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.
IMRA held their Halloween Half-Marathon & 5k in Glensheshkin Woods near Kilworth of Sat 26th Oct 2024 with a total of 107 runners in the half and 62 in the 5k.
Half Marathon - Top 3 men & women...
1 Nick Hogan838M40 1:25:53 Cork 2 Seán Quirke968M45 1:29:56 Bilboa ACLimerick 3 Steve Hogan224M40 1:33:34 Waterford ACWaterford 1 Orla Tuohy4562F40 1:43:29 Waterford 2 Sorcha Kearney229F45 1:48:29 St. Finbar's ACCork 3 Kristen O'Sullivan943F35 1:51:24 Beara ACCork
The Dublin marathon is always a special event as no other marathon in Ireland comes close to it in terms of size and atmosphere. In 2024, there were 17,747 finishers which was up 7.5% on the 16,510 in 2023.
I'll update the post with links to photos over the next day or two but in the meantime, here is the link to the results.
From a Cork point of view, there were some impressive results. Ryan Creech of Leevale AC was the second Irish athlete home to take a silver medal in the Irish national marathon championship.
Niamh Moore of Leevale AC ran a great race to finish in an impressive time of 2:45:20 and it was also here first marathon! Back in 2016, the qualifying standard for the Olympics in Rio was 2:45 for women.
Here are some of the extracted results for runners in Cork & Munster. It's impossible to pick out everyone as not everyone is a member of an athletics club. Let me know of any omissions.
Men - Sun 2:50 chip time
9.16Ryan Creech9/12294(M)7/3315(MS)LEEVALE A.C. 2:13:48
10.17William Maunsell10/12294(M)3/2017(M35)CLONMEL A.C. 2:14:22
11.20David Mc Glynn11/12294(M)8/3315(MS)WATERFORD A.C. 2:15:25
19.25David Mc Carthy18/12294(M)8/2017(M35)WEST WATERFORD A.C. 2:24:17
23.53Conor Mc Cauley21/12294(M)2/2452(M40)LEEVALE A.C. 2:24:52
24.5260 Shane Collins22/12294(M)10/2017(M35)LEEVALE A.C. 2:25:08
35.78Simon Nolan32/12294(M)12/2017(M35)BANDON A.C. 2:29:10
48.4646 Barry Hartnett43/12294(M)7/2452(M40)DUNDRUM A.C. 2:32:04
58.4668 Michael Morgan52/12294(M)3/2012(M45)ST. FINBARRS A.C. 2:34:09
69.4995 Aidan Noone63/12294(M)21/3315(MS)LEEVALE A.C. 2:35:27
75.5014 Vivian Foley68/12294(M)2/1310(M50)EAGLE A.C. 2:35:44
109.4607 Anthony Mc Carthy99/12294(M)24/2452(M40)EAGLE A.C. 2:39:44
125.4921 Gearoid O' Flynn114/12294(M)30/2452(M40)EAGLE A.C. 2:41:49
172.4376 Seamus Mc Sweeney157/12294(M)7/1310(M50)GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. 2:44:02
190.3129 Joseph Feery52/2017(M35)CLONMEL A.C. 2:45:35
198.4036 Gary Sleith55/2017(M35)ST. NICHOLAS A.C. 2:45:56
214.4583 Sean O' Keeffe29/2012(M45)EAGLE A.C. 2:47:07
225.3464 Padraig Sheehan62/2017(M35)EAGLE A.C. 2:46:45
237.4234 Nigel O' Flaherty35/2012(M45)CLONMEL A.C. 2:47:29
244.1141 Gary Landers14/1310(M50)STAR OF THE LAUNE A.C. 2:48:10
263.4622 John Murphy3/689(M55)GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. 2:48:58
272.4481 Michael Byrne67/2452(M40)ST. CATHERINE'S A.C. 2:49:04
276.3565 Johnny O' Sullivan15/1310(M50)GRANGE/FERMOY A.C. 2:49:11
277.2634 Liam Shanahan69/2452(M40)THURLES CROKES A.C. 2:49:12
Women - Sub 3:30 chip time
19.122Niamh Moore11/1694(WS)LEEVALE A.C. 2:45:20
32.500Carolyn Hayes1/671(W35)WEST LIMERICK A.C. 2:57:17
42.3395 Sandra Manning13/1089(W40)LEEVALE A.C. 2:58:45
50.4822 Irene Eighan16/1089(W40)ST. FINBARRS A.C. 3:01:45
78. 10811 Kathy Jean Horgan Casey (Cork)11/1021(W45) 3:09:42
87.4741 Edel Byrne28/1089(W40)TRAMORE A.C. 3:10:12
94.2957 Selenia Nolan Culligan5/632(W50)ENNIS TRACK A.C. 3:11:04
5) Richard Peyton Photography is currently uploading a huge number of photos to his Flickr account. The photos are in black & white and colour versions are available on payment of a donation to a charity.
