Welcome to the Running in Cork blog, home of the Cork running community. This is the largest website in Cork & Munster for news on road races and general running news. Included are a current race calendar, race previews, photos, results as well as some local, national and international news items.
The chart above shows the number of finishers at the 5k parkrun in the Glen since it started in November of 2018.
A 5k parkrun in the centre of the north side of Cork City should really be getting 100 participants per week considering the number of people living relatively close to it. Instead, it has declined to around the 60 mark.
If you live in Glanmire, Mayfield, Ballyvolane or nearby, you might consider supporting it either by running it or by volunteering.
Remember that most people do not have a local 5k parkrun every Saturday morning. If it's on your doorstep then try and support it.
1 Paul DUGGAN 18:22 VM50-54 M1 St Finbarrs AC 2 Ken INCE 18:39 VM35-39 M2 Watergrasshill AC 3 Simon SORENSEN 19:11 SM30-34 M3 St Finbarrs AC 5 Claire O' BRIEN 20:35 SW30-34 F1 Watergrasshill AC 7 Linda O SULLIVAN 21:23 VW45-49 F2 10 Colette O DONOGHUE 21:42 VW35-39 F3 Watergrasshill AC
329 turn out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park. Well done to Joe Bosonnet who as a Junior Male in the 15 to 17 year old category was first over the line.
1 Joe BOSONNET 17:52 JM15-17 M1 Sanctuary Runners
2 Nick HOGAN 17:53 VM35-39 M2
3 Shane O'CALLAGHAN 19:04 VM35-39 M3 8 Aoife BRADY 19:30 VW35-39 F1 Sportsworld 35 Mairead PEREZ 22:03 VW45-49 F2 41 Mary SWEENEY 22:17 VW55-59 F3 St Finbarrs AC
There was a big jump in numbers for this years Millstreet 5 mile road race as 214 cross the finish line. That's almost 20% up on last year.
The race was organisd by Millstreet AC.
1 Kevin MAUNSELL 00:25:30 508 M (1) Clonmel AC
2 Mark WALSH 00:26:16 502 M (2) Leevale
3 John SHINE 00:26:21 109 M (3) Leevale AC 33 Carol FINN 00:32:04 520 F (1) Leevale Ac 46 Linda O'CONNOR 00:33:46 477 F (2) 57 Denise QUILTER 00:34:46 524 F (3) Millstreet Ac
The Willie Neenan Memorial 5 mile road race is coming up in the town of Millstreet in NW Cork on Friday, the 28th of June at 8:15pm.
It's an area of the county where there isn't a huge number of races so it should be of interest to runners in both Cork and Kerry.
There will also be a dry fit top for all finishers...
Entries...The entry fee is €11.05 if you pre-enter online HERE. You can also enter on the day for €15. Race HQ is the GAA community hall which is directly across from the church at the western end of the town.
Organised by Millstreet AC, the course has been accurately measured by Jones Counter and has an Athletics Ireland licence.
Course Preview........A full preview of the course with maps, directions, photos, etc can be seen HERE
1 Niall Shanahan M-1 00:14:58 Dept of Ed 2 Shane Collins M-2 00:16:16 Apple M-A-2 3 James Grufferty M-3 00:16:31 Glanmire Medical Centre 25 Grainne O'Donnell 0/35H F-1 00:18:44 Kumon Douglas 35 Niamh Roe F-2 00:19:10 Dept of Ed F-A-1 54 Linda O'Sullivan 0/45J F-3 00:19:47 Cope Results
Catching up on some recent results. I only came across this one today. The 2019 Darrara and Ring 5k & 10k near Clonakilty was held back on Saturday the 25th of May 2019 on what was a sunny evening.
The numbers were way down this year with the total dropping about 29%.
The Gneeveguilla AC 1-mile Summer Series kicks off on Wednesday the 26th of June 2019 with the first event in Barraduff, Co.Kerry. There are five races in total and most are close to the Cork-Kerry border.
Each race costs €5 to enter or €20 for all five.
