Cork results in the National Marathon Championships

The Dublin marathon also doubled up as the 2016 National Marathon Championships and with the huge numbers, the standards were pretty high.

These are the provisional results for Cork clubs...

Individuals...
2 4328 Alan O Brien EAGLE A.C. M35 02:33:34... 2nd M35

3 1279 Alex O Shea ST. FINBARRS A.C. M40 02:34:23... 3rd M40

2 46 Cathal O Connell ST. FINBARRS A.C. M50 02:36:53... 2nd M50

1 12847 Tony Dunne GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. M75 04:20:51... 1st M70

1 1172 1443 Joan Ennis GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. F50 03:03:02... 1st F50

2 1286 3633 Mary Sweeney ST. FINBARRS A.C. F55 03:24:56... 2nd F55

Teams...
1st M35 team...1 Alex O Shea, Michael Corbett, Paul Gallagher ST. FINBARRS A.C. M35 07:57:34

2nd M50 team...2 Cathal O Connell, Ken Devine, John Fitzgibbons ST. FINBARRS A.C. M50 08:33:19

3rd M50 team... 3 Ronan Boland, Frank Hill, Martin Leahy EAGLE A.C. M50 08:33:42

Please note that while individual category placings are usually ok, the teams can change quite a bit as corrections come in.

The links for all the results can be found under Oct 2016 here... http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/

Results & Photos of the Dublin City Marathon...Sun 30th Oct 2016

There were just over 16,800 finishers for this years Dublin City Marathon making it the biggest ever by far. The combination of moving the marathon to the Sunday from the Bank Holiday Monday and the centenary of the 1916 Rising seems to have swelled the numbers. The number of French entries are supposed to have tripled this year which shows a huge increase in international interest. It is now the 4th largest in Europe which is pretty amazing when you consider the obvious big ones are London, Berlin and Paris.

The winner of the Irish championships was Sergiu Ciobanu from Clonmel who recorded a time of 2h 17m 39s. The big suprise in the women's race was 30 year old and mother of four Laura Graham from Co.Down. She won in a time of 2h 41m 53s and has only been running for just a few years.

Results.......You can search the full results HERE

Irish results...
Sergiu Ciobanu...2:17:39
Sean Hehir...2:18:45
Mark Kirwan...2:22:17
Laura Graham...2:41:53
Caitriona Jennings...2:44:59
Pauline Curley...2:48:38

Photos...(Updated 7am Wed 2nd Nov)
1) RTE have some photos HERE
2) Susan Parker Laste has a gallery HERE
3) The organisers have a gallery on Facebook HERE  
4) Tri Talking Sport has a gallery HERE
5) Kieran Carlin has three galleries of the start... #1 , #2 ,  #3 and about 1000 HERE
6) The Irish Times has a gallery HERE 
7) As always, Peter Mooney has a nice gallery HERE
8) Lindie Naughton has a small gallery HERE
9) Stephen McGuinness has a gallery HERE
10) Cezary Zarebksi has a small gallery HERE 
11) Anthony Foley has a gallery HERE
12) John Coleman has a gallery HERE
13) Paul Condon has a gallery HERE
14) Asics have individual video clips HERE . Just put in your name or bib number.

Video...

RTE News...

Up to 19,500 runners take part in the Dublin Marathon pic.twitter.com/h5bgyZpC7R

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 30, 2016

Irish Independent...



Video from the organisers...

Notice...Valley Rover Camogie Club 7k fun run/walk - Sun 6th Nov 2016

This 7k fun run/walk is coming up on Sunday the 6th of November 2016 at 12 noon and the entry fee is €10.

The race HQ is at the Valley Rover GAA grounds which are to the north-west of Inishannon. Coming from Cork City, the easiest way to get there is to turn off at Halfway for Crossbarry. Keep going straight and at the crossroads where the Schering Plough plant is located, take a left. The GAA grounds are up this road.

The organisers have said it will be timed and a full list of results will be published afterwards.

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

The last time this race was held was back in 2014....2014 Results

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 29th Oct 2016

There was a nice turnout of 245 runners for this weeks 5km parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park. Again, conditions were pretty ideal...dry, mild and just a gentle breeze.

