Notice: Bandon AC 5k road race - Thurs 30th Apr 2026

Update: The Bandon 5k is nearly sold out. If interested, then enter asap!

Results of the Shandrum 4-mile road race - Thurs 23rd Apr 2026

The Shandrum 4-mile road race in N Cork was held on Thursday 24th of April 2026 on a dry evening. There was a recovery in numbers this year with 128 finishers.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Killian Lynch West Limerick AC   20:43 MS 348
2 Declan Guina West Limerick AC   21:09 MS 274
3 Padraig O'Donnell West Limerick AC  21:42 MS 398
5 Carol Finn Leevale AC  23:36 FS 460
19 Fiona Boyce North Cork AC     27:12 FS 297
20 Norma O'Sullivan Shandrum AC     27:45 FS 251

Full results HERE

Results of the Ballinotois 4-mile road race - Thurs 23rd Apr 2026

The 2026 edition of the Ballintotis 4-mile road race was held on Thurs 23rd of April in almost perfect conditions. 

A total of six athletes managed to break 20 minutes which shows the quality of the field including Niamh Allen pictured above who set a new national record for the distance.

There were almost 1200 finishers this year and almost identical to 2025. As the chart below shows, it was the third highest ever and the last three years have been very good with pretty much 1200 every year.

A typical club race might get something like 300 runners so the Ballintotis numbers just show how exceptional it is.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Jeremiah SHEEHAN #1145  MS North Cork A.C. M MS 19:18 
2 Sean DOYLE #673 M35 Cork City A.C. M MS 19:29 
3 David CARTER #583 MS Galway City Harriers A.C. M MS 19:36 
4 Niamh ALLEN #2 FS Leevale A.C. F FS 19:50 
22 Jessica COYNE #72 FS Leevale A.C. F FS 21:47 
24 Hannah STEEDS #1166 FS Leevale A.C. F FS 22:01 

Full results HERE

Photos...

1) Mick Dooley has some pre-races photos HERE and post race photos HERE

First 3 men (L-R)... Sean Doyle 2nd, Jeremiah Sheehan 1st & David Carter 3rd

First 3 women (L-R)... Jessica Coyne 2nd, Niamh Allen 1st & Hannah Steeds 3rd

Vivian Foley finishes 2nd M55 in 2026 Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious marathons in the world with many runners needing to achieve a certain qualifying time for their age group before they can enter.

The 2026 event was held last Monday the 20th of April and there were approximately 29,000 finishers.

Cork runner Dr Vivian Foley managed to get on the podium in the very competitive M55 category with a second place finish and a time of 2h 37m 57s.

In 2025, Vivian managed to secure four national titles in the various Irish Championships from 5-miles to the marathon. See previous post.

Notice: Karen Fenton Memorial 5k in Ballinora - Sun 26th April 2026

The Karen Fenton 5K Memorial Run is scheduled to take place this year on Sunday 26th of April 2026 @ 11:30am. The location is for the 5k is in Ballinora which is just to the south of Ballincollig in the western part of Cork City.

Entries...You can enter online HERE

Update: Please note that the start time has been changed from 12:30pm to 11:30am.

Entries will also be taken on the day for the same price.

Lost & Found: Headphones at the Great Railway Run - Apr 2026

 "Message from EdFitzAgRith.... Hi Folks,did anyone leave a pair of headphones in the back of my jeep (the pacer jeep) at the Great Railway Run last Sunday?

If you did please email me at weerunaz1 AT gmail DOT com "

Notice: Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile race in Carrigtwohill - Tues 28th Apr 2026

This 4 mile race in Carrigtwohill in East Cork is coming up on Tuesday the 28th of April at 7:30pm. 

Notice: Ballintotis 4-mile road race - Thurs 23rd April 2026

As the evenings gradually begin to get brighter, it's good to look forward to the Ballintotis 4-mile road race in east Cork. The race is on Thurs 23rd April 2026 at 7:45pm.

Enter HERE

Update from the organisers... Ballintotis 4 Mile Race - Thursday April 23rd - IMPORTANT TRAFFIC UPDATES

Please note - the race begins at 7.45pm

Due to very heavy traffic eastbound from Cork City, delays have built up on a daily basis on the approach to the Lakeview Roundabout in Midleton - As a result we are asking all participants travelling from this direction to please ALLOW AN EXTRA 30  MINUTES  for your journey.

