Looking ahead to the 2024 Dungarvan 10-mile road race - 4th Feb 2024

West Waterford AC recently announced that they would be holding their hugely popular John Treacy Dungarvan 10-mile road race on Sunday 4th February 2024. 

Update - 31st Oct 2023 : Entries will open on the 1st of Dec 2023 for Athletics Ireland club members. Entries for anyone open on the 8th of Dec.

Note that this is what happened last year.

1) They increased the number of entries to 3,750 which is a huge amount. That was a 25% increase on the previous year.

2) Members of athletic clubs could enter at the start of December. Note that most runners are not members of a club so it has no chance of selling out at this stage.

3) It opened up to everyone one week later. It then took 3-weeks to sell out.

It's worth noting that the Trim 10-mile in Co Meath is on the same day and that got 1650 runners last February. That might dampen some of the demand for Dungarvan 10-mile entries from runners in Dublin.

The key message to take away from this post is that if you're interested in doing the most popular 10-mile road race in Munster then just be aware that you will need to enter in the next few weeks. If you check for entries in January then it's likely to be closed at that stage. Just keep an eye open for news on the entries and you should have no problem getting in.

If anyone wants to be coached with a 14-wk training plan, I'll be starting Monday. Info HERE

Results & Photos of the 2023 Dublin City Marathon

As always, there was a huge turnout for this years Dublin City Marathon with 16,320 runners crossing the finish line.

The star performance from a Cork point of view was that of Ryan Creech of Leevale AC who finished second in the national marathon championship with a time of 2h 14m 08s.

The full results can be found HERE

2023 National Marathon Results - Top 3 men & women...

1 Stephen Scullion (Clonliffe Harriers) 2:11:51
2 Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) 2:14:08
3 Ryan Forsyth (Newcastle & District AC) 2:14:43
1 Ann Marie McGlynn (Letterkenny AC) 2:34:13
2 Gladys Ganiel (North Belfast Harriers) 2:37:08
3 Sorcha Loughnane (Donore Harriers) 2:45:31

ONGOING

Female Sub 3:10 hour runners from Cork & Munster

21. 5012 Catherine Murphy 5/1131(W45) EAGLE A.C. 2:56:46

24. 3727 Jean Lucey 3/656(W35) (Cork) 2:58:04
30. 3950 Caroline Hassett 6/1217(W40) TEMPLEMORE A.C. 2:59:23

43. 2336 Linda Grogan 10/1217(W40) DUNDRUM A.C. 3:03:02

45. 3428 Irene Eighan 11/1217(W40) ST. FINBARRS A.C. 3:02:51

63. 5016 Clare Coleman 8/655(W35) DOONEEN A.C. 3:06:52

75. 2174 Anne Marie Halpin 12/1131(W45) CLONMEL A.C. 3:09:09

Male Sub 2:50 runners from Cork & Munster

Place Bib Name AG Club ChipTime 
7. 20 Ryan Creech 6/2448(MS) LEEVALE A.C. 2:14:07
10. 47 William Maunsell 2/1886(M35) CLONMEL A.C. 2:19:49
12. 33 Sean Doyle 3/1886(M35) CORK CITY A.C. 2:20:57
20. 23 Tim O' Donoghue 7/1886(M35) EAST CORK A.C. 2:26:50
23. 42 Michael Mc Mahon 4/2421(M40) NORTH CORK A.C 2:27:28
33. 62 Dermot Gorman 8/2421(M40) CARRICK-ON-SUIR A.C. 2:29:53
34. 68 Simon Nolan 12/1886(M35) BANDON A.C. 2:30:09
43. 4442 Mossy Bracken 15/2448(MS) MOYCARKEY COOLCROO A.C. 2:33:37
57. 66 Aubrey Storey 4/2026(M45) TRAMORE A.C. 2:36:53
63. 4106 Danny Mullins 20/2448(MS) BANTRY A.C. 2:37:27
67. 4191 Vivian Foley 3/1333(M50) EAGLE A.C. 2:37:50
81. 4386 Tadhg O' Sullivan 24/2448(MS) BWEENG TRAIL BLAZERS A.C. 2:39:30
86. 2266 Paul Fitzgerald 22/2421(M40) LIMERICK A.C. 2:40:18
90. 3890 Conor Keating 26/2448(MS) MOYCARKEY COOLCROO A.C. 2:41:09
98. 5001 Anthony Mc Carthy 30/1886(M35) EAGLE A.C. 2:41:59
103. 3864 Enda Bagnall 11/2026(M45) TRAMORE A.C. 2:42:22
138. 4399 Niall O' Riordan 18/2026(M45) AN BRU A.C. 2:44:41
150. 3517 Keith Kelly 21/2026(M45) YOUGHAL A.C. 2:44:55
170. 4103 Matthew Ryan 40/2448(MS) MOYCARKEY COOLCROO A.C. 2:45:55
177. 5081 Dara Mulconroy 54/2421(M40) TULLA A.C. 2:46:17
178. 5023 Paul Ogle 55/2421(M40) TRAMORE A.C. 2:46:23
186. 4446 Seamus Mc Sweeney 9/1333(M50) ST. NICHOLAS A.C. 2:47:01
191. 4185 John Murphy 10/1333(M50) GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. 2:47:21
247. 506 Gavin Foley 55/2448(MS) (Douglas) 2:49:31
250. 3693 Aidan Flannery 56/2448(MS) CLONMEL A.C. 2:49:27
252. 4058 Richard Hobson 68/1886(M35) ST. FINBARRS A.C. 2:49:25
253. 4095 Brian Slattery 37/2026(M45) TRAMORE A.C. 2:49:35
255. 4513 Michael Byrne 78/2421(M40) ST. CATHERINE'S A.C. 2:49:38

