Guest Post: Sunday Smiles ...by Pat Walsh

 Sunday Smiles😆 ...by Pat Walsh

Weekend Wondering 🧐

Vaccine Voyage 💉

Last Monday saw the lifting of a few more restrictions and you will be able to get that wild head of hair tidied up a bit, plus a few more services and a few shops. We are going the right direction.

The Vaccine is rolling out and pleased to say I got my first Jab during the week. Simple, quick, seamless operation and fair play to all involved. Professional

Only glitch was when I was stopped as they said “Under 40’s are not for a few weeks yet”. I had to assure them that behind this youthful handsome good looks was indeed a very old Birth-Cert. Only messing. Thanks to Angel Niamh in C.I.T. for doing the honours 👩‍🔬

Inter County Hurling back on the TV and the Rebels are playing again.

As of last Monday, you are free to escape from your County and travel around the Country. Great News

Groups of 15 can meet for outdoor training so more people to have the crack with. 🏃🏃🏃

It is like the Year is finally starting.🤓

Question that is bothering me most and maybe you can help? 

From Youghal in the East to Sheep's Head in the West and stopping off at a few locations in between, Cork is a stunning County.

Whether walking, running, cycling or sitting drinking coffee...

Why would we ever want to leave it? 😂😂

-- amor vincit omnia --

Have a great week ahead and hope every week gets better for ALL of us 😍😍

#pwr

Online Jigsaw: Start of the Lee Fields 4 mile road race - Oct 2015

For this weeks online jigsaw, we go back to October 2015 and the start line of the Lee Fields 4 mile road race.

You can find the 150-piece jigsaw HERE

School donates land to allow public access to Tramore Valley Park via Half Moon Lane

Some good news! The Board of Management of Christ King Girl's Secondary School are donating some land to Cork City Council to allow for the construction of a public footpath via Half Moon Lane.

From Twitter.... "The Board of Management of Christ King Secondary School are delighted to announce the gifting of land to Cork City Council to allow for the construction of a public footpath for access to Tramore Valley Park via Half Moon Lane."

This will hopefully speed things up as the current situation is that local residents in Turners Cross cannot walk or run to their local park as Cork City Council keep the access gate locked.

Guest Post: Are You Ready... by Pat Walsh

 ** Are you ready? ** ...by Pat Walsh

🏃🏃‍♀️  Again a week to be positive, a week of hope, a week nearer whatever the new normality will look like.

We can be positive as the vaccination rolls out. Every jab makes us all a bit safer and opens us possibilities of freedom and fun.

Hearing the DCM21 is still being considered and not ruled out yet shows how quickly the situation is turning. I am not getting into the finer points but the fact a super organization like this think it may still be possible in some form is a glimmer of hope for all us. It won’t be 25,000 people galloping all over Dublin but limited numbers, vaccine passport, rapid testing, small circuit to control water and spectators is a possibility. Who knows what the situation will be then.

🏃‍♀️🏃

This will also allow smaller low-key races locally to take place. A nice 10 miler now with a limited entry of 500, staggered starts and adapted finishes must surely be possible by Autumn. There will be Charity 5k’s with small numbers and Marathons using a rural looped circuit should be possible to organize this Year.
🤓
Maybe I am a dreamer
Maybe I am losing it
Maybe I am just trying to keep myself going
🤪

But are you ready? 
Do you need to kick into gear and start training specifically for something.
If you were inactive most of the last Year, then be careful of ramping up the mileage too quickly.
If you are hoping for an Autumn Marathon whether virtual or real, then you need to be in a decent weekly plan at the moment.
From last Monday we can meet in Groups of 15, which will bring back some life, fun, social element to the training.
It will also help, as the group dynamic is a huge one, when trying to improve speed or churning out the long miles on a weekend run.
Find you running shoes, find your running buddies, find your plan, find your Mojo.

************  IMPORTANT BIT *************

The past year is gone and cannot be changed. What matters most now is your reaction next week. 🏃🏃‍♀️😍

So let next week be the start of something new. You can refocus with a realistic hope that every week from now will be better than anything we have experienced the last 14 months. If I am wrong in all I have said above, then sorry for the false hope, but for the moment I am dreaming. 