1    Conor DOLAN    16:50    SM30-34    M 1
2    Tim CLARKE    18:07    VM35-39    M 2
3    John LYNCH    18:21    VM35-39    M 3 Tracton AC
33    Bernie CONDRON    21:43    VW45-49    F 1
42    Caroline BUCKLEY    22:10    SW25-29    F 2    Watergrasshill AC
51    Ann HIGGINS    22:56    VW50-54    F 3    Sportsworld 

The results can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a gallery HERE

Looking ahead to the 2016 Dublin City Marathon

The big event nationally this weekend is of course is the Dublin City Marathon.

Weather forecast......The forecast for Sunday looks pretty good. The pressure is reasonably high and the worst of any potential rain on Sunday is on the West coast.

As marathon conditions go, it's pretty ideal. The temperature is likely to be in the low teens. The wind is likely to be very light and it will probably be somewhat overcast.

As for the course, Ian O'Riordan of the Irish Times has a preview of it here... http://bcove.me/m5tadwh4

Live tracking...If you want to follow someone taking part then lave a look at this previous post.

Irish Sports Report shows a decline in the number of people involved in sport

Sports Ireland have just recently released their annual activity report for 2015 and these are some of the key points...

a) 45% of the population participate regularly in sport.


b) Participation levels have declined for both genders (more for men than women).

c) Improving economic conditions and having less free time as a result may partially explain the declines in participation in sport.

d) Some sports participated in on an individual basis show increases in participation.

e) The proportion participating in team-based sports has declined.

 The term 'sport' and 'activity' used in the report is pretty wide as it includes things like walking, running, dancing, GAA, Soccer and so on.

 This 2015 study involved interviews with 8,540 respondents aged 16+.

In terms of improving economic conditions, the unemployment level was at 13.5% at the midpoint of the 2013 survey while it was at 8.9% for the mid-point of this one.


Most popular activity...

Personal exercise is a collection of different activities, most prominent of these are gym-based activities and classes. This remains the most popular sporting activity.


Running is now the second most popular form of sporting activity, just ahead of swimming which moves from 2nd to 3rd.

You'll notice some of the team based activities in decline...Soccer, Gaelic Football and Hurling/Camogie. The study found that 40.7% participated in a sport that is played on an individual basis with 9.1% participating in sport played on a team basis.  As the chart shows below, more and more people are doing their own thing in a time that suits their schedule.

Activity by Gender.....

The chart above shows the breakdown of each activity by gender. Notice that the number of men running has declined while the number of women running has remained much the same.

Findings......In terms of running, the report just highlights what we knew and suspected anyway i.e. we are gone past the peak of the running boom and numbers have dipped a bit. If the economy continues to improve and people get busier then we might expect to see the numbers running to decline a bit more.

The report does show however that activities that are short in duration and that people can fit into a busy schedule are the ones that are the most resilient. As such, the number of people running for exercise should do reasonably well.

The full report can be seen here... http://www.sportireland.ie/Research/Irish-Sports-Monitor-Annual-Report-2015/Irish-Sports-Monitor-Annual-Report-2015.pdf

ESB bans 'recreational jogging' at Moneypoint Power Station

The ESB power station at Moneypoint in Co.Clare is one of the largest in the country and is located on the shore of the Shannon Estuary. Recently, the ESB management at the site banned employees from running during their lunch breaks.

“As part of a careful review of site traffic management, we have asked all personnel on site to refrain from recreational jogging and walking during lunch breaks and free time. As one of Ireland’s largest power stations, Moneypoint is a live and busy workplace and activities such as these do not align with modern health and safety practices.”

In response, more than 50 employees at the power station staged a protest walk of two miles on the site in direct contravention of the ruling.

A local union official said...“A lot of people are employed here and many of them like to walk and run on the grounds during their break times, it is a health and well being issue for us. After the meeting on Thursday, 50 of us walked to the main gates and back on Friday lunchtime as a protest. The walk was done in defiance of the orders from management. I can’t see any way that people will stop walking and jogging at the site. We are doing it on our own time — it’s during our breaks. There hasn’t been an accident or any incident from someone walking or jogging on the site for 30 years.”

Live Tracking for the 2016 Dublin City Marathon

If you know of anyone doing the Dublin City Marathon then you can track them on this link...

http://track.rtrt.me/e/TDL-DUBLINM-2016#/tracker


If want to follow club members then do a search under the club name.

This is a map of the course...

