Weather Forecast for the 2018 Waterford Half-Marathon

Quite a number of runners from Cork will be heading to Waterford on Saturday 1st December for the annual Waterford Half-Marathon.

A front will pass over the southern half of the country on Friday night and early Saturday morning. By 9am, it should have cleared. This should mean dry and mild conditions for the parkruns in Cork.

For the Waterford Half, it should also have cleared and it should be overcast but dry. There will be a light breeze from the West. Temp about 11 deg C. Fine for a singlet.

Overall, pretty good conditions for a half-marathon.

Cork Gardaí warn that road races must have strict management plans

An Garda Síochana in Cork have announced that running events on public roads will need to have strict management plans in future. Failure to do so could see the event being cancelled.

Cork East TD Sean Sherlock raised the matter with Cork County's Joint Policing Committee and highlighted the number of running events being held.

In an article in the Evening Echo, he noted...“There have been some events, athletics events mainly, that have given rise to some challenges in terms of the public safety element where there are now some constraints from athletics clubs, especially in organising road races on public roads. In fairness to the Gardai, there has been a lot of engagement with individual clubs in terms of what milestones that need to be reached in order to hold the event. Clubs need a clear expectation of what their obligations are when they come to organising an event. Some of these events have been run for quite a number of years and there will be new events."

The full article can be seen on the Evening Echo website.

It looks likely that it will get harder and more expensive to organise roads races in the future as the roads get busier.

Traffic Cameras catch cheats at Chinese Half-Marathon

The annual half marathon in Shenzhen, China was held recently and there were about 16,000 finishers. It wasn't without incident as traffic cameras caught almost 250 runners cheating by taking shortcuts through bushes.

Organisers of the race also discovered 18 runners wearing fake bibs and three runners they described as "imposters". "Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself," organisers said.

Footage captured by police traffic cameras showed runners cutting through bushes to an adjacent carriageway, instead of continuing along the road and making a U-turn.

Bandon 5 mile race on New Year's Day cancelled

Bandon AC have traditionally held their 5 mile road race on New Years Day every year. As can be seen from the chart above, the numbers have been down since 2014 which follows a pattern for a lot of races in West Cork.

The club has now decided to hold it later in the year.

From Bandon AC...."Just to confirm officially, Bandon AC will not be hosting a race on or around New Years Day in 2019. Due to the number of local road races between the 25th and 31st of December we decided to hold the race later in 2019."

Leevale AC Retain National Senior Cross Country Title

The National Senior Cross Country Championships were held at the Sports Ireland Campus in Dublin last weekend on Sunday the 25th of November 2018. The Leevale AC womens team from Cork retained their national title by finishing in first place!

Since the competition has been held in Abbotstown, Dublin, Leevale AC have finished 2nd in 2016, 1st in 2017 and 1st in 2018.

(first 4 to score)
801 28:20 4 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C.
800 28:45 8 Dylan Hassett Leevale A.C.
806 29:44 24 Sinead O'Connor Leevale A.C.
803 30:51 38 Niamh Moore Leevale A.C.
802 31:19 46 Michelle Kenny Leevale A.C
804 33:06 78 Niamh Roe Leevale A.C.
799 33:36 85 Carol Finn Leevale A.C.

There were however no other Cork teams in the results (four are required for a full team). The overall numbers for a national championships were pretty poor with only 13 teams (12 in 2016, 9 in 2017). Only 10 of the 32 counties had a team of four.

The Senior Cork women's team dropped down to 4th place this year after finishing 2nd in 2016 and 1st in 2017.

In the mens senior competition, East Cork AC and Leevale AC were the only two Cork teams finishing 9th and 10th respectively. Leevale AC finished 3rd in 2016, 8th in 2017 and 10th in 2018. East Cork AC finished 9th on 2016, 7th in 2017 and 9th in 2018.

The Senior Cork men's team drop down to 4th this year after finishing 3rd in 2016 and 2017.

Like the women's competition, there was a lack of teams or counties. A total of 18 teams took part in 2018 (18 in 2016, 19 in 2017) while there were 10 counties in 2018 (8 in 2016 & 2017).

The full results can be seen on the Athletics Ireland website.

Number of teams at the Irish National Senior Cross Country Championships

Daily Mile for school children spreads to Cork

Back in September of 2015, I had a post up on the site titled "Scottish Primary School is starting a running revolution to tackle childhood obesity". It was about how a school in Scotland was trying to get their children to exercise every day to improve their fitness levels and get them used to a culture of exercise.

What is The Daily Mile? The aim of The Daily Mile is simple – we want to get children fit by running for 15 minutes a day. Headteacher, Elaine Wyllie, founded The Daily Mile to tackle the obesity and poor levels of fitness of the children in her school. The great thing is that this daily exercise is not timetabled. Teachers take their classes out at a time of their choosing and it only takes 15 minutes. It’s simple – the kids don’t get changed, it gets them out of their seats and gives them an opportunity to go outside and socialise within their school community.

