Hannah Steeds wins the Jerry Kiernan 5k in Listowel - 24th Aug 2025

The inaugural Jerry Kiernan Memorial 5k road race was held in Listowel in north Kerry on Sunday 24th August 2025 with 256 runners crossing the finish line. For a 5k race in Kerry, that's a pretty good turnout.

The first woman across the line was Hannah Steeds of Leevale AC in Cork with a time of 16m 51s.

Top 3 men & women...
3812 1 William FITZGERALD Craughwell A.C. M 14:32
2083 2 Denis HEARTY M 14:35
3817 3 Conor KISSANE Killarney Valley A.C. M 15:27
3835 11 Hannah STEEDS Leevale A.C. F 16:51
3869 12 Niamh O MAHONY F 17:03
3865 16 Ciara O NEILL Clonmel A.C. F 17:23

Full results HERE

Photos...

a) Sylwia Stefaniak has a gallery of photos HERE

Hannah Steeds receiving the winners trophy from former Olympic medallist John Treacy

Results of the Run Killarney Half Marathon & 10k - Sat 17th May 2025

Cork runners dominate the podium at the Run Killarney Half-Marathon (L-R) - Maurice Feehan of Duhallow AC 2nd, Danny Mullins of Bantry AC 1st & Michael Harrington of Durrus AC 3rd

The annual Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k was held this year on Saturday 17th May 2025 on what turned out to be a stunning day with blue skies and sunshine.

Between the two events, a total of 2418 runners crossed the finish line, 1207 in the half-marathon and 1211 in the 10k. Both events sold out several months ago.

Half-Marathon - Top 5 men & women...

1 Danny MULLINS 1:12:24 901 M MS Bantry A.C.
2 Maurice FEEHAN 1:16:34 372 M M40 Duhallow A.C.
3 Michael HARRINGTON 1:18:11 507 M M50 Durrus A.C.
4 Robbie MULHALL 1:18:18 897 M MS
5 Eoghan O'DONOVAN 1:18:40 1045 M MS
1 Fliss TOURNANT 1:25:44 1581 F FS Watford Joggers
2 Eilís RYAN 1:27:28 1284 F FS 
3 Carole ROBERTS 1:30:24 1573 F FS Watford Joggers
4 Samantha LAMBERT 1:31:18 677 F FS 
5 Anna CLIFFORD 1:31:31 165 F FS 

10k - Top 5 men & women...

1 Darragh OLEARY 33:17 3135 M MS Thurles Crokes A.C.
2 Michael DULLEA 35:00 2332 M M40 Skibbereen A.C.
3 Feidhlim O'DUBHLAING 35:13 3002 M MS Leevale A.C.
4 Oliver DINNYES 36:01 2292 M MS
5 Sean RUSSELL 36:14 3220 M MS St. Finbarrs A.C.
1 Jennifer MARTIN 37:11 2728 F FS
2 Eimear O'LEARY 38:05 1595 F F40 Galway City Harriers A.C.
3 Siobhan HOARE 38:12 2530 F F40 Togher A.C.
4 Marie HOWARD 38:44 2549 F FS Leevale A.C.
5 Breeda MCGINN 38:48 2769 F F40

Full results HERE

After winning the half-marathon in 2024, Cork runner Jennifer Martin returned this year to take first in the 10k. Eimear O'Leary of Galway City Harriers (L) was 2nd and Siobhan Hoare of Togher AC (R) was 3rd

Photos & video...

1) The chip timing company MyRunResults has a small number of finish line photos HERE

a) Half Marathon video up to 1hr 24 mins

b) Half Marathon video 1hr 35mins to 1hr 48 mins

c) Half Marathon video 1hr 59 - 2hr 12 half (10k up to 42mins)

Numbers on the rise for the Valentia Half-Marathon & 10k event...

Well done to Cork runner Gene Dywer who was the first woman home in the 10k race on Valentia island in Co Kerry last Saturday, 19th of April 2025.

Looking through the results, the numbers at the Valentia Half-Marathon & 10k have really grown in the last two years as can be seen from the chart below.

For years, the numbers for the half and 10k were pretty poor but it has really taken off in 2024 and 2025.

