Notice: IMRA Glensheskin Woods Half-Marathon nr Fermoy - Sat 30th Oct 2021

This might be of interest to those of you who want to try something different.

The Munster branch of IMRA are holding a trail half-marathon in Glensheskin Woods near Fermoy on Saturday the 30th of October 2021. Note that it starts at 7:30pm so torches are required!

This is very much in the same format as the popular Ballyhoura Moonlight Half-Marathon which takes place in the Summer months.

ENTRY HERE

Some details...

DESCRIPTION: Glensheshkin Woods Half Marathon

COUNTY: Cork

DATE: Saturday 30 October, 2021

TIME: 19:30

CLIMB (M): 300

DISTANCE (KM):21.00

MARKING: Only major junctions marked - Only major junctions marked

GPS ALLOWED: Yes

ENTRY CLOSES: 2021-10-16 23:59:00

ENTRY LIMIT: 200

ENTRY COST: €30 Online entry only for this race.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION:Mostly runnable trail, but will include some short challenging sections

GETTING THERE:Kilworth Woods, Kilworth, Co. Cork. From the square in the centre of the village, follow yellow Avondhu way-markers and the sign for Ballyporeen (15km). After 1km, turn left into Glensheskin Wood and walk over the bridge into the carpark.

Map showing location of start HERE

This is the souvenir race mug...

As with all IMRA events, annual membership costing €10 is required. They also have some requirements for the event such as wearing jackets, etc. See the race page HERE

Bristol half marathon winner disqualified after finishing first in the wrong race

On Sunday the 19th of September, the Bristol Half-Marathon (21.1km) was held alongside the Bristol 10k in the Great Bristol Run. It wasn't without controversy however.

The first man home in the Half-Marathon was Omar Ahmed as shown above. The problem however was that he had entered the 10k race but ended up accidentally running the half marathon in just 63 minutes. It seems that he went the wrong way when he reached the point where the course split for the two distances. He was later disqualified.

A spokesperson for the organisers said... "Ahmed entered the 10K as an elite runner and not the half marathon. Therefore he was not officially part of the half marathon race and has to be disqualified. Rules are rules and in this case they say we have to disqualify Omar. We salute his performance, and he has been invited to take part in next week's Great Manchester Run as an elite athlete. Of course, we also look forward to welcoming him back to Bristol for 2022's Great Bristol Run."

What the organisers don't say is how could the lead man in the 10k take the wrong course? Was there not a lead bike for the 10k? Was the split in the course obvious with large signs?

More often than not, when someone takes 

Results & Photos of the IMRA Glen of Aherlow Trail Half-Marathon - Sat 18th Sept 2021

The main running event in Munster last weekend was the IMRA Glen of Aherlow Trail Half-Marathon on Saturday the 18th of September 2021 which attracted a field of 130 runners. Tom Blackburn was the first man home while the first woman finished in second place overall.

Looking through the results, there were plenty of runners from Cork in the event as well.

Top 3 men & women...
1 Tom Blackburn 413 M55 1:40:08 Mooreabbey Milers Limerick
3 Conor Murphy 195 M45 1:43:29 Cork and Kerry Trail Runners Kerry
4 Gearoid Kennedy 2151 M40 1:44:23
2 Sophie Daly 902 F 1:42:41 Kerry
29 Trish Dorgan 1125 F40 1:58:47 Cork
40 Miriam Beasley 361 F45 2:01:35 Star of the Laune AC Kerry

The full results are HERE

Photos... 
1) The organisers have a number of galleries... START... GALLERY 2 ... GALLERY 3 ... GALLERY 4 ... GALLERY 5

Guest Post: PWR / SRR Ballycotton 10-Mile ...by Pat Walsh

 ** Pat Walsh Running / Saturday Road Runners Ballycotton 10 **

Lovely morning when some of my crew and our welcome guests from SRR ran the Famous Ballycotton 10 route.

Why?.... Why Not?🤣🤣

Time to be getting out there again to mix with people and exercise in the beautiful Autumn day that we had. Peach of a morning and was even a little too hot towards the end but no complaining. 🤓🧐

Thanks Saturday Road Runnersfor travelling to us for the gallop. Hope you enjoyed the visit to the sunny East Cork. Weather always good here and I hope you behaved and got home safely. 