The concept gradually spread to the rest of the UK and is now in Ireland. There are several in Cork schools as can be seen from the map above (Nov 2018). This however is just a fraction of the schools in the county.

If you're a teacher or are interested in the Daily Mile concept then check out this website... https://thedailymile.ie/

Results & Photos of the Glenville 4 mile race - Sun 25th Nov 2018

A record 387 runners turned out for this years Glenville 4 mile road race organised by Watergrasshill AC, a huge jump of almost 31%.

1 Merritt    Colin    Male    n/a    M 45    0:20:42
2 Meade    John    Male    Gilead    Overall Male Runner    0:20:52
3 Durkan    Eoin    Male    Donore Harriers    Overall Male Runner    0:21:03
1 Lee    Lizzie    Female    Leevale A/C    F 35    0:22:41 (Course record)
2 Veale    Kate    Female    West Waterford A/C    F   0:24:25
3 Geary    Ann    Female    Midleton AC    F 40    0:24:48

Category results at the bottom of the page.

First 3 men in the 2018 Glenville 4 mile (L-R) John Meade, Colin Merritt & Eoin Durkan. Photo: Mick Dooley

Photos... (Updated Mon 26th Nov 10pm)
1) There are several albums up on the Running in Cork Facebook page.
...a) Before the race and the first hill
...b) About the 3.8 mile mark - (less than 32:16)
...c) About the 3.8 mile mark - (32:16 plus) 
...d) Prize giving

2) Andy O'Rourke has three galleries up on Facebook with about 40 in each.
... Album 1 ... Album 2 ... Album 3

3) Mick Dooley has a nice gallery of photos HERE

4) Gearóid Ó Laoi has a gallery on Flickr

5) Belinda Sullivan has a gallery here 

Results...
Bib #    Last Name    First Name    M/F    Team Name    Eligible Division(s)    Finishing Time
192    Merritt    Colin    Male    n/a    M 45    0:20:42
62    Meade    John    Male    Gilead    Overall Male Runner    0:20:52
118    Durkan    Eoin    Male    Donore Harriers    Overall Male Runner    0:21:03
64    Davis    Alfie    Male    Leevale AC    M 40    0:21:12
402    Fitzgibbon    John    Male    Thurles Crokes    Overall Male Runner    0:21:19
147    Hayes    Dermot    Male    Dundrum AC    M 50    0:21:23
494    McKeown    Kieran    Male    Watergrasshill AC    M 40    0:21:36
162    O'Shea    Barry    Male    Middleton AC    Overall Male Runner    0:21:42
51    Collins    Mark    Male    Grange Fermoy AC    Overall Male Runner    0:21:57
94    Scully    Shane    Male    Nenagh    Overall Male Runner    0:22:16
53    Sheahan    Kieran    Male    Watergrasshill AC    Overall Male Runner    0:22:24
184  Lee    Lizzie    Female    Leevale A/C    F 35    0:22:41
93    O'Sullivan    Johnny    Male    Galtee Runners A/C    M 45    0:22:46
484    O'Mahony    Ken    Male    Togher A/C    Overall Male Runner    0:23:02

Big Clean-Up for the Glenville race

 

Members of Watergrasshill AC were out in force on Saturday to do a major clean up on the route of the Glenville 4 mile. As you can see from the photo, quite an amount of rubbish was collected.

The Glenville 4 mile race will start at 11:30am on Sunday the 25th of November 2018.

More info here... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2018/10/notice-great-glenville-4-mile-race-sun.html

Results & Photos of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun... Sat 24th Nov 2018

As might be expected with the new parkrun starting up in the Glen on Cork's north side, it seemed likely that the the numbers for Ballincollig would be down. In the end, a total of 257 took part which is still pretty good.

It's probably likely that after the initial surge of interest in the Glen, the new year peak and Operation Transformation, the numbers for both parkruns will probably stabilise in the Spring. Ballincollig may well go down a bit but still be at a high level. The combined numbers for both events will probably exceed what Ballincollig alone would have attracted on its own.

1 Unknown
2 Dan TAYLOR    18:54    SM30-34    M2    Hedge End Running Club
3 Andrew WRIGHT    19:03    SM30-34    M3
7 Riina KUUSELO    19:55    VW40-44    F1    Knowle and Dorridge Running Club
10 Katie HICKSON    20:39    VW40-44    F2
48 Maria MADIGAN    24:03    VW40-44    F3

The results of the 126th edition are here... http://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=126

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

142 turn out for new Glen River 5k parkrun!

The first 5k parkrun on the north side of Cork City got off to a good start with 142 runners taking part. Conditions beforehand were a little damp so hopefully this new parkrun in the Glen will get supported.

Remember, they are always looking for volunteers to help out so it's something to consider if you're a local.

1 Unknown
2 Tobi GRAB    18:40    VM40-44    M2    Leevale AC
3 Conrad DALY    19:25    SM30-34    M3
20 Annmarie BURNS    22:13    SW30-34    F1
27 Anna HOGAN    23:00    VW40-44    F2    UCC Staff Athletics Club
30 Elaine GUINANE    23:20    VW40-44    F3    Eagle A.C.

