Results of the Skibbereen 10k road race...Sun 29th Sept 2013

A total of 83 people took part in this 10k race in West Cork.

1st    33.06    Alan O'Shea    Senior    Bantry AC
2nd    34.08    Mark O'Sullivan    Senior    Bandon AC
3rd    34.1    John Collins    Senior    Skibbereen AC
11th    57.54    Carmel Crowley    F45    Bandon AC
19th    40.14    Anna O'Neill    F45   
25th    44.14    Deirdre Harrington    F40

The full results can be seen HERE

Wilson Kipsang sets new world record for Marathon in Berlin

Wilson Kipsang of Kenya won this years Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:03:23 setting a new world record for the event.

Fellow Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:05) and Geoffrey Kipsang (2:06:26) finished second and third respectively.

Kipsang finishing the marathon with some idiot running onto the course...


In a post race interview, Kipsang said..."I'm very happy that I have won and broken the world record. I was really inspired by Paul Tergat when he broke the world record here 10 years ago and I'm very happy that I was in a position to break the record on the same course."

Marathon record over the last 30 years...
2:08:05    Steve Jones     United Kingdom    Oct 21, 1984    Chicago Marathon
2:07:12    Carlos Lopes     Portugal    Apr 20, 1985    Rotterdam Marathon
2:06:50    Belayneh Dinsamo     Ethiopia    Apr 17, 1988    Rotterdam Marathon
2:06:05    Ronaldo da Costa     Brazil    Sept 20, 1998    Berlin Marathon
2:05:42    Khalid Khannouchi     Morocco    Oct 24, 1999    Chicago Marathon
2:05:38    Khalid Khannouchi     United States Apr 14, 2002    London Marathon
2:04:55    Paul Tergat     Kenya    Sept 28, 2003    Berlin Marathon
2:04:26    Haile Gebrselassie     Ethiopia    Sept 30, 2007    Berlin Marathon
2:03:59    Haile Gebrselassie     Ethiopia    Sept 28, 2008    Berlin Marathon
2:03:38    Patrick Makau     Kenya    Sept 25, 2011    Berlin Marathon
2:03:23    Wilson Kipsang     Kenya    Sept 29, 2013    Berlin Marathon 

Wilson Kipsang finishing with an intruder on the course

Lizzie Lee from Cork finishes 9th at the 2013 Berlin Marathon

The Berlin Marathon with it's 35,000 or so participants is one of the worlds major marathon races. It's flat course attracts runners from all over the world looking to post a fast time.

In the womens race this year, Lizzie Lee from Leevale AC in Cork has just finished in 9th place overall and in third place in the W30 age category.

Lizzie's average pace was 6:02 per mile and as you can see above, most of her 5k splits were between 18:38 and 19:03.

Lizzie's previous best time was 2:46:33 which was set in Rotterdam in April of 2012. Lizzie's new personal best time of 2:38:09 now moves her from 42nd to 16th on the Irish all time list.

Other notable Irish performances in Berlin today...

13    F24  Ganiel, Gladys (IRL)    W35                 02:39:26    02:39:26

22    32  Frazer, Thomas (IRL)    M30    Irland            02:17:45    02:17:45
34    11600  Harty, Philip (IRL)    M35    West Waterford AC            02:21:58    02:21:53

Eagle AC commemorate the Cork to Crosshaven 'Marathon' of 1908

Back at the start of May 2013, I had a guest article on the site by local historian Richard Forrest about the Cork to Crosshaven 'Marathon' of 1908. The 14 mile race which was organised by The Cork Sportsman newspaper was held in September of that year and attracted a field of 22 athletes.

Members of Eagle AC starting the 18 mile run near Bridge Street in Cork City. The author of the original article Richard Forrest is pictured centre.

To commemorate this event, members of Eagle Athletic Club took part in an 18 mile run from Cork to Crosshaven on Saturday the 28th of September, some 105 years after the original event.

While the original route most likely followed what was then the main road road from Cork to Carrigaline, this would be way too busy to use in 2013. Keeping with the historical theme however, the Eagle AC run instead followed the old route of the Cork to Crosshaven railway as closely as possible.

The original race of 1908 started at the Cork Sportsman offices in Bridge Street in the heart of Cork City. Keeping true to the original race, the Eagle AC run did likewise as can be seen from the photo above with Bridge Street, Patrick's Bridge and Patrick's St in the background.

The run then proceeded to the old railway terminus building on Albert Road which is now part of Carey Tool Hire. From there, the run was mostly on what are now public walkways with only one busy section of road near Raffeen to negotiate.

18 miles later in Crosshaven

As it was a unique event, there was a small cover charge for everyone taking part with the proceeds raised going to the Irish Cancer Society.

Photos courtesy of John Quigley of Eagle AC

Wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde passes the 250 Marathon mark...

A few weeks back, I had a story on the blog about how Jerry Forde from Blarney was about to do 10 Marathons in 10 days in Sixmilebridge, Co.Clare. Just getting there for the start of the first one was a story in itself as outlined by Mick Dooley in this post.

After that, a number of people asked about how did Jerry get on? Needless to say, he completed all 10 Marathon as can be seen in the results HERE.

