Notice: Charity 21km Run & Walk from Haulbowline to Páirc Uí Chaoimh - Sun 18th June 2023

The organisers of the Challenge 21 charity 21k have been in touch to say that they are holding a 21km run / walk in aid of the Down Syndrome Centre Cork on the 18th of June 2023. Last year was the inaugural event when about 300 runners and walkers took part.

They write..."The route goes from Haulbowline to Pairc Ui Chaoimh and will be on this Sunday June 18th 2023. Rob Heffernan will be leading us out and we will be having an after party in the Black Market on Monahan Road.

We are asking participants to raise 21€ from 21 people, this is just a target of course and we would be delighted with any amount raised.

Registration is now open. Anyone that registers before April 30th will be entered into a draw for a weekend away in a 4 star hotel."

The entry fee is €21. Link here: https://C21.eventbrite.ie

***

First off, this is a charity run and not a race. It's an event where participants run or walk the 21kms from Haulbowline to Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork City which is pretty much the same as doing a half-marathon.

Registration is at 9am and the event starts at 10am.

The route is shown above. 

a) The section from Haulbowline to Shanbally is all on a good footpath.
b) Shanbally to Raffeen is on road but it's reasonably quiet.
c) Raffeen to Murph's Pub. This is the worst section. Normally this is a dangerous section and it's not really suitable for walkers or runners. However, the traffic should be a lot slower with the event stewards and the number of people on the road.
d) Murph's Pub to Passage West is all on footpath.
e) Passage West to Blackrock Castle is on a scenic Greenway.
f) Blackrock Castle to Páirc Uí Chaoimh is on a footpath.

As this is a linear run/walk going from point A to point B, you'll probably have to arrange your own travel arrangements.

Notice : Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k...Sat 20th July 2019

One of the biggest races in Kerry is the annual Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k and it's coming up on Saturday the 20th of July 2019.

The half marathon starts at Moll's Gap at 8:00am and follows one of the most scenic roads in the country to the finish line at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney. Participants in the half marathon will be taken by bus from Killarney to the start line at Moll's Gap.

What makes this half-marathon unique is that the road is closed and this is the only time of the year that a race is held on this road. Normally, you can't run on this road as it's way too busy with traffic going from Killarney to Kenmare.

The race website is HERE

 

The 10k starts at 9:30am and finishes at the Gleneagle Hotel and takes in a loop inside the national park near Muckross House.

Entry for each race includes...Customised finisher medal...Dry fit T-shirt...Chip timing... Prizes... Massage at finish line... Hot tubs... Post-race party... Officially measured course

Note that the road from Molls Gap to Killarney will be closed to traffic and it's the only time of the year that you can run on this busy road.

The video clip below gives a feel for what the course looks like...

13% drop in numbers for this years Rock n Roll Half-Marathon in Dublin

The Rock n Roll Half-Marathon in Dublin is one of the biggest races in the country and is held in August every year. There is also a 10k and 5k held in conjunction with it and the whole event attracts a huge number of visitors to the capital.

It also doubles up as the National Half-Marathon and Athletics Ireland make a substantial amount of money from it every year. Looking at the recent balance sheets of the association, the proceeds from the Rock n Roll probably keeps the accounts in the black.

Following the most recent event, I had a look at the numbers for the Rock n Roll Haldlf to see how it was doing.

The answer is that the numbers were down 13% for the half-marathon this year compared to 2017. Between all three races, there were 1884 fewer finishers this year. If we take an average entry fee of say €30 then that's a drop of roughly €60k in revenue.

I had a look at the breakdown per event and per gender and nothing really stands out. It's not like there were fewer women running or people were switching to the shorter distances, it just seems to be a general drop across the board. Maybe a sign of the general decline in numbers?

The one caveat is that 2017 seems to have been a good year so the numbers are coming off a high. I tried to have a look at previous years but the organisers seem to delete old results.

Results of the Rosscarbery Surf, Turf 'n' Tar Half-Marathon & 10k... Sat 19th May 2018

There was a large turnout of 574 contestants for this years Surf, Turf 'n' Tar Half-Marathon and 10k in Rosscarbery in West Cork on Saturday the 19th of May 2018.

In the Half-Marathon. there were 192 finishers...

1 Padraig Sheehan Clonakilty 1:26:38 SM     809
2 Martin Crowley Killarney 1:26:44  SM     652
3 Tadhg Moriarty  1:27:31 SM 842
4 Jonathan Tyner     Bantry 1:30:50 M35 818
5 Liam Lyons   1:31:10  M35 833
28 Fiona Dukelow     Cork       1:45:17       SF     669
32 Ellen Ahern     Clonakilty       1:46:20       SF     604
37 Olga O Sullivan     Ballincollig       1:47:13       SF     791
39 Catherine Mc Carthy     Clonakilty       1:48:04       SF     734
45 Karen Bevan     Douglas       1:49:35       F35     610

Results

In the 10k race, there were 382 finishers...