The full results are here... http://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=1

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a gallery HERE
2) Mick Dooley has photos HERE 

Survey on Running Related Injuries

Shona Heaslip is doing her thesis in IT Tralee as part of her degree in Health, Leisure & Fitness and is looking for people to complete an online survey.

"An investigation of overuse lower limb running related injuries and risk factors associated with injuries in recreational and club runners.

You are invited to take part in this questionnaire which aims to investigate overuse lower limb running related injuries and risk factors associated with injuries in recreational and club runners. This study is being conducted by a fourth year Health and Leisure with Physical Education student, as required to successfully pass their “Research Project”, module."


The link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9BHNCT5

New Defibrillator for the Ballincollig 5k parkrun!

Thanks to some Tesco Blue token campaigns and generous donations by runners, a new defibrillator has been bought for the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig!

The model purchased was a Zoll AED Plus which was in the region of €1,200.

Another local volunteer group, Ballincollig First Responders, have kindly offered to train 10 of the organisers of the local parkrun in its use.

The photo above shows Suzi Quirke and Maretta Brennan, co-Event Directors of Ballincollig parkrun with the Manager of Tesco Ballincollig.

Perhaps the organisers of other 5k parkruns might consider doing something similar?

Notice : Great Glenville 4 mile race - Sun 25th Nov 2018

The annual Glenville 4 mile road race is coming up on Sunday the 25th of November 2018 and it should be of particular interest considering its proximity to Cork City.

In terms of getting there, the village of Glenville is only 5 miles or 8 kms from Watergrasshill and the M8 motorway.

The race starts at 11:30am and the race HQ is the Glenville Primary School. The village is pretty small so the race HQ, start and finish point are all close by.

Preview.......You'll find directions, maps and a course profile HERE

Carrigaline Running Track Delayed

There was an article in today's Evening Echo about how funding for a new running track in Carrigaline has been delayed.

Transfers for the 2018 Waterford Half-Marathon

The Waterford Half-Marathon is coming up on Saturday the 1st of December and it sold out a few weeks back. However, they will allow transfers up until the 29th of November.

A few people have contacted me looking for numbers. If you are not going and would like to transfer your entry, then leave a short message on the Running in Cork Facebook page here

Transfers

You will be able to transfer your entry via our designated process only. Transfers will be available until 28th November. Please note that if you race pack is sent prior to completing the transfer form it will be your responsibility to pass it on to the new registrant. There is a €3 fee associated with transfers*.

*Note: this fee is for bank and administration costs. The entry fee must be paid directly to the person transferring the entry. Total Timing or Waterford AC are not involved in that negotiation and take no responsibility for failed transactions between participants.

Funding approved for Greenway in Glanmire

It was announced today that funding has now been approved for the development of a new Greenway in Glanmire.

While it is part of an overall package of measures to improve the road network in the area, the route of the Greenway can be seen above.

Note the following features and key points...

A greenway of length approx. 2km which will connect  Glanmire  Community  School and St  Joseph’s  National School  in  the  north  with Cólaiste an Phiarsigh in the south. It will also link residential developments with facilities and services  in  Riverstown  Village  and  Glanmire  Village.

The proposed greenway will typically be a 4m wide surfaced path. For sections where the greenway runs alongside a road it will typically be a 3m wide surfaced path where space permits.  The greenway is also required to cross the Glashaboy River four times along its length.

Given its proximity to both the Butlerstown and Glashaboy Rivers, the proposed greenway is located  within or  close  to the  1% AEP  fluvial  flood extents over  most  of  its  length. A greenway however is considered as Water-Compatible development as per ‘The Planning System  and  Flood Risk  Management – Guidelines  for  Planning’  and  therefore its construction within Flood Zone A is considered as appropriate. This does mean however that there may be occasions when the greenway cannot be safely used due to flooding. Due care should be taken in design to ensure that islands are not created which could potentially strand users should flood waters rise rapidly.
You can find detailed drawings and maps of the proposed route on the Cork County Council website.

Guest Post by John Walshe : THE REMARKABLE TONY SIMMONS

In this guest post, John Walshe looks back on the career of Tony Simmons who was one of the top runners in the UK back in the 1970's. The article also recounts how in one race, Tony Simmons ran a huge negative split and still won the race. Food for thought?

THE REMARKABLE TONY SIMMONS... By John Walshe

The programme for this year’s Cork City Sports contained an article on the meeting of 1978 which took place, for the one and only time, at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The reason for the move being that the Mardyke was in the process of changing to an all-weather surface while the CIT arena had yet to be developed.

Steve Ovett, then in the early years of a famous career that would bring Olympic medals and world records, was the main attraction. The previous year at the Mardyke, Ovett had defeated Eamonn Coghlan over one mile, 3:59.1 to 4:00.8, before going on to Midleton the following night where he beat John Treacy over 5000m.

