Just be aware that the smoke from the fires on Slievenamon are over east Cork at the moment. The photo shows the view from a hill near Passage West and you can see the smoke to the east of Midleton. This was taken at 4pm on Wed 22nd of July 2026. As of 6pm, it is moving west towards Cork city. It might be of interest to anyone walking or running this evening and is very sensitive to small particulates.
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| First place for Michael Bruton of Cobh Tri Club |
The Beast of Beara trail race in west Cork attracted a field of 391 runners this year, up from the 339 in 2025. Considering the event was held in Allihies, getting almost 400 participants in such a remote location is a considerable achievement.
Full results HERE
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| Third place finish for Sandra Keyes of St Finbarr's AC |
This years Cork BHAA Gas Networks Ireland 5k road race in Cork City is coming up on Wed 22nd July 2026 at 8pm.
Entry fee is €5 for registered runners and €10 for non-registered. Registration is open from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at Cork Boat Club in Blackrock village, with the first 500 entries receiving a free short sleeve dry fit t-shirt.
Officially the heatwave is over in Cork as it only got to 24 degrees thankfully. The extreme temperatures were causing me and I suspect many others to slowly go insane through lack of sleep. I am NOT complaining. The winter was long enough and it is lovely to be out in shorts and a vest even if it is at 6.30am. Today was lovely and hopefully we get a few weeks of this. An odd night of rain to help the garden and I will be delighted.
Last weekend I met the lovely McRae family at coffee and had the pleasure of speaking to Elle-Kate before she headed off to the Under 18 European Athletics in Rieti, Italy. To say she did well is a total understatement. She was magnificent. Irish U18 400 Hurdles record broken 3 times. Irish U20 record broken twice. 4th in the final today… OMG keep an eye on this name. Olympics 2032.
I have written before about the great Billy Griffin a serious hero of mine. One early morning this week well before 7am when I couldn't sleep or stay in bed, I met Billy while I was out on a peregrination on the Midleton Greenway. “Mighty morning Pat, great to be out running’ . Billy is 88 years young.
There is only 70 years between the 2 of them. Both heroes in my eyes. Running gives us everything and offers everyone a chance to shine at every level and every age.
#pwr
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| 300 parkruns for Colin Gleeson |
The third edition of the Rockchapel 5k is coming up in north-west Cork on Friday the 31st of July 2026 with a start time of 8pm.
Enter HERE
The will be special dry fit tops for the first 120 runners to collect their numbers on the night.
The village is located in north-west Cork and is about 16kms to the north-west of the town of Newmarket. Considering its location, it should be of interest to many runners counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.
The race HQ is at Paddy Molly's Bar which is right in the middle of the village.
The race is an out and back course. The race starts in Rockchapel, heads west and slightly downhill for 2.5kms before returning to the finish line.
The drop in height from the start line to the turnaround point is about 30-metres and that gradual drop is spread out over the 2.5kms.
How about this for a running event! On Sunday the 30th of August 2026, there is a unique running event where participants have to run the 17-floors to the top of the Cork County Hall!
Niall O Crualaioch is organising the event in aid of the CUH Charity and the entry fee is €25.
Entry... https://entry.raskis.ie/r/76f51f34101b
From the organisers... Take on the challenge and make history at the Cork Tower Run—Ireland's first-ever tower running race.
Set against the iconic backdrop of Cork County Hall, this unique vertical race will see participants climb to the top of one of Ireland's tallest occupied buildings in a test of strength, endurance, and determination for the Cork University Hospital Charity. From the first step to the finish line high above the city, every flight brings you closer to the summit of the Cork skyline.
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| The only way is up... |
Whether you're an experienced athlete, a firefighter, a Hyrox competitor, a runner looking for a new challenge, or simply someone who wants to conquer the tower for the CUH charity, the Cork Tower Run offers an unforgettable race experience unlike anything else in Ireland.
With breath taking views awaiting at the finish and the satisfaction of conquering the climb, this is your opportunity to be part of a landmark event and earn your place in Irish tower running history.
17 floors. One tower. One challenge. The only way is up.
YOU MUST BE OVER 18 TO ENTER
A number of posts and articles have appeared recently about proposed new athletic tracks in the towns of Mallow, Carrigaline and Dungarvan.
Mallow... The Department of Culture, Communication and Sport announced a €2m grant in November of 2024 for the development of a large sports facility at Carhookeal which is on the southern edge of Mallow near Mallow. The planned location is on an elevated site which is about 50m in elevation above the town.