Please note that the start time is 7:30pm as opposed to 8pm in previous years. Reg opens at 6:30pm.
One of the biggest races in Kerry is the annual Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k and it's coming up on Saturday the 20th of July 2019.
The half marathon starts at Moll's Gap at 8:00am and follows one of the most scenic roads in the country to the finish line at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney. Participants in the half marathon will be taken by bus from Killarney to the start line at Moll's Gap.
What makes this half-marathon unique is that the road is closed and this is the only time of the year that a race is held on this road. Normally, you can't run on this road as it's way too busy with traffic going from Killarney to Kenmare.
The 10k starts at 9:30am and finishes at the Gleneagle Hotel and takes in a loop inside the national park near Muckross House.
Entry for each race includes...Customised finisher medal...Dry fit T-shirt...Chip timing... Prizes... Massage at finish line... Hot tubs... Post-race party... Officially measured course
Note that the road from Molls Gap to Killarney will be closed to traffic and it's the only time of the year that you can run on this busy road.
The video clip below gives a feel for what the course looks like...
154 turned out for this 4 mile race in North Cork on Friday 21st June 2019.
1 Shane Simcox Mallow AC 21:29 M40 452 2 Jeremiah Sheehan Lismire 21:56 SM 838 3 Karl Lenihan West Limerick AC 22:26 M40 445 10 Niamh Moore Leevale AC 23:55 SF 423 15 Sorcha Kearney St. Finbarrs AC 24:15 F40 433 29 Sinead Buckley North Cork AC 26:10 SF 486
370 runners turned out for this weeks 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park.
1 Nick HOGAN 17:51 VM35-39 M1
2 Kevin FULIGNATI 17:56 SM25-29 M2
3 Joe BOSONNET 18:17 JM15-17 M3 Sanctuary Runners 9 Carol FINN 19:28 SW30-34 F1 40 Mairead PEREZ 21:43 VW45-49 F2 41 Mary SWEENEY 21:51 VW55-59 F3 St Finbarrs AC
Former Cork hurler Paul Tierney has just set a new record for completing all of the Wainwright's 214 Lake District peaks.
In total, he ran an incredible 318 miles (511 km) ascending a total of 36,000m (118,000ft) in a record time of six days and six hours. This is the equivalent of four ascents of Everest!
The previous record of six days and 13 hours was set in 2014 by Steve Birkinshaw.
Paul also raised £18,000 for a mental health charity in the process.
You can enter on the evening for €10...registration desk open from 5:30PM. The event will be chip timed. Race HQ is at the Macroom Sports Complex which is just inside the Macroom castle gates on the left.
Please note that there is limited parking there. Follow the race stewards instructions on the night on where to park.
Course Preview.........A full preview with maps, directions, photos, etc can be seen HERE
From the organisers.....The race starts at the beginning of the town from the Cork side by Macroom Motors. The 5 km route takes you through the town and looping through the countryside and back to town with the finish in the town centre. This is the 8th year of the race which has grown from strength to strength in the last few years. Register on the evening of the event at Macroom Sports Complex (€10).
Loads of prizes across a range of age categories. All surplus funds are donated to Cork ARC Cancer support house. Plenty of refreshments also.
Support this great event and the excellent work by Cork Arc Cancer Support
There were 275 finishers in this 5k in Upper Glanmire near Cork City on Monday the 17th of June 2019.
1 420 Mark Walsh Leevale Male M 15:38.121 -
2 453 John Meade St Finbarrs Male M 15:48.647
3 442 Gavin O Rourke Leevale Male M 16:07.464 13 848 Kealey Tideswell Clonmel AC Female F 19:10.532 21 824 Irene Eighan St Finbarrs Female F 20:59.986 22 921 Ellie Twomey Carrig Na Bhfear U16 F 21:18.013
This 5k in Ballyclough in NW Cork was held on Saturday the 15th of June 2019 and had a field of 68 runners.