Photos... (Updated Tues 31st Oct 7:16pm)

1) Joe Murphy has a small gallery HERE

and loads of photos below...

Album 1 - Album 2 -  Album 3 -  Album 4 -  Album 5 - Album 6 - Album 7 - Album 8 - Album 9 -  Album 10 - Album 11 - Album 12 - Album 13 - Album 14 - Album 15 - Album 16 - Album 17 - Album 18 - Album 19 - Album 20 - 

2) Sportsfile has a gallery of over 500 images HERE

3) Derek Costello has the following galleries...

Start...Album 1 - Mile 25...Album 2 - 

4) Lindie Naughton has just under 400 photos HERE

5) Offaly Athletics has a gallery of just over 100 photos HERE . It's mainly of runners from that county but there are plenty of other runners in the photos as well.

6) Olek Martin has a gallery of photos for sale HERE

7) Richard Peyton Photography has several large galleries of black & white photos...

Album 1 of 5 - Album 2 of 5 - Album 3 of 5 - Album 4 of 5 - Album 5 of 5

Top 3 Men in the National Marathon Championship (L-R) 2nd Ryan Creech 2:14:07, 1st Stephen Scullion 2:11:51 & 3rd Ryan Forsyth 2:14:42

Running in Cork News Bites - October 2023

Sometimes I come across some news items of interest but I don't have the time to put up individual posts about them. I'll collect these here every month under the new News Bites post.

Here are a selection of short news items that I came across during the month of October 2023.

31st Nov 2023 - Dungarvan 10-mile entries to open at the start of December... West Waterford AC have announced that entries to their popular John Treacy Dungarvan 10-mile road race opens for AI club members on the 1st of Dec and for everyone else on the 8th of Dec. See this post.

31st Nov 2023 - Glen River parkrun in doubt for next weekend... With a deluge on the way from Storm Ciarán on Thursday, it's not looking good for the return of the Glen River 5k parkrun in Cork City on Sat 4th Nov.

31st Nov 2023 - Beat the Train for Down Syndrome 10-mile Sells Out... This popular 10-miler on the Greenway at Kilmeaden on Sat 18th Nov 2023 in Co Waterford has now sold out. There are also 10-milers in Churchtown and Skibbereen on the same weekend. See calendar... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html

30th Oct 2023 - Paul Brunnock Memorial Run on Waterford Greenway sells out... West Waterford AC have announced that the Paul Brunnock Memorial Run on the 4th of Nov has sold out. There are a number of distances on offer from 5k to 50k.

25th Oct 2023 - Glen River parkrun cancelled again... The recent floods did a lot of damage to the paths in Glen River Park on the northside of Cork City. Even though the council are working on, the Glen River parkrun crew have announced that the event scheduled for Sat 28th Oct has been cancelled.

25th Oct 2023 - 2024 Killarney Half & 10k... The organisers of the Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k have announced that their 2024 race will be held on Saturday 8th June. This is a change from the 2023 race which was held in early May. Previous editions were held in late July.

Results of the IMRA Halloween Half Marathon & 5k in Glensheshkin Woods - Fri 27th Oct 2023

The Munster branch of IMRA held their annual Halloween Half-Marathon & 5k this year on Friday 27th of October in Glensheshkin Woods near Kilworth in NE Cork.

A total of 110 runners took part in the nighttime half-marathon, an increase of 38% on last years numbers.

Half-Marathon - Top 3 men & women...

1 Paul Tierney (Tipp) 1611 M40 1:38:22 GoTri Adven... Tipperary
2 Enda Gavin 3853 M35 1:39:08 Togher AC Cavan
3 Michael Lyons 3894 M35 1:39:39 Grange Ferm... Cork
1 Deirdre O Gorman 311 F35 1:48:32 Tipperary
2 Anita Locke 541 F35 1:49:34 St. Finbar'... Kerry
3 Elaine Collins 323 F 1:49:51 Togher AC Cork

Full results... https://imra.ie/events/results/id/2354/category/O/

In the 5k event, there were 33 finishers which is just over double the number of last year.

