Notice: Rockchapel 5k - Fri 31st July 2026

The third edition of the Rockchapel 5k is coming up in north-west Cork on Friday the 31st of July 2026 with a start time of 8pm.

Enter HERE

The will be special dry fit tops for the first 120 runners to collect their numbers on the night.

The village is located in north-west Cork and is about 16kms to the north-west of the town of Newmarket. Considering its location, it should be of interest to many runners counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.

The race HQ is at Paddy Molly's Bar which is right in the middle of the village.

The race is an out and back course. The race starts in Rockchapel, heads west and slightly downhill for 2.5kms before returning to the finish line.

The drop in height from the start line to the turnaround point is about 30-metres and that gradual drop is spread out over the 2.5kms.

Cork Tower Run - Sun 30th Aug 2026

How about this for a running event! On Sunday the 30th of August 2026, there is a unique running event where participants have to run the 17-floors to the top of the Cork County Hall!

Niall O Crualaioch is organising the event in aid of the CUH Charity and the entry fee is €25.

Entry... https://entry.raskis.ie/r/76f51f34101b

From the organisers... Take on the challenge and make history at the Cork Tower Run—Ireland's first-ever tower running race.

Set against the iconic backdrop of Cork County Hall, this unique vertical race will see participants climb to the top of one of Ireland's tallest occupied buildings in a test of strength, endurance, and determination for the Cork University Hospital Charity. From the first step to the finish line high above the city, every flight brings you closer to the summit of the Cork skyline.

The only way is up...

Whether you're an experienced athlete, a firefighter, a Hyrox competitor, a runner looking for a new challenge, or simply someone who wants to conquer the tower for the CUH charity, the Cork Tower Run offers an unforgettable race experience unlike anything else in Ireland.

With breath taking views awaiting at the finish and the satisfaction of conquering the climb, this is your opportunity to be part of a landmark event and earn your place in Irish tower running history.

17 floors. One tower. One challenge. The only way is up.

YOU MUST BE OVER 18 TO ENTER

Update on new athletic tracks for Mallow, Carrigaline & Dungarvan - July 2026

A number of posts and articles have appeared recently about proposed new athletic tracks in the towns of Mallow, Carrigaline and Dungarvan.

Mallow... The Department of Culture, Communication and Sport announced a €2m grant in November of 2024 for the development of a large sports facility at Carhookeal which is on the southern edge of Mallow near Mallow. The planned location is on an elevated site which is about 50m in elevation above the town. 

The plans include an eight lane 400m athletics, an indoor basketball court, soccer, rugby, and astroturf pitches and tennis courts. It has now been confirmed that Cork County Council have submitted relevant documentation to the Department in June of 2026. There are many steps in planning, approval and funding and this is just one of many steps in the process. Echo article HERE

Carrigaline... The original proposal was for both Carrigaline Rugby Club and Carrigaline Athletics Club to develop facilities at a site at Kilnagleary to the south-east of the town. This included a full size 400m athletics track.

The project has now been expanded following engagement with local organisations and Cork County Council. The Echo has an article HERE

The project website is https://carrigalinesports.ie/blog

Dungarvan... The West Waterford AC Track Development Committee recently made a trip to Bandon in Co Cork to talk about how they developed and funded their new athletics track.

West Waterford AC writes... "VISIT TO BANDON AC ATHLETICS TRACK.

A special thank you to chairperson of Bandon AC Adrian O’Flynn who recently hosted a number of our Track Development committee on a site visit to their brand new Track and Field facility that was officially opened in mid-April this year.

Very few athletics facilities in Ireland are owned and managed by volunteer lead athletic clubs, therefore the visit provided an opportunity to learn from the journey of the highly regarded West Cork club.

Bandon AC purchased their site in 2021 after they had received planning permission from Cork County Council and have delivered a state of the art 6 lane 400m track with an 8 lane 100m straight in just five years, which is a fantastic achievement for the dedicated club volunteers.

The West Waterford AC track development committee have already visited the track of St Lawrence O’Toole AC in Carlow who are another club to construct a 400m athletics track and field facility for their members and wider community

Following the signing of a lease with the Augustinian Trust a number of weeks ago for a parcel of last at St Augustine’s College, we are currently in the design scoping phase and hope to be in a position to submit a planning application to Waterford City and County Council in the coming months.

This Track and Field facility will be of benefit athletic clubs across the region and the wider West Waterford community.

If you are interested in supporting this project please email wwactrackdevelopment AT gmail DOT com "

Dungarvan Track donation...PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS SUPPORT WEST WATERFORD TRACK DEVELOPMENT.