2:13 finish for Ryan Creech on the left to take Silver in the national marathon championship
An impressive 2:45 finish for Niamh Moore of Leevale AC
One of the most famous participants in the marathon was actor Colin Farrell who ran a time of 4h 06m.
He ran the final few kms of the Dublin Marathon with friend Emma Fogarty, who is Ireland's longest surviving person living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (Butterfly Skin). In total, he raised over €700,000 for Debra.
Sub 3 hour finish for Sandra Manning of Leevale AC pictured post race with club coach Donie Walsh
This months free Run the Line 5k organised by Carrigaline AC was held on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven walkway on Sat 26th Oct 2024 and a total of 39 runners took part. That's a big jump compared to the field of just 14 finishers the previous month.
1 Ciaran Bouse 19.04 2 Conor Friel 20.29 3 Manus Altmann 21.57 4 Brendan Altmann 22.06 5 Kristofer Altmann 23.47 6 Ian O'Brien 23.58 7 Colin Healy 25.00 8 Janet Altmann 25.09 9 Rachel Chow 26.17 10 John Walshe 28.20 11 Patrick O'Flynn 28.31 12 Kieran Whooley 28.33 13 Tara Smith 28.36 14 Cesar Ladeiro 28.38 15 Peter Bradley 30.32 16 Allison Deane 30.44
Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 26th Oct 2024. Approximately 971 runners and walkers took part in the 10 events in Co Cork.
Report... The weather was a bit dull and grey for this weeks 5k parkruns in Co Cork with some scattered showers as well. Looks like it was a bit brighter in west Cork.
Bere Island.. Another 250 milestone on Bere Island! Well done to Colin Gleeson who completed his 250th 5k parkrun. Colin has done 233 of the 250 on Bere Island with the balance being 16 at Glengarriff and 1 in Kilkenny.
Colin's first 5k parkrun was on Bere Island way back on the 4th of April 2015. He also has 97 volunteer credits built up, just 3 short of the century.
Macroom... Well done to Caroline O'Donnell who completed her 100th 5k parkrun at the Macroom event today! 91 out of the 100 5k parkruns have been in Macroom with the balance of 9 up in Letterkenny. Caroline's first parkrun was in Macroom way backon the 18th of May 2013.
By the way, Macroom is going to be celebrating it's 500th edition next Saturday!
Pobalscoil na Tríonóide... Well done to Siobhan Cooney who completed her 100th 5k parkrun at the Youghal event. 93 of the 100 were in Youghal with 6 in Killarney and 1 in Tralee. Siobhan's first 5k parkrun was in Youghal back on the 23rd of Oct 2021.
If I missed anyone who passed a notable milestone like 100, 200, 250 or above parkruns then let me know.
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Ballincollig Regional Park: 306 this week, 271 last week.
Earlier on this year, Carrigaline AC were organising a free timed 5k run on the first Saturday of every month. These have now restarted except they've changed to 9am on the last Saturday of the month.
The next one is at the Kilnagleary car park on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven walkway on Sat 26th Oct 2024 at 9am. There is no need to pre-enter online, just turn up beforehand and allow time for the organisers to take your name.
The map below shows the location of the car park which is about a mile / 1.6kms east of Carrigaline. Just look for the public car park on the left after the traffic lights.
Every year, a small number of people take part in the Dublin Marathon running with someone else's race number. While this can seem innocent enough, it can play havoc with the results with people winning prizes or championship medals that they are not entitled to.
The rules of the Dublin marathon state the following...
The sale, swapping, or bartering of Marathon/Race Series Entries or Numbers is strictly forbidden.
If you attempt to sell, swap or barter your Marathon/Race Series Entry or Marathon/Race Series race number, you may be banned from future Dublin Marathon and/or Race Series events.
