Cork Runner Donal Coakley... Happy to be ‘the worst in the world’

Cork runner Donal Coakley was in action at the recent World Cross Country Championships in Denmark. Even though he finished last, he had the experience of running with the world’s best. 


A tongue in cheek article by Cathal Dennehy captures the adventures of the Cork man.

Leevale's everyday hero happy to be ‘the worst in the world’

Cork runner Donal Coakley wins 10k race in Berlin

Following on from his second place finish in the Glanmire 4 mile last weekend, Cork runner Donal Coakley was in action this weekend in Berlin where he won a 10k race! The Lichtenauer Wasserlauf had 351 finishers with Donal taking the title with a time of 36:00.
.
1 246 Coakley, Donal M 30 1 Leevale A.C 36:00 min
2 230    Lamm, Martin M 45 1 Berlin 36:27 min
3 199    Menges, Björn M 30 2 KRAFT Runners Berlin 36:51 m

Results... http://www.ziel-zeit.de/ergebnisse/10+km_2_1059.pdf

Of course, no race would be complete with a '10 Things I Think About' report from Donal...


10 Things I Think About The 13. Lichtenauer Wasserlauf in Berlin... by Donal Coakley

Cork runners on the podium in Malaga race...

Cork runners Conor McCauley of Leevale AC and John Meade of St.Finbarr's AC made it onto the podium at a recent race in Malaga, Spain. The race which was roughly 7kms in length was also covered by Spanish TV and it was interesting to see what a race in Spain looks like ... with sunshine! The podium section is around the 28 minute mark.

Donal Coakley of Leevale AC was also there and gives a report of the race in his own unique style...

10 Things I Think About the III Carrera de la Prensa (Malaga)

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About Pacing The Charleville Half Marathon...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

In this post, he gives his thoughts on pacing the Charleville Half-Marathon

10 Things I Think About Pacing The Charleville Half Marathon

1. Something borrowed, something red, something mouldy.
I think the reason JEP (Jonathan Escalante-Phillips) ran so fast is because he was wearing my exclusive Gilead Nike singlet, a "clean" pair of Michael Herlihy's shorts and my used blister proof socks. I'm probably going to have to retire the singlet because it ain't ever running a sub 70 half on my shoulders.

2. Ownabwee Honey
I now know that the secret to a 68 minute half marathon is half a bottle of SuperValu's cheapest honey in the 12 hours before a race. That and a few nespressos. Rice cakes seem to be beneficial too.

3. Food Doping
I think the day before a half marathon should include mainly/entirely Italian food. Paninis, Italian hot chocolate, blackberry crostata from Italee for lunch and Novocento pizza for dinner. Novocento must add clenbuterol to the parma ham, I think it's one of the extras.

Donal Coakley, David Comber and Jonathan Escalante-Phillips

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About The Ballycotton 5...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

In this post, he gives his thoughts on the Ballycotton 5 mile road race, the last one in the Summer Series.

10 Things I Think About The Ballycotton 5

1. The Wedding
I think that weddings are exceptionally bad preparation for a road race. As my sister will probably only get married once or twice I thought it was a good idea to enjoy it. I survived the wedding relatively unscathed, unfortunately there was a wedding day plus 1.

2. Gin
I think that gin is the best drink for runners. I asked the guy who won the 5k down the marina last week how he got so good. He said he stopped drinking pints and started drinking gin and tonic on nights out. This made sense so I drank nothing but gin and tonic for the wedding day plus 1. I definitely didn't put on weight.

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About The Churchtown South 5 Mile Road Race...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

In this post, he gives his thoughts on the third race in the Ballycotton Summer Series. 

10 Things I Think About The Churchtown South 5 Mile Road Race

1. Squalls of Fun

I think John Walshe forgot to pay the weather man. Normally the weather is perfect for the Ballycotton series. This evening we had squally schizophrenic weather. It didn't know what it was doing. Big black clouds, with howling wind followed by glorious sunshine then freezing cold. It wasn't very nice. It even rained, I haven't seen rain in a long time.

2. Tower of Power

I think I could patent my pre-race tower of power. It's made with bananas, peanut butter and rice cakes. The bananas are the pillars. The rice cakes are the floors and the peanut butter is the cement. The higher the tower the more energy you get. David Cody was very impressed that I could eat such a tall tower.

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About The Latsagien Itzulia Race...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

In this post, he is on holidays in the Basque country and gives some personal thoughts on how races there differ from Cork.

10 Things I Think About The Latsagien Itzulia Race..by Donal Coakley

1. Basque Carrigtwohill

I think Ustaritz is very like Carrigtwohill, the only reason you'd live there is because it's cheaper than living in Biarritz/Cork. It has lots of derelict apartments and a colossal old church. I didn't see any pharmaceutical companies so maybe it's different.

2. Dopage

I think that it's terrible that doping is illegal in France. For this reason I didn't bring my Ventolin with me as I was afraid of being arrested. I think this cost me some time in the race. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About The Corkbeg 4 Mile Road Race...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

 In this post, he gives some personal thoughts on the Corkbeg 4 mile road race.

10 Things I Think About The Corkbeg 4 Mile Road Race..by Donal Coakley

1. Cricket

I think the madness is strong with me. I really shouldn't have run tonight but I just couldn't resist. My impromptu cricket debut on Sunday night resulted in a slight ankle sprain. It's not bad but racing probably wasn't the most intelligent idea. I'll survive. I regret nothing. I'm not very good at cricket.

2. Rice Cakes

I think that moving to Glanmire has increased my rice cake consumption dramatically. They really are the perfect pre race meal. They have no taste, you can eat lots of them and they don't leave any residue. A whole packet was probably too much this evening. The problem with living on your own is that you've no one to tell you that what you're eating is actually crazy. It's dangerous. I'll just start posting all my food on Instagram again, that way I'll know myself that it's mad.

Guest Post : 10 Things I Think About The Willie Neenan 5 Mile...by Donal Coakley

10 Things I Think About...by Donal Coakley

In these guest posts, Donal Coakley of Leevale AC gives his own light-hearted perspective of some of the races that he has competed in. 

 In this post, he gives some personal thoughts on the 2017 Millstreet 5 mile road race.

10 Things I Think About The Willie Neenan 5 Mile...by Donal Coakley

1. Google Maps Lady

I think the road to Millstreet is one of the most beautiful dangerous roads in the world. The google maps lady has guided me safely in many countries but she seemed to be completely oblivious to many of the blind junctions on the L2751. She was silent from Rylane to Millstreet, that's very unlike her, she must have been scared. I was too.

2. 2am

I think working until 2am the night before a race is great preparation, especially when you get to sleep in until 1030am the next day. I was very fresh for the race. I had no breakfast just lunch.