1 Alfie Davis     Cork         38:50 SM     78
2 Edwin Sutton               39:11 SM     430
3 Billy O Brien     Douglas         39:46 SM     257
12 Marie Claire Healy     Tralee         43:39 SF     141
21 Grainne O Callaghan     Kilmallock         44:58 SF     261
23 Anna O Neill     Dunmanway         45:29 SF     308

Result

Poll for the best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2016 now open

The poll for best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2016 is now open.

These were the nominations....

Half-Marathon...
Bay Run Half-Marathon (May 2016)
Cork City Half-Marathon (Jun 2016)
Run Killarney Half-Marathon (Jul 2016)
East Cork Harbour Half-Marathon (Aug 2016)
Clonmel Half-Marathon (Aug 2016)
Charleville Half-Marathon (Sep 2016)
Waterford Half-Marathon (Dec 2016)

You can vote here.... https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2XZ7D26

The polls will close late February.

Batman and Robin set new Guinness World Record at Cardiff Half-Marathon

Over the weekend, the dynamic duo of Mike Kallenberg (Robin) and Carwyn Jones (Batman) set a new Guinness World record for running a half marathon in costume. While Batman ran under 71 minutes, Robin did an even better time of 63 minutes!

That time would win most half-marathons in Ireland. Somewhere in the region of 22,000 runners took part in the Cardiff Half-Marahton making it one of the biggest in Britain.

Results & photos of the East Cork Harbour Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k...Sat 20th Aug 2016

About 860 runners turned out for the inaugural  East Cork Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k on Saturday the 0th of August 2016. The breakdown per event was as follows...

Full 26.2 mile marathon...94
Half-Marathon...335
10km...431

I was running in the Half-Marathon and it was certainly a challenging course. Only the last few miles of the race were flat while the first 9 miles seemed to be a constant mix of uphill or downhill running. As courses go, I thought it was a nice course mostly on quiet country roads but it wouldn't be a one for running personal best times.

Weather wise, it was certainly a lot dryer than what had been forecast. I'd imagine that on a nice sunny day, it would be a very nice route for a half.

In terms of numbers, they were pretty good. It's always going to be hard to get big numbers for a full marathon but 335 for a half and 431 for a 10k is pretty respectable for an event in rural East Cork.

Marathon...
1 Raivis ZAKIS  02:51:46 M (1)M35 (1) West Waterford AC
2 Chris HORGAN 03:06:19  M (2)MO (1)
3 Denis KEANE 03:09:01  M (3)MO (2) Marathon Club Ireland -
6 Rachel STOKES 03:20:07 F (1)F35 (1)Kerry Crusaders
10 Mary SWEENEY 03:31:029 F (2)F55 (1)St Finbarrs AC
35 Michelle BURKE 04:04:08 F (3)F35 (2)Pacer 4.00


Half-Marathon...
1 Philip HEARTY 01:15:52 M (1)M35 (1) West Waterford AC
2 Christopher MURNANE 01:21:22 M (2)MO (1) St Finbarrs
3 Paddy KAVANAGH 01:27:00 M (3)MO (2)
18 Sharon WOODS 01:36:42 F (1)F40 (1) Mallow AC
28 Esther MURPHY 01:39:46 F (2)F40 (2) Midleton AC
42 June O'SHEA 01:43:11 F (3)F35 (1)


10km...
1 Conor GOLDEN 00:37:34 M (1)MO (1) Leevale AC
2 Michael DOLPHIN 00:37:38 M (2)M35 (1) Leevale AC
3 Kealan O'CONNOR 00:37:49 M (3)M40 (1) Grange Fermoy AC
10 Emma LEAHY 00:41:0200:41:08 F (1) FO (1)
13 Jennifer GOGGIN - WALSH 00:42:11 F (2)FO (2) Ballymore Cobh AC
20 Clodagh MCMORROW 00:43:06 F (3)FO (3) Wellness Centre Apple  

The full results can be seen on the MyRunResults website.

Photos...Updated Sun 4th Sept
1) There is a small gallery up on the Running in Cork Facebook page HERE
2) Mike O'Grady Photography has a number of galleries....... Album 1 , Album 2
 Album 3 , Album 4 , Album 5 , Album 6     
3) Donal O'Regan has a gallery HERE
4) David Ahern has a gallery HERE
5) Katie Pierce O'Shea has an album HERE 

Video...
1) From the organisers...

 

Results of the Munster Marathon & Half-Marathon Championships...May 2016

The Great Limerick Run doubled up this year as the Munster Marathon and Half-Marathon Championships. This is part of an 3 year arrangement between Munster Athletics and the Great Limerick Organisers. In previous years, the Charleville Half-Marathon was used as the Munster Half-Marathon Championship.

The one negative aspect about this years results are that the team results are for mixed teams. Instead of having proper results with a separate womens section, they just lumped the men and women in together which is a bit of a cop out. It's almost like they couldn't be bothered which will confirm to a lot of people that this championship is more about making money than really caring about a proper competition.