Winner on the day. No idea, think everyone who ran was a winner.

Well done to the lads who missed a sign and did the inaugural Ballycotton 15 mile. Must Map that route 😃

Life is for living and after 18 months it is time to go again.

Few more races on the horizon that I am signed for, and a few more hopefuls in the pipeline. Be very afraid as I might turn up to a venue near you.

I will attend and run and finish. Forget the watch, Take the pics,  Smile and move on. Racing is postponed until 2022

“Well we are all here again for the Ballycotton 10

Lined up and ready for to go” The Great Dick O’Brien.

#pwr

Current advice on carpooling while travelling to races - Sept 2021

Mountaineering Ireland is the national association for hillwalking clubs in Ireland and they recently got some guidelines from Sport Ireland about travelling and carpooling for their members. The guidelines for walkers would obviously apply to any runners travelling or car pooling as well. 

The advice is as follows:

• In line with the return of public and private transport participants may wish to return to the use of carpooling.
• Private transport carrying those not yet vaccinated or of mixed immunity should be aware of the higher risk.
• The use of appropriate face coverings is recommended.
• If carpooling, consider use of a pod system in which the same participants pool together for all activities.

For clubs that utilise private coaches etc. the advice is as follows:

1. While Public transport is operating at full capacity, Private Coach Tour activity is limited at 75% capacity with protective measures.
2. Sporting Organisations organising transport to/from events should implement private Coach Tour capacities (75%).
3. Protective measures such as physical distancing, mask wearing etc. should also be implemented.

Advice from Sport Northern Ireland for clubs, members and all other participants in Northern Ireland is as follows:

• When sharing transport e.g., private car when travelling to and from venues, it is important to maintain a flow of clean air through the vehicle. Ideally by opening windows back and front.

Podium finish for Cork runner Michelle Kenny at Galway Cross Country - Sat 18th Sep 2021

 

The Castlegar AC Open Cross Country was held at the Galway Race Course on Saturday the 18th of September 2021. There were 105 finishers in the adults races with the women completing a 4k course while the men ran 6k.

Cork runner Michelle Kenny managed to get a podium place with a third place finish.

Ladies 4k
936 1 Aoife Kilgallon Sligo A.C. F 0:14:30  
950 2 Breege Connolly City of Derry AC Spartans F40 0:15:07  
1263 3 Michelle Kenny Leevale A.C. F40 0:15:32

Results

To be honest, I only came across this result by accident! I was checking up on the result for someone I'm coaching and I noticed that a runner from Cork had finished in 3rd place.

The course was described to me as a "Good honest course with lots of uphill and downhill, lots of twists and turns, ground very firm."

There are a few members of Leevale AC also listed in the men's race.

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 18th Sept 2021

It looks as if there was a slight uptick in numbers for the 5k parkruns in Cork this weekend with 569 taking part in contrast to the 525 for last week. The overall number for the seven events was down about 15% on the long term average. There certainly isn't any sign of a surge in numbers returning to the weekly events around the county.

The Bere Island parkrun is still on the missing list and they hope to return soon.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 248 turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun which is up on the 210 of last week but still well down on the long term average of 300.

First 3 men & women...

1 Ger FORDE Male VM40-44 Crusaders Athletic Club 17:24
2 Hafiz ULAG Male SM20-24 17:25
3 Rory O' SULLIVAN Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 17:27
25 Niamh CRONIN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 21:35
33 Clodagh KELLEHER Female JW15-17 22:30
34 Claire ROCKALL Female SW30-34 22:32

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=195

Photos:

1) Colette Ryan has a gallery HERE

Mallow Castle: 92 turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Mallow which was down on the 107 last week. One unusual feature of the results was that just one man finished ahead f the first two women.

First 3 men & women...