The Dublin marathon also doubles up as the national marathon championships. Athletics Ireland are less ambiguous and state that any club athlete running with someone else's number will be banned from future marathon championship events.
From Athletics Ireland... "Number swapping is strictly prohibited. Please do not give your number to another Participant. Both Dublin Marathon and Athletics Ireland prohibit numbers to be transferred to another person🤝
📣Any marathon championship entry who swaps their number will be removed from the results and unable to compete in future national marathon championships."
IMRA are organising two trail races for the evening of Saturday the 26th of October 2024 in Glensheskin Woods near Kilworth and Fermoy.
First off, there's a half-marathon which is more suited for experienced trail runners as it has 300m of ascent. For those wanting something a lot easier, there is a 5k. Needless to say, you're going to need a good headtorch for both events.
As with all IMRA events, annual membership costing €10 is required.
DayTimeVenue/EventLeagues ClimbDist. Sat Oct 26 7:05 PMHalloween Spooky 5km 100m5.00km... Entry Closes:Friday 25th October 2024, 18:00 Entry cost:€10 https://imra.ie/events/view/id/2459
Sat Oct 26 7:45 PMHalloween Half Marathon 300m21.00km... Entry Closes:Friday 25th October 2024, 18:00 Entry cost:€20 https://imra.ie/events/view/id/2460
I used to post a lot about DCM a few years back, but for me, having done it a few times and decided not to repeat I’m a bit out of touch. But for many others it has been the sole driver for the last few months.
I wish you well and hope you get the same fun and enjoyment that I got for many years. I don’t have FOMO, but I do have an interest. Of course I will be following everything.
As you head to Dublin or whatever challenge lies ahead, be confident in your own ability to succeed. It is a key part of success.
‘Confidence is a state of mind that comes from knowing that you have the ability to meet the demands of situations you are likely to face.’
Why?
It lowers anxiety, heart rate and helps you perform better. More efficient.
Increases your motivation to attack this and your ability to close it out in your terms.
Enhances concentration. You know you can do it, so you can focus solely on doing your best and not wasting negative energy or thoughts.
Increases effort. I can do this so I will drive on. What Hill?
What are you actually doing? The best you can do, to be the best you.
You are an individual who is attempting to run 26.2 miles for the the fun of it. Already you are a winner. Time to show it.
Be confident and nail it.
I leave with 2 quotes.
1 from philosophy, 1 from Sia
‘You will never perform better that the image you have of yourself’
-
🎼 Don't give up, I won't give up Don't give up, no no no I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest.
Cork City Council has allocated €70,000 for a feasibility study to look at options for a western access to Tramore Valley Park.
The new bridge on the south side of the park to Grange & Frankfield has proved to be very popular and gives residents there direct access via a pleasant woodland walk. The question now is if there could be something similar for the west side of the park.
In response to a question from Social Democrats councillor Padraig Rice, the council said... “There are three pedestrian access routes to Tramore Valley Park, the last access point seeing the opening of the link from Grange/Frankfield. Earlier this year the city council secured an initial grant allocation of €70,000 to examine the feasibility of establishing a new improved east-west link into Tramore Valley Park. This funding will also help progress the preparation of a scheme brief which could be used for the procurement of a design team in the coming year (subject to continued funding) with a view to the developing preliminary proposals for such a new connection. The overall concept is at an early stage and related progress will be advised to Members in the period ahead.”
At first glance, a new western entrance with say a new bridge over the South Link Road would seem to be a no-brainer but is it?
The new bridge on the south side of the park over the South Ring Road shortened a 3.4km detour to a pleasant 1km walk for residents in Frankfield. Would a western bridge show similar benefits?
Some examples... 1) Starting at Turners Cross - It's just an 800m walk to get into the north western part of the park via Half Moon Lane. Going via a bridge by say the Black Ash is 1.5kms. No advantage.
2) Starting at the Pearse Rd / Tory Top Rd / Kinsale Rd junction - It's 1.2kms via the Half-Moon Lane and 1km via a Black Ash Bridge. No real advantage.
3) Starting at the Tramore Rd / Kinsale Rd junction - 1.6kms via Half-Moon lane and 0.6km via a Black Ash Bridge. A 1km advantage.
Half Moon Lane entrance
I wonder if some people are unaware of the Half Moon Lane entrance or might think it's further than it actually is?
