Google+ Running in Cork, Ireland

Wednesday, September 02, 2026

Results of the Run the Line 5k in Carrigaline - Sat 29th Aug 2026

These are the results of the Run the Line timed 5k on Saturday the 29th of August 2026 on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven Greenway.


 

Tuesday, September 01, 2026

New 5k parkrun starting in Dungarvan!


It was announced recently that a new 5k parkrun is on the way for Dungarvan in Co Waterford! 

It looks like it will be on the Waterford Greenway and the start and finish will be near the Railway Cottage in Ballinroad which is about 4kms to the east of Dungarvan town.


I had a look at a map and they can fit in a 2.5km out and back course between the Railway Cottage and the first set of gates. If this is the case then it will be very like the Midleton Greenway parkrun.

It would seem as if plans for the new parkrun are at an advanced stage and they are looking for volunteers. The provisional start date is for sometime in October of 2026.

There is an information evening at the Park Hotel, Dungarvan, on Thursday, 24th September 2026 at 7pm if anyone is interested in finding out more and how to get involved.

For more info, email Thomas at tshawhamilton AT waterfordsportspartnership DOT ie

Once launched, Dungarvan parkrun will take place every Saturday at 9.30am from the Railway Cottage on the Waterford Greenway.

Business of Sport: How the Sub-2 Marathon Shows Athletics’ Big Problem

This video from the Business of Sport team looks at the finances within athletics and it should be of interest to anyone with an interest in the sport.

Video is from April 2026.

Monday, August 31, 2026

Notice: Cloughduv 5k on Wed 2nd Sept 2026



This timed 5k is coming up in the village of Cloughduv on Wednesday the 2nd of September 2026 at 7:00pm.

With the evenings closing in, this is one of the last evening races. Entry is on the night.

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Results of the Chris Harrington Memorial 5k in Tramore Valley Park - Sun 30th Aug 2026


The Chris Harrington Memorial 5k organised by Leevale AC was held in Tramore Valley Park on Sun 30th of Aug 2026 and there were 221 finishers.

Top 3 men & women...
1 Luke Merrigan (#1691) 15:36 Under 18 (1) Male  (1)
2 Mark Walsh (#1619) Leevale A.C. 15:43 35-49 (1) Male  (2)
3 Barry Donovan (#1623) Leevale A.C. 16:08 35-49 (2) Male  (3)
6 Jane Buckley (#1620) 16:27 Senior (1) Female  (1)
8 Hannah Smith (#1639) 17:25 Senior (2) Female  (2)
9 Michelle Kenny (#1611) Leevale A.C. 17:31 35-49 (1) Female  (3)

Full results HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has three galleries... a) Album 1 b) Album 2 c) Album 3

2) Gearóid Ó Laoi also has three galleries... a) Album 1 b) Album 2 c) Album 3

23:23 for former Irish international rugby player Donncha O'Callaghan


Results & Photos of the Waterford Greenway Half-Marathon - Sat 29th Aug 2026

Wet start for the 2026 Waterford Greenway Half-Marathon

The big race in Munster this weekend was the Waterford Greenway Half-Marathon which sold out months ago. There were 712 finishers this year which is up 7.4% on last year despite the rain and wet conditions.

Full results HERE

West Waterford AC committee members and Track Fund committee members along with European under-18 800 meters silver medallist Isabelle Gaffney at this year's Waterford Greenway half marathon. All proceeds from the event were donated to the track fund. Pictured L/R Declan O'Callaghan, Kevin Forde, Isabelle Gaffney, Cait Verling and Tom Leahy

Photos...
1) West Waterford AC have the following galleries...
a) Start and Finish 1 b) Finish 2 c) Finish 3 d) Finish 4 e) Finish 5 f) Finish 6

2) John Troy has some photos of the start HERE

First 5 women (L-R)… Jean Lucey (875) 5th, Shona Keane, Dooneen AC (907) 2nd, Ciara Wilson, DMP AC (952) 1st, Evita Volginaite, Glanmire AC (950) 3rd & Marie Howard, Leevale AC (950) 4th

First 5 men (L-R)... David Power, Rathfarnham WSAF AC (380) 5th, Dermot Gorman, Carrick on Suir AC (529) 4th, Aidan Connell, West Waterford AC (315) 3rd, Evan Fitzgerald, West Waterford AC (542) 1st & Peter Tuohy (375) 2nd


Prize winners below...

Prize Winners Waterford Greenway Half 29/08/2026

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Joanne Sullivan is the first person in Cork to complete 500 parkruns!