Recently I caught up with Jerry for a quick chat about where he was at in terms of the number of Marathons completed. Those ones in Co.Clare actually took him past the 250 mark and at the start of August 2013, he had 256 Marathons completed.

These can be broken down as follows........
Marathons (26.2 miles) : 244
Ultra-Marathons (26.2 miles +) : 12
30 Miles x 1
36 Miles x 1
39.3 Miles x 7
100 kms x 2
100 Miles x 1

That is of course a huge number of Marathons and it has taken quite a while to rack up that many.

Jerry first started taking part in the local road races back in 1992 and his first race was the Cork BHAA race in Pfizers in April of that year. Later on in October, Jerry completed his first Marathon in Dublin.

Back in the 90's, there were relatively few Marathons and #24 came at the end of that decade. In more recent times, there have been many more opportunities to take part in Marathons and Jerry's list has grown as a result. In April of 2006, he completed his 100th Marathon with his 200th coming in October of 2011. He is now well on his way to #300 possibly some time in 2014/15?

Looking around various sites on the Internet, there is obviously no shortage of people around the world who have completed 100+ Marathons but the same cannot be said of wheelchair athletes. If they are out there then they seem to be relatively unknown as there is very little information available.

It's fair to say what Jerry Forde is doing is pretty unique. He has almost certainly completed more Marathons as a wheelchair athlete than anyone in Ireland or the UK. Quite possibly, he may well be No.1 in Europe if not the world.

With that in mind, I think it's only right that Jerry's achievement should be made public and be available to view from anywhere in the world. I have recently put together a website for Jerry so that  is now possible. The address is.... http://jerryforde.wordpress.com/

(Photos courtesy of Doug Minihane)

Three runners from Cork travel to Lancashire for Ron Hill's 75th Birthday race

Ron Hill is a former British international athlete who as well as having set various world records in races back in the 60's, also has the distinction of having run every day since December 20th 1964. Every year around the time of his birthday, a 5km race is held in his honour in a town called Littleborough near Rochdale, Lancashire. This year, three runners from Cork made the journey over to take part in it. The following report was written by John Walshe of East Cork AC...

RON HILL’S 75th BIRTHDAY RACE.....On Wednesday evening, a very special road race took place in the Lancashire town of Littleborough, which lies about 12 miles northeast of Manchester. It was to mark the 75th birthday of one of the greatest runners in history – former Boston, European and Commonwealth marathon champion Ron Hill.

L-R...Ron Hill, John Walshe, Kerry Constant and Brian Healy

Three Cork runners made the journey for the 5km race - Brian Healy (Midleton AC), Kerry Constant from Bishopstown and John Walshe (East Cork AC). For Brian and Kerry, it was their first visit but the latter had been there before, for Ron’s 70th birthday in 2008. This connection led to Hill coming over the following March to run the Ballycotton ‘10’, where he also gave a special seminar the night before.

The race was organised by Waterford native Andy O’Sullivan, a man who has received an MBE for the many charity events he has put on over the past 30 years which have raised in the region of £400,000 for various causes. Ron Hill’s Birthday 5km saw proceeds going to the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation. Entry fee was just £6 for club runners and £8 for unattached and for this each runner received a special souvenir mug depicting the 100 countries that Hill has raced in.

During the 1960s Ron Hill set world records for 10 miles (a time of 46:44), 15 miles and 25km on the track, won the 1969 European marathon championship on the classic Marathon to Athens course and the following spring became the first British runner to claim the Boston Marathon crown, setting a course record of 2:10:30 in the cold and rain.

Three months later he triumphed again at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh where his 2:09:28 was then the second-fastest recorded over the marathon distance and a time that only one British runner has bettered in the past 15 years. During this period Hill was working full-time as a research chemist and logged his 120 or so miles a week by running to work and back.

Nowadays the winner at Boston receives $150,000 in prize money, plus bonuses and expenses. In his day, Hill received a medal and a laurel wreath. “My airfare wasn’t even paid,” he recalled at the time, “the money came from a fund set up by the Road Runners Club, just ordinary runners putting in their few shillings.”

It was many of those same ordinary runners who turned out at Littleborough on Wednesday night to pay their tributes. The famous club vests of Salford Harriers, East Cheshire, Royton Road Runners, Halifax and of course Ron’s own Clayton-le-Moors Harriers were much in evidence amongst the 400 or so entrants.

The Falcon Inn in the town square acted as race headquarters and here Hill mingled with the well-wishers who brought cards, gifts and words of admiration. The race was won by Ian McBride of Royton in 15:51 with Ron (wearing number 75) coming home just inside 28 minutes for the gently undulating course – results can be seen on www.race-results.co.uk

194 264 John Walshe V6011 EastCork 24:04
203 81 Kerry Constant V5522 Cork 24:23
239 101 Brian Healey V4023 Ballycotton H 25:51
294 75 Ron Hill V75 1 Clayton Le Moors Harriers 27:57

Ron Hill has another unique record that is unlikely to be ever equalled – he hasn’t missed a single day of running since December 20th, 1964, and has logged over 158,000 miles in his long career. He also played a major role in the development of running apparel through his companies Ron Hill Sports and Hilly Clothing. Always a runner ahead of his time, he was the first to experiment with glycogen loading for the marathon. He was also an early advocate of minimalist running shoes and will be remembered for the string vests he wore in marathons – the forerunner of the technical tops of today.