5k - Top 3 men & women...

1 James Murphy 356 M45 28:25 Cork
2 James Coade 1835 M 30:47 Waterford
3 Kieran Kearney 3582 M 32:26 Eagle AC Cork
1 Kealey Tideswell 560 F40 30:09 Clonmel AC Tipperary
2 Suzanne shine 3857 F45 34:40 Clonmel AC Tipperary
3 Sarah Whelan 115 F40 34:55 Clonmel AC Tipperary

Full results... https://imra.ie/events/results/id/2355/category/O/

Junior parkrun in Gurranabraher cancelled due to lack of volunteers - Sun 29th Oct 2023

The organisers of the St Mary's Campus 2km junior parkrun in Gurranabraher was cancelled on Sun 29th Oct due to a lack of volunteers. Considering the blue skies and sunshine, it would have been a perfect day for the event.

Considering its central location on the northside of Cork City, this junior parkrun for 4-14 year olds should be getting more volunteers and participants. Last week was it's 25th edition and the long term average is just 17 participants.

I think a big problem with this event is that many of the locals just don't know it exists or what it is.

Suggestion... I presume there must be some Facebook Groups for areas like Gurranabraher, Knocknaheeney, Farranree and Churchfield. If you're in one of those groups, why not put up a post about the St Mary's Junior parkrun and let locals know that it's on. You can link this post if you want.

The basics are...
1) It's for 4-14 year olds
2) It's free
3) It's on every Sunday at 9:30am.

See info below from the organisers..."Get in touch if you want to get added to our volunteer roster: https://www.parkrun.ie/stmaryscampus-juniors/futureroster/ "

Guest Post: Dublin City Marathon ...by Pat Walsh

 ** DCM **

Best of luck to everyone taking part today in the Dublin Marathon.

Winners all the way.

When you consider those who can’t get there for so many reasons then you are super to get to the start line. 

Bank it, Use it for motivation, do it for those who can’t.

Rule number 1 is to enjoy the day. 

You have worked hard, it is a super achievement so relax, enjoy the moment, enjoy the day.

Don’t be killing yourself.

The last 6 miles are shite so take it handy first 20 so you don’t die a death.

You will not be the only one who is nervous on the start line.

Embrace the day and get involved with fellow participants and spectators. The energy from this is worth a few miles to you.

Relax before the race and don’t be scurrying about wasting much needed energy.

It might be your first, your 10th in a row or your 150th overall Marathon. Doesn’t matter as we never know what the future holds and it could be your last one so make it a good one.

The time you finish in will not be on your t-shirt or medal. All that is important is that you went over the finish line.

Have a fantastic weekend

#pwr

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 28th Oct 2023

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 28th Oct 2023. Approximately 779 runners and walkers took part in the 9 events in Co Cork.

Report... With a low pressure weather system stalled over the country, the rain was never too far away for most of the 5k parkruns in Cork. Despite the showers, the overall numbers were up this week as both Ballinollig and Mallow went ahead after being cancelled last week.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 221 this week, cancelled last week. Long term average 285

First 3 men & women...

1 Gerard GEARY Male VM35-39 Fota Island Running Club 18:45

2 Diarmuid O'SULLIVAN Male SM20-24 19:15

3 Unknown

5 Rachel FINN Female SW25-29 20:07

6 Niamh O'SULLIVAN Female VW60-64 An Ríocht A.C 20:11

29 Katie HARTE Female JW10 Kidderminster & Stourport AC 23:18

Ballincollig results... https://www.parkrun.ie/ballincollig/results/298/

Tramore Valley Park: 249 this week, 323 last week. The long term average is 168.

First 3 men & women...

1 Anthony MANNIX Male SM30-34 Cork Track Club 15:56

2 Justin RYAN Male SM30-34 17:40

3 Odhran OSULLIVAN Male JM15-17 17:50

9 Teresa MURPHY Female VW45-49 Kent AC 19:14

12 Niamh CRONIN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 19:30

17 Máire HYNES MCLAUGHLIN Female JW15-17 19:41

Tramore Valley Park results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/79/

Glen River: 70 this week, 71 last week. The long term average is 74.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Glen River results... 

Mallow Castle: 42 finishers this week, cancelled last week. The long term average is 63.

First 3 men & women...

1 Ken DEANE Male VM40-44 20:43

2 Chris GALLAHUE Male VM40-44 20:52

3 Matthew COOKE Male JM11-14 20:57

7 Norleen KENNY Female VW40-44 22:25

15 Kathleen O REGAN Female VW35-39 25:03

16 Rebecca MCKEON Female SW30-34 25:27

Mallow results... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/106/

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 54 this week, 52 last week. The long term average is 57.

