Cork runner Alex O'Shea finishes first in Lapland 230km Ultra race - 24th Feb 2024

Cork runner Alex O'Shea is no stranger to ultra running events and during the week, he was taking part in a 5-day Ultra event in the Lapland area in the far north of Sweden. The 230km event took place in temperatures well below freezing in a landscape described as snowfields & Artic tundra.

On Saturday (24-02-2024), Alex completed the 5th and final leg to take first place and completed the 230km course in 32h 31m.

Top 10 finishers...

Name Gender Bib Overall Time Overall Position Gender Position
Alex O’Shea Male 32:31:00 1 1
George Bath Male 34:38:00 2 2
Juan Fernandez Catalina Male 35:56:00 3 3
Jonathan Harman Male 36:19:00 4 4
Bert Gossey Male 38:26:00 5 5
Tarryn Gordon-Bennett Female 39:09:00 6 1
Andre Erasmus Male 39:14:00 7 6
Daryl Green Male 39:37:00 8 7
Jules Bardwell Male 42:13:00 9 8
Nick Denoon-Stevens Male 42:25:00 10 9

Full results HERE

Guest Post: Belfast 24-hour ...by Alex O'Shea

The Belfast 24-hour is held every year in Victoria Park in East Belfast with contestants running on a 1-mile loop for 24 hours. It also doubles up as the Irish 24-hour championships. 2021 results HERE

In this guest post, Cork runner Alex O'Shea gives his account of the event.

Belfast 24-hour ...by Alex O'Shea

Warning it's a long one. 

The National 24hr running Championships took place 16/17 October in Belfast. A new national record set. Congratulations Ed & team. I like many look forward to reading Eds account and was fortunate to witness his endeavour.

Some personal big mile stones reached with 33 people running over 100miles and a few people running personal bests in difficult conditions. First timers and veterans all rising to the challenge.
So many people 
So many amazing stories.

Athletes encouraging and supporting each other through the many highs and lows in what is 24hr ultra running. But as their are highs there are lows and many people withdrew for various reasons during the event. 

Guest Post: Report on the 2021 Spartathlon ...by Alex O'Shea

Thanks to Alex O'Shea for this extensive review of the famous Spartathlon Ultra which is 245 kms in length. 

Spartathlon

From running my first marathon in full fire gear at the age of 40 in Cork to finishing Sparthatlon one of the world's most difficult races.

There's been some amazing adventures along the way. Fueled by the support of family friends and the running community near and far. Like anything in life there has been highs and lows and not every challenge has gone to plan.

Spartathlon 2021

28hours 40min 12sec Recording the second fastest Irish finish time ever.

Fellow Cork man Eoin Keith is the only Irish competitor to have ran it faster.

Cork runner Alex O'Shea is the first of the Irish home in the 250km Spartathlon Ultra

Well done to Cork runner Alex O'Shea who finished his very first Spartathlon 250km Ultra last weekend in a time of 28 hours and 40 minutes!

The race follows the route of the legendary Pheidippides who is said to have run from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the victory of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

According to the event website..."The idea for its creation is belongs to John Foden, a British RAF Wing Commander. As a lover of Greece and student of ancient Greek history, Foden stopped his reading of Herodotus' narration regarding Pheidippides, puzzled and wondering if a modern man could cover the distance from Athens to Sparta, i.e. 250 kms, within 36 hours."

Out of the 167 finishers, these are the ones with an Irish interest....

26 O Shea Alex 126 Ireland 2021-09-25 11:40:53 28:40:12

27 Espina Rolando 98 Philippines 2021-09-25 11:42:23 28:41:41 (Living in Dublin)

28 Higgins Alastair 110 United Kingdom 2021-09-25 11:45:16 28:44:59 (Living in Dublin)

97 Jennings Anne 57 Ireland 2021-09-25 17:38:06 34:37:26

163 Lee Anthony 52 Ireland 2021-09-25 18:50:54 35:50:13

The winner of the 2021 Spartathlon was Fotis Zisimopoulos from Greece winning in a time of 21:57:36. This was the second fastest time by a Greek ultrarunner and the last Greek to win the event was way back in 1998.

Anne Jennings & Anthony Lee in the early stage of the event

Thanks to John O'Regan who provides the following info...

***

Cork-born John McCarthy was one of three Royal Air Force officers who successfully took part in a trial run in 1982 to see if it was possible to follow in Pheidippides’s steps. The first international Spartathlon was held the following year.

