.
The latest news is that on the 22nd of Jan 2025, UCC issued a tender for the replacement of the existing damaged track.
"UCC hereby issues this information for Stage 1 Pre-Qualification Stage of a Two Stage Restricted Procedure for the Appointment of Works Contractors for Mardyke Track Refurbishment. The proposed works comprise the refurbishment of existing 8 lane non-porous athletics track comprising the removal and off-site disposal of all existing polymeric track and supply and installation of new track."
The annual Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k is coming up this year on Saturday the 17th of May 2025. This event is popular with a lot of runners as it's a scenic route and many use it as a weekend away in Killarney.
The Half-Marathon starts at 8am while the 10k starts at 9:30am.
From the organisers... "Run Killarney has 2 great races on the same day to suit all levels of fitness:
Run Killarney gives competitors the chance to run one of the world’s most breath taking and scenic routes. Routes subject to change.
The races are open to everyone, men and women alike, at all levels of running experience, walkers, newcomers and people who just want a challenge and a great day out.
This is a professionally run event and every effort has been made to ensure that all competitors needs are looked after.
2025 ROUTES TO BE CONFIRMED"
UPDATE - 23rd Jan 2025: The Half-Marathon is now sold out.
The race entry includes an event medal as well as dry fit running tops... a long sleeved one for the half and a short sleeved one for the 10k.
Derek O'Keeffe recently put a video up on YouTube about a Cross Country race in Fermoy in 1979. Some might recognise the faces in the video which was held over 40 plus years ago.
Leave a comment if you recognise any of the faces.
This was probably the heyday of cross country running as the numbers taking part and watching are way bigger than would be seen in recent times.
Update: John Walshe kindly sends on the following information...
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Thanks to the Denis McCarthy archives (and the following month’s Marathon Magazine), the short video shown is of the BLE Inter-Counties Cross-Country & BLOE Championships which took place at Fermoy on Sunday December 16th, 1979.
Held on the course used for the Grange International C-C on the Dublin side of the town, the video must have been taken by the local promoting Grange-Fermoy club as several of their young members and mentors are shown.
The senior race over at least 7.5 miles (12km) was won by John Treacy in a time of 39:59. The Waterford-man was then a double world champion, having won the titles at Glasgow (1978) and Limerick (1979). With Gerry Deegan second and Ray Treacy (brother of John) fourth, Waterford easily won the team title on 64 points with Limerick second on 96 and Cork third on 113.
First Cork athlete was local man John Hartnett in third and the other scorers for the Rebel County were: Donie Walsh (6th), Mick Walsh (18th), Richard Crowley (20th), Mick Lawton (22nd) and Pat O’Riordan (34th). Frank O’Meara – later to become a two-time world indoor champion – was back in 46th, one place ahead of another man who would go on to greater things, Liam O’Brien.
The women’s race was won by Mary Purcell from Deirdre Nagle and Jean Whitson, all Dublin. Purcell had a wide range of accomplishments, from competing over 800m at the 1972 Munich Olympics to winning the Dublin Marathon in 1983. In seventh place was another Dublin athete, Carey May, who would go on later that year of 1980 to become the winner of the inaugural Dublin Marathon.
The Cork team who finished second at Fermoy were: Catherine Hourihan (4th), Marie Buckley (8th), Marion Lyons (10th) and Valerie O’Mahony (14th).
The men’s junior race went to Andy Ronan from Wexford ahead of future three-time world indoor champion, Marcus O’Sullivan, only the third man after John Walker and Steve Scott to run over 100 sub-four-minute miles (total of 101).
Cork finished second in the junior race behind Dublin with O’Sullivan (2nd), John Hurley (12th), Joe O’Sullivan (15th), Martin Farmer (24th), Kieran Stack (29th) and Chris Lawor (30th). The man who provided the date and venue of this event from all of 45 years ago - Denis McCarthy - finished in 60th position of the 110 finishers.
And just for the record, last Sunday week Denis picked up another bronze to add to the near-100 county medals he has won when finishing third in the M60 category at the Cork Masters C-C in Bweeng.
The Cork BHAA IFF 5k was held in Little Island on Sun 19th Jan 2025 on what was a dry, overcast and mild morning. This was the first race of the year on the Cork BHAA calendar after the ESB Cross Country race earlier in January was cancelled.
Looking at the numbers, there were 356 finishers this year. As can be seen from the chart above, this is well up on last year and down a bit on 2023.
Looking at my results post for 2024, I noted that the numbers were probably down then due to the wind and rain on the day and that they would likely recover. Sure enough, the numbers for 2025 were up 90 on last year which is about a third.
It was about 140 down on the peak numbers in the 2012 to 2015 time period.
