The brain-changing benefits of exercise

The brain-changing benefits of exercise by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki

Notice : Crosshaven 10k & 5k race - Sun 10th March 2019

For those of you planning ahead, the annual Crosshaven 10k and 5k road race is coming up on Sunday the 10th of March 2019. The start time is 11:30am.

ENTRIES > The link for entries is HERE

Changes this year...
NEW Prize Fund. €150 First Prize in both races for Male/Female.
NEW Medals for all those who finish the 5Km/10km.
NEW Tees and Hoodies to purchase.
NEW Addition of a 2km Run for Children.

As courses go, this one is pretty flat and it should be a good one for setting fast times.

Both the 5k and 10k start in the centre of Crosshaven and they are both out and back courses. As you can see from the map, you turn around at about the 2.5km mark for the 5k race and the 5k mark for the 10k race.

Near the turn around point for the 5k race

On a nice sunny day, it's a stunning location for a road race.

For more information, go to the race website... http://www.crosshavenroadrace.com/

Results & Photos of the Newmarket 5k road race - Sun 16th Dec 2018

After a miserable wet start to the day, the weather forecast was spot on as the clouds parted for the start of the Newmarket 5k at 1pm. As conditions go, it was more or less perfect with bright winter sunshine for the whole race. No sooner was the race over when the rain returned.

One particular feature of this race is that the field was very strong. An amazing 108 of the 344 finishers were under 20 minutes which is way faster than most 5k races.

As can be seen from the chart above, this year set a new record for the number of finishers! A lot of races in 2018 have seen their numbers drop or flatten out. The Newmarket race has been growing since 2015.

1     Hiko Tonosa     D.S.D.A.C         14:40     SM
2     Thomas Hayes     Kilkenny City Harriers         15:06     SM
3     James McCarthy     East Cork AC         15:19     SM
16     Michelle Finn     Leevale AC         16:36     SF
18     Grace Lynch     Iveragh AC         16:40     SF 
24     Anna Reddin     Crusaders  AC       17:15     SF

Full results...
http://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2018-Race-Results/Newmarket-Christmas-5K-Race-Results

Photos...
1) There will be 3 albums up on the Running in Cork Facebook page
...a) Pre race & start
...b) Finish line photos
...c) Prizes

2) TMC Photography has a gallery HERE

New club Doneraile AC out in force

 

Kanturk Road Runners make the short trip to Newmarket

The club with the most entries was Mallow AC

Results of the Cloyne Commons 4k... Sun 16th Dec 2018

224 turned out for this 4k in Cloyne in East Cork on Sun 16th Dec 2018.

1 13:30    HARTY, Brian    Unattached    M    05:25.8
2 14:07    INCE, Ken    Watergrasshill AC    M    05:40.7
3 14:23    KELLY, Chris    Aghada RC    M    05:47.1
14 15:46 O'BRIEN, Claire    Watergrasshill AC    F    06:20.5    22    14
20 16:23 O'CONNOR, Ali    Clonmel AC    F    06:35.4
27 17:16 LEAHY, Eileen    Midleton AC    F    06:56.7

In association with East Cork AC - Cloyne Commons 4k Race 2 - Sun 16 Dec 2018. 9:30 am
Results for All Competitors in finish order.    Pace    Race    Race
    Place    Time    Name    Team    Race Age Category    min/mile       
    1    0:13:30    HARTY, Brian    Unattached    M    05:25.8    930    1
    2    0:14:07    INCE, Ken    Watergrasshill AC    M    05:40.7    7    2
    3    0:14:23    KELLY, Chris    Aghada RC    M    05:47.1    961    3
    4    0:14:57    SMITH, Kevin    Midleton AC    M40    06:00.8    915    4
    5    0:14:59    BRUTON, Pat    Unattached    M50    06:01.6    17    5

Results of the Glen River 5k parkrun... Sat 15th Dec 2018

Just 27 hardy runners turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in the Glen on the north side of Cork City which is understandable considering the rain.

They were joined this week by Sonia O'Sullivan and daughter Sophie who represented Ireland on the Under 20 women's team at the European Cross Country Championships in Denmark last weekend.

Fair play to the organisers and stewards who had to stand around in those conditions this morning. Without volunteers like that, parkruns would be impossible.

1 Brian LINEHAN    19:18    VM55-59    79.62 %    M1
2 Jp MCSHERRY    19:36    VM40-44    71.26 %    M2
3 John LONGAN    19:58    SM25-29    64.61 %    M3
7 Sonia O'SULLIVAN    21:02    VW45-49    78.76 %    F1 Glenhuntly AC
9 Sophie O'SULLIVAN    21:19    JW15-17    71.77 %    F2 Hampton Court Dragons
20 Maretta BRENNAN    28:24    VW50-54    61.33 %    F3

The full results are here... http://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=4

Photos...
1) The organisers have a small gallery HERE

Weather impacts on local parkruns

The heavy rainfall on Friday and early on Saturday has had an impact on the 5k parkruns in Cork with Ballincollig, Macroom and Glengarriff being cancelled.