And there seems to be no slowing down for this remarkable man, a true running legend. On today (Thursday 26th Sept 2013), the day after his 75th birthday, he was travelling to Dublin to deliver a running forum at the 53 Degrees North sports store in Carrickmines – a half-hour presentation followed by an audience Q&A session. He will repeat the performance in Elverys Sports in Galway on Friday evening at 6pm before then running in the 10km event at the Elverys Galway Bay Half-Marathon on Saturday morning.

Carriganima 4 mile fun run raises funds for local hospitals

The Carriganima 4 mile fun run/walk was held last Saturday the 21st of September and attracted a small field of mainly local people. Located between Millstreet and Macroom, the event raised funds for the hospitals in both of those towns.

From the organisers....The Committee of Carriganima 4 mile run/jog/walk in aid of Millstreet and Macroom Hospitals would like to thank all participants and everybody who helped in making it a successful and memorable event.

First – Michael Dunlea – 21.23
Second- Alan Lehane – 24.26
Third- Kevin Hickey – 25.06
First woman- Ann Marie Murphy, Carriganima – 31.18
First U-16 – Tadhg Manning, Carriganima – 30.52

Plenty of photos are available on the Millstreet.ie website.

Results of the Charleville Half-Marathon...Sun 22nd Sept 2013

A total of 707 people took part in this hears Half-Marathon in Charleville, a jump of 11% on last years figure.

1 MO Sean Hehir Rathfarnham/WSAF AC 1:06:14
2 MO Ismail Ssenyange 1:08:49
3 MO Alan O'Shea Bantry AC 1:09:33
13 FO Claire Gibbons-McCarthy Leevale AC 1:16:05
30 FO emma MURPHY EMMA MURPHY 1:20:45
42 F40 Angela McCann Clonmel AC 1:22:53

(Updated 23rd Sept @10am)
The full results can be seen HERE

First woman home Claire McCarthy...Photo by Gearóid Ó Laoi

Photos...(Updated 22nd Sept @11pm)
1) Gearóid Ó Laoi has a gallery of photo HERE and HERE
2) Paudie Birmingham of Mallow AC has 800+ pics HERE 
3) There is a gallery of photos from Mick Dooley HERE

Runner dies at Dublin Half-Marathon

The Dublin Half-Marathon was held today (Sat 29th Sept 2013) in the Phoenix Park in Dublin and attracted a field of about 5400 runners.


Even though it is a rare occurrence, there was tragically one fatality.

The organisers released the following statement...
The organisers of the Airtricity Dublin Race Series regret to confirm the collapse and subsequent death of a male participant in today's Half Marathon.

The runner collapsed at around the eleven mile mark, and was aided by fellow runners and was attended to by the St. John’s Ambulance medical crew on site. He was then transferred by ambulance to hospital, but was later pronounced dead.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and would ask that the family's privacy is respected at this time.

2010 Running Times interview with Ed Whitlock

A few days ago, I had a post up about 82 year old Ed Whitlock in Canada, how he had run 1:38:11 in a half-marathon and had set a world record for that age group. In response to that, someone mentioned an interview in the Running Times magazine back in 2010. After a quick search, I found it online and it makes for a good read.

Just as it is unusual for some aged 80 plus to be running those times for a Half-Marathon, some of his training techniques are also unconventional.

a) He does all of his training in a local cemetery. Everything is done on a loop that takes 5 minutes to complete....long runs, speed work, easy runs.
b) When training for a Marathon, he runs on that loop for 3 hours every day without taking any water.
c) He ran a 2:54 Marathon when he was 73 years old.
d) His fastest Marathon was 2:31 which he ran aged 48.
e) His weight is just 115 pounds (8st 3 lbs / 52 kgs) which might be the key to his success.

When asked his approach to running and training, he said......"I do what not to do to an extreme. I go out jogging. It's not fast running, just that I do it for a long time. I don't follow what typical coaches say about serious runners. No physios, ice baths, massages, tempo runs, heart rate monitors. I have no strong objection to any of that, but I'm not sufficiently organized or ambitious to do all the things you're supposed to do if you're serious. The more time you spend fiddlediddling with this and that, the less time there is to run or waste time in other ways."

You can see the full interview here...http://www.runnersworld.com/masters-profiles/ed-whitlock-and-age-simplicity?page=single

Acknowledgement......With thanks to Michael Dunne for the feedback on the original post.

Last notice for entries to the 2013 Charleville Half-Marathon...

For anyone that is interested, there is still time to enter the 2013 Charleville Half-Marathon.

The online entry fee is €45 until 3pm Saturday 21st Sept. The is a special entry fee of €40 at the Charleville Park Hotel on Saturday from 3pm till 9pm.

There will be no race entries on the Sunday.

