Results of the Mealagh Valley 10 mile road race...Sun 12th Feb 2012

 Race director Geraldine O'Sullivan of Bantry AC with the race winners Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC and Maura Regan of Eagle AC. Proceeds from the race went towards local community projects and a Cystic Fibrosis unit in CUH.

Blue skies and sunshine greeted the runners to the Mealagh Valley and this 10 mile road race in west Cork. At times in the sun, it felt more like mid-April rather than mid February and a complete contrast to all of the snow and ice in the east of England just a few hundred kms to the east.

This was the third running of this particular event and it has re-affirmed it's status of the hardest 10 mile road race in the country! The first year I did this race, the hills were a complete shock ;o) The second year, I kind of remembered some of them but forgot that there were so many. This year, I knew exactly what lay ahead but it didn't make it any easier! Up and down and up and down.....certainly not a course for personal best times but it is what it say's it is...a challenge. A lot of the faces that were there last year were back again this year so they must be doing something right! ;o) It really is a unique race with a great community spirit set in a hidden corner of west Cork.

Results......The winner of the men's race was Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC in a time of 53:28, about three minutes slower than his time in Dungarvan two weeks earlier which shows just how tough the course was. In the ladies race, the winner was local Maura Regan of Eagle AC in a time of 69:25

The full results are HERE

Alan O'Shea from Cork runs 2:19 in Nice Marathon

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC ran 2:19:35 in the Marathon Des Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes in the south of France on Sunday, the 20th of November 2011.

Finishing 10th out of 7000+ entrants, his time was almost 4 minutes faster than the 2:23:22 that he posted in the Dublin Marathon just 3 weeks earlier when he was the 3rd Irish finisher.

His time of 2:19:35 is just over 4 minutes outside the 2:15 required to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC runs 2:21 in Rotterdam Marathon

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC ran the Rotterdam Marathon last Sunday (10th Apr 2011) in a time of 2:21:37. Alan, who is a former winner of the Cork City Marathon finished in 26th position out of a field of over 7,000 runners. The average pace was 5:24 per mile.

As you can see from the chart above, the 5k split times of 16:19, 16:56, 17:11 and 17:25 are faster than most runners achieve in local 5k road races.

From what I can gather, the qualify time for the Irish team for the 2012 Olympics in London is expected to be around the 2:16 to 2:17 mark so Alan's time is just 5 minutes or so off the mark. The actual qualifying time is expected to be announced soon.

In the same race, Sean Connolly of Tallaght AC finished in 15th position in a time of 2:17:23.

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC wins the 2010 Dublin Half-Marathon

Just in! Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC has won what is the largest Half-Marathon in the country. The 2010  Dublin Half-Marathon which was on this morning (Sat 18th Sept) attracted around 8,000 entrants and no doubt had plenty of runners vying for 1st place.

He ran the 13.1 mile course in a time of 67m 06s which works out as 5m 07s per mile!

Alan is also a former winner of the Cork City Marathon in 2007 and finished 2nd in the Copenhagen Marathon last May in a time of 2h 22m.

Alan O'Shea of Cork finishes 2nd in Copenhagen Marathon

Alan O'Shea of Bantry AC finished 2nd in the Copenhagen Marathon last Sunday, the 23rd of May. The West Cork athlete who won the Cork City Marathon back in 2007, finished in Copenhagen in an impressive time of 2:22:52........a mere 23 seconds behind the winner and nearly 3 minutes ahead of the 3rd placed runner. That time of 2:22:52 works out at an average pace of 5:27 per mile!!

Alan's time at the Half-Marathon mark was 1:10:36 which works out at 5:23 per mile.

It's one thing to win a race over a short distance but to sustain that kind of pace over the full Marathon distance  is really impressive.