Also commuters from the east should  note that there will be a stop and go system in operation either side of Castlemartyr from 7pm onwards.

Please follow the advice of the gardai and race stewards at all times.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Ballintotis -- resurfacing om the N25, between Midleton and Ballintotis -- 22/23/24 April

Results of the Bantry Flying 5-mile - Sun 19th Apr 2026

 Results HERE

Results of the Great Railway Run from Cork to Carrigaline - Sun 19th Apr 2026

Tadhg O'Sullivan of Glanmire AC managed to  stay ahead of the chasing pack to win by a 49s margin

After all the rain of recent weeks, it was a stunning day for this years Great Railway Run from Cork City to Carrigaline with blue skies and sunshine.

Top 5 men & women...

1 Tadhg O'Sullivan Glanmire AC 1:25:05 MS 664  
2 Brian Murphy Iveragh AC 1:25:54 MS 837  
3 Barry Twohig St Finbarrs AC 1:25:56 M45 751  
4 Donal Coakley Glanmire AC 1:28:03 MS 760  
5 Jean-Jacques Jordaan Togher AC 1:31:26 MS 487  
7 Michelle Finn Leevale AC   1:32:21 FS 798 Course Record
13 Niamh Moore Leevale AC 1:35:47 FS 474  
15 Andrea Aza Villamor Glanmire AC   1:36:13 FS 428  
48 Laura Noonan Tallow   1:43:55 F40 726  
53 Emma Noonan Crusaders AC   1:45:04 FS 536  

Full results HERE

As the chart shows above, it was also a record year for numbers as the event grows in popularity.

Photos... 

1) There are roughly 450 photos up on the Running in Cork Facebook page...
a) Album 1 b) Album 2 c) Album 3 d) Album 4 e) Album 5 f) Album 6 

2) Derek Costello has the following galleries...
part 1   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514170244045442&type=3
part 2   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514176150711518&type=3
part 3   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514185267377273&type=3
part 4   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514193330709800&type=3
part 5   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514199770709156&type=3
part 6   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514205920708541&type=3
part 7   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1514212997374500&type=3

Passage West with 13k to go...

The main man Jerry Forde stopped for a quick photo

Results of the Dromahane 5k - Sat 18th Apr 2026

The annual Dromahane 5k was held this year On Sat 18th of Apr 2026 on what was a nice sunny evening. A total of 201 runners finished which is down about 9% on last year.

Top 3 men & women...
1 John Longan St Finbarrs AC     16:27 MS 424
2 Darren Coleman Mallow AC     16:41 MS 120
3 Patrick Buckley Duhallow AC     16:45 MS 65
11 Carol Finn Leevale AC     18:17 FS 434
17 Breeda McGinn Aghabullogue     18:49 F40 426
29 Clotilde Fitzgibbon Grange Fermoy AC     19:46 F50 273

Full results HERE

Photos...

1) Joe Murphy has some photos... 

a) Album 1 

Results of the Spike Island 5k - Sat 18th Apr 2026

Top 3 men & women...
5k Keelan Desmond 343 00:17:30 1 1
5k Michael Furlong 236 00:17:44 2 2
5k Keith Sheehan 173 00:17:58 3 3
5k Rebecca Kelleher 406 00:19:55 9 1
5k Aoife Greene 59 00:20:22 10 2
5k Brid Kerrisk 255 00:21:38 19 3

 Results HERE

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 18th Apr 2026

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 18th April 2026. Approximately 1212 runners and walkers took part in the 11 events in Co Cork.

Report... With the threat of fuel shortages out of the way, it was back to normality this week as runners and walkers returned to the local parkruns.

Tramore Valley Park... Bernice Glavin has been attending local road races for many years and this weekend, she completed her 100th 5k parkrun. All 100 have been at this event.

Run director Emma Hayes with Bernice Glavin who reaches the 100 milestone

Glen River... Well done to Cynthia Coyne who completed her 250th parkrun this weekend!

Cynthia also has 118 volunteer credits and was one of the original members that set up the parkrun in the Glen. 

Ballincollig... Niamh Lee reaches the century mark and 93 of those were at Ballincollig.

Midleton... Josephine Cronin reached the 100 mark on her first visit to the Greenway parkrun. 78 of the 100 were in Killarney. 