First 3 men & women... 

1 Brendan LYNCH Male VM45-49 18:41

2 James 0 MAHONY Male VM35-39 18:52

3 Robert O'DEA Male SM30-34 20:00

9 Liz LYNCH Female VW40-44 22:42

12 Susan BYRNE Female VW40-44 23:26

15 Josephine O SULLIVAN Female VW45-49 24:15

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/85/

Macroom Castle Desmense: 53 this week, 50 last week. Long term average is 51.

First 3 men & women...

1 Conor LUCEY Male VM35-39 18:19

2 John O'DONOGHUE Male SM30-34 18:47

3 Donal COLLINS Male VM45-49 Bweeng Trail Blazers 19:02

10 Sarah CROSS Female VW40-44 23:18

14 Mary LUCEY Female VW40-44 West Muskerry A.C. 24:18

17 Claire CURTIN Female VW35-39 24:43

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/449/

Clonakilty: 19 this week, 33 last week. Long term average 36.

First 3 men & women... 

1 Mejdi NCIRI Male VM35-39 22:18

2 Aidan HOLLAND Male VM35-39 22:56

4 Declan RICE Male VM40-44 24:26

3 Karina JONINA Female SW30-34 23:11

5 Anna O'NEILL Female VW50-54 24:29

9 Fiona WHELTON Female SW30-34 28:28

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/403/

Glengarriff Woods: 60 this week, 57 last week. The long term average is 60.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Donal EGAN Male SM30-34 20:09

2 Cathal MINEHANE Male VM45-49 21:29

3 Trevor MCGUIRK Male VM40-44 21:32

9 Ciara MURNANE Female SW20-24 23:44

13 Niamh CASEY Female VW35-39 24:41

17 Mary LAWTON Female VW50-54 Durrus Athletic Club 25:33

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/320/

Bere Island: 47 this week, 35 last week, long term average of 46. 

First 3 men & women... 

1 Michelagh MURPHY Female SW18-19 21:41

3 Breeda O SULLIVAN Female VW55-59 Beara AC 24:00

5 Michele TIGHE Female VW40-44 26:38

2 Damian ROONEY Male VM40-44 22:43

4 Breandan MURPHY Male SM20-24 25:30

6 Unknown

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/410/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 34 finishers this week, 14 last week. Long term average 28.

First 3 women & men...

1 Ciarán BOUSE Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 21:09

2 Marc ASTON-O'DONOVAN Male VM45-49 21:29

3 Florence FITZGERALD Male SM30-34 22:10

6 Catherine AIREY Female SW30-34 Highgate Harriers 24:10

13 Niamh HORAN Female JW11-14 Naas AC 27:40

18 Siobhan RYAN Female VW40-44 2018 Operation Transformation 30:14

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/331/

For more information about the weekly 5k parkruns in Co Cork, go to this page HERE.

No Finish Line Podcast by John O'Regan : Running with Data

John O'Regan is an Irish international ultra runner and host of the popular No Finish Line podcast on Spotify.

The most recent edition of the podcast is titled 'Running with Data' and is 48-mins long. In the podcast, John has a discussion with Prof. Barry Smyth who has looked at the stats for 4-million records from 150,000 individuals on the Strava platform. 

Barry has published papers about the different types of taper for the marathon and the best strategy for pacing a marathon. He also found that women were a lot better at pacing than men!

The conventional wisdom is that a positive split results in the best time for a marathon but Barry suggests that may not be the case for most runners and introduces the concept of the 'controlled fade'.

With the Dublin marathon coming up on Sunday, I'm sure a lot of people will find it of interest.

Friday Jigsaw: Group of runners at the 2023 Rebel Run

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo by Mick Dooley of a group at the 2023 Rebel Run 5k & 10k.

This one has 450-pieces so it's harder than usual. You can find it HERE

A closer look at the damage to the Glen River Park - Oct 2023

Thanks to the deluge of rain last week, three 5k parkruns in Cork were cancelled last weekend... Glen River, Ballincollig and Mallow. At the time of writing, the Glen River event has been cancelled for the 28th of Oct as well.

While the Ballincollig and Mallow events were cancelled last week due to flooding and standing water, the Glen was cancelled due to the damage done to the paths in the park. The photo above after the storm shows where the path used to be. The actual Glen River can be seen at the top of the photo on the other side of the wall.

This is another photo showing how the torrent of water dug out a channel in the path.

In fairness to Cork City Council, they were on site within a day or two filling in the damage with aggregate.

They then finished it out with a more compact surface.

The issue at the moment is that the Glen River is still at about twice its normal level and some of the paths are still not safe for large crowds. Hopefully the parkrun will be back in early November.