Spartathlon finishers from Ireland with the years completed: 12 Men & 4 Women

Eddie Gallen = Most finishes Men *4

Anne Jennings = Most finishes Women *2

Eoin Keith = Fastest (M) 26:37:50

Doina Nugent =Fastest (W) 30:58:22

Irish finishers of the Spartathlon Ultra

Irish Guide Dogs Virtual Run around the World - Nov 2020 to Jan 2021

Cork fireman Alex O'Shea is organising a special 80-day virtual running event with the aim of raising much needed funds for the Irish Guide Dogs for the blind.

If you would like to help out then just walk, run or cycle a distance of your choice and make a donation. After that, submit your distance to Alex.

The eventual aim is that the accumulated distance total will be the equivalent of going around the world.

Using the theme from the novel and film Around the World in Eighty Days, the virtual event will last for 80-days. It starts on the 13th of November 2020 and will finish on the 31st of January 2021.

If you like to help out then the link for donations is here... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/around-the-world-in80days

For updates, see Alex O'Shea's Facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/challengeAlex

* * * * *
Story

 This is a huge challenge open to all. Simply make a donation  then walk jog run or cycle & let us know your distance so we can move Rover our virtual Guide Dog Puppy on his epic challenge.

For more details and to follow Rovers amazing journey goto www.facebook.com/challengeAlex

If we can raise €5,000 for eg we can sponsor a puppy for their first year of training. If we can raise more we can help more.

Becoming a guide dog is in its own a lenghty challenge for a puppy with over 85,000 hrs of love care training and attention invested. This of course cost money so please if you can make a donation and join in this fun challenge

Thanks Alex

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Civic Reception for Fireman Alex O'Shea who raised €30,000

Back in September of 2018, Cork Firefighter Alex O'Shea ran 32 marathons in the 32 Irish counties in just 16 days. He raised over €30,000 for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind as a result.

A civic reception was held in City Hall in Alex's honour recent to mark this achievement.

In the video below, Colm O'Sullivan of 96FM is chatting to Alex and Lord Mayor Cllr Mick Finn.

Cork Fireman Alex O'Shea completes 32 marathons in 16 days

Last Sunday the 16th of September, Cork fireman Alex O'Shea completed his 32nd marathon in just 16 days! Not only that but each marathon was in each of the 32 Irish counties.

The journey started with the Dingle Marathon back on the 1st of September and ended with a marathon in Cork which included Cork City and Ballincollig. The photo above by Joe Murphy shows some supporters with Alex in the Regional Park.

Funds raised from 32 marathons go towards the Irish Guide Dogs.

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a gallery HERE
2) Doug Minihane has a gallery HERE

Alex has his own Facebook page HERE

Irish results from the 2018 European 24 hour Championships

The European 24 hour championships were held in Timisoara, Romania over the weekend and there was a strong Irish contingent present.

The mens team consisted of three from Cork! Eoin Keith from Cobh racked up an impressive 144 miles over 24 hours. Aidan Hogan of Rising Sun AC finished with 135 miles while fireman Alex O'Shea of St.Finbarr's AC ended with 109 miles.

Results for Team Ireland:
Men’s Team 8th with 663.81K (3 to score)

Individual Men
Eoin Keith -232.65K -19th (144.6 miles)
Aidan Hogan-218.02K - 31st (135.5 miles)
Eddie Gallen-213.13K -36th (132.4 miles)
Alex O’Shea-175.53K - 60th (109 miles)

Results for Team Ireland:
Women’s Team 13th with 464.55K  (3 to score)

Individual Women
Amy Masner- 220.85K -10th (137.2 miles)
Louise Smart-204.57K - 22nd (127.1 miles)
Susan McCartney-39.12K - 71st (24.3 miles)

Full results

Revised results for the Irish 24 Hour Championships

The World 24 Hour Championships were held in Belast this year and it also doubled up as the Irish 24 Hour Championships. There were some serious timing issues as outlined in this explanation issued yesterday.

The revised results show that Eoin Keith from Cork actually set a new Irish 24 hour record of 248.436kms beating the old record by 44 metres.

Alex O'Shea from Cork with 244.253kms (151.772 miles) also moves from Bronze to Silver in the Irish Championships ahead of Tim Brownlie.

Report on the Irish 24 Hour Championships...by Alex O'Shea

Cork runner Alex O'Shea ran a staggering 150 miles in the Irish 24 Hour Championships in Belfast last weekend.  This is his report on the event...


Belfast 24hr... it has been amazing.
I finished and that's an achievement in its own at this kind of event.
Last year I had been sick the week before the event so felt I under performed & as it was my first time I made things hard for myself not knowing very much about it & had to walk at times but managed to recover some what and achieve the Irish Selection Standard.

This year was a different story it was not just an open race & national championships it was also to play host to the world championships.

I had hoped to get called up to the Irish Team but narrowly missed out. So I focused on the races that were open to me the open race, national championships & world age category.