Full results for the 2025 event can be found at https://my.raceresult.com/335921/

Storm Éowyn causes damage to the Ríocht track and gym in Castleland, Co Kerry - Jan 2025

While the main media outlets have plenty of photos of the damage done by Storm Éowyn around the country, there were plenty of places where the damage didn't make the news.

At the Ríocht AC athletics track in Castleisland, Co Kerry, a lighting pole toppled over and crashed onto the track as shown above. At the time of writing, it's not clear if there was any damage to the track surface.

There was also some damage to the gym building with a door smashed by the high winds.

Inch Beach parkrun goes ahead with just two runners - 7th Dec 2024

Despite the winds from Storm Darragh, the 5k parkrun on Inch Beach in Co Kerry still went ahead this weekend. With gale force winds coming in off the Atlantic Ocean, two runners still managed the 5k course.

It might be the record for the smallest parkrun ever in Ireland?

1 Ruairí DE PRIONDARGÁS Male VM45-49 28:23
2 Sean MORIARTY Male VM60-64 32:37

Volunteers - Elizabeth BROOKES & Sean MORIARTY

They're almost as hardy as the Bear Island crew! 😂

Podium places for Cork runners in the Streets of Killarney 5-mile - Fri 29th Mar 2024

First place finish for Carol Finn

The inaugural Streets of Killarney 5-mile road race was held on Good Friday, the 29th of March 2024 with a total of 459 runners taking part. As races in Co Kerry go, that's quite a large turnout.

 Top 3 men & women...
1 Oisin SPILLANE 24:45 898 M MS Ennis Track Club
2 Gavin SWEENEY 25:29 897 M M40 Togher AC
3 Darragh O'LEARY 26:17 848 M MS Killarney Valley A.C.
1 Carol FINN 29:15 561 F FS Leevale A.C.
2 Pam O`DONOGHUE 30:41 912 F F40 West Muskerry A.C.
3 Niamh O'SULLIVAN 32:09 797 F F60 An Ríocht A.C.

Full results HERE

Cork runners take top spots at IMRA race in Kerry -

First place finish for Carol Finn in Torc Woods trail race

The IMRA race last weekend was the 8k trail event in Torc Wood near Killarney last Sunday 24th March 2024. A total of 87 runners completed the course.

Top 3 men & women...
 1 Nick Hogan 838 M40 36:37 Cork
2 Conor McElroy 2077 M35 38:25 Killarney V... Kerry
3 Michael Furlong 2757 M 39:14 East Cork A... Cork
1 Carol Finn 899 F35 40:51 Cork
2 Michelle Kenny 742 F45 41:49 Leevale Cork
3 Faye O'Riordan 921 FJ 44:13 Carraig na ... Cork

Full results... https://imra.ie/events/results/id/2426/category/O/

Photos HERE

Three Half-Marathons in Kerry last weekend - 23rd & 24th Oct 2021

On the October Bank Holiday weekend, there were no fewer than THREE half-marathons in Co Kerry which seems a bit crazy. It's a bit like waiting for a bus and then three come along at the same time.

Brandon Bay: The largest event in terms of overall numbers was the Brandon Bay Half-Marathon, 10k & 5k on the 23rd of October. The numbers in the half-marathon were pretty modest with 151 taking part but there were 232 in the 10k and 181 in the 5k which brought the total number of finishers up to 564 which is really good for a running event in Kerry. Results HERE

Considering that the Brandon Bay event was on a beach out on the Dingle peninsula, a lot of people may have used it as part of a weekend away so it probably made sense to have it on a Bank Holiday weekend.

Tralee: The second largest event was the Tralee Half-Marathon on Sunday the 24th of October. This had 199 finishers which is modest enough for a half-marathon. As of how many would they have got if it wasn't on the same weekend as Brandon Bay??? Who knows. Results HERE

Valentia Island: The third event was on Valentia Island on the south-west of Kerry and it seems to have been the one that got squeezed out. There were just 57 finishers in the half-marathon which would have meant there were huge gaps in the field with people running on their own for much of the race. The associated 10k fared even worse with just 26 finishers giving a combined total of 83 participants. Results HERE

Valentia Island is a stunning spot for a race albeit a little hilly. It's not hard to imagine them getting much bigger numbers if they could pick a better weekend.