“If this be error and upon me proved,
 I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” Sonnet 116.

🏃🚴‍♂️

Loving my new bike as well so a mix of running and cycling at the moment is the order of the day. 

Enough said, I have miles to do and it is a beautiful morning. Have a good week. Stay safe 😍

#pwr #survive21

Friday Jigsaw: Cork BHAA race in Cork City - Feb 2016

For this weeks online jigsaw, we go back to the end of February 2016 and one of the Cork BHAA races on the Monahan Road / Centre Park Road circuit in Cork City.

You can find the 150-piece jigsaw HERE

Guest Post: May Bank Holiday... by Pat Walsh

 ** May Bank Holiday ** 

Few weeks ago I posted a plan to do a Half Marathon or a 10mile last  weekend. I do know from messages that many of you are training for this and hopefully it will go well for you.

You can train for the month of May to improve this, once you have cracked the distance.

Relax and enjoy it, no pressure on yourself and just complete it. Have a cuppa and a Bun. Feel free to let me know how you get on with a message, comment or a picture. 🤓

My own training fell apart with an injury, so I am on greatly reduced mileage at the moment. A few spins on the bike to make up for it but it isn’t the same at all. Still, I am ok and thanks for the kind messages received asking about my health. Thank You . . 

I can reveal that it has a strange Latin name for the precise description of my ailment.

“Birthcertitis” 🤯🩺

It is the inability to look at your birth cert and act your age and not to be running around like a Young fella. If it was an NCT test I would be scrapped. 

Still the vaccine could be down to my age group soon. (one advantage of age.. thanks GM) 💉💉

So one-third of the Year gone and we are at the first of the Summer Bank Holidays. To say it was strange year so far is an understatement. What is ahead of us is hard to plan.

I am trying to stay positive. Thankfully we got some good news last night. I have had enough ‘Hold Firm’ for my lifetime.

We surely have been through the toughest bit and it can only get better. 

The days are longer and brighter and our travel limits are improving. 

Increase in numbers in groups for adult training is super and we can enjoy the gang again.

The Summer Gear, running shorts and tops can appear again soon. Fake Tan may be required in some cases. Penneys will be open soon for the Hawaiian Tropic. 🤣 ☀️

Inter County Hurling will be back on TV. 📺

Countrywide travel, with Hotels and more Hospitality opening soon might present a different set of problems... We might not have time to train (a different problem)…!!. But great to think we can go somewhere. 🍺🍷🥘🥗

Once they open a few shops and dining places and we will be ‘ar muin na muice’ again. 

Final word on this. It is not how far we can travel, but what we do and how we conduct ourselves is key to maintaining these freedoms. Travel, explore, have fun, enjoy your friends but BEHAVE. 

🏃🏃‍♀️ 🤸🤸‍♀️

Hopefully we could see some form of limited races in Autumn. It should be possible to safely do low-key, limited numbers events. I think we would all welcome that. Maybe we might not like the flat-out lung bursting issues that happen with racing but the social interaction of just going somewhere and meeting a few fellow runners would be lovely.

Clubs and Charities have suffered badly for funds the last year so if there is any way it is possible to organise these runs, I have faith in their ingenuity to accomplish it safely. 

Few posters attached to this post for virtual runs attached that may be of interest to you. Now that you can run with a few people they might be an attractive challenge.

🏃🏃

Folks, you may be sick of me pushing the mental side of things but I do feel it is so important to remind ourselves of the long term impact of this on us all. 

Mind yourself and if you can, mind others. Some may need a helping hand, a friendly voice to clear the hurdles. The long term implications of all of this are not understood yet and who knows what people have suffered and what damage has been done to the mental health of people.

Any Covid weight gain will fall off with a few weeks (hard) training, there is no issue there. The head isn’t as easy or as straight forward.

Make sure as restrictions ease that your friends come back into the light again. They might need a push or a pull.