The photo above shows the playing pitches in Ballincollig Regional Park on Saturday morning about 9am. With more rain on the way, there is likely to be a lot of standing water around next week. Check to confirm that it is on next Saturday if you are traveling.

Notice : Newmarket 5km road race - Sun 16th Dec 2018

This popular 5 km road race is coming up in the town of Newmarket in North-West Cork on Sunday the 16th of December. This is a fast 5k course and gets a good turnout every year.

The race HQ this year is at the Hi-Lands which is a change to the usual High Street Bar (see preview). As you can see from the race flyer above, there are lots of generous prizes on offer.

The entry fee is €15 on the day.

Course Preview...Lots more info including directions, photos, course details, etc can be seen HERE

This race is organised by Duhallow Athletic Club. More info on their website... https://duhallowac.wordpress.com/

Jingle Jog 5k in Rosscarbey on Sat 15th Dec postponed

Due to the weather forecast, tomorrow’s Jingle Jog in Rosscarbey has been postponed until the 29th of December.

Running events coming up next weekend... Sat 15th & Sun 16th Dec 2018

The Christmas period is one of the busiest times of the year for running events and it really kicks off next weekend.

The list below which is extracted from the race calendar gives a good idea of what is on offer. Which event you take part in really depends on where you live.

The big race on Co.Cork next weekend is the annual Newmarket 5k organised by Duhallow AC on Sunday the 16th of December. They have had quite a large number of pre-entries to date and you can still enter on the day.

Weather Forecast : Loads of rain on Saturday and Monday. Much better on Sunday.

These are the running events in the South of Ireland on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th of December 2018.

- - - December 2018 - - -

Sat 15th (9:30am)... 5k parkruns - Various locations - Free
Cork - Ballincollig, Macroom, Clonakilty, Rineen Woods, Glengarriff Woods, Bear Is /// Limerick - University of Limerick, Newcastle West /// Kerry - Killarney, Tralee, Listowel, Inch /// Clare - Ennis, Kilrush, Clarisford /// Tipperary - Clonmel, Templemore /// Waterford - Tramore /// Kilkenny - Kilkenny Castle /// Carlow - Carlow town /// Wexford - New Ross, Gorey, Johnstown ///

Kerry... Sat 15th (8:30am)... Glenageenty Trail Marathon... €40... NE Kerry...
Kerry... Sat 15th (9:30am)... Glenageenty Trail Half-Marathon... €30...
Kerry... Sat 15th (10:30am)... Glenageenty Trail 10k... €20...

Cork... Sat 15th (9:30am)... Jingle Jog/Walk in Rosscarbery... €5... POSTPONED
Kerry... Sat 15th (10am)... Barradubh Santa 5k Fun Run / Walk... €7... Also 2.5k option...
Cork... Sat 15th (12 noon)... Glanmire 5k Santa Charity Fun Run... €20...

Sun 16th (9:30am)... 2k Junior parkruns - Various locations - Free
Cork - Cobh /// Limerick - Shelbourne Park /// Kerry - Tralee /// Wexford - Heritage Park ///

Cork... Sun 16th (9:30am)... Cloyne Commons 4k... €5... info...
Clare... Sun 16th (10:30am)... Run Santa Run Ennis... €5... Clare County Council Car Park... in aid of Clare Crusaders Clinic...
Kerry... Sun 16th (11am)... Tralee 5km Santa Fun Run... €10...

Cork... Sun 16th (1pm)... Newmarket Christmas Classic 5k road race... €15 on the day... organised by Duhallow AC ...info...

Race calendar... http://corkrunning.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html

End of the road for the Tralee Marathon

After several years of decline, it looks as if it's the end of the road for the Tralee Marathon in Co.Kerry. Usually held around St.Patrick's Day in March, the full marathon had just 139 finishers this year.

The first year of the Tralee Marathon was back in 2013 and at the time, there was a lot of excitement with runners in Kerry opting to do a marathon in their home county. Over time however, several other marathons and half-marathons started up and the numbers gradually declined.

As can be seen from the graph above, the full has been in decline since the inaugural event and it hit its lowest point in 2018. Once the numbers get below a certain level, it's hard to justify a full marathon event.

The event is now being rebranded as the Tralee Harriers Half-Marathon and 10k going forward.

From the organisers..."With declining numbers over the last few years we have taken the decision of not running a full marathon but we will have a 1/2 marathon and 10km on Saturday 16th March 2019"

Addendum : It looks as if there is another marathon in Tralee on the 20th of April and it is a stand alone event. Despite its name, it looks like a completely different event to the one that is cancelled. It is also on the same day as two other half-marathons in Kerry so it will probably be a low key marathon like some of the MCI events.

Latest update on the Haulbowline Island works

Cork County Council recently released a video about the remediation works on Haulbowline Island in Cork harbour and it can be seen below.