Ballyclough 5K 2019
Name Bib Club CAT Time
Timmy Hennessy 563 N/A M 18.36
Patrick O'Keefe 510 Mt Hillary M40 18.55
Tom Sheehan 559 N/a M 19.11 Mary Ann Murphy 536 Mt Hillary F 21.56 Deirdre Cotter 539 Mallow AC F40 22.50
The very first 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park was held on the 18th of June 2016 and has now been going for three years.
As can be seen from the chart above, it has been held every week with the exception of a few. Just looking, I can spot the gaps due to Ophelia and the Beast from the East!
The chart also shows that it has been doing very well in 2019 getting roughly 300 per week.
Here are the results and photos for this week...
1 Nick HOGAN 18:04 VM35-39 M1 2 Tom SHEEHAN 19:05 VM55-59 M2 3 James CALLANAN 19:27 VM50-54 M3 4 Carol FINN 19:41 SW30-34 F1 38 Gillian COTTER 23:02 VW45-49 F2 St Finbarrs AC 52 Carrie DESMOND 23:38 VW35-39 F3
There was a record turnout for this years Inniscarra 4 mile race with 202 finishers. If the 21 walkers are taken out then there are 181 runners, a new record as can be seen from the chart above.
It's been a busy two days for races in Cork with a see-saw pattern to the numbers. The Belle of Ballincollig was up 7%, Coolagown was down 9% and Inniscarra was up 17%.
1 0:20:56 SWEENEY, Gavin Togher AC M 05:13.9 833 1
2 0:21:17 SMYTH, Mark Eagle AC M40 05:19.2 824 2
3 0:22:44 DOYLE, Adam Unattached M 05:40.9 825 3 19 0:26:12 CRONIN, Niamh St. Finbarrs AC F40 06:32.9 867 19 29 0:27:12 O'CONNOR, Linda Unattached F40 06:47.9 930 29 30 0:27:25 BEVAN, Karen Eagle AC F40 06:51.1 876 30
This 4 mile road race in Inniscarra is coming up on Friday, the 14th of June 2019...
The race HQ is the GAA grounds in Ballyanly which is to the north-west of Cork City...
It may not be the easiest of courses but it's on nice quiet country roads. On a nice sunny summer evening, it's a lovely spot for a race. The ease of access and proximity to Cork City is another major plus.
Preview...More information on the course can be seen HERE
A grand total of 207 runners turned out for this years Belle of Ballincollig 5k race on what was a cool evening for mid-June. This is up 7% on the numbers for last year.
Andrew Sheehan won the mens race while Carmel Crowley made it two in a row after winning the Cloughduv 5k just last week.
1 Andrew Sheehan Leevale AC 16:09 16:09 SM 69
2 Eoghan McElhinney 16:30 16:30 SM 25
3 Donal Coffey Leevale AC 16:46 16:46 M40 76 19 Carmel Crowley 19:05 19:05 F50 9 27 Niamh Roe Leevale 19:33 19:32 SF 63 28 Lorna Wolfe Leevale AC 19:34 19:32 SF 124
This low key 4 miler race took place in Meelin in NW Cork on Sunday the 9th of June 2019.
1 Robert Purcell Gneeveguilla 22:58 SM 649 2 Patrick Roche Carrick on Suir 23:34 SM 370 3 Aaron O'Keeffe Duhallow AC 24:12 SM 686 6 Lisa Hegarty Leevale 25:38 SF 679 18 Denise Quilter Millstreet AC 28:32 SF 756 23 Caroline O'Sullivan Banteer 29:06 SF 367
This 5k race is coming up in the town of Ballincollig on Thursday the 13th of June 2019 and should be of interest to a lot of people.
Entries will be taken in the Ballincollig GAA Club from 6:30pm on the evening with the race starting at 8pm. Refreshments and prizes afterwards in the GAA Pavilion.
From the organisers.... “ Thursday 13th June sees the running of the 7th Annual
5K Village Run as part of the Belle of Ballincollig Festival.