You can find a more detailed version of the map HERE

Some stats on percentage of women and age profiles in the Dublin City Marathon

In the last week, there was an interesting article in the Irish Times which outlined some statistics which were put together by Barry Smyth, a professor of computer science at UCD.

Some of the key points were......

a) 46 per cent of finishers in 2000 were female. By 2015 that proportion had fallen to 30 per cent.

b) Young men doing their first marathon are the most likely ones to blow up and hit the wall! :o))

c) Marathon runners are getting older.

First off, here is one of the charts that Barry put together which highlights some of the points....

Percentage Women.....I had always assumed that the percentage of women taking part in marathons was lower in the past as more women seem to be running now than ever before. It was a bit of a suprise to see that the percentage was around 46% back in the year 2000.

Sometimes you can get strange results when the numbers are low but there were 7170 finishers that year which is hardly low. I wonder why the percentage of women was higher back then?

Finishers getting older.......This ties in a lot with the way club membership is going. The average runner now tends to be older than before. Back in the 80's, they were usually young men in their 20's and 30's. In the 2000's, they tended to be 30's and 40's and now, it is more late 30's and early 40's.

The chart above shows the percentage of finishers in the Dublin Marathon aged 40 and above is now over 50%. As you can see, the age profile really started to climb after 2012.

Links...
1) The Irish Times article can be seen HERE
2) Barry Smyth as his original article HERE. It contains a lot of other stats as well which you may find of interest.

Irish results from the European 24 hour championships in France

The European 24 hour championships were held in Albi in France last weekend on Sat 22nd and Sun 23rd Oct 2016. While there was just one woman on the Irish team, there was 5 in the men's event.

Amy Masner finished in 17th out of 77 contestants with just over 133 miles completed.

Pos.    Bib     Name Surname     Team     Laps     Last lap time     Total distance     Avg speed km/h
17     248     Masner Amy     IRELAND    194     23:53:13     215,310     8,97 km/h

In the men's 24 hour race, Eddie Gallen was the best of the Irish with about 144 miles covered. Aidan Hogan of Rising Sun AC in Cork was just behind Eddie with 138 miles which is pretty amazing considering it was just his second 24 hour race ever. His first one was last June in Belfast when he took Silver in the Irish 24 hour championships.

Pos.    Bib     Name     Surname     Team     Country Laps     Last lap time     Total distance     Avg speed km/h
25    56    Gallen    Edward        IRELAND    203    23:54:27    225,564        9,40 km/h
26    57    Hogan    Aidan        IRELAND    201    23:58:46    222,453        9,27 km/h
41    59    O'Loughlin Daragh    IRELAND    186    23:58:24    205,984        8,58 km/h
54    58    Keith    Eoin        IRELAND    178    20:39:54    196,835        8,20 km/h
75    60    O'Regan    John        IRELAND    146    19:22:47    161,443        6,73 km/h

The Irish men's team finished in a very respectable 9th out of 18 teams.

Another contestant of Irish interest was Thomas Bubendorfer of Star of the Laune AC in Kerry who was running for his native Austria.

63    1    Bubendorfer    Thomas    AUSTRIA    170    23:53:36    189,045    7,88 km/h

The full results can be downloaded as a zipped file HERE

Results of the Munster Novice Cross Country Championships...Sun 23rd Oct 2016

The Munster Novice Cross Country Championships were held near Carraig na bhFear in Cork on Sunday the 23rd of October. The numbers taking part were pretty good with 66 in the women's race and 88 on the men's.

However, when you drill down into the results and look at the inter-county competition, you'll see that a lot of counties are missing. In the mens novice race, there was no county team from Kerry, Waterford and Limerick...i.e. half of the counties in Munster. For the women's event, there was no teams from Waterford or Limerick.

The full results can be seen on the Munster Athletics website HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a gallery of over 300 photos HERE

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 22nd Oct 2016

With no major races on this weekend in Cork City, the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig saw a jump in numbers with 230 people taking part. This is the 4th highest number to date.

The dip last week may well have been to the Rebel Run in Bishopstown.

1    Conor DOLAN    16:36    SM30-34    M 1   
2    Paul SPITERI    17:59    VM35-39    M 2    Midleton AC
3    David MOYNIHAN    18:22    SM30-34    M 3    Midleton AC
23    Sophie FEARON    21:16    JW11-14    F 1
43    Maeve COTTER    22:35    VW35-39    F 2    Eagle A.C.
54    Hannah FALVEY    23:40    JW10    F 3 

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a gallery HERE

Athletes selected for the British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships

Following on from the Open Cross Country event in Dublin last weekend, teams have been selected for the upcoming British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships in Glasgow on the 9th of November.

