Guest Post: GLENBOWER 10-MILE AND 10KM RACES ...by John Walshe

In a previous guest article, John Walshe looked back at the Glenbower Half-Marathon in Killeagh in East Cork back in 1978. In this follow up post, John looks at the 10-mile and 10km races which came after it.

GLENBOWER 10-MILE AND 10KM RACES... by John Walshe

Following the interest in the Glenbower Half-Marathon of 1978, yes, as mentioned in the comments, a 10-mile race did take place in Killeagh for three years beginning in 1983. That first race took place on a Thursday evening (June 2nd) and had a total of 116 finishers (results shown below).

The following year of 1984 saw a move to the warm Sunday of May 13th, actually the same day as that year’s London Marathon. Along with the after-race refreshments, the participants got the opportunity of seeing Charlie Spedding winning London in a time of 2:09:57 from the portable television kindly provided in the hall. That win qualified Spedding for the Olympic Games the following August where of course he took the bronze medal behind Carlos Lopes and John Treacy, his time there just one second slower (2:09:58) than London.

Back to Glenbower, and that year of 1984 saw a women’s race taking place at the same time as the men, attracting a fine turnout of 50. (Results of both races are shown below). In 1985, exactly 100 finished the 10-mile race on Sunday May 19th. Although no results are currently available, it is recalled that the first two runners were inadvertently taken on a shorter route by the lead car, leading to some confusion at the finish!

From 1986 to 1994, just one race over 10km took place for both men and women. Usually held on a Thursday or Sunday evening in late April or May, numbers taking part varied from 50 to 80 and so brought the curtain down on an enjoyable decade or so of racing around the Killeagh countryside.

(A full list of John Walshe's guest posts can be found HERE)

Glenbower 10-Mile results - 1983

Glenbower 10-mile results - 1984

Glenbower 5-Mile Results (Women) 1984