29th of August 2026 - A little bit of parkrun history was made this weekend when Joanne Sullivan became the first person in Co Cork to complete 500 parkruns! 

Not only is this a big milestone for Joanne but it's an important milestone for parkrun in Co Cork as a whole as we finally have someone in the county reaching the blue 500 mark.

Some stats...

1) The very first parkrun in Co Cork was in Macroom in May of 2013. The second parkrun was Clonakilty in February of 2014 and Bere Island was the third event to start in August of 2014.

2) Joanne completed her 500th parkrun on the 12th birthday of the Bere Island event.

3) Joanne was a volunteer for the very first Bere Island parkrun on Sat 30th of Aug 2014. Joanne's first run was at the Bere Island parkrun the following week.

4) Amazingly, all 500 of Joanne's parkruns have been at the Bere Island event, there were no visits to other parkruns.

5) Joanne also has an impressive 489 volunteer credits!

Here's to 1000! 





Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 29th Aug 2026



Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 29th August 2026. Approximately 965 runners and walkers took part in the 10 events in Co Cork.

Glen River... The one and only Mick Dooley congratulating Olive McCarthy on completing her 400th parkrun at the Glen River event this weekend. Olive also earned her 200th volunteer credit!


At the same event, Danielle O'Flynn completed a century of parkruns...



Ballincollig... Yvonne Hackett completed her 50th parkrun at the Ballincollig Regional Park.




Bere Island... This was the 12th birthday of the 5k parkrun on Bere Island!

Joanne Sullivan became the first person in Cork to complete 500 parkruns! See separate post HERE

Well done to Jack Barry who completed his 2nd century! All 200 of Jack'd parkruns were on Bere Island.


Macroom... Diarmuid Holland completed his 250th 5k parkrun with 240 at the Macroom event.


Visitor Oliver Munn from the UK reached 200.


Youghal... There is no parkrun in Youghal for the foreseeable future so we're back to ten parkruns in Co Cork every week going forward. See this previous post.

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

Upcoming milestones....
Macroom is the oldest parkrun in Co Cork and they will be holding their 600th event on the 24th of October 2026.

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Guest Post: Castlehaven parkrun report ...by Pat Walsh


* Castlehaven parkrun report *

We had a lovely visit last Saturday to this most quaint and beautiful parkrun. A nice jog on a woodland trail but book-ended by some unique performances.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Runner Gerry O'Boyle to run coast of East Cork - 27th to 30th Aug 2026


Gerry O'Boyle will be running along the coast of east Cork from Thurs 27th to Sun 30th of August and he would welcome any company.

Gerry writes... "I've been running around the coast of Ireland for the last nine years. (running a few times every month) I've already covered the provinces of Ulster, Connacht and most of Munster. It's 5,396km so far around the Irish coast - and I've reached..... Midleton. 

I wll be running on the Thursday evening (27th), Friday morning (28th) and Sunday morning (30th) when I hope to reach Youghal. On the Saturday I'll just do the parkrun in Midleton. I try to stick to the coast as much as possible and I'm hoping you guys can help especially with the section between Ballycotton and Roches Point."

See blog for more detail... https://cliftoncoastalrun.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Clonmel Half-Marathon numbers for 2026


The 2026 edition of the Clonmel Half-Marathon was held on Sunday the 23rd of August.

Results HERE

There were 467 finishers which is up 6.6% on 2025 but as can be seen from the chart above, it is still well down on the historical peaks pre-2020.

Why the big drop?... If we go back about a decade ago, the Clonmel event was kind of the main half-marathon in Munster if you wanted to do one in August.

Compare that to 2026. There was a half-marathon in Limerick City at the start of August. Then there was the Youghal Bay half-marathon a week later with almost 1000 finishers. The Clonmel half was on the 23rd and the Waterford Greenway half-marathon which has sold out is coming up next weekend.

As most runners will choose to do a local event, the net effect is that the catchment area of the Clonmel Half has shrunk. Looking forward, it's likely that the Clonmel numbers will stay at the 400-500 mark unless some other new event starts up putting more pressure on it.

Monday, August 24, 2026

Haulbowline Junior parkrun reaches 100-events - 23rd Aug 2026


Junior parkruns are for 4-14 year olds, are 2kms in length and are held every Sunday morning. The junior parkrun on Haulbowline Island in Cork harbour celebrated its 100th edition on Sunday 23rd of August 2026.

Here are some stats...

1) The inaugural event was on Sun 14th of January 2024. The 100th event was about 2-years and 7-months later.

