Fearghal Curtin from Youghal wins South Korea Marathon in a new national record time of 2:07:54

Fearghal Curtin from Youghal won the Gyeongju International Marathon overnight in South Korea in a time of 2h 07m 54s! This was also a new Irish national record for the marathon (Record subject to ratification).

The elite field for the race included nine runners with PBs under 2:08 (including two sub-2:06!).

1st Fearghal Curtin (Ireland) 2:07:54
2nd Antenayehu Dagnachew Yisma (Ethiopia) 2:10:33
3rd Stanley Kiprotich Bett (Kenya) 2:11:07 

Fearghal's time of 2:07:54 is 1m 42s faster than Peter Lynch's time set in Dusseldorf earlier this year.

These are now the top 5 fastest Irish marathon times...

1 2:07:54 Fearghal Curtin Gyeongju 18 Oct 2025 (TBC)
2 2:09:36 Peter Lynch Düsseldorf 27 Apr 2025
3 2:09:42 Tonosa Hiko Dublin 27 Oct 2024
4 2:09:49 Stephen Scullion London 04 Oct 2020
5 2:09:56 John Treacy Los Angeles 12 Aug 1984

Fearghal also ran a new Irish half-marathon record of 60:22 last month so he is really on fire at the moment.

Green & White hoops of Youghal AC in Korea

Commanding lead in the closing stages

Thanks to John Walshe who kindly sent on the following...

Almost 16 years ago, on December 1st, 2009, the following appeared on the back page of the Irish Examiner County – and he’s still proudly wearing the Green & White Youghal colours!

Korean Report. 19/10/2025

1st and foremost, Fearghal and all the curtin family are deeply grateful to everybody at Youghal Ac for the literally thousands of greetings over the last couple of days. It demonstrates the sense of community within the club and the healthy state we are in.❤️

Fearghal arrived in korea in good shape after his 60.22 half marathon in September. He spent almost 4 weeks at font Romeu(at altitude) preparing for this event.He arrived in korea 6 days before the race to acclimatise to the 8-hour time difference. He went to the line as part of a 16-man elite international field that received invitations to the race.  He was the only non african so easy to spot😁His marathon ranking was near the bottom with his recorded 2.11 in April. Lots of 2.06, 2.07, 2.08 guys there.  Fearghal did mention beforehand that this race is not normally won in a fast time as it is a technical course, no pacemakers and when there's a big purse, the Africans tend to take a more cagey approach. Fearghal definitely felt he had a chance here. His prediction was correct as the race went off at a pedestrian pace for this level.  Fearghal was not in the mood for playing poker with these guys! He was confident in his ability and fitness, so he took on the race after 800mtrs. A move like this at such an early stage, in such a long race, is normally sporting suicide. The other runners most likely thought he would blow, but as we all know, the opposite, in fact, happened. Fearghal covered the 2nd half of this marathon running at 2hrs 5mins 48sec pace and as they say, the rest is history! He also broke the course record for this race.

The event was aired live on national TV in Korea. I was speaking to 1 of the Korean journalists after the race and she said the commentators didn't know anything about him, but 1 of them googled his name and found a report that was published on The  Examiner  last week and the content of that article kept them going. The examiner now has millions of new followers in Korea😅as does Fearghal😁

We were treated so very well by the organisers, and they definitely want us back😅

Fearghal is now planning to do back to back marathons. Next up is Singapore in 7 weeks. 

There won't be any records there. It's usually won in 2.14  2.15 because it's hot, humid, and hilly. It's all part of fearghal's plan to run on technically difficult courses so that when he eventually gets his chance in a global championship, he can actually compete rather than being just happy to qualify.

On a different note,

 It's particularly pleasing to me to see the resurgence of underage success in the club. 

Success breeds success so hopefully Fearghal, the outstanding Ruby Devereux, the "dream team" Avril  Emma cashies & Co and all the up and coming stars can pave the way to keep the green & white on the map

Regards to all at youghal AC

Noel Curtin

Runners get lost in Korean Marathon...

This story appeared recently about a Marathon in South Korea that went wrong. It kind of shows the hazards of organising a race and what can happen especially if it isn't planned properly. It also underlines the value of having experienced people on hand for the race and out along the course.

Marathon Runners get lost......Poor organisation during an international marathon in Gyeongju, South Korea caused marathoners to veer off course midrace, resulting in confusion and chaos for spectators and racers alike.

During the 2011 Dong-A Ilbo Gyeongju International Marathon Race held on Sunday (16th Oct 2011), the 40-kilometre (24-mile) post was left without a guide. The staffer assigned to help racers navigate the three-way intersection had left his post before his replacement arrived, and the staffer assigned to replace him had gone to another post by mistake. Without the guide, runners were left to dodge cars and public buses for a few hundred metres.

Before the race, the event organiser had announced that the course would include trafficked streets at the 40-kilometre point, but the racers seemed reliant on the guides and went off course when they did not see any. Upon seeing this, a coach on the sidelines of the race stepped in and pointed subsequent racers in the right direction. One sports promotion foundation representative expressed his sympathy for those who “raced and only looked forward” and said, “Though it’s called an international race, I have never seen a race organized so carelessly.”  A representative from the race organisers said that it was dismayed to learn that the guide who was supposed to monitor the 40-kilometre post did not appear. He also said that race operations staff were not trained properly.