Notice: Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k - Sat 13th Nov 2021

The Run Killarney Half-Marathon and 10k is usually held every year in July but couldn't go ahead this year because of all the restrictions. Now that the restrictions have been eased, it will be held on Saturday 13th November 2021.

The event website is here... https://runkillarney.com/

The event includes a dry fit top and a medal.

The Half-Marathon has a start time of 8:30am while the 10k starts at 8:50am.

This will obviously be of interest to anyone who wants a weekend away in Killarney.

Half-Marathon: The start of the half has traditionally been up at Molls Gap with the competitors running down to the finish line outside the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.

While restrictions have eased, there would obviously be issues transporting a lot of people by bus up to the start line. As a result, the course is closer to the national park.

10k: The 10k follows the same route to the half except it turns around sooner.

Full details including how to enter can be found on the event website... https://runkillarney.com/

A look back at 'The Human Race' 5k in Barraduff, Kerry in 80's/90's

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, there was 5k held in Barraduff, Co.Kerry called 'The Human Race'. It attracted a very fast field of runners with 41 breaking 17 minutes in 1995 as can be seen from the results below.

1995 Results

Does anyone have any more information about it? Results? Route?

John Walshe of Ballycotton wrote the following piece which appeared in the race programme of the Fields of Athenry race a few years back. 

"What other road races with quirky titles come to mind? There was one in particular which took place in Kerry in the late-1980s / early-90s called ‘The Human Race’. Held from the village of Barraduff on the main Killarney to Mallow road on the August Weekend, it was a straight 5km with the runners bussed out to the start.

The persuasive powers of organiser Mike O’Mahoney brought many of the country’s leading runners to the Kingdom venue. The prize-list also helped. In her autobiography, Sonia O’Sullivan recalled how the first prize of an Aer Lingus ticket to New York gave her the incentive to get back training after missing most of her first year at Villanova University through injury.

Like the Athenry booklet, the event also had a very informative and lavish race programme. The 1994 edition boasted contributions from the likes of John Treacy, Jerry Kiernan, Noel Berkeley and John Downes along with an article on injuries from a certain Paula Radcliffe. That was one of the last races as the ever-increasing work load on the shoulders of the small organising committee became too much and it sadly ceased."... John Walshe.

Shane Finn from Kerry runs 24 marathons in 24 days

Shane Finn from West Kerry has just completed a grueling 24 marathons in 24 days! Shane ran the 1000+ kms to raise funds for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Ireland.

New surface for athletics track in Kerry...

There have been two contrasting stories about athletic tracks in Ireland over the last two weeks.

Last week, Ian O'Riordan of the Irish Times wrote an article about the destruction of the athletics track in University College Dublin, Considering it is now being used as a car park in a busy university and there is no funding for a replacement, it would seem as if it isn't coming back any time soon.

In Kerry, the only full size athletics track is in Castleisland and is owned by An Ríocht AC. This was built some time ago and the track surface had begun to show a lot of signs of wear and tear.

This is how it used to look...

The club embarked on a fundraising programme to resurface the track and this is what it looks like now...

In fact, this is only the third two tone track in Europe.

While the new surface is just really a new version of the old one, it still looks pretty cool. It's also a major investment in athletics for the Kerry and Munster region.

Additional photos HERE

Links...
1) Sad tale of Belfield’s abandoned athletics track a running sore (Irish Times 17th June 2017)
2) Plans for €14 Million Investment in UCD Sports Facilities and New Running Track Scrapped (College Tribune 31st January 2017)
3) Dublin loses one of its most famous tracks (Running in Cork blog 23rd November 2011)
4) UCD apologise for handling of track closure in Dublin...(Running in Cork blog 2nd December 2011

Notice - Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k...Sat 22nd July 2017

One of the biggest races in Kerry is the annual Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k and it's coming up on Saturday the 22nd of July 2017.

The half marathon starts at Moll's Gap at 8:30am and follows one of the most scenic roads in the country to the finish line at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.

The link for online entries is HERE

 

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

Participants in the half marathon will be taken by bus from Killarney to the start line at Moll's Gap.

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...



For more info, go to the Run Killarney Website

The link for online entries is HERE

New 5k parkruns starting soon in Listowel and Clonmel

As can be seen from the map above, there are quite a number of 5k parkruns in Munster and soon, there will be two more.