While the photo above shows how a new layer of topsoil was placed on the site, the new video shows how it is beginning to turn slightly green as the grass begins to grow. By the time the Spring growth takes off in 2019, it should be more or less completely green with just the paths visible.

The Council have said that the new amenity will have a 2km trail which would include a distance marked 1 km loop to facilitate people being able to measure every 200m. It would also have two public toilets and car parking on site.

Update : The provisional date for opening is May 2019

More info about the project in this previous post.

News item from Cork County Council - 14th Dec 2018

Guest Post : JOHN O’LEARY’S AMAZING RECORD...by John Walshe

Congratulations to Cork runner John O'Leary who is now 80 years old and moves into the M80 category! To mark the occasion, the following article written by John Walshe for the Leevale AC  50th anniversary book 'Leevale - Home of Champions' has been updated for John's birthday. 

JOHN O’LEARY’S AMAZING RECORD...By John Walshe

Of the 31 runners who ran the first Ballycotton ‘10’ back in 1978, 12 were from the Leevale club. However, for one of that dozen it is not the ten-mile race that holds the most memories but the Ballycotton Summer Series of five milers.

Later in that year of 1978, John O’Leary ran the Shanagarry ‘5’ and so started an incredible sequence that saw the Douglas man take part in a total of 154 consecutive races in the Series. But not alone did he reach that colossal number but he also achieved a milestone in running that will never be surpassed – that of finishing in first place in his age category in a staggering 123 of these events.

John took up running somewhat late in life, as his first sporting involvement was with Douglas Hall soccer club, both as a founder member and as a coach. “I was with them for around 10 years and we used to train at Castletreasure pitch,” he recalls. “As I was then in my late thirties I said I should do something about getting myself fit, so I started running in the field and I eventually ventured out in the dark and ran four miles. I said if I can keep this going for the four seasons, regardless of the weather, I will take up running for good.”

Luckily for John, across the road from his home in Gartan Park lived Jerry Murphy, then one of Cork’s outstanding distance runners. “It was Jerry who got me involved in Leevale and then the late Mick Harte started coaching me, but it was Jerry more than anyone else who influenced me.”

John’s first race was an international four-mile event at Loughrea and he also remembers the first cross-country medal he won: “It was a County Novice ‘B’ race and one of my team-mates on the Leevale team that day was Marcus O’Sullivan, who would go on to win three World Indoor titles.”

Finish of the 2018 BHAA 5k Simon race

He won his first road race prize at that Shanagarry race in 1978 and the following year, having turned 40, won his first category prize. As he moved up the age categories, he continued his amazing winning progression. He was unbeaten in the M55 age-group with 20 wins and won the M60 category on 19 occasions and continued into both the M70 and M75 categories.,

“I took up running as a science, not as a sport. I wanted to see what the body could go through and that helped me. I always knew when to ease off and I also knew the meaning of the word recovery,” concludes this remarkable man, who will celebrate his 80th birthday this month of December, 2018.

John O'Leary at the last Ballycotton 5 race in August 2017

A full list of John Walshe's articles can be found here... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/p/john-walshe.html

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC wins National 20k Race Walk Championships

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC took another huge step back to the top level of race walking this morning at the national 20 k championships held in St Anne's Park Raheny Dublin. Kate took gold in a huge new personal best 1.37.54 knocking almost 5 minutes off her previous best .

Kate's time also was inside the qualifying times for two significant races in 2019
The European cup of race walking and the World universities games but she will have to wait as selection will be decided by Athletics Ireland in the near future.

Updated on 13th Dec...
Interview on WLRFM... Listen from 01:08:20 to 01:15:00

Elite entries for the 2019 Dungarvan 10 mile race

The normal round of entries for the 2019 John Treacy 10 mile road race in Dungarvan closed at the start of November. They are however accepting 'Elite Entries' and the standard required is shown below...

From West Waterford AC..."If you wish to apply as an elite runner please send your information to info AT westwaterfordathletics DOT org stating your name, date of birth, club and fastest time and location for either half marathon or 10 mile race ran in the last 3 years.

Half Marathon time: Under 1.20 for men (1.30 for women)
10 Mile Time: Under 60 mins for men (65 for women)"

The race starts at 1:30pm on Sunday the 3rd of February 2019.

New development at UCC Farm to start in early 2019

It looks as if part of the UCC Farm is going to be developed in 2019 with work likely to commence early in the year.

The first two pitches on the left as you enter the UCC Farm will be developed with new buildings being constructed. This was flagged several years back but the economic climate was different back then.

Back in mid  2013, the first building was supposed to go up in late 2014 so the timeline for this project is over 4 years behind.

Many local runners use the UCC Farm for short training runs as the softer surface makes a welcome change from the pounding on the roads and footpaths. By running around the perimeter and staying off the playing pitches, there is a nice 2.25 mile loop. Obviously the new development will make those loops shorter.

Previous posts about the development HERE

The image below shows what the UCC Farm may look like eventually...
 

It's going to take some time before it's completely developed but 2019 should mark the year when it started.