The plans include an eight lane 400m athletics, an indoor basketball court, soccer, rugby, and astroturf pitches and tennis courts. It has now been confirmed that Cork County Council have submitted relevant documentation to the Department in June of 2026. There are many steps in planning, approval and funding and this is just one of many steps in the process. Echo article HERE
Carrigaline... The original proposal was for both Carrigaline Rugby Club and Carrigaline Athletics Club to develop facilities at a site at Kilnagleary to the south-east of the town. This included a full size 400m athletics track.
The project has now been expanded following engagement with local organisations and Cork County Council. The Echo has an article HERE
The project website is https://carrigalinesports.ie/blog
Dungarvan... The West Waterford AC Track Development Committee recently made a trip to Bandon in Co Cork to talk about how they developed and funded their new athletics track.
West Waterford AC writes... "VISIT TO BANDON AC ATHLETICS TRACK.
A special thank you to chairperson of Bandon AC Adrian O’Flynn who recently hosted a number of our Track Development committee on a site visit to their brand new Track and Field facility that was officially opened in mid-April this year.
Very few athletics facilities in Ireland are owned and managed by volunteer lead athletic clubs, therefore the visit provided an opportunity to learn from the journey of the highly regarded West Cork club.
Bandon AC purchased their site in 2021 after they had received planning permission from Cork County Council and have delivered a state of the art 6 lane 400m track with an 8 lane 100m straight in just five years, which is a fantastic achievement for the dedicated club volunteers.
Following the signing of a lease with the Augustinian Trust a number of weeks ago for a parcel of last at St Augustine’s College, we are currently in the design scoping phase and hope to be in a position to submit a planning application to Waterford City and County Council in the coming months.
This Track and Field facility will be of benefit athletic clubs across the region and the wider West Waterford community.
If you are interested in supporting this project please email wwactrackdevelopment AT gmail DOT com "
Dungarvan Track donation...PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS SUPPORT WEST WATERFORD TRACK DEVELOPMENT.
The primary school sports is the first exposure to athletics for many primary school students across the region. Regional qualifying competitions were hosted by athletic clubs across West Waterford, with three nights hosted by West Waterford AC in St Augustine’s College including the Western Small School Finals and Big School Finals. This is the location where earlier this year West Waterford AC secured a long term lease for a site to develop a 400m athletics track and field facility with a clubhouse for the West Waterford region.
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| L-R Pádraig Healy West Waterford AC track development committee, Silvia Uí Sheanlaoich West Waterford primary schools sports committee, Mary Ashe Secretary West Waterford Juvenile athletic club and Lynn O'Riordan Treasurer West Waterford Juvenile athletic club |
At a recent West Waterford AC juvenile championship presentation evening, the funds raised from the admission fee from parents and supporters from the three nights hosted in St Augustine’s College were donated to the Track Development Fund. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the primary school teachers and many volunteers who helped out in any way at both the regional events and the finals, without your on-going support major events like this would not be possible.
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| Ross Gallagher with guide runner Proinnsias O'Keeffe |
Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher from Kerry is a regular at the road races and parkruns in Co Cork. On Saturday the 11th of July 2026, Ross completed the grand slam of eleven parkruns in Co Cork when he completed the event on Bere Island!
Clonakilty was his first parkrun in Co Cork back in November of 2023 and Bere Island in July of 2026 was number eleven.
This is a list of the parkruns in Co Cork that Ross has completed...
The Dungarvan 10k road race is coming up on Friday the 17th of July 2026 with a start time of 7:30pm.
Online entries HERE
This is essentially the 10k version of the hugely popular 10-mile race which takes place in February every year.
From West Waterford AC... "The Sherry Fitzgerald Reynolds Dungarvan 10K will take place on Friday July 17th at 7.30pm.
Now in its 42nd year and one of the oldest races on the local road running calendar the Dungarvan 10k is always one of the more popular races. The club is delighted to welcome back local auctioneer David Reynolds as our sponsor again this year. The race will start and finish in the same place as always at the Industrial Estate at Clogherane just off the N25.
Entry on the night will be €15.
We are once again grateful to Dungarvan G.A.A. club who have provided us with the facilities for number collection, prizegiving and refreshments on the night."
Entry link https://eventmaster.ie/event/LE2pcp3H76
The race starts and finishes near the GAA grounds and takes in a loop to the west of Dungarvan using a lot of the course for the 10-mile race.
The Youghal Bay Half-Marathon & 10k in east Cork is coming up this year on Sunday the 9th of August 2026.