Those selected were...(Cork athletes in Bold)...

Women 35...Ann Marie McGlynn, Michelle Kenny, Norah Newcombe Pieterse, Finola Diver...Reserves Denise Toner, Noreen Brouder
Women 40...Maria McCarthy, Adele Walsh, Mary Leech, Paula Grant...Reserves Karen Costello, Rosaleen MacKeown
Women 45...Jackie Carthy, Colette Touhy, Donna Evans, Annette Kealy...Reserves Emila Dan
Women 55...Mary Sweeney, Charlotte Stephens, Bridget Duffy, Sheelagh Jones
Women 60...Carmel Parnell, Christine Kennedy, Pauline Moran, Nuala Reilly...Reserves Maxine Jones, Mary Jennings
Women 65...Margaret Glavey, Phyllis Browne, Carol Lynch, Joan Coyle...Reserves Roisin Lynch
Women 70...Kathleen O'Brien, Pam Benson, Ann Woodlock, Evelyn McNellis

Men 35...Paddy Hamilton, Michael Harty, Emmett Dunleavy, Michael McMahon, Tim Twomey, Michael Herlihy...Reserves John Dunne, Stephen Hunter
Men 40...Ciaran Doherty, Frank Quinlan, Paul Buckley, Paul Fleming, Declan Reed, Ciaran Diviney...Reserves Richard Gorman, Ciaran McCarthy
Men 45...Stephen Duncan, Peter Matthews, Des Kennedy, Gerard Heery, Paul Blaney, Noel Marum...Reserves Frank Hayes, Ken Norgrove
Men 50...Aengus Burke, Pat Malone, Phelam Glynn, Mick Traynor, Pauric McKinney, Colm Burke...Reserves Paul Cowhie, Eddie Newman
Men 55...Tommy Payne, Jim Stafford, Mick Byrne, Martin McDonald...Reserves Pat O'Grady, Tom O'Connor
Men 60...Paul Elliott, Martin Kearney, Neilus Ahearne, Eddie Walsh...Reserves Billy Tyrrell, Francis Fleming
Men 65...J.J. Murphy, Martin McEvilly, John Todd, Pat O'Shea...Reserves Barry Potts, Tom Hunt
Men 70...Terry Mee, Pat Bonass, Pat Healy, Frank Reilly...Reserves Dick Mullins
Men 75...Mike Duggan, Tadgh Twoomey, Jim Bennett

Olympic Medal Presentation for Rob Heffernan on Thurs 3rd November

On Wednesday the 3rd November 2016 (7pm), Rob Heffernan will finally be presented with his London 2012 Olympic Bronze Medal in the Concert Hall, City Hall, Cork.

This follows on from the disqualification of a Russian athlete who was originally awarded Gold. See this previous post for more details... http://corkrunning.blogspot.ie/2016/03/rob-heffernan-to-be-awarded-olympic.html

The event will be hosted by the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Des Cahill and the medal will be presented by Acting President of the Olympic Council of Ireland William O’Brien.

Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Des Cahill: “ As Lord Mayor of Cork, I am honoured on behalf of the people of Cork to facilitate the Presentation of an Olympic Bronze Medal by the Olympic Council of Ireland  to one of our own Rob Heffernan, a proud Corkonian and a model and inspiration to the youth of today. It is only right and fitting that we recognise the tenacious efforts by Rob in representing his country on an international stage. We all take pride in his achieving this most coveted Olympic Bronze Medal and I look forward to welcoming you to City Hall on the 3rd November.”

Rob Heffernan: “This is always what I dreamt about, being presented with an Olympic Medal. It would of course have been wonderful to have received it in London but now to receive it on Irish soil in my home City of Cork, with my own family, friends, supporters on the 100 year anniversary of 1916, is a fitting and very special way for Irish people to celebrate Irish Olympic Sporting success”.

It will be a ticket only event and you can apply for tickets by forwarding your name, full address and contact telephone number to the following portal:  robsmedal@corkcity.ie . The first 400 applications will receive a ticket admitting two to the Presentation Ceremony.