Conditions at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on that July evening weren’t conducive to spectacular times with a blustery wind and a grass track that lacked the manicured surface of the Mardyke. Over the final lap of the mile, the famous Ovett kick came into play and the 22-year-old was untroubled when winning in one of his slowest ever times of 4:08.3.

Another visiting runner who tasted success that night was Tony Simmons in the 5000m. After Neil Cusack led for the opening mile, Simmons took over and built up a big lead over favourite Gerry Deegan. The Luton runner crossed the line almost one hundred metres clear, just scraping inside 14 minutes with his time of 13:59.4.

Tony Simmons was one of a number of top-class British distance runners who performed with distinction on all surfaces during the 1970s and his career was certainly marked by longevity and consistency. Born in the town of Maesteg in Wales on October 6th, 1948, in 1963 he established a world best mile time for a 14-year-old of 4:29.5. Some 25 years later, aged 40, he was still capable of running 23:51 for five miles on the road.

In the years between, he would post impressive PBs of 13:21.2 for 5000m and 27:43.59 for the 10,000m and compete at Olympic, European and Commonwealth level. At the 1974 European Championships in Rome, he was narrowly beaten (four-hundreds of a second) by Manfred Kuschmann of East Germany in the 10,000m.

Two years later he finished fourth over the same distance at the Montreal Olympics. After winning his heat in a swift 28:01.8 three days before, Simmons’ time in the final of 27:56.4 was just 1.4 seconds behind Brendan Foster’s bronze – the only British medal won in track and field at that Olympiad. Simmons later admitted he hung back to avoid carrying one of the chasing pack to within range of Foster.

But it was the year of 1975 that Tony Simmons achieved what every English runner strived for in those days – victory in the iconic nine-mile National Cross-Country. The fact that it was held over his home course at Luton made it all the more sweeter, as he moved away from Bernie Ford with a half mile to go to add his name to an illustrious roll of honour.

His diminutive build – standing 1.70/5’ 7” tall and weighing 56kg/124lb – seemed ideally suited to the marathon and later that summer it looked like he was on for a fast time at the AAA championship at Stoke-on-Trent when opening up a lead of almost two minutes after 15 miles. However, after succumbing to the dreaded cramps in his hamstrings at 22 miles his race was at an end and he was forced to drop out.

So when 1978 came around, Simmons was again prepared to have another crack at the classic distance. But it was a few build-up races to the marathon that caught the imagination, one in particular which certainly could be described as ‘remarkable’, as the title to this article suggests.

Twenty miles was a popular distance back in the day before the half-marathon came into vogue, seen as the ideal stepping-stone from the 10,000m (and 10-mile) to the full marathon. The most famous race over the distance was the Finchley ‘20’ in April, usually acting as the Inter-Counties championships. Held over a four-lap course at Ruislip in West London, it had a chequered history with the course record of 1:39:01 having been set by Bill Adcocks in 1972.

First held in 1933, the race had an unbroken sequence and even World War 2 failed it to halt its progress. It was ironical, then, that this year’s event last March succumbed to the Artic weather that prevailed and for the first time in 85 years it failed to go ahead.

With the AAA Marathon scheduled for Sandback in Cheshire on May 7th, Simmons felt he needed to do a ‘20’ in preparation but only decided to do the Finchley race an hour before the afternoon start on Saturday April 15th. His coach at the time, Harry Wilson (who also advised Ovett) told him not to run, so a compromise was reached. Simmons would run the first half at a ‘training pace’ and then he could race the second 10 miles. And that is exactly how it turned out.

At the end of the first lap, Simmons was back in 76th place. His time of 27:30 put him two minutes and 20 seconds behind the leading group headed by former winner Harry Leeming, the second fastest-ever over the course with his 1:39:18. Over the next five miles Bill Padgett went into a narrow lead over Dave Clarke, passing the halfway mark in 50:27. Simmons at this stage was three minutes in arrears, his 53:35 moving him up to 41st place.

Simmons switched into overdrive on lap three, picking off the runners one by one and the result of his 24:19 lap was that he was now in fifth, one minute and 45 seconds behind leader Clarke. With about two miles to go, Simmons passed Clarke and strode home an untroubled winner by 57 seconds in a time of 1:41:55. Negative splits may be the way to run, but Simmons’ 10-mile clockings of 53:35 and 48:20 certainly took it to a new level!

On the three-lap course at Sandbach, Simmons finally proved that he could run a fast marathon when taking the AAA title in 2:12:33, then the sixth fastest on the all-time British list. On June 24th, 10 days before he ran in Cork, he set what was then considered a world best time for the half-marathon when he ran 62:47 at Welwyn Garden City.

However, at the European Championships that September in Prague, Simmons could only manage 2:15:31 for 13th place, well behind Leonid Moiseyev of the USSR who won in 2:11:58. Maybe, like a lot of runners before and since, the marathon distance just wasn’t for him.

