Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 31st Oct 2026

Saturday 31st of October 2026 - After the torrent of rain and cancellations of last Saturday, there was a full house of parkruns in Co Cork this weekend.

It's amazing to see what a difference the weather makes, both Ballincollig and Tramore Valley more than tripled their number of finishers this week compared to last week.

Macroom celebrated its 600th event and had over 100 finishers, they haven't had over 100 since January of this year.

There were a number of visitors to the new Carrigaline parkrun this weekend and the numbers were at 79 which is fine for this narrow course.

There was a total of 1372 finishers across the eleven events.

Milestones... 

Midleton... Eibhlin Cleary completed her 100th parkrun this weekend and most of them were in Midleton and Youghal.

Tramore Valley... David Lynch completed his 100th parkrun this weekend.

Ballincollig... Martin Lynch taking halloween costumes to the next level when he completed his 300th 5k parkrun at the Ballincollig event this weekend.

23:24 in a clown suit!

At the same event, Peter Shanahan completed his 100th parkrun and 94 of these were at Ballincollig.

Macroom... The Macroom event is the oldest parkrun in Co Cork and it celebrated it's 600th edition this weekend!

Glengarriff... Well done to Peter O'Brien who earned his 100th volunteer credit!

Bere Island... Edel Murphy completed her 499th parkrun! Just one to go.

Results...

Tramore Valley Park - Number of finishers - This week 329, last week 89

Top 3 men & women...

1 Eoghan O'CONNOR Male SM20-24 Belgooly AC 14:50

2 Andrew HINDS Male SM18-19 14:55

3 Naoise MACNIFICO MAC MURCHADHA Male SM18-19 15:51

22 Eilish MALCOLM Female SW25-29 19:35

25 Niamh CRONIN Female VW50-54 St Finbarrs AC 19:48

44 Maria INSA PRAT Female SW25-29 22:04

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/226/

Ballincollig - Number of finishers - This week 316, last week 95

Top 3 men & women...

1 Sheldon KIRKWOOD Male VM40-44 Leevale AC 18:22

2 Trevor WOODS Male  VM55-59 Cork Triathlon Club 19:23

3 Jim POWER Male SM25-29 19:34

30 Davina FENTON Female VW45-49 Ballinora National School 22:53

36 Ciara FITZPATRICK Female VW40-44 23:14

38 Georgia BURNETT Female SW25-29 23:23

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/448/

Glen River - Number of finishers - This week 67, last week 28

Top 3 men & women...

1 Donal FALLON Male VM40-44 Mt. Hillary AC 19:47

2 Liam CUNNINGHAM Male VM50-54 Fr Murphy Athletic Club 19:52

3 Diarmuid DEASY Male SM20-24 20:16

14 Mags HASSETT Female VW50-54 St Finbarrs AC 24:11

15 Niamh SHEEHAN Female VW35-39 Togher AC 24:34

18 Eileen KENNY Female VW75-79 St Finbarrs AC 24:55

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/335/

Carrigaline - Number of finishers - This week 79, last week 53.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Evan FITZGERALD Male SM25-29 West Waterford AC 14:54

2 Peter FENYVESI Male VM50-54 18:40

3 Aaron HORNIBROOK Male VM40-44 19:06

15 Liz O'BRIEN Female VW55-59 23:17

28 Anne Marie SHEEHAN Female VW40-44 Eagle A.C. 25:37

29 Aisling ODONOGHUE Female VW35-39 Team Fitness Goose Running 25:51

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/corkharbourgreenwaycarrigaline/results/3/

Midleton Greenway - Number of finishers - This week 197, last week 76

Top 3 men & women...

1 Darren MCCANN Male VM40-44 17:06

2 Andy GOULDING Male VM40-44 Leevale AC 17:36

3 Martin COLLIER Male VM45-49 17:47

10 Fiona RIORDAN Female SW30-34 Glanmire A.C 19:46

29 Anna ERFURTH Female VW40-44 22:19

31 Sinead FITZGERALD Female VW50-54 22:31

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/midletongreenway/results/89/

Mallow Castle - Number of finishers - This week 91, last week CANCELLED

Top 3 men & women...

1 Vinny GRIMES Male VM35-39 18:34

2 Finbarr ODWYER Male VM50-54 19:37

3 Will CHARLTON Male SM30-34 20:26

10 Elaine O'CALLAGHAN Female VW40-44 22:48

12 Edel BUCKLEY Female VW40-44 22:55

13 Bernadette O'DRISCOLL Female SW30-34 22:56

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/252/

Macroom Demesne - Number of finishers - This week 101, last week CANCELLED

Top 3 men & women...

