Meeting about setting up a new 5k parkrun in Carrigaline - Jan 2026

Back in September of 2025, I had a post up about a proposal to establish a new 5k parkrun in Carrigaline... see post HERE. The principle organiser Deirdre Murphy has now announced that a meeting about it will be held in Carrigaline in the Carrigaline Court Hotel at 8pm on Thursday 22nd of January 2026.

"🏃‍♀️ Help bring parkrun to Carrigaline! 🏃‍♂️
We’re looking for volunteers across a range of roles to help set up a brand new Carrigaline parkrun – free, weekly timed 5k similar to Ballincollig and Midleton etc.
📅 Start-up Meeting: This Thursday 22nd Jan
📍 Carrigaline
No experience needed, just enthusiasm! "

If you're in Carrigaline and would like to attend then you can DM Deirdre by looking at this Facebook post on the Carrigaline Notice Board... 

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1621359964760057/posts/4421690138060345/

Please note that it's still early days for this parkrun as a lot of work still needs to be done.

If anyone is interested in setting up a 5k parkrun in their area then these are the steps...

- Get a core group together
- Find a route
- Get landowner permission 
- Get parkrun to approve the course (also provide a video of it.)
- Raise funding
- Get training
- Start

Is a parkrun in Carrigaline feasible??? ... In terms of population, Carrigaline is around the 19,000 mark. If we compare that to some of the other local parkruns and look at their populations, we get... Ballincollig 20k, Midleton 14k & Mallow 14k. Those stats alone certainly suggest that there should be a large enough group of runners and walkers  available locally to support a new parkrun in Carrigaline.

Location??? ... The first route that springs to mind is the local Carrigaline to Crosshaven walkway but it's also very narrow for an out and back course. Perhaps they have some other route in mind.

Sometimes the route may not be so obvious. Just look at the parkrun in Youghal and they managed to get a 5k parkrun by doing four loops at the rear of a school.

Lets hope and see if we get parkrun number 12 in Co Cork in the not too distant future.

Result of the Cloyne Commons 4k road race - Sun 18th Jan 2026

The 3rd race in the Cloyne Commons 4k Winter Series was held on Sunday 18th January 2026 and a total of 365 runners crossed the finish line.

The main attraction of this race is a basic entry fee of €5 on the day. There are no extra online charges, no Athletics Ireland one-day licence fees and there are no costs associated with chip timing. It's exactly how races used to be in the past.

The result of this is shown in the numbers. This race in January of 2024 had 158 finishers. In January of 2025, it jumped to 327 and now in 2026, it's up 10.7% to 365.

Photos...

1) Sharon Murray has loads of photos...

a) Pre-race and start 1 b) Start 2 c) Finish pt1 d) Finish pt2 e) Finish pt3 f) Finish pt4 g) Finish pt5

Top 3 men & women...

1 695 Matt Horrigan East Cork AC M 13:16
2 396 Paul Cashman Watergrasshill M45 13:23
3 467 James Grufferty Glanmire AC M40 13:31
14 543 Rebecca McEvoy St Finbarrs F 15:03
18 786 Sadhbh Cronin Midleton AC FJ 15:12
29 484 Katie Hennessy Midleton AC FJ 15:46

Full results (Final)...

Position Race Number Name Club Category Time

1 695 Matt Horrigan East Cork AC M 13:16

2 396 Paul Cashman Watergrasshill M45 13:23

3 467 James Grufferty Glanmire AC M40 13:31

4 164 Paul Kearney Aghada RC M40 13:47

5 523 Gabriel Le Donne Ballymore Cobh MJ 13:51

6 558 Seamus McSweeney Grange Fermoy M50 13:57

7 271 Michael O Mahony Walsh St Nicks MJ 14:24

8 790 Declan O Donoghue St Finbarrs M40 14:35

9 505 Brendan Kearney Unattached M 14:39

10 417 Mark Cronin Midleton AC M45 14:46

Results of the Cork BHAA Roquette 5k - Sun 18th Jan 2026

The Cork BHAA Roquette 5k in Little Island was the first road race of the year on the BHAA calendar and 367 runners turned out on a cold but dry Sunday morning. This was formerly called the IFF and FMC race but the company has changed name several times.

