Mallow Castle - Number of finishers - This week 76, last week 91
Macroom Demesne - Number of finishers - This week 80, last week 101
Clonakilty - Number of finishers - 44 this week, 47 last week
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.
* Sorrow *
A difficult week in Irish Athletics and just a bad week in general. The passing of Ciara Mageean has left a void in Irish sport, we have lost an inspirational person who was respected and loved. The talent, the beautiful spirit, the winner. What could she have gone on to achieve, who else could she have inspired. In the prime of her life struck down with all the medical and professional help that surrounds elite athletes.
No words of mine can make sense or comprehend the loss to her family, friends and all who looked up to her. I never met her and still feel like many in the running community in Ireland she was one of us, a familiar face, a look up to person, a gem.
I have spent years advocating to keep going, keep running, mind yourself, watch your weight, moderation at all times. We all strive to achieve, to be the difference, to live life to the full and hopefully it will see us to old age. Then how do we explain this. I can’t. I’m actually lost. We moan about a sore knee when people are dealing with serious illness. We laugh and joke with friends when we don’t know who is going through a hard time mentally.
Life takes unusual twists and turns and many not in our favour or what we expected. It is called life. Those plans that we have we must not put off. The example we give to others and especially to the younger generation. The ability to stay positive. The life of Ciara exemplified this. I was given a present of her book recently and not sure when I will get the courage to read it.
I strongly contemplated not writing this as what do I know? Hitting a few keys on the keyboard and you think you can solve it all, but it isn’t like that. I'm as lost as the next man.
Four generations of parkrunners were pictured recently at the Bere Island 5k parkrun!
(L-R) Great granddaughters Crioa and Céala who are currently in training in a Cribb to 5k programme.
Granddaughter Leahanne who has completed 86 parkruns. Daughter Joanne who recently was the first person in Cork to complete 500 parkruns.
And finally great grandmother Finola who is just behind Joanne with 497 parkruns and should soon hit the 500 mark.
Thanks to Proinnsias O'Keeffe for sending on the photo.
In this post, we're going to look back at the numbers taking part in the 5k parkruns in Co Cork during the Spring, Summer & Autumn of 2026 and examine what impact holidays and tourism had.
To remove some of the 'noise' and variability from the data, I calculated the average numbers for each month from February to October 2026. The problem with weekly data is that it jumps all over the place and it makes it harder to see a trend.
I have also split the parkruns into three groups... a) The three parkruns in Cork City b) The satellite towns of Midleton, Mallow & Macroom and c) West Cork.
a) The three parkruns in Cork City... Ballincollig, Tramore Valley & Glen River.
b) The satellite towns of Midleton, Mallow & Macroom
Midleton saw a large jump in April when a lot of runners took part in the parkrun in memory of someone who had recently passed away. During July and August, there did seem to be a noticeable increase in numbers. July was up 19% on June.
Mallow and Macroom seem to be pretty steady and there seems to be a balance between locals going on holidays and visitors taking part.
c) West Cork
West Cork is a different story though and there is a clear sign of visitors causing a jump in numbers.
The numbers at Clonakilty seem reasonably steady except for July & August when the numbers jump about 40%.
The Castlehaven parkrun in Rineen Woods is the smallest parkrun in Co Cork and also the toughest! The big surge in numbers in August is more than double the figure for June.
Glengarriff shows a similar pattern although it's curious as to why it slowly declines from March to June as opposed to staying steady? Like the rest, there is a big jump in numbers in August.
The most dramatic change is on Bere Island with the August numbers jumping about 180% compared to the usual level in the Spring.
If you look at the charts at the top of the post then you can see that during the months of July and August, Bere Island is the 4th largest parkrun in Co Cork and the largest in West Cork.
Think about that for a monment. A 5k parkrun on an island off Castletownbere way down the Beara Peninsula and where most participants have to get a ferry is the fourth largest parkrun in Cork during July and August.