1 Barry MEADE Male VM35-39 18:21

4 Grzegorz KOZIMALA Male VM40-44 19:55

5 Aaron CAHILL Male SM30-34 19:59

2 Martina KIELY Female VW35-39 St Finbarrs AC 18:33

3 Ailbhe MCDAID Female VW35-39 19:32 

27 Elaine O'CALLAGHAN Female VW35-39 24:17

 

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=2

Macroom Desmesne: 43 turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Macroom which is down on the 51 of last week. The long term average is 54.

First 3 men & women...

1 Padraig SHEAHAN Male VM55-59 Millstreet Athletic Club 19:30

2 Rory MCELROY Male JM11-14 West Muskerry A.C. 21:05

3 Ciaran SLATTERY Male VM35-39 21:13

7 Mcguinness MARINA Female VW45-49 2018 Operation Transformation 24:29

11 Noreen STEWART Female VW35-39 25:04

12 Pauline CALLAN Female VW45-49 25:12

Macroon results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castledemense/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=342

Clonakilty: 29 turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun at the Clonakilty Showgrounds which is down on the 38 of last week. The long term average is 37.

First 3 men & women...

1 Mícheál Ó SÉ Male VM35-39 19:14

2 Joe HALLISSEY Male VM40-44 19:51

3 Liam DOUGHERTY Male VM35-39 20:28

5 Debra O'LEARY Female SW30-34 22:00

8 Helen ANDERSON Female VW45-49 23:25

12 Grainne CROWLEY Female VW45-49 26:32

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=299

Glen River Park: 82 turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in the Glen in the northside of Cork City  which is up from the 56 last week. The long term average is 88.

First 3 men & women...

1 Seamus LEDDY Male VM40-44 Abbey Runners Leeds 19:27

2 Edward AHERN Male SM25-29 19:53

3 Loic GAREL Male VM40-44 20:04

12 Aileen O MAHONY Female VW35-39 22:42

21 Sandra WALSH Female VW50-54 23:48

31 Ann HIGGINS Female VW55-59 Sportsworld 25:38

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=71

Photos:

1) Mick Dooley has a small gallery HERE

Castlehaven: 25 turned out in Rineen Woods for the Castlehaven 5k parkrun which is up a bit from the 21 of last week. The long term average is 31.

First 3 men & women...

1 Padraig COURTNEY Male VM35-39 Castlehaven GAA 22:26

2 Brian MCCARTHY Male VM35-39 22:40

4 Florence FITZGERALD Male SM30-34 23:26

3 Laura MCNALLY Female VW35-39 22:51

5 Niamh O'BRIEN Female SW30-34 24:10

6 Deirdre MCCARTHY Female VW40-44 Manchester Tri Club 25:26

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=221

Glengarriff: 50 runners turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Glengarriff Woods which is up on the 42 of last week. The long term average is 58.

First 3 men & women...

1 Stephen O'SULLIVAN Male VM50-54 21:03

2 Kevin GLEESON Male VM35-39 22:05

3 Ray SMITH Male VM55-59 22:29

7 Breda MCELHINNEY Female VW50-54 25:15

8 Fleur HINDLEY Female VW55-59 26:00

9 Jacquie O'SULLIVAN Female VW40-44 26:27

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=215

Blackrock Greenway Closed until November 2021

The Greenway in Blackrock in Cork City is being upgraded at present and a new section closed on the 13th of September. The photo above from the Cork Cycling Campaign shows a barricade up on the Greenway near the pedestrian crossing over the N40 in Mahon.

Week starting: 13.09.2021 // Duration: Approx. 2 months work in this section of works.
​
Works Location: The closure that will be in place, will be from Blackrock Station to the Flyover Bridge on the N40.

​As can be seen from the map above, roughly 1.7kms of Greenway will be closed so it's going to have a big impact on users.

The diversion from the pedestrian bridge at the N40 is the Yellow dotted line which goes around by Mahon Point and up by the CSO office on the Skehard Road junction.

From there, the detour goes over by Church Road. The official detour is listed below.

If someone wants to avoid the works completely and go around by Blackrock Castle then it's an extra 1.5kms.
 
****
 
Diversions to be in place:
 
From Rochestown to Blackrock Station.
Exit Greenway at the bridge of the flyover and proceed to R852
Proceed up R852 to Skehard Road
From Skehard Road proceed to Church Road
Proceed from Church Road to Blackrock Road
Enter back onto Greenway at Blackrock Bridge.
 