You can enter online for the Half-Marathon here until the 21st September http://www.charlevillehalf.com/registration/ 

The race packs can be picked up at the hotel on Saturday (3-9pm) and at St.Joseph's until 9:30am on race day.

A full preview of the course with maps and photos can be seen HERE

From the race director Michael Herlihy....It might be of interest to your readers that Joe Sweeney is making a return in Charleville and is aiming to go sub 64. National Marathon champion Sean Hehir is aiming for sub 65, Alan O'Shea will be the Cork representative and will possibly try to challenge Hehir now that he is back in shape. We also have a Ugandan runner visiting from Dubai, sent by his Irish coach who has roots in Wexford and Cork. While the Ugandan has a pb of 68 minutes, he is aiming for close to 65 minutes. So an interesting race at the front.

Stadium records in Cork

Athletics Ireland recently published a list of records for some of the stadiums in Ireland. In Cork, there are two tracks......one at CIT in Bishopstown and one at the Mardyke.

The Mardyke track was of course home to the Cork City Sports for many years and no doubt, most of the records there were set probably during those years. Looking through the list, many of the records were set back in the 80's and 90's. Interesting to see that the fastest time for any 100 metre race in Cork was set there back in 2009....10.12 seconds. The Mardyke list is HERE

In more recent years, the Cork City Sports has moved to the CIT track in Bishopstown and the track records tend to be newer. One to note here was the 800m record of 1:48.21 set back in 1995 by Marcus O'Sullivan. Both Paul Robinson and Mark English ran faster times than that this year. The 800m is not included in the Cork City Sports probably because of the popularity of the mile race but it might make a nice alternative to say the 3000m event. The CIT list can be seen HERE.

Canadian Ed Whitlock Breaks 80+ Half Marathon World Record

Canadian Ed Whitlock has recently broken his own 80+ world record for the half marathon on Sunday in his hometown of Milton, Ontario by running 1:38:11. This broke his previous record by 48 seconds which he set at the same race last September.

In an interview, Whitlock said...."I thought off that I could run the half in 1:37. After a somewhat slow first 3-K I managed to get on pace at 7-K but then it gradually slipped away."

Whitlock holds the world marathon record for the 70-and-over age group (2:54:48) and 80-and-over age group (3:15:54).

Sonia O'Sullivan launches successful Fit4Youth Programme

Olympic silver medalist Sonia O'Sullivan launched the Fit4Youth programme on Monday evening the 16th of September at the Mardyke track in Cork City.

This is a 6-week exercise programme aimed at students in schools who may have not be involved in formal or team sports. Sonia O’Sullivan attended the first evening to show her support of the programme. When commenting about this initiative, Sonia said: “I think this is a great idea and will be a good starting point for many young people, I am delighted to be able to endorse it personally on the 16th and hope that schools will promote it among their students to ensure that the programme continues after the initial six weeks.”

Over 60 young athletes attended the first evening...Photo : Steven Macklin

The participants will be led by qualified coaches throughout the six weeks and will be go through the basics of athletics training as well as warming up and cooling down correctly. Each student will participate at their own level and ability of fitness and will set their own personal goals for the programme.

Sonia addressing the group afterwards...Photo : Steven Macklin

Bekele beats Farah to win the 2013 Great North Run

One of the big international contests last weekend was of course the Great North Run in Newcastle in the north-east of England. It is reputed to be the second largest Half-Marathon in the world and this year, some 55,000 people took part.

In the mens elite field, the world record holder for 5,000 and 10,000 metres, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia was going head to head against the current Olympic champion for those distances, Mo Farah of Britain. In a closely contested race, Bekele just managed to hold off Farah to win the race.

The great Haile Gebrselassie finished third in a time of 1:00:41 setting a new world record time for the over 40 category.

1    KENENISA BEKELE 01:00:09
2    MO FARAH Newham & Essex Beagles AC 01:00:10
3    HAILE GEBRSELASSIE 01:00:41
4    ARATA FUJIWARA      01:02:44
5    TOMOHIRO TANIGAWA 01:02:48
6    RYUJI WATANABE 01:02:58    
7    MARK KENNEALLY Clonliffe Harriers 01:04:06
8    YUKI KAWAUCHI      01:04:08
9    YARED HAGOS    Wallsend Harriers & AC 01:04:14
10    COLLIS BIRMINGHAM 01:04:28 

Other notable finishers in the top 10 were Citizen Runner Yuki Kawauchi from Japan and Mark Kenneally from Dublin.

Photos of the Evening Echo Womens mini-marathon...Sun 15th Sun 2013

This years Womens mini-marathon was another huge success with some 10,000 taking part. It is estimated that almost €2 million will be raised for various charities.

The 2013 event was won the Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC with Orla Drumm in second and Sinéad O'Connor in third.