Top 3 men & women...

1 David Carter 14:42 Temp Reg
2 Fearghal Desmond M-1 15:22 Induct
3 Kristaps Liepins M-2 15:22 Stryker M-B-1
11 Sinead O'Connor 0/35F F-1 16:24 Dept of Ed F-A-1
23 Michelle Kenny 0/45F F-2 16:55 Dept of Ed F-A-1
27 Saoirse Twomey F-3 17:04 The Phoenix Clinic F-A-2

Full results HERE

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 17th Jan 2026

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 17th January 2026. Approximately 422  runners and walkers took part in the 6 events in Co Cork.

Report...  The icy conditions played havoc again with some of the parkruns in Co Cork this weekend with 5 out of 11 being cancelled.

Bere Island... It was a balmy 7-deg C on Bere Island for this weeks 5k parkrun. As always, it's the most stunning parkrun in Ireland.

Macroom... Well done to Conor Lucey who completed his 250th 5k parkrun! 

Conor regularly finishes first at the Macroom  parkrun and 227 out of the 250 were completed there.

ONGOING

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

Upcoming milestones....

a)

***

Ballincollig Regional Park:  CANCELLED this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

Ballincollig results... 

Tramore Valley Park: CANCELLED this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

Tramore Valley Park results... 

Glen River: CANCELLED this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

Glen River results... 

Midleton Greenway: CANCELLED this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

Midleton Greenway... 

Mallow Castle: 105 this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Thomas BROWNE Male SM20-24 16:36

2 David CARRASCO COQUILLAT Male SM25-29 18:16

3 Conor LAVERY Male SM20-24 18:48

20 Martina LYONS Female VW50-54 23:14

22 Elaine O'CALLAGHAN Female VW40-44 23:33

24 Kate MCSWEENEY Female SW30-34 23:52

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/212/

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 50 this week, 54 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 James MAHER Male VM35-39 19:37

2 Donal MC CARTHY Male VM45-49 19:52

3 Ciaran MITCHELL Male VM35-39 20:43 

7 Shannon SOTOK Female SW30-34 23:00

12 Saoirse KINSELLA Female JW11-14 24:17

13 Cliona O'KEEFFE Female VW40-44 24:33

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/194/

Macroom Castle Demense: 109 this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Conor LUCEY Male VM40-44 18:43

2 Henry BROWNE Male VM45-49 19:27

4 Eoghan O'HARA Male SM30-34 Frontrunners Cork 20:17

3 Jean LUCEY Female VW40-44 19:42

17 Clara GERAGHTY Female VW45-49 23:44

18 Hannah GERAGHTY Female JW11-14 24:03

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/560/

Clonakilty: CANCELLED this week, 50 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

Clonakilty results... 

Glengarriff Woods: 84 this week, 83 last week.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Declan WHOOLEY Male VM40-44 Raheny Shamrock AC 21:19

2 Cathal D'HONDT Male JM11-14 21:30

3 Jay MURDOCH Male VM40-44 22:25

7 Sarah KELLY Female VW35-39 Raheny Shamrock AC 23:19

8 Sarah HARRINGTON Female SW20-24 24:18

9 Meave QUINLAN Female VW40-44 24:44

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/437/

Bere Island: 45 this week, 39 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

1 Richard MURPHY Male SM25-29 22:17

2 Ciarán O'SULLIVAN Male VM55-59 22:55

3 Liam POWER Male JM15-17 24:05

4 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 24:07

6 Ciara O'SULLIVAN Female SW25-29 24:55

7 Emma FENTON Female JW11-14 25:08

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/528/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 29 finishers this week, 18 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Florence FITZGERALD Male VM35-39 21:58

2 Padraig COURTNEY Male VM40-44 22:41

3 Niall O'CONNOR Male VM50-54 West Cork Triathlon Club (WCTC) 22:58

6 Clare LAVERY Female SW30-34 24:11

8 Emer O'CONNOR Female JW11-14 25:51

9 Sharon LEVIS Female VW45-49 26:21

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/448/

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

Cancelled parkruns in Cork - Sat 17th Jan 2026

I went out for a walk at 6:30am this morning and there was a hard frost on the cars and grass. For Cork City. the skies are clear on high ground while there is a freezing fog in the valleys.

