Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes all 11 parkruns in Co Cork

Ross Gallagher with guide runner Proinnsias O'Keeffe

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher from Kerry is a regular at the road races and parkruns in Co Cork. On Saturday the 11th of July 2026, Ross completed the grand slam of eleven parkruns in Co Cork when he completed the event on Bere Island!

Clonakilty was his first parkrun in Co Cork back in November of 2023 and Bere Island in July of 2026 was number eleven.

This is a list of the parkruns in Co Cork that Ross has completed...

11. Bere Island 11/07/2026 553 47 29:39 
10. Pobalscoil na Tríonóide 28/02/2026 199 43 29:47 
9. Mallow Castle 27/12/2025 210 40 27:03 
8. Glen River 15/11/2025 285 42 29:48 
7. Tramore Valley 05/07/2025 160 94 27:30 
6. Castlehaven 03/05/2025 410 25 37:44 
5. Glengarriff 12/04/2025 395 19 28:50 
4. Midleton Greenway 01/02/2025 1 213 27:17 
3. Ballincollig 20/07/2024 333 99 26:47 
2. Macroom Castle Demesne 13/07/2024 484 18 28:07 
1. Clonakilty 18/11/2023 406 10 27:25 

The challenge with completing all eleven 5k parkruns in Co Cork is not actually doing any individual one but the amount of travelling required to get to all of them.

Ross is almost certainly the first visually impaired runner to complete all eleven.

I've often wondered how many people have completed all eleven parkruns in Cork?

Back in 2025, Grellan McGrath and myself completed the challenge of cycling to all eleven parkruns.

At the moment, Pat Walsh is completing the tour by doing all eleven in 2026... see previous post.

As for how many have done all eleven? I suspect it's in the tens rather than the hundreds. I'd guess maybe 50? As far as I know, there is no easy way to check.

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 350th 5k!

Congrats to visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher who completed his 350th 5k run last weekend!

The photo above shows him last Saturday completing his 218th 5k parkrun. The other 132 5k runs which makes up the balance have been at various road races around the country.

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 200th 5k parkrun!

A belated congratulations to Ross Gallagher who completed his 200th 5k parkrun in Glengarriff back on the 12th of April 2025!

It's a fair achievement for anyone to rack up 200 5k parkruns but especially so for a visually impaired runner. 

Ross has completed 141 of the 200 at the Tralee parkrun while he has completed 32 in Co Cork.

We should also give credit to all of those volunteers who gave up their time to guide Ross around the various courses.

"Blind runner hits personal best' - Southern Star Feb 2025

An article titled "Blind runner hits personal best" appeared in this weeks Southern Star and it's about Ross Gallagher and his PB in the recent Skibbereen 5-mile road race... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2025/02/results-of-skibbereen-5m-10m-road-races.html

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 150th parkrun

I noticed recently that visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completed his 150th 5k parkrun! 

This is not only an achievement for Ross but also for the small army of guide runners who made this possible. It shows what's possible and it might encourage more people with a visual impairment to take part in the sport.

127 of the 150 parkruns were in Tralee where Ross has a personal best time of 23:59. Here's the full list...

Tralee parkrun - 127
Inch Beach parkrun - 8
Killarney House parkrun - 6
Listowel parkrun - 4
Carlow Town parkrun - 2
Endcliffe parkrun - 1
Newcastle West parkrun - 1
Donaupark parkrun - 1

If anyone with a visual impairment would like to get involved in parkrun, they can find some information here... https://www.fightingblindness.ie/how-we-can-help/advocacy/information-and-resource-hub/sport-and-leisure/

It's worth noting that walkers are also welcome at all 5k parkruns so people can start by walking and building their confidence.

Visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher completes his 100th 5k parkrun!

Well done to visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher from Kerry who completed his 100th 5k parkrun in Carlow Town last weekend! None of this would be possible of course without his team of guide runners so fair play to them.

I wonder if Ross is the first visually impaired runner in Ireland to complete 100 parkruns?

Ross Gallagher completes his first Marathon in Tralee...

While the media focus is usually on the winners of a race, it's worth noting some of the remarkable performances further down the field. 

With that in mind, a big shout out to visually impaired runner Ross Gallagher who completed the Tralee Marathon over the weekend! The Kerry native completed the 26.2 mile course in a time of 5 hours and 51 minutes and wore out 4 guide runners in the process 😉

Ross is a big supporter of the road races in Kerry and competes in a good few of the Cork events as well. Ciarrai Abú!

Ross with his team of pacers