The primary school sports is the first exposure to athletics for many primary school students across the region. Regional qualifying competitions were hosted by athletic clubs across West Waterford, with three nights hosted by West Waterford AC in St Augustine’s College including the Western Small School Finals and Big School Finals. This is the location where earlier this year West Waterford AC secured a long term lease for a site to develop a 400m athletics track and field facility with a clubhouse for the West Waterford region. 

L-R Pádraig Healy West Waterford AC track development committee, Silvia Uí Sheanlaoich West Waterford primary schools sports committee, Mary Ashe Secretary West Waterford Juvenile athletic club and Lynn O'Riordan Treasurer West Waterford Juvenile athletic club 

At a recent West Waterford AC juvenile championship presentation evening, the funds raised from the admission fee from parents and supporters from the three nights hosted in St Augustine’s College were donated to the Track Development Fund. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the primary school teachers and many volunteers who helped out in any way at both the regional events and the finals, without your on-going support major events like this would not be possible.

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes all 11 parkruns in Co Cork

Ross Gallagher with guide runner Proinnsias O'Keeffe

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher from Kerry is a regular at the road races and parkruns in Co Cork. On Saturday the 11th of July 2026, Ross completed the grand slam of eleven parkruns in Co Cork when he completed the event on Bere Island!

Clonakilty was his first parkrun in Co Cork back in November of 2023 and Bere Island in July of 2026 was number eleven.

This is a list of the parkruns in Co Cork that Ross has completed...

11. Bere Island 11/07/2026 553 47 29:39 
10. Pobalscoil na Tríonóide 28/02/2026 199 43 29:47 
9. Mallow Castle 27/12/2025 210 40 27:03 
8. Glen River 15/11/2025 285 42 29:48 
7. Tramore Valley 05/07/2025 160 94 27:30 
6. Castlehaven 03/05/2025 410 25 37:44 
5. Glengarriff 12/04/2025 395 19 28:50 
4. Midleton Greenway 01/02/2025 1 213 27:17 
3. Ballincollig 20/07/2024 333 99 26:47 
2. Macroom Castle Demesne 13/07/2024 484 18 28:07 
1. Clonakilty 18/11/2023 406 10 27:25 

The challenge with completing all eleven 5k parkruns in Co Cork is not actually doing any individual one but the amount of travelling required to get to all of them.

Ross is almost certainly the first visually impaired runner to complete all eleven.

I've often wondered how many people have completed all eleven parkruns in Cork?

Back in 2025, Grellan McGrath and myself completed the challenge of cycling to all eleven parkruns.

At the moment, Pat Walsh is completing the tour by doing all eleven in 2026... see previous post.

As for how many have done all eleven? I suspect it's in the tens rather than the hundreds. I'd guess maybe 50? As far as I know, there is no easy way to check.

Notice: Dungarvan 10k road race - Fri 17th July 2026

The Dungarvan 10k road race is coming up on Friday the 17th of July 2026 with a start time of 7:30pm.

Online entries HERE

This is essentially the 10k version of the hugely popular 10-mile race which takes place in February every year.

From West Waterford AC... "The Sherry Fitzgerald Reynolds Dungarvan 10K will take place on  Friday July 17th at 7.30pm.

Now in its 42nd year and one of the oldest races on the local road running calendar the  Dungarvan 10k is always one of the more popular races. The club is delighted to welcome back  local auctioneer David Reynolds as our sponsor again this year. The race will start and finish in the same place as always at the Industrial Estate at Clogherane just off the N25. 

Prizes for this race are Top 3 Men and Ladies
1st Junior, O/40, O/45, O/50 and O/60 Men and 1st Mens team
1st Junior, O/35, O/40, O/45 and O/50 Ladies and 1st Ladies team

Entry  €12 pre-entry online.

Entry on the night will be €15.

We are once again grateful to Dungarvan G.A.A. club who have provided us with the facilities for number collection, prizegiving and refreshments  on the night."

Entry link https://eventmaster.ie/event/LE2pcp3H76

The race starts and finishes near the GAA grounds and takes in a loop to the west of Dungarvan using a lot of the course for the 10-mile race.

Notice: Youghal Bay Half-Marathon & 10k - Sun 9th Aug 2026

The Youghal Bay Half-Marathon & 10k in east Cork is coming up this year on Sunday the 9th of August 2026. 

The Half-Marathon race will start at 9:30am while the 10km will start at the later time of 11:30am.

Entries HERE

Update - 14th July - Video showing the route of both courses is embedded further down this post.

Notice: Kinsale Regatta 5 Mile - Fri 31st July 2026

The annual Kinsale Regatta 5-mile road race is coming up this year on Friday 31st of July 2026 with a start time of 7:30pm.

Update - 13th July 2026: 800 places gone, 200 places left.