Macroom... Well done to Bridie Leary who completed her 250th 5k parkrun! 226 of these were at Macroom. Jude Murphy completed his 100th parkrun with 98 there. Vincent Cronin also earned his 400th volunteer credit!

Bere Island... Maureen Power completed her 250th parkrun in Bere Island. 249 of them have been on the island with one visit to Killarney.

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

Upcoming milestones....

a) Tramore Valley Park - 200th event - 2nd May 2026

***

Ballincollig Regional Park:  290 this week, 230 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Anthony MANNIX Male VM35-39 Cork Track Club 18:08

2 Paul KELLY Male VM45-49 St Finbarrs AC 18:48

4 Colin WALSH Male SM30-34 19:07

3 Jennifer MARTIN Female VW35-39 18:58

22 Patricia VICARIO Female VW45-49 21:31

36 Rhea TUMMON Female SW30-34 23:19

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/420/

Tramore Valley Park: 286 this week, 169 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 David CARRASCO COQUILLAT Male SM25-29 17:19

2 Michael O DONOGHUE Male VM45-49 18:14

3 Brendan MAGUIRE Male VM45-49 18:40

14 Isabelle CROWLEY Female JW11-14 20:28

20 Irene EIGHAN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 21:08

22 Jenny COTTER Female VW40-44 21:24

Tramore Valley Park results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/198/

Glen River: 80 this week, 48 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Declan KENNEDY Male SM20-24 Dooneen AC 21:34

2 David MCEVOY Male VM40-44 21:40

3 Edward BARRY Male VM40-44 21:42

6 Mary KILKENNY BARRETT Female VW45-49 22:03

14 Orla COFFEY Female SW20-24 23:27

24 Maura FITZGERALD Female VW35-39 24:57

Glen River results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/307/

Midleton Greenway: 154 this week, 106 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Jack MURPHY Male VM35-39 Eagle A.C. 17:53

2 Diarmaid NOLAN Male VM35-39 18:13

3 Jack MONAHAN Male SM30-34 18:13

13 Maeve BOLAND Female SW30-34 Eagle A.C. 20:58

29 Carmel FITZGIBBON Female VW40-44 22:34

33 Sonia O'SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 22:58

Midleton Greenway... https://www.parkrun.ie/midletongreenway/results/62/

Mallow Castle: 95 this week, 58 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 David EDWARDS Male VM40-44 19:18

2 James MAHER Male VM35-39 20:00

4 Leo BRAVO Male VM35-39 20:45

3 Breda GAFFNEY Female VW50-54 Mallow AC 20:36

11 Martina LYONS Female VW50-54 22:47

17 Georgina ENDERSON Female VW40-44 Trilogy Triathlon Club 23:53

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/225/

Youghal (Pobalscoil na Tríonóide) : 43 this week, 37 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Ciaran MITCHELL Male VM35-39 21:14

2 Ger FOX Male VM50-54 22:28

3 Don O ROURKE Male VM45-49 22:42

4 Cait DELANEY Female SW25-29 22:50

6 Laura BEAUSANG Female JW11-14 23:35

13 Aoife LEAHY Female SW25-29 25:47

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/206/

Macroom Castle Demense: 55 this week, 51 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Conor LUCEY Male VM40-44 19:02

2 Jude MURPHY Male SM18-19 20:08

3 David BRADLEY Male JM15-17 20:45

15 Tina POWER Female VW40-44 23:40

20 Karen OLEARY Female VW40-44 24:43

24 Carmel PURCELL Female VW45-49 West Muskerry A.C. 26:35

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/573/

Clonakilty:  53 this week, 41 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

1 Paul DEANE Male VM45-49 Clonakilty Roadrunners AC 19:47

2 Killian O'LEARY Male VM35-39 19:56

3 Niall O'CONNOR Male VM50-54 West Cork Triathlon Club (WCTC) 20:47

8 Eileen MCCARTHY Female VW55-59 Galway City Harriers 23:03

13 Emer O'CONNOR Female JW15-17 24:32

14 Henebry IRENE Female VW55-59 Kilkenny City Harriers 24:44

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/528/

Glengarriff Woods: 86 this week, 75 last week.

Top 3 men & women...