1 Jude MURPHY Male SM18-19 18:37

2 Steven O'KEEFFE Male VM35-39 19:14

3 Cian MCPARLAND Male VM45-49 St Finbarrs AC 19:32

6 Chloe MCCARTHY Female JW15-17 21:04

18 Ellen BURKE Female SW20-24 22:56

33 Karena NÍ CHÁRTHAIGH Female VW45-49 West Muskerry A.C. 26:35

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/600/

Glengarriff - Number of finishers - This week 61, last week CANCELLED

Top 3 men & women...

1 Jonathan NEVILLE Male VM35-39 18:37

2 Liam OCONNOR Male VM50-54 20:21

3 Finn CONNER Male JM15-17 21:14

6 Sharon LEVIS Female VW45-49 24:38

14 Marian MINEHANE Female VW40-44 27:24

18 Catherine BELAIR Female VW35-39 30:06

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/477/

Bere Island - Number of finishers - This week 65, last week 15

Top 3 men & women...

1 Joe O NEILL Male SM25-29 20:34

3 Cyril MCNAMARA Male VM60-64 21:48

4 Garry HILLIARD Male VM50-54 St Michael's AC 23:14

2 Genevieve COLLINS Female VW35-39 20:42

6 Farrah O SULLIVAN Female JW15-17 24:45

8 Laoise Ann O SULLIVAN Female JW11-14 25:34

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/569/

Castlehaven - Number of finishers - 19 this week, 10 last week

Top 3 men & women...

1 Florence FITZGERALD Male VM35-39 22:08

2 Stephen CONNOLLY Male VM45-49 23:41

3 Ben PITTON BRADY Male JM11-14 25:10

9 Celine BUCKLEY Female VW55-59 Castlehaven GAA 31:47

17 Therese LYNCH Female VW65-69 35:46

18 Geraldine RYAN Female VW60-64 Dunboyne AC 36:24

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/489/

 
Clonakilty - Number of finishers - 47 this week, CANCELLED last week

Top 3 men & women...

1 Simon NOLAN Male VM40-44 17:11

2 Tiarnan O DONOGHUE Male SM18-19 Togher AC 18:01

3 Alex O SHEA Male VM50-54 St Finbarrs AC 19:19

13 Deirdre MCCARTHY Female VW45-49 Manchester Tri Club 23:25

15 Anna O'NEILL Female VW55-59 23:32

16 Saibh GILBERT Female JW10 23:34

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/554/

*************

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

Guest Post: Halloween ...by Pat Walsh

 ** 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

Maryborough to Carrs Hill Link to open soon - Nov 2026

 

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.

What Cork runners have completed 100 parkruns at more than one event???

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.

1) Proinnsias O'Keeffe (Ballincollig 156 & 140)

2) Olive McCarthy (Glen River 169 & Ballincollig 117)

There are a few others that are closing in on a century at a second parkrun

a) Batt Kearney (Macroom 185 & Ballincollig 90)

b) Tony Cooney (Macroom 106 & Ballincollig 85)

c) Sam De Lint (Tramore Valley 118 & Longford 96)

Ursula Cooney has just to do a few more parkruns to get a double century over the line (Ballincollig  98 & Macroom 96).

If anyone knows of any more then let me know. To keep things Cork based then at least one of the parkruns must be in Co Cork.

Cloyne 4k Winter Series - Nov 2026 to Mar 2027

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)

There are no hidden charges, online fees, one-day licence fees or other add-on's, you just turn up on the day and throw €5 into the biscuit tin.

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.

Notice: Newmarket 5k road race - Sun 6th Dec 2026

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.

From Duhallow AC... "‘’One of the Fastest 5ks in Ireland‘’

Join us as we celebrate 15 YEARS OF FAST RUNNING at one of Ireland's premier 5K races!

🏁 FAST, FLAT & ACCURATE COURSE

⏱️ Chip timed by MyRunResults

🎯 Perfect for chasing that end-of-year PB!

👕 Exclusive race top for the first 750 online entries (Update: Very limited tops, remaining sizes not guaranteed)

Race tops can be collected by eligible athletes who entered in the first 750 online  at race hq the morning of the race time to be confirmed.  

No on the day entries

Race HQ is the HI-LAND, Newmarket, Co Cork P51CY62

📬 Race numbers posted out this year!

📅 Sunday, 6th December 2026

🕐 1:00 PM

📍 Newmarket, Co. Cork

🏃 Open to ages 13+

👏 A massive thank you to our main sponsor Ayrton Group and all our fantastic local sponsors for their continued support!