Athletics Ireland One-Day permit given the green light by the CPCC

At the start of 2023, Athletics Ireland introduced a new 'one-day permit' costing €2 for non-club runners taking part in races with Athletics Ireland permits.

In April of 2023, I had a post up about how Athletics Ireland were facing an anti-competition challenge from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) regarding  their one-day licence... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2023/04/athletics-ireland-face-legal-challenge.html

Shannonside Sport now reports that the CCPC have made three recommendations...

1) Implement a formal and robust tender process for any future service providers.

2) Remove any reference to restrictions on AAI members running in non-permitted races from AAI documentation / terms and conditions.

3) Formally record industry feedback from future consultations.

In response, Athletics Ireland said... “The CCPC has endorsed our internal process and advises us to continue to display such professionalism going forward with three low level recommendations 

1. vigilant tender processes, 

2. engagement and feedback with stakeholders and 

3. as confirmed to the CCPC that the AAI will not place any restrictions on AAI members running in non-permitted races in the State and will not restrict the holding of non-permitted road races in the State.”

You can see the full article on the Shannonside Sport website HERE

You can see the full Athletics Ireland response HERE

Comment & Analysis... When this challenge was taken back in April, there was a question about about the whole one-day licence process and how it would playout. Now, Athletics Ireland have now been given the green light and they can continue with Event Master and keep charging the €2 fee.

A few weeks back, I read a news item from Athletics Ireland about how the numbers at road races with permits were up 15% on the same period in 2022. In other words, the introduction of the one-day licence doesn't seem to have any impact on the number of people in races. In Cork, the situation seems to be the same with no reduction in numbers.

Athletics Ireland are likely to make well over €100,000 per annum from the introduction of the one-day licence and any clubs, organisations or individuals hoping to get the new one-day licence overturned now are really going to find it difficult.

As for the statement that Athletics Ireland "will not restrict the holding of non-permitted road races", I'm not sure where that comes from? Some of the most populrar races in Cork are the BHAA ones which don't have an Athletics Ireland permit and runners don't care that it doesn't have an AAI permit.

As regards "the AAI will not place any restrictions on AAI members running in non-permitted races", this is something that would be impossible to implement anyway. If any club tried to impose a restriction, the members wouldn't be long telling the club where to stick their membership.

Were these restrictions recent additions to the AAI rules or were they left over in the official documentation for many years ago? No idea.

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 150th parkrun

I noticed recently that visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completed his 150th 5k parkrun! 

This is not only an achievement for Ross but also for the small army of guide runners who made this possible. It shows what's possible and it might encourage more people with a visual impairment to take part in the sport.

127 of the 150 parkruns were in Tralee where Ross has a personal best time of 23:59. Here's the full list...

Tralee parkrun - 127
Inch Beach parkrun - 8
Killarney House parkrun - 6
Listowel parkrun - 4
Carlow Town parkrun - 2
Endcliffe parkrun - 1
Newcastle West parkrun - 1
Donaupark parkrun - 1

If anyone with a visual impairment would like to get involved in parkrun, they can find some information here... https://www.fightingblindness.ie/how-we-can-help/advocacy/information-and-resource-hub/sport-and-leisure/

It's worth noting that walkers are also welcome at all 5k parkruns so people can start by walking and building their confidence.

Training programme for the 2024 Dungarvan 10-mile road race

The Dungarvan 10-mile road race is coming up on Sunday the 4th of February 2024.

If anyone would like to optimise their training then I will soon be starting individualised training programmes. 

The standard one is 14-weeks and starts on the 30th of October 2023 - Cost €105. 

If someone feels like they would need a bit longer than I'll be starting a 16-week programme on the 16th of October 2023 - Cost €120.

The programme is sent out every week by email and weekly feedback is required. That will determine what the programme is like for the following week.

If anyone wants to train for a different event then send me an email and we can plan for that.

Send emails to... johndesmondrunning AT gmail DOT com

A list of training programmes for 2024 can be seen HERE

Ballymore Cobh AC donate €1,000 to Cobh Hospital

A cheque to the value of €1,000 was donated this week by Ballymore Cobh AC to The Friends of Cobh Hospital.

This was the club's donation from the proceeds of The Sonia O'Sullivan Cobh 10 Mile Race 2023.

Pictured, are (from L to R) Kevin O'Mahony, Jane Cronin, Colette O'Donovan (all Cobh Hospital), Shane Meyler (Ballymore Cobh AC) and Toddy Stafford (Friends of Cobh Hospital).

Results & Photos of the Rebel Run 5k & 10k - Sun 22nd Oct 2023

Michelle Kenny was the first woman home in the Rebel Run 10k in a time of 37:55

This year's Rebel Run was held in Bishopstown in Cork City on Sunday 22nd Oct 2023. With the fog settling in the valley, conditions were cool but I'm sure everyone appreciated a respite from all of the recent rain.