So a year on I was back I was injury free feeling good & had learned some lessons the hard way last year. Ok with only 1 24hr event under my belt I certainly wasn't an expert but I was learning things fast. This year instead of being the new guy making all the mistakes I was more confident & felt I could do better that's not to say I didn't make mistakes or can't improve, and it was great to see the best athletes in the world perform & learn from them as the event also hosted the world championships.

Cork runners dominate Irish 24 hour championships

The Irish 24 Hour Championships were held in Victoria Park in Belfast over the weekend and this year, it also doubled up as the World 24 Hour Championships.

In the Irish Championships, Eoin Keith from Cobh won Gold with 153 miles, just short of the national record of 248.982K / 154.xx Miles set by Thomas Maguire in Monaco in 2009.

Alex O'Shea of St.Finbarr's AC was the third Irish man home to win a national Bronze medal in this event. What's also impressive is that Alex finished ahead of plenty of other runners who were part of the official Irish team.

Update...27th July 2017...The original results were off due to a timing error. Eoin Keith set a new national record while Alex O'Shea in fact won Silver.

Alex just missed out on the standard to be part of the team last year but has obviously improved a lot on the last 12 months.

Alex O'Shea from Cork completes 100k in 7h 37m at World Championships

The World 100km championships were held on Sunday in Spain and Alex O'Shea from Cork was there representing Ireland. This is the first Irish international outing for the St.Finbarr's athlete and no doubt the first of many.

Alex's time for the 100km was 7 hours 37 mins and 16 seconds.

That's works out as 7:21 min mile pace or about 3h 13m for a marathon!

Alex O'Shea from Cork is selected to represent Ireland at the World 100km Championship

The latest news is that Alex O'Shea of St.Finbarr's AC has been selected to represent Ireland at the World 100km Championships in Spain.

This follows on from his impressive 5th position finish at the Irish 24 Hour Championships in Belfast during the Summer. While he didn't make the Irish 24 hour team on that occasion, he should be well suited for the 100km event where he can combine his 24 hour endurance with his 'shorter' marathon speed.

This will be the first Irish singlet for the Cork athlete and most likely not the last.

The 100km championships will be held in Spain on Sunday the 27th of November 2016 and will have 357 competitors from 33 countries.

Alex O'Shea from Cork wins Kilkenny Marathon

Another result from last weekend. Alex O'Shea of St.Finbarr's AC in Cork was the winner of the inaugural Mediaeval Marathon held in Kilkenny on Saturday the 17th of September. Alex's time was 2h 33m.

Another Cork runner taking part was Aidan Hogan of Rising Sun AC who finished in 4th place with a time of 2h 52m.

A total of 151 runners took part in the full marathon.

1 Alex O'SHEA 02:33:31 M (1)
2 George BRADY 02:50:32 M (2)
3 Thomas SHANAHAN 02:50:50 M (3)
4 Aidan Hogan HOGAN02:52:51 M (4)

Full results

Results & photos of the Irish 24 hour Championships in Belfast...Sat 25th & Sun 26th June 2016

The Irish 24 hour championships were held last weekend in Belfast on Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of June 2016. This is one of the main Ultra races in Ireland and one of only two Ultras that count as Championships.

A large number of runners and crew descended on Victoria Park in East Belfast for the event on Saturday morning. Located between between the Harland & Wolff Dockyards and the George Best International Airport, it made for an ideal venue with a course that was just over one mile in length.

At least 4 runners from Cork took part in the full 24 hour race which started at noon on Saturday. Eoin Keith who is originally from Cobh was dominant once again with an amazing 150 miles being covered.

The suprise performance of the 24 hour race was that of Aidan Hogan from Cork. As a newcomer to the Ultra scene, he ran an impressive 147.9 miles and indeed was running well all the way up to the midday deadline on Sunday.

Aidan Hogan...2nd in the Belfast 24 hour

Alex O'Shea of St.Finbarr's AC took on his first 24 hour race and finished in 5th place overall. More importantly, Alex finished just above the 24 hour B standard of 220kms which means that he is now eligible to be selected for an Irish team for the European and World 24 hour championships.

Alex O'Shea...inside the international B standard

In total, there were 86 competitors in the 24 hour race and 44 managed to break the magic 100 mile barrier. Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC finished in 10th place overall with a distance of 125.3 miles, surpassing the 102.6 miles which he did in the same event in 2015.

Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC...10th overall

24 hour Finishers from Cork...
1 Eoin Keith ...24hr... 241.738kms...150.0 miles
2 Aidan Hogan... 24hr ...238.132kms...147.9 miles
5 Alex O'Shea... 24hr... 220.675kms...136.6 miles
10 Grellan McGrath... 24hr... 202.318kms...125.3 miles


Full results

In addition to the 24 hour race, there was also a 24 hour relay race, a 12 hour race and a 100km event.