L - R...Orla Drumm, Lizzie Lee and Sinéad O'Connor.....Photo by Mick Dooley

Finishers....1st Lizzie Lee, 2nd Orla Drumm, 3rd Sinéad O'Connor, 4th Annmarie Holland, 5th Aisling Moran, 6th Michelle Kenny, 7th Carmel Parnell, 8th Helen Leonard, 9th Niamh Walsh, 10th Niamh Roe, 11th Louise Shanahan, 12th Mary Sweeney

Photos...(Updated 18th Sept @11am)
1) There is a large gallery of over 300 photos from Joe Murphy HERE
2) There is a gallery from Mick Dooley HERE
3) Doug Minihane has over 400 photos HERE
4) Kieran Minihane has around 170 photos HERE
5) John Quigley of Eagle AC has over 200 photos HERE 
6) Gearóid O Laoi has a large gallery of over 1,000 pics HERE 
7) There is a small gallery of photos from Tom Baldwin HERE

Results of the Doneraile 5 km race...Sat 14th Sept 2013

A total of 124 people turned out for this new 5km Steeple to Steeple race in Doneraile in N.Cork. This was the 6th race of 7 in the Ballyhoura Cork Series.

1 Eric    Curran    Leevale  16.34
2 Alan    Whitaker    St. Finbars 16.35
3 Martin    McCarthy Leevale  16.44
1 Carol    Finn    Leevale    19.31
2 Grainne    O' Callaghan    An - Riocht    19.40
3 Niamh     Moore    UCC    21.11

The full results can be seen HERE

Results of the Dingle Half & Full Marathon...Sat 7th Sept 2013

For those of you who did one of the races in Dingle last weekend, there are links to the full results and photos now on the Running in Munster site.

Maura Regan of Eagle AC in Cork...winner of the 2013 Dingle Half-Marathon

Results of the Durrus 5 mile road race...Sat 14th Sept 2013

1    27:17  Alan O'Shea    Bantry AC    Snr    5:27       
2    27:41   John Collins    Skibbereen AC    Snr    5:32       
3    27:54   Alex O'Shea    St Finbarrs AC    Snr    5:35       
7    31:15  Carmel Crowley    Bandon AC    O45F    6:15       
9    32:37    Maura Regan    Eagle AC    FSnr    6:31       
11    32:57   Orla Hayes    Leevale AC    FSnr    6:35       

The full results are HERE

Laura Crowe runs 4:38 mile at the Great North City Games

At the Great North City Games in Newcastle, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC finished 8th in the mile race in a time of 4:38.36. This now places Laura as the 16th fastest Irish woman on the all time list.

13:18 | Womens Bupa Great North 1 Mile
Pos    Name    Country/Club    Performance       
1    MORGAN UCENY    USA    4:33.97       
2    LAURA WEIGHTMAN    GBR    4:34.63       
3    HANNAH ENGLAND    GBR    4:35.12       
4    EMMA JACKSON    GBR    4:35.34       
5    SUSAN KUIJKEN    NED    4:35.81       
6    HELLEN OBIRI    KEN    4:35.86       
7    MILCAH CHEMOS    KEN    4:36.66       
8    LAURA CROWE    IRE    4:38.36       
9    CHARLENE THOMAS    GBR    4:42.32       
10    EILISH MCCOLGAN    GBR    4:43.02       
11    ZOE BUCKMAN    AUS    4:49.05       
12    SARAH MCDONALD    GBR    4:50.90       
13    JENNY MEADOWS    GBR    4:56.17

The current Irish mile record is held by Sonia O'Sullivan with a time of 4:17.25 which was set back in 1994.

Preview of the Evening Echo womens mini-marathon in Cork...Sun 15th Sept 2013

Although it is advertised as Munsters Premier 4-Mile Road Race, it is in reality a 3.8 mile charity walk/run with a road race at the front of it. In the past, a lot of fast runners used to avoid it as there were a lot of issues with runners unable to get near the front and be able to start ahead of the mass of walkers. Things have improved in the last year or two with a new tag system which allows club runners get up near the front.

Tag or no tag, if you intend to race it then you need to get to the start early! There are somewhere in the region of 11,000 women taking part and when there are that many people, it is going to be very crowded.

Remember it starts at 1pm.

Course...The start of this race is on the Centre Park Road.

Mile 0-1....The first mile or so is very flat with only a slight uphill around the 0.8 mile mark as the road joins the Marina. This should be a very fast mile as long as you stay clear of the mass of runners/joggers/walkers/prams....etc.

Start of the Marina section near the 1 mile mark 

Mile 1-2.....Dead flat along the Marina. Probably the most scenic part of the run. Again, it should be a very fast mile. If you have started too fast, this is about where you should find out. Pace yourself for the first 2, you can pick it up over the last 2 if you have gone too slow.

Looking back at the course at the end of the Marina near the 2 mile mark

Mile 2-3....This section includes the only real hill. There is a nasty pull from the 2 mile mark up to St.Michael's church, a distance of about 300 metres......

Start of the only real hill near the 2 mile mark

You are going to lose some time here. After that, it's reasonably flat with a slight fall downhill into Beaumount about the 2.7 mile mark. Then past the AIB bank and Post office and take a sharp right down Maryville Road. Around the 3 mile mark, there is a very steep downhill section. By far, the hardest mile.

Mile 3-3.8....After the initial downhill section, the remainder of the mile is flat with the finish on the Monaghan Road, near Kennedy Park.
 