🚨 DON'T LEAVE IT TOO LATE! 🚨

👉 ENTER NOW: https://eventmaster.ie/event/QK4vtnKSOy

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🔥 CALLING ALL RUNNERS & RUNNING CLUBS! 🔥🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🏅 NEW FOR 2026 – CLUB TEAM PRIZE MEDALS! 🏅

‘Prizes for one of the Fastest 5ks in Ireland and one of the biggest prize funds over €6000

1st Athlete home wins the Jerh Murphy Perpetual Cup

Prize Fund (ALL CASH)

€350 1st Man and Woman / €250 2nd man and woman / €200 3rd man and woman

Bonus Cash Prize €150 for Breaking course Record – (Men’s- 14:06) (Women’s – 15.49)

1st 6 men and Women over the line

1st Three Juniors Boys & Girls

1st Three Veterans Men over 40,45,50,55,60,65,70,75,80

1st Three Veterans Women over 35, 40,45,50,55,60,65,70,75,80

1st Wheelchair Athlete male/female

1st visually impaired athlete  male/ female 

All prizes will be presented at 14:30pm Sharp at Race HQ

Contact: Donie 086-8149970, Jerry 086-8050821, Jerh 089-4794529

AAI PERMIT GRANTED

Everyone competing in this race are doing so at their own risk, Duhallow A.C. accept no responsibility or liability for any injury, loss of damage to persons or property

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

Results of the Dublin City Marathon - Sun 25th Oct 2026

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 

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...

1) Derek Costello has the following galleries...
part 1   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1695553712573760&type=3
part 2   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1695559655906499&type=3
part 3   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1695571795905285&type=3
part 4   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1695571795905285&type=3

2) Joe Murphy has loads of pics...

a) Album 1 b) Album 2 c) Album 3 d) Album 4 e) Album 5 f) Album 6 g) Album 7 h) Start 1 i) Start 2 j) Start 3 k) Start 4 l) Start 5 m) Album 8 n) Album 9 o) Album 10 p) Album 11 q) Album 12 r) Album 13

4952. 6005 David Gillick M M40 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. 3:35:58

4954. 6004 Charlotte Gillick W W40 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. 3:35:58

Very long video showing the finish line...

Weather for the 2026 Dublin Marathon...

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.

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 24th Oct 2026

Saturday 24th of October 2026 - There was a huge drop in numbers for the 5k parkruns in Co Cork with heavy rain crossing over Ireland this morning. It might be tempting to think the Dublin marathon had something to do with the drop but the same Saturday last year saw over 1200 parkrunners taking part. 

Most people just saw the weather forecast and gave it a miss. The numbers for both Tramore Valley and Ballincollig were surprisingly low with just 89 and 95 respectively. Mallow, Macroom, Glengarriff and Clonakilty were cancelled.

The one plus is that the rain supressed the attendance at the second edition in Carrigaline which helps in a little way to keep the initial surge in numbers down.

There was a total of 366 finishers across the seven events.

Milestones... 

Carrigaline... Well done to Graham Meikle who earned his 400th parkrun volunteer credit this weekend!

Ballincollig... Ann O'Sullivan completed her 250th parkrun.

Clonakilty... The 5k parkrun was cancelled on Saturday morning after the heavy rain turned part of the course into a stream.

Results...

Tramore Valley Park - Number of finishers - This week 89, last week 294

Top 3 men & women...

1 Michael O REGAN Male VM50-54 19:02 

2 Ciarán MURRAY Male VM45-49 Togher AC 19:13

3 Stephen O' DONOGHUE Male VM50-54 19:52

19 Paula MULCAHY Female VW50-54 24:11

24 Poppy LAWTON Female JW11-14 24:53

25 Pia RUTH Female SW18-19 24:54

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/225/

Ballincollig - Number of finishers - This week 95, last week 305

Top 3 men & women...

1 Diarmuid O'SULLIVAN Male SM20-24 19:03

2 Trevor WOODS Male VM55-59 Cork Triathlon Club 19:58

3 Tom LEE Male VM45-49 Westport AC 20:20

11 Davina FENTON Female VW45-49 Ballinora National School 22:43

16 Claire O'SULLIVAN Female VW35-39 23:29

34 Jill O'DONNELL Female SW30-34 26:03

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/447/

Glen River - Number of finishers - This week 28, last week 72

Top 3 men & women...