Top 3 men & women... 1 Ben Leen Smith M1 00:15:04 Ken's Track Club M-A-2 2 Mark Walsh M2 00:15:15 Dept of Ed M-A-1 3 Tadhg O'Sullivan M3 00:15:20 Cork University Hospital 25 Michelle Kenny 0/45F F1 00:17:38 Dept of Ed F-A-1 37 Linda O Connor 0/50F F2 00:18:17 Musgrave 43 Saoirse Twomey 00:18:25 Temp Reg
For 2025, may I introduce a new concept to your running. The idea of satisfaction with what you do, and gratitude to be able to do it.
So many people are unhappy with performance and times, so much that it takes from the overall enjoyment of being able to run. There is no long term future in that.
Elite athletes operate on a different level where their daily lives are structured around whatever type of training is required on any given day. Everything else will be made to fall into place around this. Rest, nutrition, coaching, psychology is fine tuned for maximum performance.
Us ‘normal’ runners are a different lot. We juggle daily domestic requirements, work takes another chunk of our lives and we are left to try to fit what we can into the rest of the week. We shoehorn training in around what we can get done. There is also injuries, recovery, sleep, nutrition, lack of full time physio assistance to be considered. What time will you be home to cook the dinner for us?
So before you beat yourself up after a race where you didn’t hit the time you wanted then ask yourself why?, but don’t be hard on yourself.
Maybe a better way to approach it would be, to do the best you can and then be willing to accept that and be satisfied.
Even with the best training there will be bad weather, a hilly course, or some other small thing to set you back. It isn’t a setback it is merely a recalibration of what you could possibly achieve on that day.
Some people avoid a challenging course as they will not hit a time. Forget that, make it a best performance for that course.
Before you go to your next race, try to approach it with anticipation and excitement, rather than fear and trepidation. It is much more enjoyable.
When you are asked after the next race how did you get on you can reply:-
‘All things considered, I’m fantastic, there was tremendous personal satisfaction from what I achieved today’ or else, if that is too eloquent and full of bull say: ’ I’m pleased' ’The Joy of Running can only be achieved through acceptance of oneself and our limitations…. ‘Heaven can wait, I wanna dance one more time’ …Guetta
The Cork City Marathon is coming up on Sunday 1st June 2025. I have a standard 18-week training programme starting on the 29th of January which costs €144.
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.
There are also 14,16 & 18 week programmes for the half-marathon.
If interested, send an email to johndesmondrunning AT gmail DOT com
Cork City Council has announced that a small section of the Blackrock-Passage Greenway (from Atlantic Pond to Holland Park Greenway access ramp) will be temporarily closed for 3 months to facilitate the construction of the new children’s playground and woodland walkways.
Pedestrians and cyclists will be diverted onto the Marina Promenade, rejoining the Greenway at Holland Park.
There are two things that stand out for me about this event.
1) Point to Point... Most race routes take the form of some sort of loop where the start and finish points are near each other. This is one of the very few that goes from point to point. There's something special about starting an event in Cork City and ending up down in Carrigaline.
2) Prep for the Cork City Marathon... The Great Railway Run comes 7-weeks before the Cork City Marathon and it's a good opportunity to try out your planned marathon pace. Do a short warm up before the event and then run the 25kms are your marathon pace. You should be reasonably comfortable by the time you get to the finish line. If not, you might need to revise your plans. It's also a great training session as part of your marathon preparation.
25K Prizes...
€3000 in prize money sponsored by Phelans Pharamacy. Prizes will be awarded for best overall placings as well as for age categories. Strictly one prize per entrant. The Joe West perpetual trophy will be awarded to the fastest male and female in the 25K race. Cash prizes will be as follows:
Men Overall: 1st €500, 2nd €250, 3rd €120, 4th €75
Men Categories: Wheelchair, M40, M45, M50, M55, M60, M65 - 1st in each category €50
Women Overall: 1st €500, 2nd €250, 3rd €125, 4th €75
Women Categories: Wheelchair, W40, W45, W50, W55, W60, W65 - 1st in each category €50
The prize giving will be held after the race at approximately 12:45pm in the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre on Church Road.
Event Beanies: Beanies with the Great Railway Run logo can be purchased during registration for €10. Anyone who purchased a beanie can collet it after the race at the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre. A limited number of beanies may be available to purchase after the race.
The Cork BHAA MTU 5k is coming up on Sunday the 2nd of March 2025 at 10am.
The entry fee is just €5 for registered BHAA runners and €10 for non-registered. You enter on the morning of the race.
There will also be a free MTU race mug for the first 400 to enter on the day.
Some key points...
All parking will be in the tiered car parks.
Registration/catering & prizegiving will take place in the MTU Arena and there will be pedestrian access from the tiered car parks.
Entry is on the day, no pre-entry.
Shower facilities will be available in the MTU Arena.
The start of the race will be around the main entrance to the tiered carpark/swimming pool roundabout.
The finish will be on the athletics track on the MTU campus.
The 5k is for over 16’s only.