But, as he proved over a long and brilliant career and especially during that spring and summer of 1978, from the roads of Ruislip and Sandbach to the playing field of Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Tony Simmons was certainly one remarkable athlete.

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

Major flooding at the 2018 Venice Marathon

The next time you encounter a few pools of water out on a race course, spare a thought for those taking part in this years marathon in Venice when parts of the course were under water!

With heavy rains and high tides, participants found themselves having to run through ankle deep water in the final few miles. The leading man and woman who were on target for 2:09 and 2:26 finishes respectively ended up with 2:13:13 and 2:31:30.

Cork runners medal at the British & Irish Masters Cross County Championships

A number of runners from Cork won individual and team medals at the British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships which were on in Swansea over the weekend.

Full results...http://bmaf.org.uk/british-and-irish-masters-cross-country-international/

Photos...
1) There is a small gallery of photos of runners from Cork here.

Some of the medal winners from Cork are shown in BOLD below...

Lizzie Lee sets new course record to win Stook 10 mile

Following on from winning the national Marathon title in Dublin at the end of October, Cork runner Lizzie Lee was back in action on Sunday at the Stook 10 mile in Kilkenny.

In a modest sized field of 289 runners, Lizzie broke the old course record  by 3 mins to finish in 1h 00m 37s. If that time looks a bit slow then it's because it was a really tough course!

1. 60:37 Lizzie Lee Leevale Athletic Club
2. 64:24 Isobel Oakes (unattached)
3. 67:58 Grace Reilly Portlaoise A.C.

Just three men finished ahead of Lizzie in this race organised by Gowran AC.

Stook 10 mile photos... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.972231586298363&type=1&l=bd1c298fe4

Stook 10 mile results... https://www.popupraces.ie/the-stook-10-mile-and-5k-challenge/

Results of the Skibbereen 10 mile & 5 mile race - Sun 18th Nov 2018

This was the first year of this new 10 mile road race in Skibbereen and the numbers were pretty modest. In the 10 mile race, there were just 92 finishers which is low enough while there were 85 finishers in the 5 mile.

Going back a few years, the number of finishers in races in West Cork was pretty good but it really seems to have dropped off of late.

10 mile
1 Denis Lyons     St Finbarrs AC       1:00:06     SM
2 John Collins     Drinagh   1:01:08     Sm
3 Pavel Hensirouski     Clonakilty       1:01:31 sm
25 Deirdre McCarthy     Rosscarbery       1:15:17 sf
28 Dympna McSweeney     Dunmanway       1:16:43 sf
29 Julie O'Brien     Ballydehob       1:16:56 sf

Skibbereen 10 mile results... http://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2018-Race-Results/Skibbereen-AC-10-Mile-Results

Skibbereen 5 mile results... http://www.premiertimingsystems.ie/2018-Race-Results/Skibbereen-AC-5-Mile-Results

Looks like there was a bit of a mix up in the 5 mile. See message below from Denis McCaul.

Results of the Cloyne Commons 4k race - Sun 18th Nov 2018

Cloyne Commons Challenge 4K Series Race 1... Sunday 18 November 2018. 9:30 am

1 0:13:03 O'RIORDAN, Niall An Brú M40 05:14.9
2 0:13:14 O'SHEA, Barry Midleton AC M 05:19.3
3 0:13:25 KELLEHER, Kenneth East Cork AC M 05:23.8
22 0:15:28 O'BRIEN, Claire Watergrasshill AC F 06:13.2
35 0:16:48 LEAHY, Eileen Midleton AC F 06:45.4
53 0:17:53 KELLY, Christine Aghada RC F 07:11.6

Provisional Results for All Competitors in finish order. Pace Race Race
Place Time Name Team Race Age Category min/mile
1 0:13:03 O'RIORDAN, Niall An Brú M40 05:14.9 5 1
2 0:13:14 O'SHEA, Barry Midleton AC M 05:19.3 118 2
3 0:13:25 KELLEHER, Kenneth East Cork AC M 05:23.8 25 3
4 0:13:28 O'DWYER, Finbarr Leevale AC M45 05:25.0 267 4
5 0:13:45 SHEEHAN, Nigel Youghal AC M 05:31.8 194 5
6 0:13:50 SHEEHAN, Kieran Watergrasshill AC M 05:33.8 94 6
7 0:14:08 INCE, Ken Watergrasshill AC M 05:41.1 23 7
8 0:14:10 HANNON, Tim Midleton AC M 05:41.9 114 8
9 0:14:16 CROWLEY, Tim East Cork AC M 05:44.3 97 9
10 0:14:33 CREMIN, Mike Unattached M 05:51.1 115 10
11 0:14:35 O'SULLIVAN, Ray Aghada RC M 05:51.9 106 11
12 0:14:42 COLLINS, Trevor Naas AC M40 05:54.7 242 12
13 0:14:52 WALL, Donogh East Cork AC M 05:58.8 257 13
14 0:14:57 MALONE, John Youghal AC M45 06:00.8 69 14
15 0:15:06 AHERN, Derek Midleton AC M40 06:04.4 14 15

Cities turning their backs on hosting Olympic Games

There is an interesting article on the BBC new website about how the Olympic Games is in trouble as fewer cities seem willing to pay the cost of hosting them.