1 Aaron HORNIBROOK Male VM35-39 20:05

2 Matthew DEEGAN Male VM35-39 Greenock Glenpark Harriers 20:07

3 Glen HOARE Male VM45-49 21:59

9 Maura FITZGERALD Female VW35-39 24:23

14 Deirdre FITZGIBBON Female VW45-49 31:01

15 Imelda LYONS Female VW45-49 32:33

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/334/

Carrigaline - Number of finishers - This week 53, last week 48.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Donal FALLON Male VM40-44 Mt. Hillary AC 19:17

2 Jose Manuel PABON Male VM40-44 Ealing Eagles Running Club 19:36

3 Cillian KEHOE Male SM18-19 19:40

16 Áine NÍ MHURCHÚ Female SW30-34 24:49

25 Zita HOEY Female VW40-44 27:37

28 Bea MCCARTHY Female SW30-34 28:20

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/corkharbourgreenwaycarrigaline/results/2/

Midleton Greenway - Number of finishers - This week 76, last week 166

Top 3 men & women...

1 Jack HIGGINS Male JM15-17 19:44

2 Philip DOYLE Male VM50-54 Brothers Pearse AC 20:36

3 Shane SCANLAN Male VM35-39 20:42

4 Caroline MONK Female JW15-17 Celtic DCH 20:54

9 Pamela BARRY Female VW50-54 Aghada Running Club 22:05 

19 Victoria WARD Female SW25-29 24:28

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/midletongreenway/results/88/

Mallow Castle - Number of finishers - This week CANCELLED, last week 77

Top 3 men & women...

Full results... 

Macroom Demesne - Number of finishers - This week CANCELLED, last week 59

Top 3 men & women...

Full results... 

Glengarriff - Number of finishers - This week CANCELLED, last week 52

Top 3 men & women...

Full results... 

Bere Island - Number of finishers - This week 47, last week 42

Top 3 men & women...

1 Edward STEL Male VM55-59 25:56

5 Breandan MURPHY Male SM20-24 33:57

6 John MACLEOD Male VM75-79 38:04

2 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 26:16

3 Joanne SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 31:47

4 Edel MURPHY Female VW55-59 33:43 

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/568/

Castlehaven - Number of finishers - 10 this week, 21 last week

Top 3 men & women...

1 James LAVERY Male SM30-34 23:40

2 Matthew O'RIORDAN Male SM30-34 Reading Roadrunners 28:12

4 Jude CHAPMAN Male VM40-44 30:52

3 Caroline CHAPMAN Female VW40-44 30:51

5 Celine BUCKLEY Female VW55-59 Castlehaven GAA 34:11

6 Tracey POPHAM Female VW45-49 35:42

Full results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/488/

 
Clonakilty - Number of finishers - CANCELLED this week, 56 last week

Top 3 men & women...

Full results... 

*************

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

Guest Post: Dublin City Marathon... by Pat Walsh

 * Dublin City Marathon *

Best of luck to all taking part this weekend in our premier marathon in this country. I do hope that everything goes well and that all the hopes and dreams come to fruition. Bit of FOMO on my part but I know I can’t do it and have reached acceptance. I’m sitting writing this post with Storm Austen turning my garden in a swimming pool and the roof rattling. It doesn’t seem long since we were relaxing in the evening sunshine with a chilled beer. Forecast is good for Sunday and ideal for a marathon. 

‘ O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, ‘

For those going to Dublin can I offer some advice. Relax and enjoy it.

For those at the front end have their own game plan and tactics but for ordinary Joe it is a day to savour. Years to come you will look back and let it be a day you will cherish and talk about with friends. 

Relax before the start as much as you can. Conserve the energy needed for the later miles. The most important tip I can give is to start slowly. It is always a shuffle anyway with huge numbers but just settle in and let the miles pass by. Too many people set out too fast and nothing in the tank for later. Take on fuel and water as early as possible to offset later fatigue.

I won’t bore you with too much more but just put on a smile, embrace the day, the occasion, your fellow participants and the supporters. It is a notch on the belt of life if you do many more or never again run a marathon. 

When you finish a marathon, will you ever run one again? Hopefully yes but maybe no. You need time, luck, health, family, friends and a good birth cert. No guarantees in the journey of life.

Remember your finishing time isn’t engraved on the medal. Everyone receives the same momento. How you enjoyed the experience is personal to you. Time doesn’t matter.

“The sun rose and set in a land of dreams whether the clocks where right or wrong.”

Pic below from 2016 is myself and Patrick Kavanagh when we used to have the bants on the banks of the canal after every DCM. I have a pic of myself and Paddy after every DCM I ever ran.

Best of luck everyone. Go and make memories.