....and finally, it is worth mentioning what a significant event this is for the city of Cork. With around 11,000 taking part and many getting sponsorship, it is probably no exageration to say that several million Euro will be raised for various charities. For many of those taking part, it may be closest they ever get to any sort of road race.

Update........A bit more detail in this preview HERE

Jessie Owens would have been 100 years old last Thursday

Jesse Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was one of the most famous athetes of the 20th century having won four Gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin...one each in the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team. This was of course at a time when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were on the rise in Germany.

Last Thursday would have been Jesse Owens 100th birthday. This video clip shows an iinterview with four time Gold medalist Harrison Dillard on his memories of Jessie Owen.

The short video starts after the commercial...

Reminder...Doneraile 5k race on Saturday, 14th Sept 2013

Just a reminder that there is a 5 km race in Doneraile in N.Cork on Saturday the 14th of Sept. The entry fee is only €5 and the race starts at 11am.

The current weather forecast is as follows........"Fog clearing on Saturday morning, then mainly dry for the rest of the day with sunny intervals and just the odd light shower. Light, variable winds will become moderate, southwesterly later. Highest temperatures 14 to 16 degrees Celsius."

In terms of locations for a race, it's a lovely spot. The race starts in the town itself and then takes in a large loop inside Doneraile Park itself.

More details in this earlier post.

A full preview of the course can be seen HERE

Results of the Coolagown 5k road race...Thurs 12th Sept 2013

1    16:54    HAYES, Frank    East Cork AC    M40    05:26.3
2    17:11    HEGARTY, Brian    Leevale AC    M    05:31.7
3    17:19    O'SULLIVAN, Johnny    Galtee Runners AC    M40    05:34.3
26    19:34    MOORE, Ann    Leevale AC    F45    06:17.7
36    20:11    FITZGIBBON, Clotilde    Grange-Fermoy AC    F45    06:29.7
47    20:56    ENNIS, Joan    Grange-Fermoy AC    F45    06:44.1

The full results can be seen HERE

Results of the North Mon 5k...Wed 11th Aug 2013

1    Eric Curran    Leevale    Sen    M    16:02
2    Tim Twomey    Leevale    Sen    M    16:40
3    Brian Hegarty    Leevale    Sen    M    17:09
17    Niamh Walsh    Leevale    Sen    F    19:01
22    Ann Moore    Leevale    O45    F    19:34
??

Organised by Leevale AC. Limited results HERE

Photos...
1) Doug Minihane has a gallery HERE

Sonia O'Sullivan to help Irish athletes onto the world stage

In a recent interview with Feidhlim Kelly in the Irish Examiner, Sonia O'Sullivann outlined her intention to help more Irish athletes advance their careers on the world stage. With this in mind, she is setting up a group called Soniaagrith, a nod to her own user name on Twitter which of course means 'Sonia Running' in Irish.

In the interview, Sonia said......."I want to be a leading light for athletes and a kind of umbrella to help them achieve their goals. I want to send out a positive message and breathe a positive energy into their running. Hopefully by setting this up, I can make a difference to the performances of Irish athletes. This year I’ve helped Laura Crowe who has done really well and made a big improvement by linking up with my husband Nic Bideau.”

Nic Bideau is one of the top coaches in Australia and is the director of the Melbourne Track Club. He is also an agent for athletes and has halped Paul Robinson, Laura Crowe and Mark English getting onto the European competition circuit.

The interview with Sonia O'Sullivan can be seen on the Irish Examiner website HERE

Feidhlim Kelly also interviewed Nic Bideau recently and you can hear it below (approx 16 mins long, excuse the poor sound quality). In it, he outlines his views on Diamond League meetings, the level of doping in athletics and gives a forthright view on what Irish athletes need to do to advance their careers.

Fit4Youth programme for 12 to 17 year olds in Cork City...Starts Mon 16th Sept 2013

This might be of interest to anyone aged 12 to 17 years old. A new Fit4Youth programme is being organised by Athletics Ireland, UCC and Cork Sports Partnership with the aim of getting more young people involved in athletics.

As you can see from the info below, it only lasts for 6 weeks so it's not a huge commitment in terms of time. It would give youngsters a taste of what athletics is like and if they would like to continue.

Registration is next Monday evening at the track at the Mardyke in Cork City.

From the organisers...Get Fit, Have Fun, Feel Good in an non competitive environment and have your chance to run with Sonia O Sullivan.

This is a joint programme between Cork Sports Partnership, Athletics Ireland and UCC and is aimed at teenagers (boys & girls) between 12 - 17 yrs. It is a 6 week programme and will take place for an hour each Monday between 7 & 8pm.

Registration will take place on Monday 16th from 6.45pm @ The Track In UCC, and we will be joined by Olympic Silver Medalist Sonia O Sullivan for the first night. So just turn up in runners and comfortable clothes. For more information, please contact the Cork Sports Partnership on 021 4665081.

Standard entry fee for Charleville Half-Marathon extended until 13th of Sept

Now that the Dingle and Cork Half-Marathons are out of the way, the next big race in Munster is the Charleville Half-Marathon on the 22nd of September.

The late entry fee for this is €45 but the organisers have just announced that they will be extending the closing date for the standard entry fee of €40 until the 13th of September.