From Pairc Ui Chaoimh to Rochestown
Exit Greenway at Blackrock Bridge
Blackrock Road
Church Road
Skehard Road
Proceed up R852
Follow the diversion on to bridge at Flyover. 

Friday Jigsaw: Watergrasshill AC at the 2017 Ballycotton 10 mile

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a picture of members of Watergrasshill AC before the start of the 2017 Ballycotton 10-mile road race.

You can find the 216-piece jigsaw HERE

Winner of Vienna Marathon Disqualified due to illegal shoes

Now for an unusual story. Last weekend, the Vienna City Marathon was held with 6000 runners registered for the event. The first runner across the line was Derara Hurisa from Ethiopia with a time of 2 hour 9 minutes and 22 seconds.

Not long after finishing however, he was disqualified for wearing 'illegal shoes' that had soles that were 1cm thicker than the legal 4cm limit.

The oganisers wrote... “Winner disqualified: The initial winner of the Vienna City Marathon had to be disqualified for wearing shoes which are not compliant with the rules. Ethiopia’s Derara Hurisa crossed the finish line first after 2.09:22,”

“The sole of road running shoes has to be no thicker than four centimetres. Hurisa was running with a model that has a sole thickness of five centimetres.”

“Kenya’s Leonard Langat is now the winner of the Vienna City Marathon with a time of 2.09:25,”

The illegal shoes in question were the Adidas Prime X.

Nike were the first company to market special shoes with carbon fibre plate in their sole to help the athlete spring forward. Other companies soon came up with their own designs.

At the start of 2020, World Athletics, the governing body for track and field imposed a ban on any shoes with a sole thicker than 40 millimetres (4cms) or shoes that contain more than one plate.

With regards to the disqualification in the Vienna Marathon, the organisers said that every runner or their manager had to fill in a form in which they have to name the model of the shoe they were going to wear. On Hurisa’s form a shoe was named that was within the rules. 

“We also stressed in the technical meeting the rules about the shoes. Unfortunately we had no other choice than disqualifying the athlete. It is the first time something like this has happened. And I am pretty sure that from now on there will be some form of checks to avoid something like this to happen again in a major race.“

For some reason on race day, he wore the Adidas Prime X shoes which he had used in training and thought they were within the rules.

Work resumes on the running track in Carrigaline - Sept 2021

After a very long delay, work recommenced recently on resurfacing the new running track in Carrigaline. As outlined in a previous post, this project was first approved in September of 2019.

The photo above by Cllr Seamus McGrath shows workmen applying a new surface.

This track is about 430 metres in length and would be ideal for anyone who wants to do a very short run. It would be ideal for say someone doing a Couch to 5k programme as you're never too far from where you started.

There are also paths in the adjacent park so there is an option doing 660 metre loops as well.

Possible junior parkrun??? ... Once the new track is up and running, it does raise the question of whether a weekly 2km junior parkrun would be viable in Carraline? These are for 4 to 14 year olds and are held on Sundays at 9:30am in various locations around the country.

Results of the IMRA Curragh Woods Trail Race - Sun 12th Sept 2021

A total of 51 runners turned out for this 9.9 km trail race in Curragh Woods near Midleton last Sunday on what was a very wet morning.

First 3 men & women...

 NAME NUMBER CAT TIME CLUB COUNTY
1 Pat Doherty 2194 M40 0:49:47 Cork
2 Nick Hogan 1770 M40 0:52:15 Cork
3 Aedan Bermingham 893 M35 0:53:19 Cork
9 Kealey Tideswell 1485 F35 1:01:13 Clonmel AC Tipperary
12 Nessa Rochford 774 F45 1:03:17 Cork
25 Noreen O Keeffe 1686 F45 1:13:49 Watergrasshill AC Cork

The results are HERE

The next IMRA race locally is in Rochestown Woods on the 10th of October. 

Phase 1 of the Marina Park in Cork City to open in Nov 2021

In response to a query, Cllr Kieran McCarthy of Cork City Council was informed that Phase 1 of the new Marina Park would open in November of 2021.