Notice...Book signing of Derval O'Rourke's new book 'The Fit Foodie' on Sat 5th of Nov

Derval O'Rourke will be signing copies of her new book 'The Fit Foodie' in Waterstones in Cork City on Saturday the 5th of November 2016 from 3pm.

Description from Waterstones..."Derval believes that the secret to being your healthiest happiest self is to eat well and keep moving and her latest book The Fit Foodie is full of simple, delicious and totally doable recipes such as Laid-Back Lamb Tagine, Mediterranean Salmon and Spaghetti, Butternut and Bean Stew, Almond, Hazelnut and Pine Nut Bread and a stunning Chocolate Fondant Cake. Derval also shares smart and inspiring advice on how to get organised so that good food and exercise are a seamless part of your life. "

This is Derval's second book and follows on from the success of 'Food for the Fast Lane' which was released in 2014.

Notice...Ghostbusters 5k in Doneraile Park - Sat 29th Oct 2016

On the Saturday the 29th of October, there is a charity 5k in Doneraile Park in North Cork.

The entry fee is €10 and all proceeds go towards the Anchor Addiction Treatment Centre in Mallow.

More details on the event website... http://www.ghostbusters5k.com/

Details of the route can be seen here... http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/01/cork015.html

Notice...MMRA Halloween Run in Currabinny Woods - Thurs 27th Oct 2016

The Munster Mountain Running Association are holding a special themed Halloween Run in Currabinny Woods on Thursday the 27th of Oct 2016. This is open to adults and children alike.

The entry fee is €9 for MMRA members and €10 for non-members (incl €1 reg fee). Non-members will have to join before taking part. More info at https://www.imra.ie/events/view/id/1423/

Note : Please note that you must pre-enter online and the closing date for entries is Sun 23rd Oct.

Currabinny Woods is about 9 miles south-east of Cork City. The approach road is nearly opposite the Novartis plant near Ringaskiddy.

Results of the Ardfield 5k...Sun 16th Oct 2016

There was a 55% drop in numbers for this years Ardfield 5k road race on Sunday the 16th of October 2016. As you can see from the chart above, the total number had stabilised just above 200 for the last two years but dropped dramatically this year.


1st Male - Padraig Sheehan - 17:55
2nd Male - Padraig Courtney - 18:56
3rd Male - Brian Harte - 19:46
Male Juvenile - Ben McShane
M40 - Mike Keohane
M45 - Brian Farrell
M50 - John Powell

1st Female - Eleanor Griffin - 21:10
2nd Female - Geraldine O'Sullivan - 21:44
3rd Female - Siobhan Courtney - 22:53
Female Juvenile - Leah Walsh
F40 - Kathryn O'Shea
F45 - Karine Buttimer
F50 - Noeleen Fitzpatrick.

The full results can be seen below...

Photos...
1) The local playground group have a gallery HERE

85 year old Ed Whitlock sets new marathon record for age

At the Toronto marathon in Canada last Sunday, 85 year old Ed Whitlock set a new record for the 85-89 age group when he completed the 26.2 mile course in a time of 3h 56m 33s. This was over 30 minutes faster than the previous record of 4h 34m 55s which was set back in 2004.

This now adds to the multitude of age related records that he now holds over various distances. He is also no stranger to running fast times having completed a marathon in 2h 54m at the sprightly age of 73, a record which still stands to this day.

In an interview on Monday, he revealed a few interesting facts....

1) His running shoes are about 20 years old...."I wear them well past their due date. I'm not a fan of the current shoe design, and I have a small supply of this particular model of shoe."

2) Tough on the legs...."My legs are shot today. I seemed to be OK yesterday after the marathon, walking around and that sort of thing, but rigor mortis has set in now."

3) Planning for the next marathon...."It depends how my training goes. One never knows when one has run one's last race, and I'll keep running as long as I can."

Mark Hanrahan & Laura Crowe take titles in Bernie Meaney 5k race in Co.Clare

Mark Hanrahan & Laura Crowe take the titles in the Bernie Meaney Memorial 5k race in Co.Clare over the weekend... http://munsterrunning.blogspot.com/2016/10/clareresults-photos-of-bernie-meaney.html

Results of the LeisureWorld Rebel Run...Sun 16th Oct 2016

Numbers were back up again this year for the annual LeisureWorld Rebel Run in Cork City with about 469 runners taking part. In 2015, conditions were pretty awful which resulted in a big drop in number. The conditions for the 2016 event with much better and now the numbers are becoming spread out over both the 5k and 10k races.