The Race begins at the GAA Club and the route is around the northern part of the town. This year on-line registration is available as well as registration in the Club from 6 30 pm on the night . In addition Chip Timing will make this one of the most professionally organised events in County Cork this year. “
Route in Ballincollig....
Preview.....A full preview of the course with photos can be seen HERE
You can also click on the map below for a closer look of the route...
This race will have plenty of variety as it will take in the scenic countryside & will also take in parts of the beautiful Doneraile Park. This route is guaranteed to be very enjoyable as the route has a mixture of flat, a few inclines & a few downhills.
Each participant receives a T.Shirt and will be presented with a finishers medal on completing the race.
The race has an Athletics Ireland Permit, the course is accurately measured and chip timing will be provided by Sports Timing.
This is an over 18’s event.
Number collection will be available on Friday June 7th from 5.30pm - 7.30pm and on Saturday June 8th from 9.00am - 10.30am in Doneraile Community Hall.
Participants can collect their t.shirt when collecting their number. Prize giving and refreshments will be available after the event in the Community Hall. We look forward to welcoming you all to Doneraile on the day.
Almost 400 turned out for this 5k in Cloughduv to the west of Ballincollig on what was a cool but dry evening.
The numbers were almost identical to last year with just two extra! The winners of the race were also the same with Joe Cunningham and Carmel Crowley retaining their respective titles.
1 16:02 152 Joe Cunningham
2 16:59 11 John O'Mahony
3 17:05 231 Dave Morgan 8 18:39 185 Carmel Crowley 9 18:53 402 Margaret Murphy 15 19:58 304 Helen Gilroy
From the organisers Cloughduv Hurling Club...Almost 400 participants took part in this years event on a lovely evening . Cloughduv Hurling & Camogie Clubs would like to thank all the participants for their support once again. Also to the many volunteers who helped make the event the great success it is - THANK YOU.
A big thank you also to our loyal sponsors Ross Oil, Farnanes & Roadstone Castlemore.
This 5k is coming up in the village of Cloughduv on Thursday the 6th of June 2019 at 7:30pm. Located about 10kms west of Ballincollig, Cloughduv is just off the N22 Cork to Macroom road.
There will be refreshments after the race with results and times published later.
The group pictured above completed the Sports Ireland Child Protection Course recently in preparation for the new Junior 2km parkrun which will be starting in Ballincollig Regional Park soon.
It will be held every Sunday morning at 9:30am and is open to juveniles aged from 4 to 14 years old.
This will be the second Junior parkrun in Cork. The first one started in Cobh just over a year ago and has been getting good numbers every week.
Update : The start date will be Sunday the 30th of June 2019.
In this guest post, John Walshe of Ballycotton looks at the transition of Eddie Dunbar from school athletics to professional cyclist.
FROM TRAMORE VALLEY PARK TO THE GIRO
Now that Tramore Valley Park has opened to the public, it’s worth recalling one of the first events that was held on the old landfill site on the Kinsale Road.
Back in November 2011 an introductory schools’ cross-country took place organised by Liam O’Brien in conjunction with Athletics Ireland, the Cork County Board, the South Munster Schools Association and Cork IT.
Amongst the winners that day was 15-year-old Eddie Dunbar representing Coláiste Treasa from Kanturk who was first in the 2nd/3rd Year boys’ race.
Roll on seven-and-a-half years and the Banteer native is now a professional cyclist with the crack Team Ineos, formerly known as Team Sky. Two weeks ago he finished third on Stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy), the second most prestigious cycle race in the world. Earlier in the month he also gained third place overall in the Tour de Yorkshire.
Seen here proudly displaying his medal from that winter’s day in 2011, like Rob Heffernan who the park’s 2.5km walkway is named after, maybe someday Dunbar too will join an illustrious group of Irish sporting icons who have venues, parks and squares named in their honour.
Conditions were pretty good for this years Cork City Marathon with dry conditions and a strong westerly breeze.
It was great to see Angela McCann return to win the 2019 Marathon, a race she won a good few years back.