The Half-Marathon race will start at 9:30am while the 10km will start at the later time of 11:30am.
Entries HERE
Update - 14th July - Video showing the route of both courses is embedded further down this post.
The annual Kinsale Regatta 5-mile road race is coming up this year on Friday 31st of July 2026 with a start time of 7:30pm.
Update - 13th July 2026: 800 places gone, 200 places left.
Update - 8th July 2026: 700 places gone, 300 places left.
You can enter HERE
This event is a fundraiser for Sailability Ireland which helps people with disabilities experience sailing.
The third edition of the Run Skibb Half-Marathon & 10k in west Cork was held on Sunday the 12th of July 2026 on a hot and sunny day. There were 312 finishers in the half-marathon and 361 in the 10k, both up just under 5% on last year.
Full results HERE
Full 10k results HERE
There were also 174 finishers in the 5k event which was held on Saturday 11th of July. Results HERE
The Bere Island Midsummer race was held this year on Saturday the 11th of July 2026 on what was a hot and sunny day. The 10k event was cancelled this year due to the heat around the planned start time of 1:10pm. A total of 99 runners took part in the 5k race.
Full results below...
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”
10th October
Not sure if I can run in the morning. Where did the Summer go and leave Winter in so quickly. I will need a long sleeve and a woolly cap. All I have is my Summer gear and the winter stuff was either dumped or buried at the bottom of a cupboard. Hope I washed it before I put it away. Could be a fair hum from some of the gear if it didn’t see the washing machine before I stashed it. I suppose nothing major ahead until the Turkey Trot and it would be ok to miss a run. I’ll sort the gear for next week. I hate missing a run,
10th January
Not sure I can run in the morning. Baltic weather out there. Frost and ice in the forecast for tomorrow morning. Have to be careful, as one slip and a fall on icy footpaths and it could be a hip or a collar bone out of action for the year. Bambi on ice comes to mind. Couldn’t be taking a chance on it. I’ll stay in bed and let the lunatics off for themselves. You have to mind yourself. A nice hot whiskey before bed and set no morning alarm call. Bad start to the Year, World domination may have to be put on hold for a while. I hate missing a run.
10th April
Not sure I can run in the morning. Where in the name of God did that wind come from. One of those storms that blow in from the Atlantic named after some imbecile in the weather department. Storm Lilith I ask you. How can we have respect for a storm named after a character in ‘Cheers’. It could be a bit wild and bring down a few trees or branches. I can handle most weather conditions but wind and rain is just not nice. I wouldn’t like to get a cold or the flu and be suffering for the Easter Holidays. I hate missing a run.
10th July
Not sure I can run in the morning. You couldn’t make this up. A heatwave in Ireland just as I am hitting my peak in training. Tropical temperatures during the day and night. Advisory to not over exert the body in these conditions, and to be fair it is like a sauna out there.
'Hot summer nights, mid-July
When you and I were forever wild'.... Lana Del Rey
I have the fair skin complexion of a Northern European with zero tolerance for very hot temperatures. I’m sweating putting on my running gear. Can you imagine exposing my milky white legs and arms to that sun, I could be scalded. George Lee says this could become the new normal. Will I even bother replacing my running shoes as they could be sticking in the tar like the current ones. I had great plans for July to be ready for the Autumn. I hate missing a run.
In Ireland we are lucky to live in a temperate climate where outdoor activities are possible all year round if you actually want to do it. 6.30am is a beautiful time of the day on the Greenway at the moment. Existence precedes essence, I run therefore I am.
Have a lovely weekend and stay safe.
#pwr
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| Clean sweep for Leevale AC in the women's race... (L-R) Hannah Steeds 1st, Sinead O'Connor 2nd & Lizzie Lee 3rd |
Full results HERE
Photos...
1) PopUpRaces has a gallery of finish line photos HERE
2) Joe Murphy has some race photos HERE
Well done to Carol Murphy who reached the 500-volunteer milestone at the Bere Island 5k parkun last weekend! With one parkrun per week, it takes about 10-years to reach this milestone.
Back in April, Maretta Brennan was the first person in Cork to reach the 500-volunteer credits milestone at the Ballincollig parkrun. Maretta reached this impressive 500 total by volunteering at both the 5k parkrun on Saturday and the junior 2k parkrun on Sunday.
In Carol's case, she is the first person in Cork to reach the 500-volunteer milestone by volunteering only at 5k events. Carol has also as of last Saturday completed 360 5k parkruns with the vast majority on Bere Island.