Olympic Games: Why cities are snubbing the 'greatest show on Earth'

New resurfaced athletics track in Limerick

I came across this photo showing the newly refurbished athletics track at the University of Limerick.

The surface of the old track was in a pretty poor condition and the new blue one should make it one of the best in the country.

Results & Photos of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun... Sat 17th Nov 2018

 There was another big turn out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park with 357 taking part. That's well above the average for 2018 which is 293 so far. The average since it started is 266.

With the new 5k parkrun starting in the Glen next week, I wonder how the numbers in Ballincollig will fare?

1 Damien GERAGHTY    18:57    SM30-34    68.87 %    M1    Sportsworld
2 Unknown
3 Alan O'SULLIVAN    19:17    VM35-39    68.37 %    M3
39 Anna KLIMEK    21:59    VW35-39    68.01 %    F1
43 Olga O'SULLIVAN    22:11    VW40-44    69.35 %    F2    Eagle A.C.
70 Gillian FLYNN    23:30    VW35-39    64.40 %    F3

Results... http://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=125

Photos...
1) Collette Ryan has a gallery on Google Photos
2) Joe Murphy has a gallery on Facebook (Album 1)
 with a second one here (Album 2)

Friday Fun : Delayed Flight Training

Friday Fun : Delayed Flight Training

training for delayed flight pic.twitter.com/9ptCn9kR82

— viral viral (@xxlfunny1) November 14, 2018

Notice : Cloyne Commons 4k Series - Nov 2018 to Mar 2019

This 4k series in Cloyne in East Cork will be held every month from November 2018 to March 2019.

Each one only costs €5 to enter.

4k is a bit of an odd distance but it's a good distance to gauge your fitness. As you train over the Winter months, you can do a comparison between your times to see how you are progressing.

Entries on the morning of each race.

Article in Evening Echo appeals for volunteers for Junior parkrun in Ballincollig

There was a short article in today's Evening Echo about the proposed new Junior 2k parkrun in Ballincollig. Link HERE

Approval given for 9th parkrun in Belfast

Just a quick bit of news. Belfast’s 9th parkrun route will be in the grounds of Stranmillis College.

Belfast by population is just over twice the size of Cork. At present, there is one in Ballincollig and a new one starting in the Glen on the 24th of November. If Belfast can accommodate nine, then that suggests that there is probably scope for two more in Cork City.

Launch of the 2018 Togher AC 5k road race

Members of Togher AC were out in force for the launch of their 5k road race which is coming up on Sun 30th Dec 2018.

Pictured at the launch of the Togher AC 2018 Road Race by the Lord Mayor in City Hall last night are (l to r) Frank Doherty, Chairperson of Togher AC, Brendan McCarthy, Cork Mental Health Foundation, Lord Mayor Mick Finn, Jason O'Callaghan of Ryans Supervalu Togher and Aidan Hartnett, Secretary of Togher AC.

All proceeds from the road will go to Cork Mental Health Foundation and Togher AC and Ryan's Supervalu Togher are the main sponsors of the event.

More info in the race notice... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2018/11/notice-togher-5k-road-race-sun-30th-dec.html

Results of the Run in the Dark in Cork City... Wed 14th Nov 2018

 

Almost 1500 runners took to the streets of Cork City last night for the annual Run in the Dark charity race.

10k
1     All Ages     Daniel FIELDHOUSE (10007)         00:37:10
2     All Ages     Nick HOGAN (10800)         00:37:49
3     All Ages     Niall HURLEY (10622)         00:39:02
Female
1     All Ages     Sinead O SULLIVAN (10733)         00:43:07
2     All Ages     Mary KELLEHER (9762)         00:43:22
3     All Ages     Goretti GUILFOYLE (9706)         00:44:44

 5km
1     All Ages     Eric CURRAN (9904)         00:16:00
2     All Ages     Shane COONEY (10698)         00:17:48
3     All Ages     Clive KERRISK (10987)         00:18:19
Female
1     All Ages     Alison DONNELLY (10999)         00:21:16
2     All Ages     Louise HAYES (10415)         00:21:28
3     All Ages     Clodagh CREEDON (9236)         00:22:00

All the results can be seen here... https://www.sportsplits.com/m3/race?c=74&r=430&l=en-US

BBC Article & Podcast on the Secrets of Endurance Athletes

The BBC had a programme recently on BBC Radio 4 about endurance running. This got turned into a podcast and was also the basis of an article that appeared on the BBC website.

Much of the material covers the 246km road race called the Spartathlon in Greece and how grueling it is. It covers the three main parameters of performance... VO2 max, lactate threshold and running economy.

There's also a great link to a story about some Japanese Buddhist monks who run 1,000 marathons in 1,000 days on the road to enlightenment!