The current temperature (7am) is about 1 deg C at Cork Airport while it's -1 deg C further inland near Fermoy.

The local paths seem ok but it may not be the same everywhere. Keep an eye out for cancellations before you travel.

Update 9am.

Midleton is cancelled.

Ballincollig is cancelled

Tramore Valley Park is cancelled

Glen River is cancelled

Macroom is confirmed as going ahead.

7 deg C on Bere Island and is going ahead as per usual

Training programmes for the 2026 Cork City Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k

The Cork City Marathon is coming up on Sunday 30th May 2026. I have a standard 18-week training programme starting on the 26th of January which costs €144. 

The weekly programme is tailored for each individual and requires weekly feedback by email. It's suitable for anyone looking to do their first marathon or for someone who wants to improve their times.

There are also 14,16 & 18 week programmes for the half-marathon. The minimum is 14-weeks and costs €112. If you need longer to prepare then there is a 16-week option for €128 and an 18-week option for €144.

There is also a 14-week option for the 10k for €112.

If interested, send an email to johndesmondrunning AT gmail DOT com

If anyone is interested in training for any other race then you can find details on the coaching page... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/p/coaching.html

New 10-mile road race in Tipperary at the end of March 2026

I've been updating the race calendar over the last few days and there are loads of races to choose from all over the country. 

One new race on the calendar is the Littleton Labyrinth 10 Mile at the Horse & Jockey in Co Tipperary which is about 1km off the M8 motorway.

The race is organised by Moycarkey CoolcrooAC and the 10-mile route incorporates The Littleton Labyrinth which is a new walk and cycle way in the bog lands that were once used by Bord Na Mona.

The race starts and finishes at the Horse & Jockey hotel over a loop course as shown above and it will be held on Sunday 29th March 2026.

19-year old Ava Crean from Limerick breaks the Irish U23 10k road record in Valencia - Jan 2026

19-year old running sensation Ava Crean from Limerick burst onto the road race scene in 2025 and amazed everyone by winning the national title in the Dublin Marathon. See previous post.

Last weekend, she was back in action again when she broke the Irish U23 road record with a time of 32m 46s in Valencia Spain.

Ava's coach John Kinsella documented the run in this YouTube video...

Shortage of volunteers causes 5k parkrun in London to close

The Victoria Dock 5k parkrun is located in London and the organisers have just announced that the event is closing due to a lack of volunteers.

They write... "It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Victoria Dock parkrun has shut down.

Over more than 7 years, our little parkrun-that-isn’t-in-a-park has been proud to welcome over 20,000 runners, joggers and parkwalkers to the dock area. Together we’ve celebrated countless PBs, milestones, first-timers, alphabet challenges completed, friendships formed and Saturday mornings made better – whatever the weather.

This would never have been possible without our amazing community. Thank you to our original core team who brought Victoria Dock parkrun to life, and to all our Event Directors over the years who gave so much time, care and energy to keep the event going week after week.

Most of all, we want to say a huge thank you to our volunteers. To those who volunteered regularly, repeatedly, and reliably – you are the reason Victoria Dock parkrun lasted as long as it did. To those who stepped up occasionally or even just once, your support truly mattered and helped make each event happen.

Like all parkrun events, Victoria Dock has always relied entirely on volunteers. Sadly, despite our best efforts, we’ve reached a point where we no longer have enough volunteers to continue the event sustainably. This has been the deciding factor in our decision to close.

We hope everyone reading this continues to support the wider parkrun community – whether by walking, running, cheering, or volunteering. Volunteering really is fundamental to parkrun, and even offering help occasionally can make a huge difference."

I had a look at the numbers and this is what it looks like for their 272 events...

The numbers seem to be reasonably good so it's a surprise to see that they had so much difficulty in getting volunteers.

As for reasons, some on Facebook suggested that a lot of people taking part were tourists, some were just visiting to tick the letter 'V' off their alphabet list.

I suspect though the primary reason was that not enough local participants were volunteering and the core team were just tired of the struggle to get people every week.