This is a very fast course and has been measured to AIMS standard. The entry fee includes a long sleeve dry-fit top.

You can enter online for the Half-Marathon here...http://www.charlevillehalf.com/registration/

You can see a preview of the course HERE

Irish athletes Paul Robinson, Mark Englsh and Laura Crowe in European races this weekend

On Friday evening the 6th of September, Paul Robinson finished 3rd in the mens 'B' 800m race at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels, Belgium. His time of 1:46.06 was only 0.2 seconds his personal best.

800m B race in Brussels
1 JOHNSON Brandon USA 1:45.45
2 CRONJE Johan RSA 1:45.85
3 ROBINSON Paul IRL 1:46.06
4 RIMMER Michael GBR 1:46.19
5 MANZANO Leonel USA 1:46.31
6 JAMAA Samir MAR 1:46.70
7 BENEDETTI Giordano ITA 1:48.15
8 VAN DEN BROECK Jan BEL 1:49.43
9 BALHAN Pierre BEL 1:50.30

On Sunday the 8th of September at the IAAF Challenge in Rieti, Italy, both Paul Robinson and Mark English were in action. In the mens 800m race, Mark English finished 4th in an impressive time of 1:44.89, just five one-hundredths of a second slower than his personal best.

Rieti IAAF World Challenge (ITA)...07-08.09.2013 - B
800m MEN :
1.    Musaeb Abdulrahman BALLA    (QAT    )    1:43.93 PB
2.    Edwin Kiplagat MELI    (KEN)     1:44.49    SB
3.    Brandon JOHNSON    (USA)     1:44.55   
4.    Mark ENGLISH    (IRL)     1:44.89   
5.    Tamás KAZI    (HUN)     1:45.37    PB
6.    Michael RIMMER    (GBR)     1:46.09   
7.    James EICHBERGER    (MEX)     1:47.07   

In the mens 1500m race, Paul Robinson set a new personal best time of 3:35.22. This was over 2 seconds faster than his previous best of 3:37.66 which was set in Belfast last June. That is a huge jump in terms of performance which moves Paul from 16th to 6th on the Irish all time list. Just to put it in perspective, Eamonn Coghlan is now 8th on that list.

1500m MEN :
1.    Silas KIPLAGAT    (KEN)     3:30.13    SB
2.    Johan CRONJE    (RSA)     3:31.93    PB
3.    Mohamed MOUSTAOUI    (MAR    )    3:32.08    SB
4.    Nick WILLIS    (NZL)     3:32.57    SB
5.    Augustine Kiprono CHOGE    (KEN)     3:33.21    SB
6.    David TORRENCE    (USA)     3:33.23    PB
7.    Krzysztof ŻEBROWSKI    (POL)     3:35.07    PB
8.    Paul ROBINSON    (IRL)     3:35.22    PB
9.    Zane ROBERTSON    (NZL)     3:35.45    PB
10.    Jonathan Kiplimo SAWE    (KEN)     3:40.83   
11.    Abdellah HAIDANE    (ITA)     3:41.96    SB
12.    Miles BATTY    (USA)     3:45.75   
13.    Leonel MANZANO    (USA)     3:48.83    

In the womens 800m race, Laura Crowe of An Ríocht AC set a new personal best time of 2:00.93, a big jump up from her previous best time of 2:02.63 which was set in Dublin in July. This new time now moves Laura from 8th to 4th on the Irish all time list.

  
800m WOMEN :
1.    Caster SEMENYA    (RSA)     1:58.92    SB
2.    Nelly JEPKOSGEI    (KEN)     1:59.40    PB
3.    Nataliya LUPU    (UKR)     1:59.52   
4.    Hannah ENGLAND    (GBR)     2:00.39    SB
5.    Zoe BUCKMAN    (AUS)     2:00.93    PB
6.    Laura CROWE    (IRL)     2:00.93    PB
7.    Anna ROSTKOWSKA    (POL)     2:01.34    SB
8.    Renata PLIŚ    (POL)     2:01.48    SB
9.    Mary KURIA    (KEN)     2:01.90   
10.    Lea WALLACE    (USA)     2:03.13     

With the track season now coming to a close, Both Laura Crowe and Rose-Ann Galligan have both come with a second of breaking the two minute barrier. Will 2014 be the year when the first Irish woman goes sub two??

Results of the John Buckley Sports Cork Half-Marathon...Sun 8th Sept 2013

The John Buckley Sports Cork Half-Marathon was held in Blarney on Sunday, the 8th of Sept 2013 in overcast conditions. A total of 391 runners took part this year, down on last year's number but that is probably no great suprise as it clashes with the Cork Hurling team appearing in the All-Ireland final in Dublin.

1  Alan O'Shea        Bantry AC    M    1:06:59
2 Philip Harty        West Waterford AC     M    1:08:52
3 Cathal O'Connell        St. Finbarr's AC     M50    1:12:05
31 Emma Murphy        St Finbarrs AC     F    1:22:09
36 Ann Marie Holland        St Finbarrs AC     F35    1:22:55
40 Martina O'Dwyer        Carrick-on-suir AC     F35    1:24:07

The full results can be seen HERE

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC receiving his prize from John Buckley of John Buckley Sports, sponsor of the race. Also pictured is Marion Lyons of the organising club St.Finbarr's AC.