1 David WEIR Male  VM45-49 Trent Park Running Club 19:40

2 Cathal D'HONDT Male JM15-17 21:52

3 Michael MCCOLGAN Male VM35-39 21:54

6 Ashling CREEDON Female VW35-39 24:45

8 Bríd O'LEARY Female VW35-39 25:15

13 Pippa O SULLIVAN Female JW15-17 26:44

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/450/

Bere Island: 55 this week, 40 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

1 Ken JINKS Male VM55-59 21:50

2 Unknown

3 Michael HALPIN Male VM60-64 23:56

6 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 24:41

10 Mags O NEILL Female VW45-49 Beara AC 25:55

11 Michele TIGHE Female VW40-44 26:24

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/541/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 15 finishers this week, 15 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Unknown

2 Florence FITZGERALD Male VM35-39 21:12

3 Karl LEWIS London FrontRunners 22:43

12 Celine BUCKLEY Female VW55-59 Castlehaven GAA 32:22

13 Aisling KELLY Female VW40-44 35:41

14 Sarah O'MAHONY Female VW40-44 36:22

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/461/

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

Guest Post: A Mug for Mug ...by Pat Walsh

 * A Mug for Mug *

I, along with 869 other runners completed the BHAA 5k race this week. Great to be back with evening races and the numbers competing showed the enthusiasm is there for these runs. Cheap entry on the day and off you go. No AI fee, no online surcharge. Thanks to all in the BHAA organization and PWC company who sponsored this event.

On completion we all received a PWC mug to mark our exploits. A mug for a mug. Lovely cuppa afterwards and while I didn’t find the perfect ham sandwich, we were well catered for, with the highlight being a little butterfly bun like my mother used to make many years ago.

I was feeling down after being so tired and sore from my efforts in the hilly Cobh 10mile last Sunday and really not much in the mood for running but I dragged myself along.

The people, the mood, just getting out there again was a fantastic lift. 

Did I run brilliantly? Absolutely not but I ran better than I thought I would, so that is something.

Did I have fun? I did indeed.

Which brings me to the main point (long winded as usual).

It is never as bad as you think it will be, negative thoughts only drain you and impede your performance.

We worry too much what others may think of us if we are back the field a bit, when in fact most people don’t care and look after themselves. They might be happy to see you but are busy enough trying to do their own run.

Performance slide is only natural when you age, there is nothing you can do about it. Which gives 2 options. Accept it or quit running. Personally I like to  think I am aging gracefully, I’m not a quitter.

There are good days and bad days. Good days are when you run, bad days are when you don’t. The time doesn’t matter, every day moving is a good day.

Other runners are brilliant and you get such a lift from being with like minded people who just want to move. Young and old, all with different motivations and goals but sharing the same road space to get there.

Don’t be complacent or lazy, there is a good life out there as long as you can move. Appreciate it, don't take it for granted and learn to accept it and enjoy it. Look after your mental health.

Can’t let the week pass without mentioning the passing of Moya Brennan. An ever present in my playlists since I first heard the Dúlamán album in 1976. (50 years ago) The first lady of Celtic music and an ambassador for the Country. She will be missed but with a voice like that she can easily sing with the angels where she resides.

Siúil A Rún:  1976 Clannad
I wish I was on yonder hill',
Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill,
Until every tear would turn a mills,
go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán (And may you go safely, my darling)

#pwr

Comparison of Cork 10-mile races - Spring 2026

The chart above shows the relative sizes of the 10-mile road races held in Co Cork in the Spring of 2026.

The chart starts in 2017 when things were very different. The largest 10-miler in Munster back then was the Ballycotton 10m with almost 3000 finishers. The Dungarvan 10m was then the second largest in Munster with just over 1900 finishers. The Mallow 10m back then was the second largest 10-miler in Co Cork and the third largest in Munster.

With the demise of the Ballycotton race in 2017, the other 10-milers got a boost in numbers. Dungarvan went on to become the largest 10-miler in Munster and now has almost 3000 finishers. The figures for 2019 show Mallow reaching an all-time high while Cobh dropped a bit with the appearance of the Kinsale 10m on the scene.

If we look at 2019 then it was a case of Mallow having a clear lead over the rest. If we fast forward to 2026 then there's not a whole lot between the top three.

Looking at the growth trajectories, the Cobh 10-mile may well become the largest 10-miler in Co Cork by the end of the decade.