Update - 8th July 2026: 700 places gone, 300 places left.

You can enter HERE

This event is a fundraiser for Sailability Ireland which helps people with disabilities experience sailing.

Notice: Cork BHAA Gas Networks Ireland 5k road race in Cork City - Wed 22nd July 2026

This years Cork BHAA Gas Networks Ireland 5k road race in Cork City is coming up on Wed 22nd July 2026 at 8pm.

Entry fee is €5 for registered runners and €10 for non-registered. Registration is open from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Cork Boat Club in Blackrock village, with the first 500 entries receiving a free short sleeve dry fit t-shirt.

Results of the Run Skibb Half-Marathon & 10k - Sun 12th July 2026

The third edition of the Run Skibb Half-Marathon & 10k in west Cork was held on Sunday the 12th of July 2026 on a hot and sunny day. There were 312 finishers in the half-marathon and 361 in the 10k, both up just under 5% on last year.

Half-Marathon - Top 3 men & women...
1 Dorian Bayard France MS   1:13:11 1014
2 Danny Mullins Bantry MS   1:15:01 1247
3 Sean Dinneen Cork Track Club M35 1:17:58 1095
20 Karen Walsh Douglas F45   1:29:58 1403
22 Lisa Whelan Limerick FS 1:30:11 1409
28 Julie O'Brien Durrus AC F40  1:31:44 1270

Full results HERE

10k - Top 3 men & women...
1 Michael Dullea Skibbereen AC     34:52 M45 530
2 Mick Silke Le Cheile AC     36:26 M40 825
3 Conor O'Leary Clonakilty     37:00 M40 752
16 Ellie O'Donovan Skibbereen     45:09 FS 732
20 Emma Cleary Ballincollig     45:48 FS 448
22 Grainne O'Brien Rosscarbery     46:07 FS 699

Full 10k results HERE

There were also 174 finishers in the 5k event which was held on Saturday 11th of July. Results HERE

Results of the Bere Island Midsummer Run 5k - 11th July 2026

 The Bere Island Midsummer race was held this year on Saturday the 11th of July 2026 on what was a hot and sunny day. The 10k event was cancelled this year due to the heat around the planned start time of 1:10pm. A total of 99 runners took part in the 5k race.

Full results below...

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 11th Jul 2026

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 11th July 2026. Approximately 1028 runners and walkers took part in the 10 events in Co Cork.

Report... Conditions were very warm for this weeks parkrun in Co Cork with 21 deg C being recorded at Cork airport at that time of the morning. Midleton was cancelled this weekend as some of the volunteers were taking a break.

Most parkruns... The person with the most parkruns this week is Jennifer Melbourne from the UK who completed her 645th parkrun at the Glen River event.

Ballincollig... Clare Murphy completed her 100th parkrun!

Glen River... Christine O'Leary completed her 100th parkrun.

Mallow... Gary Peck, a visitor from the UK chose Mallow to do his 500th event.

Bere Island... There was a jump in numbers for the parkrun this week as quite a few runners were on the island to take part in the Midsummer 5k later in the day.

Ian O'Brien completed his 250th parkrun with his second outing on the island. 211 of Ian's total were done at the Ballincollig event.

If I missed anyone who passed a notable milestone like 100, 200, 250 or above parkruns then let me know.

Upcoming milestones....

***

Ballincollig Regional Park:  250 this week, 224 last week.

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/432/

Tramore Valley Park: 239 this week, 240 last week.

Tramore Valley Park results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/210/

Glen River: 65 this week, 72 last week.

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/319/

Midleton Greenway: CANCELLED this week, 138 last week.

Midleton Greenway... They were taking a break this week with a lot of the volunteers away on holidays.

Mallow Castle: 75 this week, 69 last week.

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/237

Youghal (Pobalscoil na Tríonóide) : 64 this week, 44 last week.

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/218

Macroom Castle Demense: 42 this week, 58 last week.

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/585

Clonakilty: 50 this week, 61 last week. 

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/539

Glengarriff Woods: 80 this week, 86 last week.

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/462

Bere Island: 134 this week, 67 last week. 

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/553

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 28 finishers this week, 24 last week.