Update: Someone named Kay sent on the following message... "Apologies, I picked up a running jacket in error after the run today. It is an orange coloured adidas jacket." If this is your jacket then send me an email and I'll pass on Kay's number. - Update: Owner found

In the 10k event, there were 477 finishers with another 279 in the 5k.

Rebel Run 10k - Top 3 men & women...
 1 341 JAMES HAYES Cork Track Club A.C. 33:23
2 624 SEAN DAVIN INDEPENDENT 34:10
3 61 SEAN TWOHIG INDEPENDENT 34:46
1 737 MICHELLE KENNY INDEPENDENT 37:55
2 475 JEAN LUCEY INDEPENDENT 38:40
3 965 LORNA WOLFE Leevale A.C. 39:32

10k results HERE

James Hayes was the first man home in the Rebel Run 10k in a time of 33:23

Rebel Run 5k - Top 3 men & women...
1 617 MATTHEW CROWLEY Cork Track Club A.C. 17:28
2 867 JASON O'MAHONY Eagle A.C. 17:43
3 876 MICHAEL O'REGAN Independent 18:35
1 634 AOIFE DELARGY Independent 19:35
2 970 GUDULE WYCKMANS VAXELAIRE Independent 20:58
3 490 PAMELA BARRY Aghada Running Club A.C. 21:56

5k results HERE

Photos...

1) There are multiple galleries up on the Running in Cork Facebook page

a) 10k album 1 of 6 - 33 to 45 mins

b) 10k album 2 of 6 - 45 to 50 mins 

c) 10k album 3 of 6 - 50 to 54 mins 

d) 10k album 4 of 6 - 54 to 58 mins 

e) 10k album 5 of 6 - 58 to 61 mins 

f) 10k album 6 of 6 - 61 to 74 mins 

g) 5k album 1 of 3 - 19-29 min 

h) 5k album 2 of 3 - 29-32 min 

i) 5k album 3 of 3 - 32-47 min

2) Mick Dooley has 3 albums...

a) Start Line b) Post Race 1 c) Post Race 2 

3) Joe Murphy has loads of photos as always

a) 5k Album 1 b) 5k Album 2

c) 10k Album 1 d) 10k Album 2 e) 10k Album 3 f) 10k Album 4 g) 10k Album 5 h) 10k Album 6 

4) Graham Meikle has loads as well...

a) Pre race 1 b) Pre-race 2 

c) 5k start 1 d) 10k start 1 e) 10k start 2

f) 5k finish line 1 g) 5k finish line 2

h) 10k finish 1 i) 10k finish 2  j) 10k finish 3 k) 10k finish 4 

Results & Photos of the Baile Bhúirne Bypass 5K - Sat 21st Oct 2023

First place finish for Rachel Hawker of Kenmare AC

A small field of 114 runners turned out for this 5k race on the new Ballyvourney bypass.

Top 3 men & women...

6 1 Michael HERLIHY North Cork A.C. M40 16:46  
4897 2 James GRUFFERTY Leevale AC M40 17:34  
9 3 Darren COLEMAN Mallow AC M 17:36
40 13 Rachal HAWKER Kenmare A.C.  19:55

75 18 Grainne LUCEY F 21:29  
100 22 Jerry CASEY F40 22:15  

Full results HERE

Photos...
1) Pop-Up Races have some photos HERE and HERE

Results of the 5k parkruns in Cork - Sat 21st Oct 2023

Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 21st Oct 2023. Approximately 564 runners and walkers took part in the 7 events in Co Cork.

Report... With all of the rain during the week due to Storm Babet, three of the 5k parkruns in Cork had to be cancelled... Ballincollig, Glen River & Mallow.

Tramore Valley Park... As this was the only 5k parkrun in Cork City this weekend, it was a case of all hands on deck to cope with the surge in numbers. A total of 323 took part which is the highest since January 2016.

Macroom Castle Demense... They held their 448th edition with 50 crossing the finish line. Well done to Padraig Sheehan who completed his 150th parkrun.

Ballincollig Regional Park: 307 this week, 230 last week. Long term average 285

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Ballincollig results... 

Tramore Valley Park: 323 this week, 171 last week. The long term average is 166.

First 3 men & women...

1 Daniel SMITH Male JM15-17 Blackburn Harriers & AC 16:31

2 Richard HOBSON Male VM35-39 St Finbarrs AC 18:13

3 Loic GAREL Male VM40-44 St Finbarrs AC 18:31

27 Clodagh CREEDON Female VW40-44 St Finbarrs AC 21:01

30 Gene DWYER Female VW40-44 21:09

33 Helen WALSH Female VW45-49 Togher AC 21:18

Tramore Valley Park results... https://www.parkrun.ie/tramorevalley/results/78/

Glen River: 70 this week, 71 last week. The long term average is 74.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Glen River results... 