From the organisers: "We are asking runners to bring their own reusable cup for refreshments after the race. MTU has a Ditch the Disposables campaign across all MTU campuses which involves removing single-use cups from all canteens as part of it’s commitment to environmental sustainability. "
Course... There is a slight change in the course this year and it's shown below...
The first km is mostly on a public road and this gives the field a chance to thin out it goes onto the Greenway behind MTU. It's a pretty flat course and there are no real hills to speak of.
This is always a popular event and should get a good turnout.
While Sunday the 12th Jan 2025 was a quiet day for road races in Cork, the annual Tom Walsh 10k in Caherconlish, Co Limerick attracted a large field of 416 runners.
Sharon Rynne of Leevale AC was the first woman home in a time of 36:45 while fellow team mate Conor McCauley finished 3rd in the men's race.
Top 3 men & women... 1 Ger FORDE 31:13 523MM40Kilkenny City Harriers 2 Niall SHANAHAN 32:03471MM40An Bru A.C. 3 Conor MCCAULEY 32:25368MM40Leevale A.C. 1 Sharon RYNNE 36:45469FFSLeevale A.C. 2 Dee COLLINS 36:54520FF40Ennis Track A.C. 3 Dymphna RYAN 37:53461FF40Dundrum A.C.
Congratulations to Mary Sweeney on achieving her 200th parkrun this morning in Ballincollig, the Queen of road running in Cork and beyond . An amazing lady that travels the length and breath of the country to road races to represent both club and county for almost half a century.
Mary & friends celebrate the 200th milestone
She reminded us all of this day 40 years ago when she won the home countries cross country in Mullingar. Mary has completed at every distance from 5k right up the marathon. And thanks to the reintroduction of the Cork City Marathon in 2007 Mary got back on the Marathon shoes to bring her Marathon total to 53 marathons.
Mary with photographer extraordinaire Mick Dooley!
Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 11th Jan 2025. Approximately 1154 runners and walkers took part in the 9 events in Co Cork.
Report... The milder conditions saw a return to more normal numbers this weekend with 9 out of the 10 parkruns going ahead. Despite the fact that Mallow was cancelled, the overall numbers still broke through the 1000 mark.
Tramore Valley Park... There was an exceptionally large turnout of 363 runners and walkers this week, the second highest ever for the event.
Macroom Castle... Well done to Felicity Dawson who completed her 250th 5k parkrun this weekend! 171 of the 250 have been at the Macroom event.
250 parkruns for Felicity Dawson
If I missed anyone who passed a notable milestone like 100, 200, 250 or above parkruns then let me know.
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Ballincollig Regional Park: 400 this week, CANCELLED last week.
First 3 men & women...
1 Finbarr ODWYER Male VM50-54 Leevale AC 18:22
2 Daire REILLY Male VM35-39 18:28
3 Alan O'SULLIVAN Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 18:45
18 Ella COLLINS Female SW18-19 Bandon AC 20:35
45 Siobhan HOLLAND Female VW45-49 Eagle A.C. 21:52
48 Davina FENTON Female VW45-49 Ballinora National School 22:15
I didn’t run this week but then I think that might apply to most of you as well. Don’t worry about it.
We get these weeks every now and then, so it is important to accept it and don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger by taking a risk.
Losing a weeks training may be a setback. A fall or an injury picked up could have far longer consequences for your fitness.
If you take a week off in Summer for a holiday then that is ok, so put this week in perspective, it shouldn’t have a major effect.
'O Wind, if Winter comes can Spring be far behind?'...
It can be hard so early in the New Year when plans are swirling in the head and you are bursting to get going but don’t risk it.
Thanks for all the lovely comments with regards my injury. I may not be running for some time and getting my head around that has been difficult. I’m waiting for specialist appointment to plan a recovery and hopefully it will include the bike, as that will give some decent aerobic exercise and fresh air.
I’m not the first and won’t be the last to pick up a serious injury. It is the head now needs to come to terms with all of it.
I usually run a few days every week and have done since 'forever'. I have never missed an entire month and as of tomorrow I will be 6 weeks off the road. Eternity.
- Adaptations required
Relax, but that isn’t my strongest feature. Rest, but I don’t understand the word. Eat less, as I am now burning a lot less calories. Stop looking at Garmin outputs as that only gives me envy. Work on flexibility and strength… but until I have a clear picture, I’m afraid to do too much. Patience, but I had to even check how to spell it ..! ‘Patience, give me some of that sweet patience, Lord, I will keep my eye on my goal’ …
- Positives to it all
More time for coffee.
I’m free to cycle on the Midleton - Youghal Greenway (hopefully) so if anyone wants some company let me know.
I’m not filling the washing machine with mounds of dirty wet gear from running.
I don’t have to get up early on Saturday Mornings.
More time for reading. Santa was good to me and I have a fine stash.
Fortune saved on entry fees to races but that will probably spent on more coffees..!
‘Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained.’ ....
Have a lovely weekend and stay safe. The thaw is on the way.