10km...
1     Alan O Shea (1443)     00:32:11 Male  (1)
2     Anthony Mannix (1421)     00:33:58 Male  (2)
3     Tony Kelleher (814)     00:34:45 Male  (3)
20     Grainne O'Donnell (740)     00:40:32 Female  (1)
37     Dolores Duffy (933)     00:43:39 Female  (2)
43     Julie Kenneally  (753)     00:44:20 Female  (3)

5km...
1     Mike Cremin (669)     00:18:03     Male  (1)
2     Peter Howie (812)     00:18:22     Male  (2)
3     Daniel Ahern (939)     00:19:14     Male  (3)
10     Maura Riordan (1403)     00:22:02     Female  (1)
13     Suzanne Twomey (750)     00:23:06     Female  (2)
18     Sara Barry  (869)     00:23:58     Female  (3) 

Photos...(Updated Thurs 20th Oct)
1) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a gallery of the start HERE  and a gallery of second half of the race HERE
2) There are a few photos from Mike English HERE


Full results below.....

Crusaders AC change club singlet due to Islamic threat

Crusaders AC in Dublin have had their website hacked twice recently by someone purporting to be from Islamic State. The issue concerned the name and club logo and its supposed connection to the crusades of the Middle Ages.

In a recent e-mail to members, the club said..."As some of you may or may not have heard, our website was hacked (twice) by persons unknown purporting to be from Islamic State and threatening messages sent to us.

The second attack pretty much wiped the site out. The committee has a responsibility to discuss and take measures to protect the club and a lot of time and energy was spent trying to figure out how best to deal with this

Threats have to be taken seriously and although any real danger is unlikely, it was decided that as an interim measure and as a compromise to some views in the committee to temporarily suspend the use of the cross logo until the proposal could be put to the members at the AGM."

More on the Irish Independent website.

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 15th Oct 2016

The numbers were down a small bit this week with 187 taking part.

1 Alan LEHANE    17:34    VM35-39 M1    St Finbarrs AC
2 Shane FITZGERALD FOLEY    18:13    VM35-39 M2    Midleton AC
3 Morgan O'REGAN    18:15    VM35-39 M3    Midleton AC
33 Maeve COTTER    22:40    VW35-39 F1    Eagle A.C.
43 Josephine KELLEHER    23:53    SW30-34 F2
44 Abbie DORNEY    23:54    JW10 F3    

The results of the 18th Ballincollg parkrun can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a gallery HERE 

Follow up to the 1984 Cork City Marathon post & Course measurement back in the 1980's

Last week, I had a guest post up by John Walshe on the 1984 Cork City Marathon. Included in the post were the results for the marathon itself which showed just how fast the times were back then.

Some of the questions raised were why the times were so fast and how were the courses measured back then?

As for the times, the running boom of the early to mid 80's was largely due to young adult men running. i.e. men in their mid 20's to early 30's. That's in contrast to the latest running boom which is largely a mix of men and women in their early 30's to mid 40's. As such, it's probably no great surprise that times are slower now.

As for course measurements, John Walshe has written a short follow up article and you can see it below...

As that Cork Marathon of 1984 was the BLE National Marathon, in all probability it was measured by a surveyor’s wheel. This necessitated walking the full course (probably in stages) pushing a small wheel on a handle. It would not be as accurate as measurements nowadays, but if done diligently and correctly there wouldn’t be a significant difference.

The calibrated cycle method was pioneered in the UK over 50 years ago by a man named John Jewell of the Road Runners Club. It was then adopted by the RRC of America and later by the governing world federation, the IAAF. This consisted of riding a bicycle fitted with a counter which had been calibrated over a short distance measured on the road with a steel tape.

Although the Ballycotton ‘10’ and associated races had been using the method here in Cork since the late 1970s, BLE (now Athletics Ireland) were slow off the mark and did not officially introduce it throughout the country until more than a decade later.

The first calibration course in Ireland was laid down prior to the inaugural Ballycotton ‘10’ in 1978. It was measured on the long straight just before the six-mile mark which would be familiar to many runners. The distance was a half mile long and the device used to measure the full course was a Veeder Rootes counter, supplied by John Jewell of the RRC.