One of the most shocking findings was that the blood samples of those who completed the Spartahlon looked similar to those of people close to death.

It should be of interest to anyone with an interest in marathons or ultra running and is well worth a read and listen.

Podcast (26 mins)... https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswvx8

Article... http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181106-the-secrets-of-endurance-athletes

Weather Forecast for the Run in the Dark - Wed 14th Nov 2018

The forecast for the Run in the Dark event in Cork this evening is pretty reasonable.

Rain..... The computer models predict that there will be a 20% chance of rain. If it does rain then it's likely to be more of a drizzle than a heavy downpour. Although the rain is unlikely to be far away, it may well stay dry.

Wind..... There will be a strong southerly breeze coming in from the Atlantic although that should be reduced a lot in amongst the buildings of Cork City.

Temperature..... About 13 deg C. Very mild for an evening in mid-November.

New Junior parkruns started in 2018

After putting up a post a few days back about the good numbers taking part in the weekly Cobh Junior 2km parkrun, I had a look to see what other ones exist.

I had heard about the Junior parkrun in Tralee and that seems to be doing very well. It started in December of 2016 and its long term average is 121 per week!

Think about that for a second. That's an average of 121 children and teenagers aged between 4 and 14 years old who are out getting some exercise at 9:30am every Sunday morning. And it's all free!

What I hadn't realised was that two new Junior parkruns started in September of this year.

In Limerick, there is a new Junior parkrun in Shelbourne Park and it is getting an average of 77 per week .

In Wexford, there is a new Junior parkrun at the Irish National Heritage Park in Ferrycarrig and it is getting an average of 73 per week.

Just have a look at the map above and see the number of Junior parkruns in Dublin. And yet Cobh is currently the only one in Cork. Surely there is scope for a Junior parkrun in Cork City?

Run in the Dark Cork looking for volunteers

From the organisers... We are looking for volunteers to steward the Cork Run In The Dark on Wednesday 14th Nov. If you are available to support this worthy cause, come along to the Clarion Hotel on Lapps Quay at 7:30pm

Every November, as darkness sweeps the globe, thousands of people from over 50 cities will pull on their running shoes and red flashing armbands and hit the streets to Run in the Dark.
Join The Mark Pollock Trust and thousands of fellow runners in Cork to Run in the Dark on the 14th November 2018 and support our ongoing research to find a cure for paralysis in our lifetime.

There is the option of running a 5k or 10k distance and if trainers are a little dusty you can even walk the 5k route!

The Cork event will leave from Patrick Street at 9.00pm on 14th November 2018.
Every donation, every step, every study, moves us towards a cure for paralysis and enabling people to walk again.

Civic Reception for Fireman Alex O'Shea who raised €30,000

Back in September of 2018, Cork Firefighter Alex O'Shea ran 32 marathons in the 32 Irish counties in just 16 days. He raised over €30,000 for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind as a result.

A civic reception was held in City Hall in Alex's honour recent to mark this achievement.

In the video below, Colm O'Sullivan of 96FM is chatting to Alex and Lord Mayor Cllr Mick Finn.

Another look at the Cobh Junior parkrun... Nov 2018

The 25th edition of the Cobh Junior 2k parkrun was held on Sunday the 11th of November 2018 and attracted a field of 96.

As can be seen from the chart above, it's been doing quiet nicely with an average of 94 per week. To date, a total of 437 teenagers and children have taken part in this free weekly event in Cobh.

Considering the course is 4 laps of a small park, there must be plenty of scope for other Junior parkruns in Cork?

If you are interested in trying out the Cobh Junior parkrun with your kids then remember that..

1) It's free
2) It's on at 9:30am every Sunday morning

For more info, go to http://www.parkrun.ie/cobh-juniors/

Aidan Hogan of Rising Sun AC named Irish Ultra Distance Runner of the Year for 2018

This just in! Aidan Hogan has been named as the Irish Ultra Distance Runner of the year.  Thanks to Jimmy Murray, Sec. Rising Sun AC for the update.

Results of the Eyeries 5 mile road race - Sat 10th Nov 2018

173 runners turned out for this years Eyeries 5 mile road race on the Beara peninsula. This is almost identical to last year when they got 175.

1 HARRINGTON, Shane    East Cork A.C.        0:29:19
2 CASEY, Eddie    Clonakilty Road Runners A.C.        0:30:21
3 O'CALLAGHAN, PAUL    Leevale A.C.        0:30:29
6    O'SHEA, Rachel    West Muskerry A.C.        0:33:51
16 O'SULLIVAN, Deirdre    Beara A.C.    F35    0:36:03
19 COPPINGER, ALICE    Bantry A.C.    F40    0:36:45

This race was organised by Beara AC. They have a report down below the results.

Photos...(Updated Sun 11th Nov @5:27pm)
1) Sinead Mulcahy has a number of finish line photos.
...a) Album 1
...b) Album 2
...c) Album 3
...d) Album 4

Results for All Competitors in finish order.               
               