2) There were 75 finishers for the 100th event which was the 5th highest ever and was the highest in over two years.

3) The numbers for all 100 editions are shown in the chart below. As can be seen, the numbers have been gradually dropping.

4) The average number of finishers for all 100-events is 31. The average number of finishers in 2025 was 26 and the average for the number of finishers so far for 2026 is 19.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Michael Harty of East Cork AC sets new M45 National Half-Marathon record in Antrim


On Sunday the 23rd of August, Michael Harty of East Cork AC posted a time of 1h 05m 58s in the 2026 Antrim Coast Half-Marathon. Subject to ratification, this is a new M45 National Half-Marathon record.

29 Michael HARTY #138 01:05:57 01:05:58 M M45 East Cork AC

Back at the start of July, Michael broke the M45 record for 10k at the Coillte 10k in Dundrum, Tipperary.

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 22nd Aug 2026



Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 22nd August 2026. Approximately 1298 runners and walkers took part in the 10 events in Co Cork.

Report... Another lovely sunny Saturday morning although you can feel the temperature dopping a bit now that we're near the end of August. It was 12 deg C at Cork Airport this morning.

Most parkruns... The person with the most parkruns this week is -

Ballincollig... Ballincollig retakes its place as the largest parkrun in Co Cork this week. Siobhan Collins completed her 250th parkrun (227 at Ballincollig). David Butler hits the century mark (95 at Ballincollig).

Mallow... Donna Keogh completed her 100th parkrun (84 at Mallow).



Glengarriff... Irene Cradick from the UK completed her 100th parkrun.

Bere Island... Elisabeth Storey from the UK completed her 250th parkrun! Linda Harrington reaches 200 (178 at Glengarriff) and Edward Stel hits the century mark (97 at Bere Is).

Youghal... There is no parkrun in Youghal for the foreseeable future so we're back to ten parkruns in Co Cork every week going forward. See this previous post.

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

Upcoming milestones....
Macroom is the oldest parkrun in Co Cork and they will be holding their 600th event on the 24th of October 2026.

Bere Island will be 12-years old on the 29th of August 2026.

Guest Post: The Bear and the Wolf ...by Pat Walsh

 * The Bear and the Wolf *

Oh, someday girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go, and we'll walk in the sun
But 'til then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
….. Springsteen

What a fantastic Summer we have had and while all hope isn’t lost yet for the rest of August and September we have to admit the evenings are drawing in. It was fantastic to be able to pull on shorts, t-shirt, running shoes and out the door. No need to worry about cold or rain. I went for a cycle one day and it took me 20 minutes to get the bike out of the shed, pump the tyres, oil the chain, test the brakes and the gears and then find my helmet and glasses. I would have a few Kms done at that stage running.

I do honestly think it is hard-wired genetically into our DNA to just run. Nothing mad fast, but enough to be moving and stay ahead of the bears and the wolves that chased us when we put our nose outside of the cave a few thousand years ago. We were running then and we evolved and graduated to running around a field or a mountain trying to mind goats and sheep. We have always ran. Nowadays the beauty is that we have a choice for our health and mental sanity. We are blessed to be able to do it.

There is no mention of triathlons or kite-surfing in the annals of ancient Ireland and no sport except for Cú Chulainn hitting a ball around the place with an old stick. People either walked or ran. The bicycle is less than 200 years old and you only swam back then when you fell out of a boat. We were born to run. There were running events in the Greek Olympics 2500 years ago. Some, like Mark English must have had very fast ancestors but I think I’m more related to Fred Flintstone. My instinct and breeding is to be in the middle of the field, the safest place to be in the history of human evolution.

Of course it is important to do different things and try our hand at every type of exercise. But when all is said and done you can’t beat an easy run, with good company in a peaceful scenic location and the sun shining down on us. It was also nice to be able to go for a coffee afterwards without the fear of hypothermia from wet gear and a biting cold wind. I know the farmers are worried about the lack of rain but as my lawnmower is enjoying a restful summer then I’m not complaining.


I met some lovely people while I travelled around this Summer and those beautiful memories can help shorten whatever winter lies ahead. Running is a great way of socially mixing, strangers in a race become buddies as the miles go on, and many a kind word is exchanged at the finish line.

Thanks to all for saying hello and your very kind comments about my posts. They are welcomed and valued. I write about what I see and feel as I run. Keep getting out to run and socialize, it is part of your nature and no fear nowadays of the bears and the wolves.

'I write to see and the seeing is through language'.. McGahern

Please don’t ever take me seriously.

#Keeponrunning

#pwr