This was the forerunner to the Jones Counter which was invented by an American named Alan Jones and his son Clain – the principle was exactly the same but the new counter was easier to use and slightly more sophisticated!

In 1988, Ballycotton Running Promotions purchased a Jones Counter from the New York Road Runners (NYRR), at a cost of $35 (around €30 in today's money). This – the first one in Ireland - was used (still in use today!) to measure many of the races in the Cork area before Athletics Ireland, mainly through Tom McCormack, took an interest in the late 1990s and then started to train and appoint a number of measurers throughout the country.

*Just as a footnote, with regard to the times of the first three in that Cork Marathon of 1984, it should be noted that these were class athletes. As mentioned in the article, Kiernan would go on to finish ninth that summer in the Olympic marathon, his time of 2:12:20 over two minutes faster than he ran in Cork. He had run 47:04 for 10 miles in Ballycotton the previous year and was also a sub-four-minute miler.

Although Dick Hooper was primarily a marathon runner, he would run 48:12 the following year in Ballycotton while Gerry Deegan – who finished well back in third – had personal bests of 13:35/28:48 for 5000m and 10,000m on the track.

JW

Looking ahead to the Rebel Run 10k next Sunday 16th Oct 2016

The big race in Cork next weekend is the Rebel Run 10k and 5k in Cork City.

First off, the weather forecast. There is a low pressure system over the country for the weekend and the rain will never be too far away. For Sunday morning, it's hard to tell with any degree of certainty if it will be wet or dry. Just prepare for some damp conditions and hope for the best.

There will also be a special prize for the 42nd person in the 5k race as outlined below...

Courses......The 10k  can be seen HERE and the 5k HERE

The race is organised is association with Cork Sports Partnership and their race website is HERE

Entries for the Rebel Run close at mignight on Thurs 13th Oct

Just a reminder that entries for the Rebel Run 5k & 10k in Cork City next Sunday closes at midnight on Thurs 13th Oct.

The entry link is https://eventmaster.ie/event.php?event_id=984

After that, sign in will take place in  CIT during the following times & dates prior to the event on October 16th: Friday October 14th 5pm - 8pm & Saturday October 15th 12noon -2pm
Limited sign in will take place on Sunday morning between 8am-9am.
(You will pick up your goody bag, running t-shirt, timing chip and race number here.)

Remember to bring your e-mail confirmation.

On Sunday, the 10K participants will start at 9.45am and 5K participatns will start at 9.50am.
Please note the run will start from the back of the Athletics Track at CIT.

More info about the race in this previous post.

Athletics Ireland release entry list by club for the 2016 Dublin City Marathon

Athletics Ireland have just released the entry list by club for the 2016 Dublin City Marathon which also doubles up as the National Marathon Championships. You can see it HERE

These are the Cork clubs entered by size...

As you can see, Eagle AC with 47 entries are the largest club from Cork with Watergrasshill AC at 45 just behind. They are followed by St.Finbarr's AC at 30, Mallow AC at 29, Grange Fermoy AC at 24, Youghal AC at 23 and Midleton AC at 20.

You can also note the changes from 2015. In most cases, the level of entries from Cork clubs is greater.

On a national level, West Waterford AC top the list with 150 members entered!

In terms of other club entries from Munster (40+), Clonmel AC have 57 and Waterford AC have 45.

Dave Brady from Dublin hits 600 marathons

At a MCI marathon in Charleville last weekend, Dubliner Dave Brady completed his 600th marathon!

Dave started running back in 1986 and completed his first marathon in Dublin of that year in a time of 3h 11m. In subsequent years, he would break the 3 hour barrier as well as getting down to 2h 50m at one stage.

In the early years, the number of marathons only grew at a slow rate due to the lack of events. More recently however, the number of marathons around the country has mushroomed and Dave can usually be found running in one most weekends.

The highest number of marathons that he has completed in one year was an incredible 104 back in 2014, an average for the year of two per week! Not only is that physically demanding but the logistics of finding marathons to run in and the amount of traveling is mind boggling.

Now aged 66, Dave's ultimate aim is to complete 1000 marathons and he reckons it might take another 5-6 years to get the extra 400.