In the womens 12 hour race, visually impaired runner Sinead O'Kane from Youghal finished in second place with 69.8 miles! Sinead also finished second in last years 12 hour race with 68.3 miles.

2nd Woman...Sinead Kane... 12 hour... 112.479kms... 69.8 miles

Photos...
1) The organisers have a nice gallery of photos HERE
2) There is another gallery of about 80 photos HERE

Silver medal for Aidan Hogan in the Irish 24 hour National Championships

Clonmel AC were the winners of the 24 hour relay event

Alex O'Shea has to cancel Malin to Mizen Challenge after picking up a knee injury

At 6am on Sunday morning the 6th of September, Alex O'Shea set out from Malin Head in Donegal to begin his attempt at setting a new Malin to Mizen record. He was flying for most of the day but in the evening time, he began having problems with his right knee.

At the end of day 1, he had completed 100 miles but the injury was too severe to continue.

Here is a statement from his support team....."Alex's Malin to Mizen Challenge ends abruptly. Alex covered 100.7 miles yesterday which was followed by a night in hospital. Alex developed some knee pain at 75 miles. At 80 miles the physio looked at it and strapped it. The next 20.7 miles Alex pushed his body to what we thought was to but proved to be beyond its limits. Alex feels very disappointed and would like to express his gratitude to his family, his team on the day who did a great job, his sponsors and to everyone that supported him along the way. It's been a long day and night and we'll be in touch over the next few days. Alex and Audrey"

More photos on his website... https://alexoshea.wordpress.com/

Alex O'Shea from Cork to run from Malin to Mizen in record attempt...Starts Sun 6th Sept 2015

On Sunday morning at 6am, Alex O'Shea from Cork will set out from Malin Head in Donegal in an attempt to run the length of Ireland in a new record time. The current record is held by Mimi Andrerson from the UK whom did it in 3 days 15 hours 36 mins back in 2012.

To break the record, Alex must reach Mizen Head in West Cork before 9:36pm on Wednesday 9th of Sept.

Alex is in great shape at the moment and has been training for months in preparation for this. Back in June, he ran the Cork City Marathon in 2h 36m and also won a 100km Ultra race in Kerry over the Summer.

Alex at the start line. Photo : Doug Minihane

These are some of the locations that Alex will be passing through…
Malin Head…Sun 6th Sept...6am start
Carndonagh...Sun 6th Sept...7:53am
Muff...Sun 6th Sept...10:03am
Derry...Sun 6th Sept...11:09am
Strabane...Sun 6th Sept...1:22pm
Victoria Bridge...Sun 6th Sept...2:43pm
Enniskillen...Sun 6th Sept...10:07pm
 / Swanlinbar / Drumlish / Longford / Borrisokane / Nenagh / Kilmallock / Charleville / Liscarroll / Millstreet / Ballymakerry / Kealkill / Bantry / Durrus / Goleen / Mizen Head

Alex is also raising funds for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind

Donations can be made via text costing €4 per text Please text WOOF to 50300

You can also donate online here… http://www.mycharity.ie/event/alexander_o_sheas_event

Alex has a Facebook page for the run here.... https://www.facebook.com/challengeAlex

and a website here... https://alexoshea.wordpress.com/


Weather Forecast....Conditions look as if they'll be pretty ideal for the attempt. The prevailing winds over Ireland are south-westerly so there is always a strong chance of a headwind for 350 or so miles on the way from Malin to Mizen.

For the next few days, there is a high pressure system over the country so winds will be light, there shouldn't be much in the way of rain. Considering that Alex will be inland for most of the attempt, any coastal winds won't be an issue. Not sure if it could get any better....other than a gale force north easterly winds for 3 days solid! :o)

Cork Firefighter Alex O'Shea sets new world record in Cork Marathon

Cork firefighter Alex O’Shea set a new world today when he completed the 2014 Cork City Marathon in full firefighting attire in a time of 3h 41m 10s. As you can see from the photo above, this included steel-toed reinforced firefighting boots, fire-retardant pants and jacket, as well as his 3lb firefighters helmet and visor.

The previous record was 4h 39m 13s which was set in the London Marathon last April.

3:41 is a remarkable time even for someone just wearing the boots alone let alone wearing all of the fire gear as well. It work out as 8:26 per mile pace.

Alex O'Shea was running this in aid of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and BEDA Ballineen Enniskeane playground development fund. If people would like to make a donation then his website is http://greatfirerun.com/ 

Alex finishing...