Most of you will have noticed that over the last year or two, there has been a huge surge of interest in HYROX in both Ireland and abroad. HYROX is an indoor fitness competition that combines running and functional strength training.
It was announced last week that Hyrox became a recognised discipline within World Triathlon which in turn could make it eligible for inclusion at the Olympics.
The sudden announcement hasn't gone down well with all of those involved in Triathlon. In a BBC interview, British triathlete Max Stapley said the following... "I was like, hold on a minute, what's this? We don't even get an early notification, we found out on Instagram. How does Hyrox grow triathlon? If anything they've killed triathlon. Sponsorships have reduced because there's no visibility on TV, you have to pay to watch us.
We are triathletes that do the short distance, which is the Olympic distance, and we've trained all our lives for it. There's no swimming, there's no biking, it's indoors. [Hyrox] has got nothing to do [with triathlon]. It seems like our sport's gone, 'no worries, come along, use our structure, use our access to the International Olympic Committee, and perhaps take our space'.
We've got an opportunity to win medals in Los Angeles [at the 2028 Olympics], but will we have it further down the track?"
The full article can be found on the BBC website HERE
![]() |
| Tony Higgins & Co at the inaugural parkrun in Carrigaline |
Last weekend, Tony Higgins became the first person in Ireland to earn 1000 parkrun volunteer credits!
Not only has he volunteered 1000 times but he has also completed 437 5k parkruns at a total of 101 different events. His home parkrun is Tralee and he has completed 209 there.
Tony is the regional event ambassador for Munster and helps in the setting up junior & 5km parkruns in the province. Tony who is originally from Cork, works in Kerry General Hospital.
When Tralee parkrun was getting ready to launch back in January 2015, his wife, Maeve said to event director... “I think Tony might enjoy volunteering – he’d like doing the results and taking the photos, but I can tell you he’ll never do a parkrun!” 😂😂
Parkrun Ireland have an article up on their website HERE
If you have an Android based mobile phone and you are using the Strava app on it to record exercise sessions, make sure to check how much data you are using.
Looking back on the sessions that I did at the start of October, a workout might use up something like 3 to 10 MB of mobile data which is not really an issue.
I can see that on the 22nd of October, a training session used up 2.18 GB which is 2180 MB! I did a cycle today (Sun 1st Nov 2026) and it used about 1.2 GB so it's still a current problem.
Needless to say, a lot of people are having problems with Strava causing users to exceed the data available on their mobile phone plans and incurring additional charges.
I'm not sure if Stava on Apple iPhones are having the same problem.
If you are using an Android device then check your data limits and be careful how you use Strava.
![]() |
| 23:24 in a clown suit! |
** Halloween **
What is the scariest thing about this coming weekend. Is it the hordes of children in costume roaming the streets or is it the fact the year is drawing to a close and as a runner you wonder what did you do? If like me, you feel underwhelmed by what you achieved, I suppose there is still time to rectify it and get some sense of purpose come years end. We won’t get a second chance at 2026.
Maybe the lesson is to do stuff and not dream or procrastinate about it. Take part, go for it, what is to lose. If you don’t try you can’t succeed, if you don’t even bother trying then you need to have a chat with yourself. There are many who commit may end up walking a major challenge towards the end or get injured in the training process. That showed intent, a purpose, a goal. Don’t ever be afraid to try.
- “The person in the arena, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly” -
Don’t worry what anyone else thinks. Some of the best critics never get off the couch. Their opinion is worthless. Only the fellow runner in the competition that supports and encourages you is your true friend. Social media is full of bluffs, fakes, AI enhancements to make you feel inadequate. Be you and proud of you. You are the only one that matters anyway. Say: I ran today.
- “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.” -
I look back on the Covid times when we could do nothing and we all said once it was over we would change our ways and make life more meaningful. Instead for many the hamster wheel of existence is spinning faster than ever with more commitments and less personal time. What happened our promises to ourselves?