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/473

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

Guest Post: Random Diary Entries ...by Pat Walsh

* Random Diary Entries *

“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”

10th October

Not sure if I can run in the morning. Where did the Summer go and leave Winter in so quickly. I will need a long sleeve and a woolly cap. All I have is my Summer gear and the winter stuff was either dumped or buried at the bottom of a cupboard. Hope I washed it before I put it away. Could be a fair hum from some of the gear if it didn’t see the washing machine before I stashed it. I suppose nothing major ahead until the Turkey Trot  and it would be ok to miss a run. I’ll sort the gear for next week. I hate missing a run,

10th January

Not sure I can run in the morning. Baltic weather out there. Frost and ice in the forecast for tomorrow morning. Have to be careful, as one slip and a fall on icy footpaths and it could be a hip or a collar bone out of action for the year. Bambi on ice comes to mind. Couldn’t be taking a chance on it. I’ll stay in bed and let the lunatics off for themselves. You have to mind yourself. A nice hot whiskey before bed and set no morning alarm call. Bad start to the Year, World domination may have to be put on hold for a while. I hate missing a run.

10th April

Not sure I can run in the morning. Where in the name of God did that wind come from. One of those storms that blow in from the Atlantic named after some imbecile in the weather department. Storm Lilith I ask you. How can we have respect for a storm named after a character in ‘Cheers’. It could be a bit wild and bring down a few trees or branches. I can handle most weather conditions but wind and rain is just not nice. I wouldn’t like to get a cold or the flu and be suffering for the Easter Holidays. I hate missing a run.

10th July

Not sure I can run in the morning. You couldn’t make this up. A heatwave in Ireland just as I am hitting my peak in training. Tropical temperatures during the day and night. Advisory to not over exert the body in these conditions, and to be fair it is like a sauna out there. 

'Hot summer nights, mid-July

When you and I were forever wild'.... Lana Del Rey

I have the fair skin complexion of a Northern European with zero tolerance for very hot temperatures. I’m sweating putting on my running gear. Can you imagine exposing my milky white legs and arms to that sun, I could be scalded. George Lee says this could become the new normal. Will I even bother replacing my running shoes as they could be sticking in the tar like the current ones. I had great plans for July to be ready for the Autumn. I hate missing a run.

In Ireland we are lucky to live in a temperate climate where outdoor activities are possible all year round if you actually want to do it. 6.30am is a beautiful time of the day on the Greenway at the moment. Existence precedes essence, I run therefore I am.

Have a lovely weekend and stay safe.

#pwr

Results of the Tracton 4-mile road race - Fri 10th July 2026

Clean sweep for Leevale AC in the women's race... (L-R) Hannah Steeds 1st, Sinead O'Connor 2nd & Lizzie Lee 3rd

The 5th edition of the Tracton 4-mile road race was held on Fri 10th of July 2026 and a record 299 runners took part, up 6% on last year.

Top 3 men & women...
134 1 John BLACK North Belfast Harriers 1. M M 20:54  
71 2 Vivian FOLEY Eagle A.C. 2. M M50 21:27  
116 3 Michael CORBETT St. Finbarrs A.C. 3. M M50 21:57   
124 7 Hannah STEEDS Leevale A.C. 1. F F 22:28  
135 10 Sinead O CONNOR Leevale A.C. 2. F F40 23:01  
128 14 Lizzie LEE Leevale A.C. 3. F F40 23:46

Full results HERE

Photos...

1) PopUpRaces has a gallery of finish line photos HERE

2) Joe Murphy has some race photos HERE 

Carol Murphy on Bere Island reaches 500 volunteer credit milestone

 

Well done to Carol Murphy who reached the 500-volunteer milestone at the Bere Island 5k parkun last weekend! With one parkrun per week, it takes about 10-years to reach this milestone.

Back in April, Maretta Brennan was the first person in Cork to reach the 500-volunteer credits milestone at the Ballincollig parkrun. Maretta reached this impressive 500 total by volunteering at both the 5k parkrun on Saturday and the junior 2k parkrun on Sunday.

In Carol's case, she is the first person in Cork to reach the 500-volunteer milestone by volunteering only at 5k events. Carol has also as of last Saturday completed 360 5k parkruns with the vast majority on Bere Island.

Joanne Sullivan on Bere Island is on track to become the first person in Cork to complete 500 5k parkruns on Saturday the 22nd of August 2026.

Notice: Tracton 4-mile road race - Fri 10th July 2026

Tracton AC are holding their Tracton 4-mile road race on Friday the 10th of July 2026 at 8pm.

You can pre-enter online HERE

Update - 10th July: 1) The forecast is for 19 deg C, about 6 deg cooler than Cork City!

2) Note that there are some closed roads around Ballinrea Cross to the north of Carrigaline and the road from Five Mile Bridge to Ballygarvan is also be closed due to the heat. Be sure to leave early to avoid any delays due to traffic.

3) Online entries are open until 7pm but they will also be accepting in person registrations at the centre tonight.

Info from Tracton AC... "Tracton AC are hosting a 4-mile road race on Friday 10th July 2026 at 8pm in beautiful Minane Bridge (near Carrigaline, and 20km south of Cork city).