Fionnuala McCormack runs 3 minute PB with a time of 2h 23m 58s in the Valencia Marathon

Fionnuala McCormack took nearly three minutes off her previous best time when she finished the Valencia Marathon last Sunday in a time of 2 hours 23 minutes and 58 seconds.

These are Fionnuala's splits during the marathon with her going through the first 5k in 17:04!

RUNNER i 

5K 0:17:04 

10K 0:34:03 

15K 0:51:07 

20K 1:07:51 

Half 1:11:33 

25K 1:24:46 

30K 1:42:09 

35K 1:59:43 

40K 2:16:43 

As you can see from her halfway split, her second half was about 52 seconds slower.

This is now the top 10 list of marathon times for Irish women...

1 2:22:23 NR Catherina McKiernan Amsterdam 1 Nov 1998

2 2:23:58 Fionnuala McCormack 5 Valencia 05 Dec 2021
(2 2:26:47 Fionnuala McCormack 5 Chicago IL 13 Oct 2019)
3 2:28:07 Carey May 1 Osaka 27 Jan 1985
4 2:28:36 Aoife Cooke 1 Pulford 25 Apr 2021
5 2:29:01 Sonia O'Sullivan 8 London 17 Apr 2005
6 2:29:34 AnnMarie McGlynn 3 Pulford 25 Apr 2021
7 2:32:51 Lizzie Lee 17 Berlin 27 Sep 2015
8 2:32:56 Regina Joyce-Bonney 7 Scottsdale AZ 4 Dec 1982
9 2:33:25 Dylan Hassett Pulford 25 Apr 2021
10 2:33:28 Nicola Duncan 1 London 13 Apr 2014

It's worth mentioning that Sinead Diver who is from Co Mayo and runs for Australia has a PB of 2:24:11 from the 2019 London Marathon.

5th place finish for Fionnuala McCormack in the 2021 Valencia Marathon

Friday Jigsaw: Fionnuala McCormack in the Olympic Marathon

 For this weeks online jigsaw, we go back to last weekend with Fionnuala McCormack finishing the Olympic Marathon in a time of 2:34.

This one is short and sweet with only 70-pieces. Click HERE

Fionnuala McCormack finishes 25th in Olympic Marathon in 2:34

It was a mixed day for the Irish at the women's Olympic marathon in Japan on Saturday. 

Fionnuala McCormack finished in a very respectable 25th place with a time of 2h 34m 09s, just under 7 minutes behind the winner in the 27 deg C heat. This was the fourth Olympic appearance for the former European cross country champion.

It was a tough day at the office for Cork's own Aoife Cooke who had to pull out of the race.

Aoife was just 28 seconds down on the leaders at the 10k mark but had to retire just before the halfway point. 

This will obviously be a huge disappointment for Aoife who ran a 2:28 qualifying marathon back in April. 

In an Instagram post, Aoife wrote..."Incredibly disappointed with having to pull out of the race today. Can't put my finger om what went wrong but the conditions really got to me, my body shut down and I couldn't really do anything about it"

The only other Irish runner in the race was Sinead Diver from Co. Mayo. She was representing Australia and finished in an impressive 10th place with a time of 2:31:14.

Britton sisters share the podium at the National Senior Cross Country Championships

The National Senior Cross Country Championships were held last weekend in Dublin and one of the biggest stories as reported in the press was how sisters Fionnuala McCormack (nee Britton) and Una Britton shared the podium.

While Fionnuala was always expected to win, this was a big result for her sister Una to snatch the third spot for a national senior Bronze medal.

As part of her build up for the cross country season, Una also ran in the Charleville Half-Marathon in Cork in September where she finished in 2nd place in a time of 1hr 20m 10s.

Una is coached by Jerry Kiernan who was one of the best distance runners in the country in his day.

Death of International Cross Country?

In the last month, there have been two articles which have articulated the huge issues concerning international cross country and athletics at present.