These are the medal winners from Cork...

* Munster Athletics – O40 Womens Marathon Individual Result
3 Helen Sheehan Female 63 F45+ 14 MIDLETON A.C. m 04:15:07

Munster Athletics – Men’s Half Marathon Individual Result
2 Brian Hegarty Male 2 M35+ 2 LEEVALE A.C. M 01:12:24

Munster Athletics – Women’s Half Marathon Individual Resut
1 Aoife Cooke Female 2 FOPEN 2 YOUGHAL AC m 01:19:46
2 Nollaigh ONeill Female 4 F35+ 1 LEEVALE A.C. m 01:21:17

* Munster Athletics – O40 Men’s Half Marathon Individual Result
1 Ronan Boland Male 14 M45+ 2 EAGLE A.C. m 01:20:12
2 Pat O Connor Male 15 M45+ 3 EAGLE A.C. m 01:20:35

* Munster Athletics – O50 Men’s Half Marathon Individual Result
2 Mike McGrath Male 125 M55+ 3 EAGLE A.C. m 01:33:36

* Munster Athletics – O40 Women’s Half Marathon Individual Result
1 Dolores Duffy Female 17 F45+ 3 WATERGRASSHILL A.C. m 01:33:12
3 Lisa Boland Female 77 F45+ 9 EAGLE A.C. m 01:45:38

Munster Half Marathon Championships 
Munster Open Half Marathon
Munster Marathon Championships
Munster Open Marathon

Here are the results from 2015 when it was held in Charleville. Proper results with separate womens teams. Obviously it wasn't making as much money back then.

* Update...Tues 10th May...It would seem as if someone has made a pretty big mistake with the category results. See the graphic below. On the left are the categories as laid out before the race. It states quite clearly...Men Over 40, Men Over 50 and the same for women. On the right, you can see what categories can be searched on the chip timing website. They are broken down on M35, M45, M55...not M40, M50. Munster Athletics have based their M40 results on the M45 positions, the M50 results on the M55 positions and so on. It's the same for the marathon.

Waterford Half-Marathon Cancelled...

For anyone who was going to do the Waterford Half-Marahton on Saturday, please note that it has been cancelled.

From the organisers...Event Postponed. Following consultation with An Garda Síochána and Waterford City Council and the upgrading of storm warnings throughout the country to status red it is with great regret that we must postpone tomorrows Waterford AC Half Marathon which was due to take place at 10am on Saturday December 5th.

The decision was made as a matter of health and safety. Although no parts of the course are currently flooded and despite the efforts of Waterford City Council today to clear flooding and repair damage caused by heavy rain yesterday, the potential for further flooding overnight is high.

Forecasts for the South East are not as severe as the rest of the country however with status red warnings in place in other counties we are conscious that we did not want people traveling in unsafe conditions tomorrow. The event is currently rescheduled to take place on the new date of Saturday,  9th January2016.

For participants that can make the new date your same number and chip will be valid.

For participants unable to make this date we will be offering refunds. You can apply for your refund through the following form http://www.totaltiming.ie/waterford-ac-half-2015-refund-request/. Please note refunds will not be processed until January.

With the postponement of an event this large there comes a large amount of administration and financial cost to Waterford AC. We also understand the inconvenience and potential costs incurred by people that had planned to take part and support our event. We hope you will understand and bear with us as we work through the arrangements.

7 Year old runs new Half-Marathon record for his age

Last week at the Park to Park Half-Marathon in Waterloo, Iowa, seven year old Jaden Merrick ran a new age record when he finished in a time of 1h 43m 34s.

Jaden starting running when he was 5 years old and set a 5k record of 22:26 as a 6 year old.

These are the various half-marathon records for children according to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.

Boys
6 Year olds...2:19:48...Cael Schwartz in Surprise, Arizona, on February 1, 2014
7 Year olds...1:43:34...Jaden Merrick in Waterloo, Iowa, on September 12, 2015
8 Year olds...1:43:08...Dallas Stricker in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on March 1, 2015
9 Year olds...1:34:59...Liam Ballard in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on March 22, 2015
10 Year olds...1:29:14...Elliott Daniels in Oakland, California, on March 22, 2015
11 Year olds...1:24:10...Hunter Perez in Houston, Texas, on January 19, 2014

GIRLS
6 Year olds...2:40:22...Rosie Dunham in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 9, 2013
7 Year olds...1:40:59...Makenzie Kolvoord in Carderock, Maryland, on November 16, 2014
8 Year olds...1:35:25...Tabitha Francks in New York, New York, on September 24, 1983
9 Year olds...1:28:31...Tabitha Francks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 16, 1984
10 Year olds...1:25:42...Stephanie Paparelli in The Woodlands, Texas, on January 29, 1983
11 Year olds...1:31:23...Heather Welsch in Houston, Texas, on January 19, 2014