Get out there and move your arse, Get others with you where and when you can. Don’t out run the love of running as one day you may be as crocked as me.😂😜🥰

As always, comments questions or messages are greatly appreciated. I love them. Stay safe and well.

#pwr #survive21

Notice: Youghal AC Virtual 5-mile race series - May, June, July & August 2021

Youghal AC are holding a virtual 5-mile race series this year on the third Thursday of May, June, July and August. This is similar to the old Ballycotton Summer Series which followed the same pattern.

From Youghal AC... ' Youghal AC are pleased to bring back the old 5 Mile Race Series popular among all runners in East Cork and beyond, starting on May 20 and then the 3rd Thursday of each month finishing on 19 August. All runners will receive a T shirt with all the race dates listed, cost for 4 races and T Shirt is €20.00

For any runner who only wants to run one or two of the races this can be arranged also at a cost of €5 per race with option to buy T-shirt.

Runners will be able to run their 5 miles each month between the Thursday and Sunday all results will have to be posted to MyRunResults.com by Sunday evening.

T-shirts will be posted out in batches by date registered the week before each race date. Register early to have your t-shirt for in time for all 4 races.'

Entries HERE

Carrigaline Community School do 48 hour run to raise awareness for those in direct provision

Ten staff from Carrigaline Community School are running 4 miles every hour for 48 hours to raise awareness for the Sanctuary Runners movement and for those living in direct provision.

Ten staff from Carrigaline Community School will be attempting to run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours this May Bank Holiday as part of the @SanctuaryRunner movement&to raise awareness about the plight of those living in #directprovision More @RedFMNews @CorksRedFM pic.twitter.com/7osOqPBJOy

— Fiona O'Donovan (@FionaRedFM) April 28, 2021

Friday Jigsaw: Start of the 2014 Ardfield Road Race

For this weeks online jigsaw, we go back to the start line of the Ardfield 5k back in 2014. It's a little bit harder this week with 220 pieces.

You can find the jigsaw HERE

Cork City Council go with 'Widen the existing Greenway' option in Rochestown

 

Back in February of 2021, I had a post up about improvements to the Greenway at Rochestown in the suburbs of Cork City. See post HERE. The pubic consultation included two options for moving the Greenway next to water and away from traffic.

The consultation got a large number of submissions and they roughly split 50:50 with walkers, runners and cyclists supporting the waterside route and local residents & environmentalists objecting.

At a recent meeting, Cork City Councilors were briefed on the preferred option by engineers and they indicated that they were going for the easy 'Option 3' which was for just widening the existing Greenway.

From Cllr Kieran McCarthy...

Elected members of Cork City Council were briefed yesterday evening on the Emerging Preferred Route (EPR) for the Passage Railway Greenway Phase 2, with a view to the next public consultation taking place from mid-May.

A number of possible routes were identified to enhance the section of Greenway along the Rochestown Road. A major upgrade of the existing route has been identified as the Emerging Preferred Route. The upgrade will include:

- Narrowing of the traffic lanes aimed at reducing traffic speed;

- The road will also be realigned to create additional space for the greenway;

- The enhanced greenway will be segregated from traffic through the introduction of a high quality landscaped strip between the greenway and the vehicle lanes. 

- The initial public consultation identified other issues for consideration such as the widening the greenway, signage, protection of the Cork Harbour Special Protection Area, native tree planting, pollinator friendly planting and other factors to be addressed as the design for the project progresses. A number of suggestions to support cycling will also be brought forward including bike repair stands and bike storage facilities.

 The project team identified the possible impact on the adjoining Special Protection Area as well as security and privacy concerns as some of the main reasons why the coastal routes behind Island View and St Gerard’s Place were not brought forward.

This means the upgraded Greenway will remain alongside the busy road. Cllr McCarthy's statement also doesn't clarify what will be done to stop local residents using the improved Greenway as a parking area like they do at present.

12-Year Old from Belfast runs 5k world record for her age

At a recent 5k race, 12-year old Emer McKee from Belfast finished in an amazing time of 16 minutes 40 seconds and set a new world record time for her age!