The first is that the sport isn't clean. There are athletes who are doping and not getting caught. As you will have seen from the ongoing Russian controversy, some of this was almost on an industrial scale.

The second is that African athletes are competing for European countries for money and have no connection with those countries. e.g. all those Kenyan athletes competing for Turkey.

In December, Athletics Illustrated outlined the urgency of the problem is this article... 
http://athleticsillustrated.com/editorial/the-death-of-cross-country/

In another article on The42 website which appeared last weekend, Fionnuala McCormack outlines her frustration with the current situation.

Here is a short quote from the article...

“The questions I want to ask are how do they improve by two minutes over 10k in one year? To me that’s the massive problem. It’s kind of glossed over by the fact people are changing country but that has been happening for years and it’s turned into a complete farce really.

“In a way I wonder why other people don’t talk about it and I wonder if it is better to keep the mouth shut. That’s not really what we’re there for but it is the athletes who have to say something at some point.”

You can read the full article here... http://www.the42.ie/fionnuala-mccormack-interview-3179925-Jan2017/

Fionnuala McCormack wins Cross Country race in Brussels

After finishing 5th in the recent European Cross Country Championships recently, Fionnuala McCormack was back in action last weekend. At the IRIS Cross Cup in Brussels, she broke away from the field to take the victory.

As cross country races go, this is one of the most prestigious on the European race calendar.

In a post race interview, Fionnuala said...“Two consecutive victories in Brussels, this cross suits me. I had a bad day at the Euro Cross and I wanted to take over.”

1 26 MCCORMACK-BRITTON FIONNUALA 84 IRE sen NA 19:28
2 1 CARTON LOUISE 94 BEL sen ACME 25 19:46
3 20 WEIGHTMAN LAURA 91 GBR sen NA 19:46


The results are HERE

Fionnuala McCormack wins Cross Country race in Spain

As part of her preparation for the European Cross Country Championships in December, Fionnuala McCormack was in action in a high class cross country race in Spain.  On a course that was just over 8kms in lenght, the Irish athlete finished first.

Report from the IAAF.....

Irish women in the Marathon at the Olympics...1984 to 2016

Following the women's marathon at the Rio Olympics last weekend, I had a closer look at the history of the event which was first introduced in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games. One of the most suprising findings is just how few Irish women have actually taken part in this Olympic event.

Some stats...

1) Only 11 Irish women have taken part in the Olympic Marathon.

 
2) Prior to the 2012 Games in London, only five Irish women had run an Olympic marathon. The three in 2012 and the three in 2016 brought the total up to eleven.

3) Amazingly, there were no Irish women in the Olympic Marathon from 1992 to 2004.

Year - Venue - Number of Irish Women
1984 - Los Angeles - 2
1988 - Seoul - 2
1992 - Barcelona - 0
1996 - Atlanta - 0
2000 - Sydney - 0
2004 - Athens - 0
2008 - Beijing - 1
2012 - London - 3 (Max team of 3)
2016 - Rio de Janerio - 3 (Max team of 3)

Following the 2008 Games in Beijing, the Irish Marathon Mission was established to improve the standards of elite Irish runners. This has been mostly financed by the organisers of the Dublin City Marathon and as you can see, it has helped in getting full teams for 2012 and 2016.

This chart shows more clearly the times of the 11 Irish women between 1984 and 2016. As you can see, Fionnuala McCormack's performance in Rio was exceptional when compared to the rest.

Note that these times were all set on different courses and with different conditions so we can't do an exact comparison. Still though, they are all Olympic Marathon finals so they are similar in that respect.

Fionnuala McCormack vents frustration after Kenyan athlete wins 10,000m at European Championships

In the womens 10,000m race at the European Athletic Championships in Amsterdam on Wednesday, Fionnuala McCormack (née Britton) finished in fourth place just outside the medals. The race was won by a Kenyan athlete running for Turkey. Yasemin Can (born Vivian Jemutai) competed for Kenya until May 25, 2015 and on March 13, 2016, she became officially eligible to represent Turkey at international competitions.