PLACE    NAME    TEAM    CATEGORY    TIME
1    HARRINGTON, Shane    East Cork A.C.        0:29:19
2    CASEY, Eddie    Clonakilty Road Runners A.C.        0:30:21
3    O'CALLAGHAN, PAUL    Leevale A.C.        0:30:29
4    MURPHY, CONOR    Beara A.C.    M40    0:32:23
5    O'SULLIVAN, STEPHEN    Bantry A.C.    M45    0:33:23
6    O'SHEA, Rachel    West Muskerry A.C.        0:33:51
7    SMITH, RAY    Tuosist    M50    0:34:01

Results & Photos of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun... Sat 10th Nov 2018

After the miserable wet conditions last week, the numbers bounced back this week with 353 taking part!

1 Finbarr ODWYER 17:19    VM45-49    M1    Leevale AC
2 Rowan DALY 18:06    SM18-19    M2    St Albans AC
3 Noel EARLY 18:46    VM35-39    M3
16 Ruth DERVAN    20:11    SW30-34    F1    Clapham Pioneers
64 Sarah MCCARTHY 23:57    SW30-34    F2
65 Terri WATKINS 23:59    VW40-44    F3

Results... http://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/weeklyresults/?runSeqNumber=124

Photos...
1) Collette Ryan has a gallery HERE

Update on the 'Glen River parkrun' in Cork City...

Back in May of 2018, I had a post up about a new proposed 5k parkrun on the north side of Cork City.

Meetings were held, the level of support was assessed and now a core group of about 12-13 has been established. An event director has also been appointed for this new 5k parkrun.

The new event will also be formally called the "Glen River parkrun".

Update Thurs 23rd Oct 2018 : The word is that the new Glen River parkrun will be starting at on Saturday the 24th of November 2018. Subject to confirmation of course but the wheels are turning.

Update Fri 9th Nov 2018 : Thanks to the information supplied by John Kissane, I have put together a map of the new 5k course in the Glen in Cork City.

See the map below. The small loop with the Orange arrows is approx 1km. The larger loop with the Yellow arrows is approx 2kms.

The 5k course starts with the short 1km loop (orange) followed by two of the large 2km loops (yellow). You will pass the start/finish line area twice before finishing there.

The course has a small hill on the western most end... on the left of the map where you turn around. Obviously, this small hill has to be completed twice.

The whole area is very sheltered which will be good on windy days.

The new website for this new 5k parkrun is http://www.parkrun.ie/glenriver/

Like all 5k parkruns, it will be on every Saturday morning at 9:30am and is completely free. I'm sure they will be looking for volunteers as well so if you can help out from time to time, let the organisers know. It's all pretty easy stuff and hundreds of people volunteer every week around the country.

More info as it becomes available.

Notice...Eyeries 5 mile road race, West Cork - Sat 10th Nov 2018

This is the 5th year of the Eyeries 5 mile road race and follows on the success of the previous four years. The Beara Peninsula in West Cork is one of the most scenic parts of the country and an ideal backdrop for this road race in November. It might well suit any clubs or small groups who are looking for a day or weekend away.

On a nice sunny day, it's an absolutely stunning spot. The town of Castletownbere is only 4.5 miles away so there is plenty of accommodation on offer.

From the organisers.....EYERIES 5 MILE ROAD RACE...A scenic course with some challenging hills starting and ending in the village - this year's race Saturday 10th November 2.30pm

The Eyeries 5 Mile Road Race takes place every November, two weeks after the Dublin Marathon. It is organised by Beara A.C. - an enthusiastic group of runners who delight in putting on a great show for competitors who come from near and far to participate. The challenging course begins and ends in the village and is a great test to even the toughest of runners. This year will be the 5th Eyeries 5 Mile Road Race.

€10.00 Online Pre-registration: To pre-register online (for only €10.00) click HERE

Or Register on the Day: begins at 12 noon on the day in Eyeries Hall. €12.00 per person if registering on the day.


In November, this stunning part of West Cork can be very quiet and I'm sure they would appreciate all the support that they can get.

Course Preview...A full preview of the course can be seen HERE

More info about the race the locality at https://www.facebook.com/Eyeries-Five-Mile-1194649237340228/

Short video of the race in 2014...

Study shows 22% of Irish 9 year olds overweight

A new study called 'Growing up in Ireland' has found that 22% of Irish 9 year old are overweight. Furthermore, it was found that 5% were in the obese category.

Key stats...

1) 78% of nine-year-olds were not overweight; 17% were overweight and 5% were obese.

2) Girls were more likely than boys to be overweight/obese (23% vs. 21%);

3) 32% of children in the lowest income group were overweight or obese compared to 14% in the highest income group;

4) Only one-quarter of nine-year-olds reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes every single day — the World Health Organisation recommended level of activity for children;

5) The rate of meeting this recommended level is higher for boys than girls (28% vs. 22%);

6) 26% of those in the highest-income category were physically active on five to six days per week, compared to only 20% in the lowest-income category.

Full info in the Irish Examiner.