So on first examination, the cost to benefit analysis doesn't seem to justify a new bridge.
Plans for the park?... The question then is if Cork City Council have other plans for the park?
Do the council have plans to use the park as a venue for concerts / entertainment / sports? Perhaps there is a commercial element to the councils plans which would change the cost to benefit equation?
After all, the amount of parking in the park itself is limited and the council have the Black Ash car park at the other side of the South Link Road which can't be used at present.
There are also proposals for some 600 residential dwellings on the old CMP site which would be a factor as well.
If a western access point / bridge is eventually approved, it will probably be the end of the decade before we're likely to see it.
The IMRA Cannon Sheehan 16km trail race was held on Sunday 13th Oct 2024 on the Cork/Limerick border in the Ballyhoura mountains and attracted a field of 65 runners.
Top 3 men & women... 1 Seán Quirke968M45 1:16:20 Bilboa ACLimerick 2 Owen Fetherstonhaugh4501M 1:20:30 Laois 3 Kevin Lenihan936M40 1:21:24 Mooreabbey ...Kerry 1 Kealey Tideswell435F40 1:20:19 Clonmel ACTipperary 2 Carol Finn899F35 1:21:53 Cork 3 Lianne van Dijk1386F 1:28:44 Kerry
Munster Technological University (MTU), supported by MTU Lions Athletics Club and Cork Sports Partnership are hosting a Sports Seminar Series over the next few months.
See a list of the events below:
October 16th 2024: Sports Nutrition for Athletes 101 ...by Evan Lynch.
November 13th 2024: Mental Health in Sport ...by Jessie Barr.
December 4th 2024: Training & Injury Prevention Tips ...by Eoin Everard.
January 15th 2025: Developing World Class Training Environments ...by Ed Coughlan.
February 12th 2025: Implementing Real World Strength & Conditioning ...by Joe O'Connor.
March 12th 2025: Planning Training and the Coach Athlete Relationship ...by Hayley Harrison.
Each one costs €10 for an adult or €8 for a student. There is a series bundle for €50 and €40 respectively.
This charity 5-mile road race in memory of John Brady of North Cork AC was held on Sat 12th Oct 2024 with 106 runners taking part.
Top 3 men & women... 1 Karl FitzmauriceShannon AC 25:34 MS572 2 Damien MadiganNorth Cork AC 26:29 MS874 3 Niall O RiordanAn Bru AC 27:45 MS883 10 Sophie MoroneyEmerald AC 34:18 FS632 15 Fiona BoyceNorth Cork AC 36:06 FS417 17 Katie MurphyThe Churchtown Roadrunners AC 36:14 FS640
Results of the 5k parkruns around the county on Saturday 12th Oct 2024. Approximately 921 runners and walkers took part in the 10 events in Co Cork.
Report... After the orange weather warning last weekend, things were a lot dryer this week for the ten 5k parkruns in Co Cork.
Ballincollig... Well to Graham Meikle & Maria Madigan who earned their 250 and 100 volunteer credits respectively at the Ballincollig 5k parkrun this week!
Graham Meikle & Maria Madigan who earned their 250 and 100 volunteer credits respectively
Photo credit: Proinnsias O'Keeffe
Glengarriff... Well done to Stephen O'Sullivan who completed his 250th 5k parkrun this weekend! 239 of the 250 have been in Glengarriff.
250 parkruns for Stephen O'Sullivan
Macroom... The Macroom event was the first 5k parkrun in Co Cork and all going well, they hope to celebrate their 500th edition on the 2nd of November 2024.
Bere Island... Well done to Carol Murphy who completed her 300th 5k parkrun this week!
300 parkruns for Carol Murphy!
Mallow... Well done to Sandra Howard who completed her 100th 5k parkrun today! Sandra did 91 of the 100 parkruns in Mallow and her first parkrun was at Wexford Racecourse back on the 1st of Jan 2019.
100 5k parkruns for Sandra Howard
If I missed anyone who passed a notable milestone like 100, 200, 250 or above parkruns then let me know.
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Ballincollig Regional Park: 325 this week, 195 last week.
First 3 men & women...
1 Evan FITZGERALD Male SM20-24 West Waterford AC 15:31
2 James HAYES Male VM35-39 16:36
3 Liam RYAN Male VM45-49 18:08
13 Niamh CRONIN Female VW45-49 St Finbarrs AC 20:38