"The opening of Marina Park Phase 1 is scheduled for mid to late November, if issues arise during completion of the remaining works, Council will be advised of this."

The photo above shows the area under development which is just to the south-west of Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

From a running point of view, this will allow for more loops for short runs and the venue with a coffee dock could well become the focal point for any groups doing a run and having a cuppa afterwards.

As the various elements of this project come to fruition then it's not hard to imagine the potential of a weekly 5k parkrun here taking in the park and the Marina.

Cork runner Mark Walsh wins the 2021 Tralee 10k road race in 33:13

A total of 118 runners turned out for this years Tralee 10k race which was held on Saturday the 11th of September 2021. The first man home was Mark Walsh of Leevale AC who won in a time of 33m 13s.

Looking through the photos, there were plenty of other runners from Cork in the race but no clubs are shown in the results so it's hard to know how many.

First 3 men & women...

1 Mark Walsh 146 M MS 00:33:13
2 Derek Griffin 98 M MS 00:33:57
3 Garrett Lordan 110 M M40 00:34:50
21 Clare Coleman 72 F1 FS 00:41:45
30 Rachel Leane 177 F2 F40 00:43:36
42 Mary O Connell 151 F3 F40 00:46:29

Full results HERE

Photos...
1) Barry Fitzgerald has some nice photos HERE

Cautious return to 5k parkruns in Cork with a modest turnout - Sat 11th Sept 2021

A total of seven 5k parkruns in Cork restarted on restarted on Saturday the 11th of September 2021 and the numbers in some locations was well down on what they were pack in the Spring of 2020. Some might have expected big numbers turning out with a lot of pent up demand but that certainly doesn't seem to have been the case.

I suspect the organisers may have been afraid that big numbers would flock back after the restrictions had lifted but that certainly doesn't seem like the case. Perhaps some people are still hesitant about attending any event where there are large crowds? It could also be a case that people have got out of the habit of going to a local 5k parkrun on Saturday morning and it will take time for those numbers to return.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 209 runners turned out for this one which while well ahead of most of the recent club races, is still well down on the long term average of 300. The previous parkrun on the 7th of March 2020 got 360 and even that one was modest.

First 3 men & women...

1 Rowan DALY Male SM20-24 St Albans AC 17:59

2 John O MAHONY Male VM45-49 18:39
3 Tobi GRAB Male VM40-44 Leevale AC 18:48
18 Niamh CRONIN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 21:13
34 Clodagh CREEDON Female VW40-44 23:19
40 Elaine GUINANE Female VW40-44 Eagle A.C. 23:19

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=194

Glen River Park: There was a modest 53 finishers for this one with the long term average being 88.

First 3 men & women...

1 Matej HAULÍK Male SM20-24 Vege Runners 19:13

2 Loic GAREL Male VM40-44 19:47

3 Richard BOURKE Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 19:50

17 Clare KEAVENEY JIMENEZ Female SW25-29 25:40

18 Sheena FLEMING Female VW35-39 25:57 

19 Mary O'HALLORAN Female VW50-54 Togher AC 25:58

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=70

Photos...

1) Small gallery by John Mc HERE

Mallow Castle: The 5k parkrun in Mallow has now moved to a new course by the Castle. A total of 107 took part.

First 3 men & women...

1 Kevin CLANCY Male JM15-17 18:30

2 Ronan MOYNIHAN Male VM35-39 Crusaders Athletic Club 18:40

3 Finbarr KELLEHER Male VM35-39 19:44

8 Marie KELLY Female SW30-34 21:01

18 Claire ROCKALL Female SW30-34 22:40

27 Edel BUCKLEY Female VW35-39 24:22

Mallow Castle results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=1

Photos...

1) Klickapic has three nice galleries on Facebook... Gallery 1 ... Gallery 2 ... Gallery 3

Mallow Castle 5k parkrun... Photo by Klickapic Photography

Other parkruns...

51 in Macroom, avg 53
Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castledemense/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=341

38 in Clonakilty, avg 37

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=298

21 in Castlehaven, avg 31

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=220

42 in Glengarriff, avg 59

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=214