Pick one thing you would like to do before New Years Eve. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering or life changing. It is a simple goal to prove I'm alive and 2026 was a good year. If it is running around your neighbourhood in a scary Halloween costume then so be it. If it a parkrun 5k somewhere nice, or a local charity event or one of the many longer races that pop up this time of year.
Make it your goal, don’t be scared or frightened of Halloween.
-- quotes are from Roosevelt – Man in the Arena speech 1910
Have a lovely weekend.
#pwr
The team behind the new M28 motorway to Ringaskiddy has announced that the new link road connecting the Maryborough Road to the Carrs Hill road will open in the next two weeks.
As can be seen from the photo above, there is also a new footpath which will give more route options for walkers and runners.
As the map shows above, it's a higher alternative to Maryborough Woods and connects estates like Broadale to the new Bayly estate.
This will hopefully in time connect to the new proposed greenway from Douglas to Carrigaline.
Back on the 3rd Oct 2026, I completed my 136th 5k parkrun and my 100th at the Tramore Valley Park event.
This in itself is nothing too special as there are already 96 Cork runners who have completed 250 or more parkruns and nearly all of them were mostly at one event.
It got me thinking though...
Q. How many Cork runners have completed 100 parkruns at more than one event?
I checked the data and I found two people who have done a century of parkruns at two events.
The Cloyne 4k Winter Series is a set of five low key races in the village of Cloyne in east Cork with an entry fee of just €5! As can be seen from the flyer above, there are five dates. Complete 4 out of the 5 to get a high tech dry fit top.
Each race starts at 9:30am and registration opens in The Rock Bar (P25 DY72) from 8:30am.
Race prizes for 1st three male and female runners of the overall series and 1st 2nd and 3rd male and female juniors.
Children running must be accompanied by a parent/adult. Organised by Cloyne District Community Council (Registered Charity 20079345)
The start line is 600m away down a narrow country road. The course is essentially one loop with a slight overlap and it's a flat and fast course.
This race is very much in the tradition of many of the old road races in East Cork and the Ballycotton area where the entry fee was very modest for a high quality race.
This popular 5 km road race is coming up in the town of Newmarket in North-West Cork on Sunday the 6th of December 2026. 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.
If you do quite a few road races, you generally end up with plenty of dry fit tops. Most of them will be short sleeve and only suitable for running in the warmer months. It's the long sleeve ones that you keep going back to especially in the winter months when you want to keep your arms warm. Even if you're wearing a running jacket, it's just nicer to have a long sleeve top underneath.
As always, there are lots of generous prizes on offer.
![]() |
| Corcaigh Abú. Anthony Creed from Cork ran the Irish Life Dublin Marathon last weekend dressed in American Football gear and finished in 3h 18m! |
Considering all the rain on Saturday, the weather conditions for the 2026 Dublin Marathon were pretty good with plenty of sunshine even if it was a little windy.
This also doubled up as the National Marathon Championships and these are the provisional medal winners from Cork.
Women 50-54 - 3rd. 3800 Áine O' Donoghue Togher A.C. 3:10:07
Women 70-74 - 2nd 21954 Anne Sheehy St. Finbarrs A.C. 5:43:03
Men 45-49 1st. 4759 Barry Twohig St. Finbarrs A.C. 2:27:08
Men 60-64 2nd. 3726 Cathal O' Connell St. Finbarrs A.C. 2:53:04
The chip timing results can be seen HERE
Photos...
After all the rain on Saturday, Sunday looks like it's going to be mostly sunny for the 2026 Dublin marathon. As Storm Boelo moves over Scotland and heads towards Norway, the winds from it will still be very much present on Sunday for the marathon.
Key points...
1) Very windy. Runners will have a headwind from the Start to mile 7, 13 to 15 miles & 24 mile to the finish.
2) 10 deg C. While it's reasonably mild, the wind will make it feel a lot colder, especially for spectators.
3) Showers. There might be the odd passing shower but nothing persistent.