Cork runner Aidan Hogan wins the 2022 Connemara 100-mile

Start line of the 2022 Connemara 100-mile in Clifden - Sat 13th Aug 2022

This years Connemara 100-mile race was held on the weekend of Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of August. The photo above shows the start line very early on Saturday morning in Clifden on what was a very warm day.

The first man home was Cork runner Aidan Hogan who ran of new course record of 13 hours, 57 minutes & 23 seconds.

That works out aa about 5:12/km or 8:23/mile. That pace is equivalent to a marathon time of about 3h 39m except this event was just under four marathons back to back!

The first woman was Ann Jennings with a time of 19 hours 21 minutes and 28 seconds.

(L-R) Race director Ray O'Connor with Connemara 100 Champions Ann Jennings & 
Aidan Hogan

More information about the Connemara 100 can be found HERE

34 runners complete the 2021 Connemara 100-mile - 15th Aug 2021

The Connemara 100-mile is one of the most prestigious ultra running events in Ireland and this year it was held over the weekend of the 14th & 15th of August.

Start at dawn in Clifden for the Connemara 100-mile

This year was especially challenging with plenty of rain for most of the daylight hours of Saturday before easing off in the evening. Sunday morning was much drier.

A total of 34 runners completed the 100 mile course this year which is an incredible achievement.

Adrian McNamara was the first man home in 15h 56m 51s

Top 3-men...
Adrian McNamara - 15:56:51 
Gary Elbert 16:00:28
Fozzy foristall 16:46:25

Joanne Rice was the first woman home in a time of 19h 11m 36s

Top 3-women

Joanne Rice - 19:11:36
Irene O’Connor 23:25:45
Eilish Bell 23:35:10

The full results are HERE

It's easy to look at a distance of 100 miles and not realise just how far that actually is. Imagine starting a 100-mile race in the centre of Cork City and then having to run to the finish line out near the statue at Slea Head at the end of the Dingle peninsula! 

If a handful had finished this race, it would be good but to see 34 finish it is pretty amazing. 

Connemara 100 mile - Aug 2020

 

While most running events are cancelled at the moment, the Connemara 100 mile went ahead last weekend with 37 runners completing the spectacular looped course.

The runners set off from Clifden at 6am with the winner finishing later that evening.

Top 3 men & women...

Alastair Higgins 14:56:28
Rolando Espina 16.07.10
Fozzy Forristal 16.14.30
Anne Jennings 17.48.56
Liz Morrin 23.34.34
Miriam O'Connor 25.18.24

As can be seen from the results, many of the finishers were going throughout the night and finished the course up to noon on Sunday.

Full results

Grellan McGrath from Cork wins Connemara 100 mile race

The Connemara 100 mile is the longest road race in Ireland and it is held in August every year. The statistics associated with the 100 mile race are just mind boggling...
a) Runners starting at 6am on Saturday morning and running roughly 17 to 27 hours
b) Burning roughly 10,000 calories
c) Running the equivalent of Cork to almost Portlaoise
d) Total ascent of about 1040 metres...the equivalent of starting at sea level and running 100 miles to the top of Carrauntoohill...the highest mountain in Ireland.

The winner of this years race which was held last weekend was Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC in Cork in a time of 16 hours 22 mins and 8 seconds. That works out as an average pace of 9m 49s per mile.

Grellan McGrath...63 miles done...only 37 miles to go...Photo : Iain Shaw of Athenry AC

Thomas Bubendorfer of Star of the Laune AC in Kerry was 2nd in 16:41:49 while Polish national Maciej Sawicki who I think lives near Fermoy was 3rd in 17:20:50.

Grellan McGrath 16:22:08
Thomas Bubendorfer 16:41:49
Maciej Sawicki: 17:20:50
Noel O Keeffe: 17:21:04

The winner of the womens race was Aoife O'Donnell from Laois in 23:46:58. Aoife's mum who was crewing for her is originally from North Cork so we'll claim that one as well ;o)

Also a special mention of three other runners from Cork who completed the 100 miles...Pat O'Keeffe 25:21:10, John Ryan 27:14:03and Mick Corcoran ??:??:??

Wheelchair athlete Gerry Forde completes 100 mile Ultra-Marathon

Last weekend, Gerry Forde from Blarney in Co.Cork completed the Connemara 100 mile Ultra-Marathon in a time of 24 hours and 40 minutes. Not only is this a remarkable achievement in itself but it is also a new record for the longest distance ever completed by any wheelchair athlete in Ireland.

The Connemara 100 Ultra-Marathon starts and finishes in the town of Clifden in the heart of Connemara. The 100 mile route threads it's way through the mountains in what is one of the most scenic parts of Ireland. For 2012, there were 25 starters and 20 finished the race.

Gerry's support crew for the event was Michael Haydon from Cork (pictured above) and Finn O'Mara from Mayo. Michael and Gerry are the only two people from Cork who have completed over 100 Marathons each. While Michael has well over 100 Marathons completed at this stage, this was Gerry's 216th Marathon having completed his 200th in Dublin last October!

Starting at 6am on Saturday morning, the weather for the event was mild with a few light showers and some sunshine. From early on, Gerry's strategy for getting through the 100m miles was to take short breaks every hour for food and drinks. After a diet of water, tea, energy drinks, bananas, sandwiches and energy cakes, Gerry finally crossed the finish line in Clifden at 6:40am on Sunday morning.

After this mammoth task, you might think Gerry would take a break but no chance! He is currently planning to do a few more Marathons in Donegal and Kerry in the next few weeks.

(Photos courtesy of Iain Shaw of Athenry AC)

A quick look at the Connemara 100.......

Someone mentioned this race to me last week and a few days later, I received a mail with some interesting links. So what exactly is the Connemara 100???

Most of you will know that a Marathon is 26.2 miles, usually the longest distance race for most people. While there are several of these in Ireland (Dublin, Cork, Belfast, etc), there is an Ultra-Marathon race every Spring in Connemara which is one and a half Marathons long........i.e. 39.2 miles. Up to recently, that was the longest race there was in Ireland until the 15th of August of this year when the Connemara 100 was held.........that's 100 miles, not 100 kms!

It's almost impossible to get your head around that kind of distance..........100 miles........almost 4 Marathons and the time limit is 30 hours! I can imagine it must be tough trying to run 2 Marathons but almost 4?!?!

The event was won by Mick Rice of Athenry AC who averaged around 9 min per mile..........i.e. he probably ran most if not all of it...........i.e. no walking. An incredible feat...

In second place was Joanne Fearon who is living in Cork. In fact, 3 of the first 5 finishers were women which seems a bit unusual. Joanne has an interesting detailed account of her race up on this website.

The full results of the Connemara 100 can be seen HERE.

There is a small photo gallery HERE.

100 miles in less than 30 hours...........do you think you could do it???

Comments......??