On Saturday the 22nd of April 2017, a new 5k parkrun will be starting in Listowel in Co.Kerry. It will be held in Listowel Town Park and it will be on a tarmac surface.

Listowel has a population of about 5,000 people so there are probably enough runners locally to support a parkrun here. The numbers will probably be pretty small though. Newcastle West in Co.Limerick is about 20 miles away and has a similar population. The parkrun there gets an average of 19 runners per week.

On Saturday the 20th of May 2017, there is a new 5k parkrun starting in Clonmel, Co.Tipperary. This one will be at Powerstown Racecourse which is at the northern edge of the town.

This one is different from Listowel in that the population of Clonmel is close to 16,000 people so numbers won't be an issue. The big question here is what impact it will have on the local road races? Clonmel Athletic Club have been organising local road races for years and host a very successful 4k and 6k series. While the entry fee is usually only €5, a free local 5k parkrun every Saturday morning could be an issue.

Both parkruns will have start times of 9:30am and are of course free.

Slowly but surely, new parkruns are popping up every year. In Cork, there is still no sign of Tramore Valley Park in Cork City opening up. As for other locations in Cork, Doneraile Park in North Cork is an obvious venue but this is being used by many clubs, schools and charities at present for fundraising. A free 5k parkrun there would have a big impact.

As most of you know, there is no shortage of events on the calendar at the moment and at times, it seems as if there are too many. As more of these free 5k parkruns start up, they are bound to have an impact on existing races.

If you are interested in any parkrun  then go to their website... http://www.parkrun.ie

Notice - Run Killarney Half-Marathon & 10k...Sat 23rd July 2016

One of the biggest races in Kerry is the annual Killarney Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k and it's coming up on Saturday the 23rd of July 2016.

The half marathon starts at Moll's Gap at 8:30am and follows one of the most scenic roads in the country to the finish line at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.
 

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

Participants in the half marathon will be taken by bus from Killarney to the start line at Moll's Gap.

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...



For more info, go to the Run Killarney Website

Looking at the first year of parkruns in Co.Kerry...Sat 30th Jan 2016

2015 saw plenty of changes in the running scene in Co.Kerry with two new 5km parkruns starting up in the county. The first one to start was in Tralee on the 24th of January 2015 and this was followed by one in Killarney on the 6th of June 2015.

Tralee parkrun....The chart below shows the weekly numbers over the last year.....

Since it has started, the Tralee parkrun has had 1327 registered runners to date with an average of 112.1 per week. As you can see from the chart, there was an initial surge of interest which then settled down over the Summer months and picked up again over the Autumn. The recent surge is no doubt due to the publicity from the Operation Transformation TV programme.

Looking back about 5-10 years, there was almost a complete lack of any races in the Tralee area in marked contrast to what was happening in Killarney. In the last few years, there have been new commercial races organised by Run the Kingdom but at €20 a pop with medals and dry fit tops, they're not for everyone. It's not all doom and gloom however as no doubt the free weekly parkruns will introduce a lot of people to running and some of them will in time go on to run in the some the longer events like the Tralee Marathon and Half-Marathon organised by the same company.

Killarney parkrun.....The chart below shows the weekly numbers...

The numbers in Killarney have been lower with an average of 42.1 runners per week. A total of 535 registered runners have taken part in the event since it started last June. As you can see from the chart, there was the initial surge due to the novelty factor. This stabilised about about 30-40 over the Autumn but it was hit badly by the wet weather in December. The recent surge is again due to the Operation Transformation TV programme.

One point of interest is that the average of 42.1 in Killarney is in marked contrast to the 112.1 average in Tralee. The town of Tralee has population of about 24k which is 1.7 times the size of Killarney. The parkrun average in Tralee is 2.7 times larger than that of Killarney. As for why the large difference? Perhaps there are several....more choice of modest priced races near Killarney? The fact that the parkrun in Killarney is about 3 miles south of the town centre? The marked difference between race prices in Tralee and the free parkrun?

Third parkrun??......Is there scope for another parkrun in the county? The thing about Co.Kerry is that Tralee and Killarney are really the main population centres and the other towns are quite small. If Killarney with a population of 14k2 has only an average of 42.1 runners per week then would a third parkrun get enough people to justify it? In terms of population, the third largest town is Listowel with 4,800 inhabitants which is about one third the size of Killarney. However if the examples in Cork have shown anything then it's that a parkrun can pop up just about anywhere.