It's a timely reminder that ALL parkruns needs volunteers, The suggested ratio is that you volunteer once for every 10 parkruns completed.

Addendum: Nick Sankey left this comment on Facebook... "Look at the map: river to the south and west, airport to the east, convention centre to the north-east, and hotels plus DLR tracks to the north. It’s a very boxed-in location.

It was set up by someone from the Silvertown Partnership charity and the local church, not a running group. While parkrun aims to be inclusive, in reality it tends to skew middle-class — and there are very few middle-class households nearby. Anyone coming from further away would pass at least one other parkrun.

The stats show well over half the runners were first-timers at Victoria Dock, so it actually did well to last as long as it did. Once the Millennium Mills redevelopment happens there might be enough local population to try again, but that’s probably 10+ years off."

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 350th 5k!

Congrats to visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher who completed his 350th 5k run last weekend!

The photo above shows him last Saturday completing his 218th 5k parkrun. The other 132 5k runs which makes up the balance have been at various road races around the country.

Cork runner Tadhg O'Sullivan wins 8k road race in Ardfert, Co Kerry - 11th Jan 2026

The winner of the annual Tom Kelly 8k road race in Ardfert, Co Kerry this year was Tadhg O'Sullivan from Cork in a time of 26m 38s. 

The first woman was Niamh O'Mahony of An Ríocht AC who broke the old course record with a time of 28m 44s.

Full results... https://munsterrunning.blogspot.com/2026/01/kerry-results-of-tom-kelly-8k-in.html

Results of the Tom Walsh Memorial 10k in Caherconlish - Sun 11th Jan 2026

2nd place finish and a time of 37m 36s for Sharon Rynne of Leevale AC

The big race in Co Limerick this weekend was the annual Tom Walsh Memorial 10k in Caherconlish, Co Limerick on Sunday 11th of January and there were 424 finishers, up a bit on last year.

Top 3 men & women...
 1 Ger FORDE 30:57 1191 M M40 Kilkenny City Harriers
2 Jake O'REGAN 31:09 1086 M MS St. John's A.C.
3 Brendan NEARY 31:44 676 M MS Moycarkey Coolcroo A.C.
1 Dee COLLINS 35:26 1190 F F40 Ennis Track A.C.
2 Sharon RYNNE 37:36 1194 F F40 Leevale A.C.
3 Shóna KEANE 37:47 734 F F40 Dooneen A.C.

Full results HERE

Photos...

1) MyRunResults has a gallery of photos HERE

2) Ian Horgan Photography has loads of photos...

a) 1 of 7 b) 2 of 7 c) 3 of 7 d) 4 of 7 e) 5 of 7 f) 6 of 7 g) 7 of 7 

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 10th Jan 2026

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 10th January 2026. Approximately 244  runners and walkers took part in the 5 events in Co Cork.

Report...  The icy conditions played havoc with the parkruns in Co Cork this weekend with 6 out of 11 being cancelled.

ONGOING

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

Upcoming milestones....

a)

***

Ballincollig Regional Park:  CANCELLED this week, 361 last week.

First 3 men & women...

Ballincollig results... 

Tramore Valley Park: CANCELLED this week, CANCELLED last week.

First 3 men & women...

Tramore Valley Park results... 

Glen River: CANCELLED this week, 95 last week.

First 3 men & women...

Glen River results... 

Midleton Greenway: CANCELLED this week, 159 last week.

First 3 men & women...

Midleton Greenway... 

Mallow Castle: CANCELLED this week, 96 last week.

First 3 men & women...

Mallow results... 

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 54 this week, 46 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Cathal HENCHY Male VM35-39 20:25

2 Ian GEARY Male VM45-49 21:19

3 Evan COOPER Male JM11-14 21:26

4 Shannon SOTOK Female SW30-34 22:36

11 Laura BEAUSANG Female JW11-14 23:56

21 Martina BEECHINOR Female VW50-54 27:55

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/193/

Macroom Castle Demense: CANCELLED this week, 61 last week.

First 3 men & women...

Macroom results... 