In an interview just after the race, Fionnuala McCormack said.......'It’s a joke. People shouldn’t be allowed to hop countries just because they feel like it. They’re taking such a soft approach? Once you’ve represented one country past a certain age, that should be your country for life. I don’t just want to go on like I’m bitter for coming fourth, because I’m not, but there’s a reason it’s called the European Championships.

I’m sick of it, It’s the exact same thing every f**king time. It’s more than frustrating at this stage. I am kind of sick of it really,"

Sonia O'Sullivan & Jerry Kiernan discuss Yasemin Can, the Kenyan-born athlete who won 10,000m European C'ship goldhttps://t.co/71EWF7RYgY

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2016

Fionnuala McCormack finishes 3rd in Antrim IAAF Cross Country...Sat 16th Jan 2016

The annual Antrim IAAF Cross Country was held on Saturday the 16th of January and a number of Irish International athletes were in action.

In the Senior womens race, Fionnuala McCormack made the most of the muddy conditions and finished in an impressive 3rd place...behind two Africans but ahead of top British cross country runner Kate Avery.

Results of the Antrim IAAF Cross Country...Sat 16th Jan 2016
Senior Women Results                          
Pos    Bib    Firstname    Lastname    Club    Nation    Race    Finish      
1    19    Alice    Aprot Nawowuna        KEN    FO    00:18:05      
2    24    Mimi    Belete        BRN    FO    00:18:09      
3    23    Fionnuala    McCormack        IRL    FO    00:18:13      
4    25    Kate    Avery        GBR    FO    00:18:16      
11    1    Kerry    O'Flaherty    Newcastle & District AC    NIR    FO    00:19:46      
13    26    Roseanne    Galligan    Newbridge IRL            00:20:05      
14    643    Shona    Heaslip    Riocht AC            00:20:08      
26    644    Niamh    O'Sullivan    Riocht AC            00:22:46

Other notable performances were.....

Kerry O'Flaherty in 11th place...just one week after her 3rd place in the 4x1km mixed relay time performance in Edinburgh.

Roseanne Galligan who is the Irish 800m record holder in 13th.

21 year old Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry was just 3 seconds behind Roseanne Galligan and finished in 13th place overall...an excellent performance.

Niamh O'Sullivan from An Ríocht AC finished in 26th overall. Niamh who is currently an Irish Masters athlete is also responsible in no small part for the strong performances of the Kerry womens teams in national events.

Another local athlete on the way up is Tamzin Muldowney of Midleton AC who finished 4th in the U17 race.

Tamzin Muldowney #359 of Midleton AC...4th in the U17 race

Togher AC was also represented by Chris O’Reilly (U15) and Ruairi Casey (U17).

Full results HERE

Reports...
1) Feidhlim Kelly has this report for the IAAF
2) Video clip from BBC Sport

Photos...
1) Sportsfile has a small number of photos HERE
2) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has a great album HERE (Facebook a/c may be required to view)

Video...
1) East Down AC have a video of the women's race...

Irish athletes excel at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country...Sat 9th Jan 2016

Following on from the European Cross Country Championships in December, there are a number of high profile cross races held in the UK and Europe. One of those is the annual Great Edinburgh Cross Country in Scotland.

There was a large contingent of Irish athletes present for this with some in a Celtic Nations competition, a relay event and top athletes in a competition between Europe, Britain and the USA.

Senior Women.....In the Senior Womens race, Fionnuala McCormack finished in an impressive 2nd place with Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC in Cork moving up through the field to finish in the top 10. The full results can be seen HERE

This slow motion video shows some of those taking part...