Results of the Munster Senior Cross Country Championships...Sun 8th Nov 2015

The Munster Senior Cross Country Championships were held in Beaufort, Co.Kerry on what turned out to be the wettest day of the week. The numbers for a Munster competition were a bit on the low side but perhaps the weather was a factor there.

In nearly most cross country races for adults, the men always outnumber the women by quite a margin. Unusually this time round, they were almost equal. There were 33 in the mens race and 28 in the womens. Maybe it shouldn't be such a suprise considering how strong womens cross country running is in Kerry with the team from the Kingdom scoring very high nationally last year.

Senior Women
1 Shona Heaslip An Riocht A.C. Kerry
2 Aoife Cooke Youghal A.C. Cork
3 Nollaigh Hunter Leevale A.C. Cork

1 An Riocht A.C. 1, 7, 16, 21...45
2 Ennis Track A.C. 10, 13, 18, 22... 63
3 Farranfore Maine Valley A.C. 4, 12, 25, 27...68
4 Star of the Laune A.C. 15, 20, 24, 26 ...85

1 Kerry 1, 4, 7, 8 ...20
2 Cork 2, 3, 6, 11 ...22
3 Clare 9, 10, 13, 18 ...50

In the mens race, Michael Harty led the East Cork AC team home to take the senior title.

1 Michael Harty East Cork A.C. Cork
2 Tim O'Donoghue East Cork A.C. Cork
3 Damien Landers Ennis Track A.C. Clare

1 East Cork A.C. 1, 2, 7, 17...27
2 Ennis Track A.C. 3, 11, 13, 22 ...49
3 Leevale A.C. 5, 12, 19, 21 ...57
4 Iveragh A.C. 10, 14, 24, 29 ...77
5 An Riocht A.C. 16, 23, 25, 26 ...90

1 Cork 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 12...31
2 Clare 3, 11, 13, 15, 18, 22 ...82
3 Kerry ...10, 14, 16, 24, 25, 26 ...115

The full results are up on the Munster Athletics website.

Notice - Run Killarney Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k...Sat 18th July 2015

One of the biggest races in Kerry is the annual Killarney Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k and it's coming up on Saturday the 18th of July 2015.

The full marathon starts near Sneem at 8am and follows the quiet R568 road as far as Molls Gap where the half-marathon will start at 8:45am. Both races follow the same route then on what must be one of the most scenic roads in the country to the finish line at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.
 

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

Participants in the full and half marathon will be taken by bus from Killarney to the start lines.

Entry for each race includes...Customised finisher medal......T-shirt.....Chip timing......Prizes.......Massage at finish line......Hot tubs.......Post race party.......Officially measured course......Fully Marshalled route......Fully stocked water stops......Medical safety cover throughout course......Postage of your race pack and number to Irish addresses only

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...



For more info, go to the Run Killarney Website

New 5k parkrun starting in Killarney in June...

It was announced recently that a new 5k parkrun will be starting in Killarney on Saturday the 6th of June 2015. The 5km route will be in the Killarney Demense and will start at 9:30am every Saturday morning.

Slowly but surely there are more parkruns being rolled out across the country. On the 23rd of May, a new one will be starting in New Ross in Co.Wexford.

Parkruns are free timed 5k runs and are held in numerous locations. To take part, you just need to be registered first and then you print out a bar code which you take to all future events.

You can register by going to the parkrun website.

You can see the list of parkruns in Munster by looking at the race calendar.

Parkrun comes to Tralee...Sat 24th Jan 2015

On Saturday the 24th of January 2015, a brand new 5k parkrun is starting in Tralee, Co.Kerry. This is the 5th parkrun in Munster with the other four being Macroom, Clonakilty, Bere Is. in Co.Cork and Clarisford in Co.Clare.

The 5k course in Tralee is 3 laps of the local town park. As with all parkruns, it starts at 9:30am and will be on every Saturday morning from now on.

There is no entry fee. If you haven't done a parkrun before then go to this website to register and print out the bar code.

Update.....A total of 150 people took part in the first Tralee parkrun.