Clonakilty: 50 this week, 66 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

1 Finn O MAHONY Male JM15-17 20:01

2 Donnacha RYAN Male JM11-14 20:11

3 Niall O'CONNOR Male VM50-54 West Cork Triathlon Club (WCTC) 20:34

7 Marie PIGOTT Female VW35-39 22:59

10 Anna O'NEILL Female VW55-59 23:38

12 Eileen MCCARTHY Female VW55-59 Galway City Harriers 23:51

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/516/

Glengarriff Woods: 83 this week, 129 last week.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Darragh COPPINGER Male JM15-17 20:11

2 Finn CONNER Male JM15-17 20:36

3 Matt HOULIHAN Male JM15-17 21:09

6 Lorraine O SULLIVAN Female VW45-49 22:48

11 Alice COPPINGER Female VW45-49 Bantry Athletic Club 24:35

12 Niamh CASEY Female VW35-39 25:05

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/436/

Bere Island: 39 this week, 44 last week. 

First 3 men & women...

1 Cyril MCNAMARA Male VM60-64 21:50

2 Liam POWER Male JM15-17 24:03

4 Colin GLEESON Male VM70-74 Beara AC 24:16

3 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 24:07

5 Laoise Ann O SULLIVAN Female JW11-14 24:51

6 Farrah O SULLIVAN Female JW15-17 25:17

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/527/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 18 finishers this week, 27 last week.

First 3 men & women...

1 Florence FITZGERALD Male VM35-39 22:13

2 Stephen CONNOLLY Male VM45-49 23:42

3 Danny MANNING Male VM45-49 24:37

6 Sharon LEVIS Female VW45-49 26:30

12 Sharon POULTER Female VW45-49 29:47

13 Naomi DIETER Female VW45-49 31:12

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/447/

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

Parkruns in Cork cancelled - Sat 10th Jan 2026

Icy patches on the Tramore Valley Park course - Fri 9th Jan 2026

It looks as if a number of parkruns in Co Cork have been cancelled. The temperature at Cork Airport at 6am was 4 deg C but it seems to have dropped a degree since under clear skies.

Please note that Midleton, Tramore Valley Park, Macroom, Mallow, Ballincollig and Glen River are cancelled.

Updated 9am

Guest Post: Success ...by Pat Walsh

 * Success *

What does the New Year hold for you? Will it be a successful year?

Far too many plans are made that are wildly ambitious and not attainable. That leads to frustration, despair and lack of confidence in your own ability. 

But was the fault in the fact that no proper thought or planning was put into the goal, only a mad thought some night, thinking this would be great idea this year.

It actually doesn’t matter how big or small it is, what is important is that it is YOUR GOAL and what will you do to achieve it. Do you have the time to prepare and is it realistic. Plan for success. 

Running is your escape, your safe place, your mental rejuvenation. Life can throw enough curveballs and disappointments our way so why add to them.

Know what you can and can’t do. 
Don’t plan marathons when you are not doing 5k’s yet.
Know your domestic situation and what training plus recovery it allows.
Be mindful of previous injuries and don’t bring them on again by repeating previous mistakes.
Maybe during the Year measure success by other means:
I will take a road trip and run some race I haven’t done before.
I will do my best in each race and be happy with the outcome.
I will run in scenic locations and enjoy the experience.
I will search for the best after race cuppa. (tough one this, lots of competition).
I will run where I feel welcome.
I will continue my strength work to stay injury free.

Find peace with yourself, your watch, your expectations and hopefully end of the year you will be happy with how it went. If you are running and racing for your health and a social life then be happy to do that. Stick with it, enjoy, smile and encourage others around you. Be a successful you.

I was running on the Greenway during the week. The late afternoon sun had just come out after a miserable, cold and wet morning. Wasn’t it for these moments that running shoes were made. It was magical, mystical and up-lifting. 

I was waiting for the fairies to rise from the mist in the ruins of Roxborough House. Sprinkle me with fairy dust to keep me running and injury free for the year. Success

Live for the moment and take time to enjoy it. The rest of the year will take care of itself.

‘Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world,
for I would ride with you upon the wind
and dance upon the mountains like a flame!’.... Yeats

Have a lovely weekend.

#pwr #success