Senior Men...The big suprise in the Senior Mens race was the fact Olympic 5000m & 10000m champion Mo Farah was beaten into second place. Results HERE

Relay.......In the 4 x 1km relay, the Irish team of John Travers (Donore Harriers), Laura Crowe (An Riocht), Eoin Everard (Kilkenny Harriers) and Kerry O'Flaherty (Newcastle) finished in 3rd place. Results HERE

Celtic Nations.......In the U23 race earlier in the day, Shona Heaslip from Kerry finished first. Results HERE

The results of the U23 mens race is HERE

Photos
1) Dermot McGranaghan has an album on Facebook HERE

Video...
Coverage of the U23 races from Scottish Athletics...

European Athletics have coverage of the Relay (9-22), Senior Women (30-45) & Senior Men (59-1:27)...

Fionnuala McCormack of Ireland wins Cross Country race in Belgium

Fionnuala McCormack (nee Britton) was in action today at the Iris Lotto CrossCup in Brussels which sported an international field of athletes. After finishing 2nd in 2012 and 3rd in 2013 & 2014, she finally cracked it this year with an outright victory!

This is just one week after she won a team Bronze with the Irish team at the European Cross Country Championships in France.

SENIORS DAMES - SENIOREN VROUWEN             6000m           
place    number    crosscup number    name    born    country    cat.    club    time
1 29 MCCORMACK-BRITTON FIONNUAL    84    IRL    sen    NA    20:07
2 31    KOSTER MAUREEN    92    NED    sen    NA        20:14
3 230    DELESA DERARTU DEBELA    19    ETH    sen    NA    20:23
4 1    CARTON LOUISE    94    BEL    sen    ACME    20:27
5 2    DEJAEGHERE VEERLE    73    BEL    sen    AVR    20:40
6 224    SMALL LOUISE    19    GBR    sen    NA    20:48
7 21    DEADMAN KATE        GBR    sen    NA    20:49
8 22    ARTER CHARLOTTE    91    GBR    sen    NA    20:50
9 9    BELETE ALMENSH    89    BEL    sen    VAC    20:50
10 37    CHEPKWONY BETTY    95    KEN    sen    NA    21:07

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos of the 2015 European Cross Country Championships in France

Following the success of the Irish Women's team winning Bronze at the European Cross Country Championships in France last Sunday, there are now some great photos available.

Gearóid Ó Laoi was over there for the race and now has a gallery of 466 photos HERE

Sportsfile have a gallery HERE

Another small gallery on the Zimbio website HERE 

Fionnuala Britton qualifies for Rio Olympics with 2:33 marathon in Chicago

Fionnuala McCormack (nee Britton) was in action today in the Chicago Marathon and finished in 13th place in a time of 2h 33m 15s. This was about 90 seconds slower than the 2h 31m 46s which she ran in her first marathon in the European Athletics Championships in Zurich in 2014.

Fionnuala McCormack’s splitsSplit     Time Of Day     Time     Diff     min/mile     miles/h
5K     07:47:29AM     00:17:27     17:27     05:37     10.69
10K     08:05:09AM     00:35:08     17:41     05:42     10.55
15K     08:23:04AM     00:53:02     17:54     05:46     10.41
20K     08:41:07AM     01:11:05     18:03     05:49     10.33
HALF     08:45:10AM     01:15:09     04:04     05:58     10.08
25K     08:59:14AM     01:29:12     14:03     05:48     10.36
30K     09:17:27AM     01:47:25     18:13     05:52     10.23
35K     09:35:59AM     02:05:58     18:33     05:58     10.06
40K     09:54:48AM     02:24:46     18:48     06:04     9.92
Finish     10:03:16AM     02:33:15     08:29     06:13     9.66

Perhaps more crucially, it is well within the 2h 42m required to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Fionnuala is now the second fastest qualifier behind Lizzie Lee from Cork who ran a personal best of 2:32:51 in the Berlin marathon last month. With just three athletes being able to be selected, it's hard to imagine Lizzie or Fionnuala not going at this stage.

The third person to qualify so far is Breege Connolly of North Belfast Harriers who ran 2h 37m 29s in the London marathon last April. That time may well be bettered by another Irish athlete yet with Maria McCambridge (DSD) running in the Frankfurt marathon on the 25th of October.