Anglea McCann...winner of the 2019 Cork City Marathon. Photo: Gearóid Ó Laoi
Full Marathon...
1 Gary OHANLON (#942) Clonliffe Harriers AC 02:21:42 Male (1)... €1,000
2 Tim O DONOGHUE (#297) East cork ac 02:25:52 Male (2)... €900
3 Sergiu CIOBANU (#724) Clonliffe Harriers AC 02:28:26 Male (3)... €800
4 Pawel KOSEK (#1149) N/A 02:32:02 Senior (1) Male (4)... €700
5 Kieran LITTLE (#1042) Crusaders AC 02:32:13 3034 (2) Male (5)... €600
6 Kevin O LEARY (#432) East cork ac 02:33:53 Senior (2) Male (6)... €500
7 Michael CORBETT (#447) St Finbarr's AC 02:37:44 Male (7)... €400
8 Donal COAKLEY (#289) Leevale AC 02:40:10 Male (8)... €300
9 Alan LEHANE (#671) St Finbarr's AC 02:43:09 Male (9)... €200
10 Vivian FOLEY (#106) Eagle AC 02:44:21 Male (10) ... €100 39 Angela MC CANN (#592) Clonmel AC 03:02:53 Female (1) ...€1,000 49 Nollaigh O'NEILL (#81) Leevale AC 03:07:56 Female (2) ...€900 52 Megan ARMITAGE (#889) N/A 03:08:31 Female (3) ...€800 64 Jana ROSS (#259) 03:11:45 Female (4) ...€700 79 Deirdre ANSBRO (#313) Youghal AC 03:15:31 Female (5) ...€600 89 Mary O'LEARY (#705) 03:17:54 Female (6)...€500 90 Anna KLIMEK (#926) N/A 03:18:30 Female (7)...€400 93 Fiona DUKELOW (#760) Sanctuary Runners 03:18:49 Female (8)...€300 96 Clara RYAN (#372) 03:19:24 Female (9)...€200 129 Louise O'BRIEN (#314) Youghal AC 03:26:41 Female (10)...€100
Half-Marathon...
1 Gavin SWEENEY (#3406) Togher AC 01:09:04 Male (1) ...€500
2 Cillian O'LEARY (#4732) Raheny Shamrock AC 01:09:29 Male (2) ...€250
3 Freddy KERON (#4202) Raheeny AC 01:11:03 Male (3) ...€200
4 Jason KELLY (#2058) 01:12:34 01:12:30 Male (4) ...€150
5 Jeremy O DONOVAN (#2072) St Finbarr's AC 01:13:57 Male (5) ...€100 27 Fiona SANTRY (#2958) East cork ac 01:23:17 Female (1) ...€500 41 Sorcha KEARNEY (#2617) St Finbarr's AC 01:25:26 Female (2) ...€250 49 Andrea BICKERDIKE (#3948)Leevale AC 01:26:58 Female (3) ...€200 51 Sharon DUNLEA (#2085)01:27:10 01:26:55 Female (4) ...€150 58 Orla BYRNE (#2962) N/A 01:27:42 Female (5) ...€100
Earlier in the week, there was a lot of uncertainty about when the rain would arrive on Sunday. It now looks as the rain front will pass through during the very early hours of Sunday morning. By the time of the start of the full marathon and half-marathon, it should be overcast and dry.
The temperature is likely to be in the low to mid teens so running in just a singlet is recommended. No layers or jackets.
There may be more sunshine in the afternoon so that may be an issue for those out on the course for a long time.
The main issue is likely to be the wind. It will be from the west and will likely feel pretty strong in places.
The map above shows where is a headwind and where it may be a tailwind.
It may feel exceptionally warm from the Straight Road back into the city as the wind is behind the runners and loses it's cooling effect.
The pictures says it all... 19 for the full marathon, 40 for the half-marathon and 50 in the relay. Going on that basis, the Wibbly Wobbly Wonders are probably the largest running club in Cork at the moment.
If you see them in their distinctive Blue shirts, be sure to give them a cheer and a 'W'!