Mallow Castle: 46 finishers this week, 43 last week. The long term average is 63.

First 3 men & women... CANCELLED

Mallow results... 

Youghal (Pobalscoil ne Tríonóide) : 52 this week, 52 last week. The long term average is 57.

First 3 men & women... 

1 Robert O'DEA Male SM30-34 20:09

2 Eoin COYNE Male VM35-39 20:50

3 Colm FAHERTY Male SM30-34 22:14

6 Ornaith KEANE Female SW25-29 23:57

8 Lisa COLLINS Female SW30-34 24:30

9 Claire MURPHY Female VW50-54 24:44

Youghal results... https://www.parkrun.ie/pobalscoilnatrionoide/results/84/

Macroom Castle Desmense: 50 this week, 38 last week. Long term average is 51.

First 3 men & women...

1 John O'DONOGHUE Male SM30-34 18:31

2 Conor LUCEY Male VM35-39 18:33

3 Padraig SHEAHAN Male VM55-59 Millstreet Athletic Club 21:05

18 Claire CURTIN Female VW35-39 24:28

20 Olga O'SULLIVAN Female VW45-49 Eagle A.C. 25:38

21 Sarah CUDDIHY Female JW15-17 26:08

Macroom results... https://www.parkrun.ie/macroomcastledemesne/results/448/

Clonakilty: 32 this week, 27 last week. Long term average 36.

First 3 men & women... 

1 Unknown   

2 Shane WINTERS Male JM11-14 20:39

3 Niall O'CONNOR Male VM45-49 Ranelagh Harriers 21:07

8 Sandra WALSH Female VW50-54 24:02

9 Marina QUINLAN Female VW35-39 25:46

12 Naomi ROYCROFT Female VW45-49 26:51

Clonakilty results... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/results/402/

Glengarriff Woods: 57 this week, 49 last week. The long term average is 60.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Darragh COPPINGER Male JM11-14 20:31

2 Trevor MCGUIRK Male VM40-44 21:38

3 Danny MANNING Male VM45-49 21:47

7 Lilly O DEA Female VW45-49 Boru Tri Club 23:47

8 Alice COPPINGER Female VW45-49 Bantry Athletic Club 23:50

11 Alannah MADDOCK Female JW10 25:42

Glengarriff results... https://www.parkrun.ie/glengarriff/results/319/

Bere Island: 35 this week, 50 last week, long term average of 46. 

First 3 men & women... 

1 Michelagh MURPHY Female SW18-19 22:15

2 Pippa O SULLIVAN Female JW11-14 25:29

6 Mags O NEILL Female VW45-49 Beara AC 28:51

3 Breandan MURPHY Male SM20-24 25:56

4 Michael O SULLIVAN Male VM40-44 27:32

5 Tadhg HOBBS Male JM15-17 27:58 

Bere Island results... https://www.parkrun.ie/bereisland/results/409/

Castlehaven (Rineen Woods): 14 finishers this week, 18 last week. Long term average 28.

First 3 women & men...

1 Ciarán BOUSE Male VM40-44 Eagle A.C. 21:34

2 James WHITE Male VM35-39 23:35

3 John O'MAHONY Male SM25-29 23:42

4 Catherine AIREY Female SW30-34 Highgate Harriers 23:55

8 Frances LYNCH Female VW60-64 Sanctuary Runners 32:51

9 Spah MBALI Female VW35-39 33:29

Castlehaven results... https://www.parkrun.ie/castlehaven/results/330/

For more information about the weekly 5k parkruns in Co Cork, go to this page HERE.

Guest Post: Storm Babet ...by Pat Walsh

 'Babet'

I should be writing a running post to encourage you all with final preparations for DCM or some other long run.

However events have taken over of more importance.

Midleton got destroyed in this weeks storm. Every Premises on the Main St and many other houses and businesses who were in the paths of the overflowing rivers. Most of these people have NO FLOOD INSURANCE due to previous events.

My heart goes out to everyone affected and hopefully we will be able to help and encourage them back into business. For families who's homes were flooded, it can be life-changing and catastrophic.

As runners all I can do is encourage you to be safe on the roads at the moment. Maybe with Christmas not far away do what you can to support your local businesses, as they need it now more than ever.

One bright point, however small, is the level of local support yesterday to help clean up, provide food and spare beds, and do anything to help the situation. It was inspiring

You'd say, "Hold my hand, I'll be your brother wherever you go" ..... Cian Ducrot

#pwr

Glen River 5k parkrun cancelled - Sat 21st Oct 2023

Due to extensive flooding damage, the Glen River 5k parkrun on Sat 21st Oct 2023 has been cancelled.

Update 20th Oct: Mallow Castle and Ballincollig cancelled as well.

As you can seen from the photo above, the deluge of water on the 18th and 19th of October not only flooded large sections of the Glen River park but some of the paths were badly damaged.