In an interview, she said... "Normally I'm just running as fast as I can and just waiting for it to be over. I started doing parkruns and I then joined the running club when I was nine and everybody there was really nice and supportive and friendly."

It looks as if Emer may able be run even faster as she recently clocked 16:37 in a 5k that wasn't officially timed.

Link... https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/56891059

Cork runner Aoife Cooke qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics by winning Cheshire Marathon

Well done to Cork runner Aoife Cooke who won the Cheshire Elite Marathon in the UK in an impressive time of 2 hour 28 minutes and 36 seconds.

This was a qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics! Well done Aoife!

A time of 2h 28m 36 seconds works out as an average pace of 5:40 per mile! (3:31 per km).

The Olympic qualifying standard for women in the marathon is 2h 29m 30s which is a lot tougher than it was in the past.

First 5 women...

Pos Gun time No. Name Club Chip Time Gender Pos Chip Category 

36 02:28:36 164 Aoife Cooke Eagle AC 02:28:36 Female 1 Senior Female 

40 02:29:04 419 Maor Tiyouri 02:29:03 40 Female 2 Senior Female 

42 02:29:34 313 Ann-Marie McGlynn Letterkenny ac 02:29:34 42 Female 3 Vet 40 

57 02:31:14 236 Rose Harvey Clapham Chasers 02:30:58 56 Female 4 Senior Female 

62 02:31:40 186 Beatie Deutsch 02:31:39 62 Female 5 Senior Female 

First two women...

Guest Post: One of our own ...by Pat Walsh

**One of our own **😍🏃 ...by Pat Walsh

As runners we can dare to dream. Life would be boring without it.

How far, How fast, what are our limits, where can we go, what can we achieve.

Tomorrow morning in a bid for Olympic Qualification our OWN Aoife Cooke is running the Cheshire Marathon. As National Marathon Champion no better girl to have a go. Standards are high and this will not be easy, so all help is required.👏🙌👐

For those on the Cork / Munster running circuit Aoife is a regular and well known to us. The quietest most unassuming character you are ever likely to meet hides a hidden brand of fiery determination that is at odds with her public persona. 😍🥰

Job for you all

Whether it is a few prayers, a novena, a Child of Prague in the garden or a few likes and positive comments here, do what you must in advance to help.

Then tomorrow morning 8.30am send a wave of positivity across the Irish Sea to drive her home. About 11am we can celebrate.

We are so proud of Aoife and she is “one of our own”

I will post a link when I find it ☘☘ Thanks to those who supplied

https://runcheshire.niftyentries.com/Results/Wrexham-Elite-Marathon

Picture taken when you could hug people at Ballintotis 4ml a few Years back. Should be on around this time of Year . In fairness I kept the gap between us to under 10minutes which for 4 mile isn’t bad for me.

"Tōkyō de o ai shimashou" :D :D I googled it :D

#pwr #GoAoife #Tokyo

Sonia O’Sullivan takes Nike coaching role in Oregon

 

A recent Irish Times article by Ian O'Riordan reported on how the 2000 Olympic silver medalist over 5,000 metres Sonia O'Sullivan is taking up an assistant coaching role with Nike for the run up to the Tokyo Olympics.

In the interview, Sonia O'Sullivan said... “It all evolved quite quickly, and once we started talking, it felt like an instinctual decision for me, something I felt I’d like to do. I won’t know what it’s fully about until I’m out there, but to be a part of a fully professional set-up, with a good budget behind them, to get the best possible out of the athletes, is something I’m excited about”.

Full story on the Irish Times website HERE

Friday Jigsaw: Aoife Cooke in the 2019 Cork City 10-Miler

 

Best of luck to Cork runner Aoife Cooke as she travels to the UK this weekend to take part in the Cheshire Elite Marathon and chases a qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics.

With that in mind, it seemed appropriate that this weeks 96-piece online jigsaw should be of Aoife back in the 2019 Cork City 10-miler.

You can solve the online jigsaw HERE