Joanne Sullivan on Bere Island is on track to become the first person in Cork to complete 500 5k parkruns on Saturday the 22nd of August 2026.
Tracton AC are holding their Tracton 4-mile road race on Friday the 10th of July 2026 at 8pm.
You can pre-enter online HERE
Update - 10th July: 1) The forecast is for 19 deg C, about 6 deg cooler than Cork City!
2) Note that there are some closed roads around Ballinrea Cross to the north of Carrigaline and the road from Five Mile Bridge to Ballygarvan is also be closed due to the heat. Be sure to leave early to avoid any delays due to traffic.
3) Online entries are open until 7pm but they will also be accepting in person registrations at the centre tonight.
Info from Tracton AC... "Tracton AC are hosting a 4-mile road race on Friday 10th July 2026 at 8pm in beautiful Minane Bridge (near Carrigaline, and 20km south of Cork city).
Kerry County Council recently posted the image on social media showing the projected social and economic benefits of the new South Kerry Greenway.
The whole Greenway from Caherciveen to Glenbeigh is about 32kms in length and roughly half of it is open now to the public.
See previous posts...
First 3km section of the new South Kerry Greenway is now open to the public - 19th Dec 2025
Part 2 of the South Kerry Greenway near Glenbeigh opens 2nd Apr 2026
Elevate Credit Union recently announced that they are sponsoring Cork runner Ryan Creech as he gets ready to represent Ireland on the international stage.
Elevate Credit Union... "Big News! 🚨 We are incredibly proud to sponsor Ryan Creech as he prepares to wear the Irish singlet in the marathon at the European Championships in Birmingham! 🇮🇪
Ryan’s story is pure inspiration. Juggling a full-time job, a young family, and bouncing back from 5 surgeries, he proves what’s possible with relentless work ethic. Next stop: Birmingham. Ultimate goal: The LA Olympics! ⚡️
Join us in backing Ryan on this incredible journey."
Elevate Credit Union has offices in Douglas, Grange, Glanmire and Passage West and they are merging this year with Synergy who operates in Fermoy, Watergrasshill and on the Lower Glanmire Road in Cork city.
This free timed 5k was held on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven Greenway on Sat 27th of June 2026.
The 2026 Dublin Marathon is coming up on Sunday the 25th of October 2026. If anyone would like to optimise their training then I am running individualised training programmes at the moment and the cost is €144.
The length of programme really depends on where you are as a runner and what your initial endurance fitness is like.
After an initial consultation and we agree on what days you can train, a 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 interested, send an email to johndesmondrunning AT gmail DOT com
If you have another event in mind like an autumn half-marathon then send an e-mail to the above address.
The West Waterford Greenway Half-Marathon is coming up this year on Saturday the 29th of August 2026 at 9am. This scenic half has a limit of 750 entries so I would advise anyone that is interested to enter asap.
Entry fee includes a specially commissioned Greenway dry-fit t-shirt !
Update - 5th July 2026: This event is now sold out. It took just 5-days to sell all 750 entries.
The weather is picking up again and hopefully the good vibe will last for a while.
The last few weeks / months haven’t been easy on the body or the mind. It happens,
Too many funerals and not enough celebrations. Hearing of illnesses and injuries to friends. Lots of bad news on the TV and radio. Doom scrolling on the internet.
When you enter a race online and have to scroll down a long way to find your birth year.. Jaysus 😃
The one saving grace through it all has been a run.
The appreciation that I can run, when so many others that want to be active cannot do it.
On my own, a slow run and sorting the head out in a quiet place free from distractions where I can think.
Meeting someone to run and chat with, where there is a welcome ear and support while we cover the miles.
Going to a race and meeting everyone for smiles, hugs, laughs and yes we run a bit. The social bit is priceless.
Look at your watch when you finish a race and be happy that you and your watch got to the end line whatever the time is. It is an affirmation that you are alive.
The cuppa after a run.
The feeling afterwards when you are showered and dressed, where you feel you ran some of the bad stuff out and you have a little pep in your step.
We all have choices in our lives.
Be positive or be negative.
Some use the cliché glass half full or half empty. I like half full after I have drank the top half of a nice beer and half of it it still left…. but not for long and fill it again.
Live to the full each day or barely exist.
Be a support for others and know that everyone has some issue that they need help with.
'we give each other a smile with a future in it' John Donne
I won’t get religious or spiritual or predictions of an after life. I can’t predict tomorrow why would I be pontificating?
Enjoy your best life and in the absence of professional and scientific authority just listen to an aging slogger who has seen life.
But go for a run.
#pwr