Cork City Council are working on repairing the path but it's not going to be ready by Saturday.

Note that other parkruns may also be cancelled on Saturday so be sure to check before traveling.

The image above shows the water levels of the Glen River for the last five weeks. The flooding on the 19th of Oct was at records levels.

Even in dry weather, some parts of the 5k route are not that far above the level of the small lake and the photo above shows the route underwater.

Friday Jigsaw: Killarney race 2013

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo by Joe Murphy of a race in Killarney National Park from 2013.

This one has 219 pieces and you can find it HERE

Kenyan 2:02 marathon runner Titus Ekiru receives 10-year ban

Following on from recent record breaking performances in the marathon by Kenyan runners, it was announced at the start of this week that Titus Ekiru from Kenya was banned for a decade after twice failing a drugs test. 

He was up to now one of the top marathon runners from Kenya with a marathon personal best of 2:02:57 which had placed him on joint 6th of the all time marathon record list.

The two positive tests in 2021 came at the Milan Marathon where he tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide and at the Abu Dhabi Marathon where he tested positive for a synthetic opioid. He was also found guilty of tampering with two other samples.

His ban which runs from June 28, 2022 until June 27, 2032 will effectively end the competitive running career of the 32-year old.

It also seems he colluded with a 'high-ranking doctor' at a Kenyan hospital who administered some of the banned substances. It raises the obvious question of how rife is this in Kenya and some of the other African countries? Why was he only caught when he was tested in Milan and Abu Dhabi? Is there any drug testing going on within Kenya?

If there is no effective ongoing tests then athletes can train away on performance enhancing drugs within the country and wait for the substances to clear their system before traveling to competitions where they will be tested.

The full story is on the Athletics Weekly website.

A list of the wins for Titus Ekiru can be seen on Wikipedia.

Results & Photos of the IMRA Canon Sheehan 16k trail race in N Cork - Sun 15th Oct 2023

The IMRA Canon Sheehan 16km trail race was held in the Ballyhouras on Sunday 15th October 2023 on what turned out to be a lovely sunny autumnal day. A total of 71 runners took part in this event which had a total ascent of 480m.

Top 3 men & women...
1 Brian Mullins 108 M40 1:20:00 St. Finbarr's AC Cork
2 Cathal Prior 1544 M50 1:21:29 Cork
3 Joe O'Leary 981 M45 1:22:29 Munster Trail Runners Kerry
1 Mary Louise Ryan 1243 F40 1:30:08 Mooreabbey Milers Tipperary
2 Anita Locke 541 F35 1:31:01 St. Finbarr's AC Kerry
3 Sorcha Kearney 613 F45 1:34:18 St. Finbarr's AC Cork

Full results HERE 

Photos...

1) IMRA have a selection of small photos on their website HERE

Runner sinks up to their neck in 5-foot hole

Mountain rescuers near Bolton in England warned runners and walkers to be careful of very deep puddles on the local mountains.

It seems that recently, a runner injured his ankle and was taken to hospital after falling in and sinking up to his neck in a 5ft pool. Another warned they hurt their elbow and wrist and after mistakenly thinking the puddle was about 'two or three inches deep'.

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team (BMRT) submerged a 5ft 6ins fence post into the water - and shared the pictures on their Facebook page. They wrote... "Pictured here at dusk is a 6ft 2ins chap holding a 5ft 6ins wooden fence post, which was found lying on the moor nearby. The stone path is solid - and about 3ft wide - but when covered in water it's very difficult to make out the edges of the stone, especially when the sun is low above the horizon. As you'll see from the pictures, the bog very easily consumed almost all of the fence post - with very little resistance from the mud. It's exactly the same on the other side of the path. We can well believe the stories of people sinking up to their chest. Please take care on this path - especially if overtaking whilst running!"

Results & Photos of the Cork BHAA Defence Forces 5k - Sun 15th Oct 2023

The Cork BHAA Defence Forces 5k was held this year in Tramore Valley Park on Sun 15th Oct 2023 and a total of 209 runners crossed the finish line. Last year, this race was held in Ringaskiddy and 189 ran so it looks as if the move to the city did no harm.

Top 3 men & women...

1 Aidan Noone M1 00:16:03 Dept of Ed M-A-1 
2 John Meade 0/40M M2 00:16:08 Dept of Ed M-A-1 
3 Michael Furlong M3 00:16:37 PwC 
12 Lizzie Lee 0/40F F1 00:17:05 Apple F-A-2 
25 Siobhan Hoare 0/45F F2 00:18:33 Bon Secours F-A-1 
38 Linda O Connor 0/45F F3 00:19:07 Musgrave

Full results HERE

Photos...
1) Derek Costello has a number of galleries... 
a) Start
b) Lap 1
c) Lap 2