Photos...(Updated 10th Sept @8:30am)
1) Doug Minihane has a gallery (Updated) HERE
2) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a slideshow of photos HERE 
3) Kieran Minihane has a gallery HERE 
4) Mick Dooley has a gallery of photos HERE 
5) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a second slideshow of photos HERE

Race Sponsor.......For those of you that did the race, you got a 20% off discount voucher for  John Buckley Sports . This is one of the main sports shops in Cork for running shoes and other running related gear.

You can find John Buckley Sports across the river from the Cork Opera House and his opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm – late opening Friday until 7.00 – closed Sundays.

They also have a website at http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/

3 out of 10 Runners complete the Kerry Way Ultra this weekend

Back in September of 2012, I had a post about two runners who set out to complete the 120 miles / 200 kms of the Kerry Way. That was very much a trial run for this year's official event when 10 people took part.

As you can see from the map above, the route takes in a large anti-clockwise loop around the Iveragh Peninsula. Much of the route nearer the tourist areas is well signposted but there are sections in the more mountainous regions that are poorly marked. This turned out to be a problem on the day with several contestants losing their way.

 The event started in Killarney at 6am on Friday the 6th of September. Of the ten that started, only three finished the arduous 120 mile route with the first man finishing in just over 27 hours.

1    Stefaan DÆESPALLIER    27:08:00  1    Male    7.4 km/h
2    Jens WAECHTER    30:45:00  2    Male    6.5 km/h
3    Bridget BRADY    37:56:00   1    Female    5.3 km/h

Sunday Independent article on Emer Casey Foundation...

As most of you know, the Emer Casey 10k race takes place in Youghal at the end of May every year. This is one of multiple events that the Emer Casey Foundation holds and since they were founded, they have raised €700,000 for cancer research.

In todays Sunday Independent, there is an article on Emer Casey and how the charity came into being. You can read it HERE

Tokyo to host 2020 Olympics

At a meeting of the International Olympic Committee this evening in Buenos Aires, Tokyo won the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Madrid had been eliminated in the first round of voting with Istanbul losing in the head to head with Tokyo.

Tokyo last hosted the Olympic Games in 1964.

Usain Bolt runs 9.80 seconds in the 100m in Brussels...Fri 6th Sept 2013

At the Bruxelles Memorial Van Damme meet this evening, the Olympic champion Usain Bolt continues his winning streak with a 9.80 second time in the 100 metres.

100m MEN :
1.    Usain BOLT    (JAM)     9.80   
2.    Michael RODGERS    (USA)     9.90    SB
3.    Nesta CARTER    (JAM)     9.94   
4.    Justin GATLIN    (USA)     9.94   
5.    Kemar BAILEY-COLE    (JAM)     9.98   
6.    Jimmy VICAUT    (FRA)     10.03   
7.    Kim COLLINS    (SKN)     10.07   
8.    James DASAOLU     (GBR)     10.15   
9.    Keston BLEDMAN    (TRI)     10.19   

Event notice...Doneraile 5 km race, N Cork - Sat 14th Sept 2013

The Great Doneraile SteepleRACE (5k - 3.1 miles) is coming up in Doneraile Park in North Cork on Saturday the 14th of September 2013 at 11am. This is the 6th race of 7 in the Ballyhoura Cork Series.

From the organisers...September 14th, local club Awbeg Valley Athletic Club will host its annual 5k SteepleRace.  Borrowing from its history as the location of the first Steeplchase, the 5k will be run between the two local churches and respective Steeples.  There are no jumps involved .  The run will incorporate the town of Doneraile as well as Doneraile Park itself.  The race is the 6th race in the Ballyhoura Cork Road Race series for 2013.  This years SteepleRACE will be followed by a Barbecue at Doneraile Court.  Entry fee is €5 for the race and €5 for the barbecue.

Start time is at 11am and entries will be taken at the Protestant Church, near the golf course.  Entries close at 10.45am. Prizes are as follows...Men & Women 1,2,3 -  €75, €50 and €30. Masters men and women - €75, €50 and €30
 

Location....Doneraile is located about 6 miles or 10 kms to the north-east of Mallow in North Cork.

Preview...A preview of the course with maps, photos & directions can be seen HERE

The Steeplechase......While the word 'steeplechase' today is associated with an Olympic track event or a horse race, the very first steeplechase took place here in Doneraile in the 18th century.

By most accounts, the first steeplechase race was held in 1752 in County Cork, Ireland, where a horseman named O’Callaghan engaged Edmund Blake in a match race, covering approximately 4 1/2 miles from Buttevant Church to St. Mary’s Doneraile, whose tower was known as St. Leger Steeple. Indeed, church steeples were the most prominent — and tallest — landmarks on the landscape, and the sport took its name from the chase to the steeple.

Drawing on that tradition, this 5 km race goes from the steeples of the two churches in the town of Doneraile.

Doneraile 5k race...from steeple to steeple