#pwr  #dublincitymarathon

Note that some parkruns in Cork are cancelled - Sat 24th Oct 2026

Please note that the following 5k parkruns are cancelled...

Mallow Castle

Macroom Demesne 

Glengarriff

The inaugural parkrun problem...

The chart above shows the number of finishers at the Midleton Greenway 5k parkrun from the first event in February 2025 to early October 2026.

The chart clearly shows the initial surge with over 600 participants and the following three weeks were all around 300. The current average so far for 2026 is about 150 and the chart shows that it took about two months to drop down to that level.

This parkrun was announced well in advance so a lot of people got to know about it and hence, 600 plus turn up for the inaugural run.

This creates a lot of problems for the organisers from available parking to space on the course. It also puts huge pressure on the volunteers trying to cope with these huge numbers.

The photo above is from the start of the inaugural Midleton parkrun and it shows the greenway full of runners just after the start. While this field will gradually thin out, the front runners will be turning back at the 2.5km mark and face all the runners going out.

Flatten the surge... Both of the new Carrigaline and Dungarvan parkruns started on the same day - Sat 17th Oct 2026. This was no accident. The start dates for both events were not made public and if it did leak out then there were two events to choose from.

This strategy worked and there were 48 finishers in Carrigaline and 144 in Dungarvan.

The problem now is that people know about the new events and there is a real risk that they'll be swamped for the first few weeks. Both Dungarvan and Carrigaline are out and back courses and the greenways are a lot narrower than Midleton.

I'd guess that the maximum comfortable capacity for the Dungarvan parkrun is probably about 240 while Carrigaline is about 120.

Narrow start for the Carrigaline parkrun

Parkrun Ireland are appealing to participants to consider delaying their visit to help flatten the initial surge.

Parkrun Ireland...  "Thinking of visiting an inaugural parkrun event? 🌳 

We understand that there’s something special about being there for a new event’s very first parkrun. Before you head along, it’s worth thinking about how you can best support the new volunteer team - not just on week one, but for weeks and months to come 🙌 

New events can sometimes experience a huge turnout on their inaugural day, with numbers far higher than expected. While it’s fantastic to see so much enthusiasm, a sudden influx of participants can also be challenging for a new team finding its feet. Large crowds can mean more pressure on volunteers, increased incidents, complaints from other park users and, in some cases, concerns from landowners about congestion or overcrowding.

One of the best ways you can support a new event is to spread the love 🧡 

If you’re planning to visit a new parkrun, consider making your first visit on week three, four or one of the following weeks. Your support is just as valuable then and it can make a real difference to an event as it settles into its regular rhythm.

And if you really want to be there for the inaugural, why not volunteer? Your extra pair of hands can be hugely valuable to a new team as they navigate their first ever event 🦺 

Every new parkrun is built by its volunteer community. So whether you visit on week one, week four or months down the line, your support can help a new event thrive and make it sustainable in the long term 👏 "

Notice: Churchtown 10-mile road race - Sat 14th Nov 2026

The Churchtown 10-mile road race in north Cork is coming up this year on Saturday 14th November 2026. The race starts at 10am. 

After a successful three years, this will be the fourth edition of this race. Please note that entries close on  Wednesday 11th November at 11:30pm.

Entries HERE

Churchtown is located just 4kms west of the N20 Cork to Limerick road so access couldn't be easier.

Parkrun website down due to 'maintenance' issues

Anyone checking the parkrun website for results or future volunteer rosters will have seen a message like the one above.

The 'Scheduled Maintenance' is most likely because the website will need to be updated as two critical security vulnerabilities have been identified which threaten sites using #PHP , a language present on nearly 70% of the web. These vulnerabilities can enable cyberattacks and data theft.

The Dungarvan 5k parkrun started on the 17th of Oct 2026

On the 17th of October 2026, two new 5k parkruns started in Munster... one in Carrigaline and one in Dungarvan.

A total of 144 runners and walkers took part in the inaugural Dungarvan event which starts in Ballinroad on the Dungarvan to Waterford City Greenway. Ballinroad is about 4 kms to the east of Dungarvan town.

The course itself is pretty much dead flat. It's 2.5 kms out, around a cone and 2.5 kms back.

It's hard to be sure what the long term average might be like but I think it might be about the same as Mallow which had an average of 72 finishers per event in 2025.

That would a reasonable number for an out and back course where space is limited. As can be seen from the photo below, the course is about 3-metres wide and would be unsuitable for say 200 plus with runners going in both directions.

The event website is https://www.parkrun.ie/dungarvangreenway/