Notice...Run in the Dark in Cork City - Wed 16th Nov 2016

Following the success of last years Run in the Dark charity events, they will be repeated again this year in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Belfast, London and Manchester. The date is Wednesday the 16th of November 2016.

The Cork event last year attracted around 2,100 people and it looks likely that a similar number will want to take part in this unique event around the streets of the city at night this year as well.

As can be seen from the poster, there is a choice of a 5km and 10km event. The 5k is basically 2 laps of the City Centre while the 10k is 4 laps.

 Note that the event in Cork starts at 9pm.

Entries >> For more info and to enter, go to the event website... http://www.runinthedark.org/

Results of the Mourneabbey Ladies Football 5k in Doneraile Park...Sun 9th Oct 2016

This 5k was held in Doneraile Park on Sunday the 9th of October and 139 people took part.

1 Maurice O'Brien 20:01
2 Ronan Geary 20:07
3 David O'Brien 20:14
4 Mai Ming 20:19
14 Orla Nolan 23:24
18 Anna Ryan 23:53

The results are pretty poor as they are hand written and difficult to read. Click HERE

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

Less than 150 places left for Dungarvan 10 mile

Just a reminder that as of Sunday night (9th Oct), there were less than 150 places left for the 2017 Dungarvan 10 mile road race.

Update at 8pm...Online entries are now closed.

They will be taking postal entries up to Friday of this week.

More info HERE

Results & Photos of the Cork Woodland Race...Sun 9th Oct 2016

The second Cork Woodland 5k trail race was held in Oldcourt Woods in Rochestown on Sunday the 9th of October 2016.

(L-R)...Eric Wolfe 2nd, John Lynch 1st & Mags Dempsey 1st

John Lynch M Tracton AC 22:44
Eric Wolfe M 22:58
Ian O'Leary M Ian O'Leary 24:14
Mags Dempsey Tracton AC F 30:03
Elaine Burke F 30:11
Gobnait Ni Mhuimhneachain F 31:33

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos... (Updated Mon 10th Oct @23:00)
1) Alan Bannon of Eagle AC has a gallery HERE
2) There is a gallery on the Running in Cork Facebook page HERE
3) The organisers have a gallery HERE 

Results & photos of the Cork City FC 5k...Sun 9th Oct 2016

180 turned out for the inaugural Cork City FC 5k in Curraheen on Sunday the 9th of October 2016. Conditions were foggy but dry.

Male:
1st Dennis O Regan Leevale 16:51
2nd Kieran McKeown Wattergrasshill AC 16:59
3rd Alfie Davis Leevale AC 17:13

Female
1st Carol Finn Leevale 18:18
2nd Niamh Allen Cork AC 18:44
3rd Niamh Moore Cork Varsity 19:16

(L-R)...Niamh Allen 2nd, Carol Finn 1st & Niamh Moore 3rd. Photo:Tony Tobin

U16 Male...1st Luke Tobin N/A 25:21

U16 Female...1st Jane Boland N/A 26.25

Photos... (Updated Mon 9th Oct @08:01)
1) There are 308 photos on the Running in Cork Facebook page HERE
2) Doug Minihane has a gallery HERE
3) Video of the start HERE
4) Tony Tobin has a gallery HERE

The full results are below...

Results & Photos of the Glenahulla NS 5k run...Sat 8th Oct 2016

This 5k fun run was organised by Glenahulla National School near Mitchelstown on Saturday the 8th of Oct 2016.

The winners were Tom Blackburn of Mooreabbey Milers AC and Aine Roche of Clonmel AC.

Gerard O'Sullivan has a large gallery of over 600 Back & White photos HERE

The full results can be seen HERE

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 8th Oct 2016

222 runners turned out for the 17th edition of the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park on Sat 8th of October. As you can see from the chart, the Operation Transformation bump seems to have gone and it's back down to the usual 200 or so per week. The only thing that seems to put a dent in the numbers is persistent rain.

1 Kevin O'SULLIVAN 19:20 SM25-29  M 1
2 Donal HANNIGAN 19:24 VM40-44  M 2 EMC Running Club
3 Stephen O'SULLIVAN 19:25 JM15-17  M 3
14 Geraldine O SHEA 21:30 VW45-49  F 1 St Finbarrs AC
45 Abbie DORNEY 24:17 JW10  F 2
48 Hannah FALVEY 24:25 JW10  F 3

The full results can be seen HERE