Number of sub 3 hour finishers from Cork clubs in the Dublin Marathon

Following on from the Dublin Marathon, I had a closer look at the results of club runners from Cork. In particular, I had a look at the number of sub 3 hour finishers and the result was different from what I expected.

I thought the number of sub 3 hour finishers might be spread out across the various clubs but they're not. I did a comparison with 2016 and 2017 and the results are shown below...

As you can see, Eagle AC and St.Finbarr's AC have the highest number of sub 3 hour finishers. In 2015, the two clubs accounted for 50% of all the sub 3 hour club finishers from Cork. In 2016, that went up to 68% and this year, it's 74%.

What's really suprising are the low number of sub 3 hour finishers from other clubs.

In terms of total numbers of Cork club runners going sub 3 hours, there were 20 in 2015, 25 in 2016 and 27 in 2017.

Notice...John Buckley Sports Cork City 10 Miler - Sat 10th Sept 2016

Here is another one for the diaries. The John Buckley Sports Cork City 10 Miler race is coming up on Saturday the 10th of September 2016 at 6pm. This is the third year of this particular event and this year, the race HQ has been changed to Shandon Boat Club.

Located in the heart of Cork City, this is going to be popular with a lot of runners. 10 miles is a favourite distance for a lot of people as can be seen by the huge numbers doing the various 10 milers like Dungarvan and Ballycotton in the Spring.

As 10 mile courses go, this is up there with the fastest of them and takes in the flat walkways around Mahon and Blackrock.

Preview.......A full preview of the course can be seen here.. http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/01/cork085.html

The early bird entry of €20 closes on the 31st of July and that includes a dry-fit top.

Here is how to enter.....

1) John Buckley Sports.......Just call into the shop and enter. It is just across the river from the Opera House in the heart of Cork City.

2) Online via EventMaster....Click HERE

More info on the race website... http://corkcity10miler.com/

The race is being organised by St,Finbarr's AC. Their website is http://www.stfinbarrsac.com/

Reminder...Cheaper 'Early Bird' entries for the Cork City 10 Miler End 31st July

The John Buckley Sports Cork City 10 Miler is coming up on Sunday the 13th of September 2015 and entries are coming in at a nice rate. This is just a reminder that the closing date for the cheapest 'early bird' entries is Friday the 31st of July. From the 1st of August, the entry fee increases from €20 to €25.

If you have made up your mind to do this race then you may as well enter asap. Considering that the entry fee includes a dry fit top then it's pretty good value.

More details in this previous post.

Cork teams do well at National Road Championships...Sun 19th Apr 2015

The Athletics Ireland National Road Relay Championships were held on Sunday, 19th of April in Raheny, Dublin. Each team had three members and ran the following distances...

The M35+, M50+ and senior women ran 1 mile x 2mile and 1 mile legs while the senior men ran 2 mile x 1 mile x 3 mile and 2 mile legs.

In the senior womens event, Leevale AC from Cork took the team title. The team was comprised of sisters Carol and Michelle Finn and team mate Lizzie Lee.

National Road Relay Champions...Michelle Finn, Lizzie Lee & Carol Finn of Leevale AC

As you can see from the times below, Carol Finn put them into an early lead that they never lost.
1st Leevale AC.......Carol Finn (1m) 5:08....Lizzie Lee (2m) 10:35......Michelle Finn (1m) 4:56......Total 20:39
2nd Letterkenny AC....Natasha Adams (1m) 5:11...Sinead Peoples (2m) 10:36......Anne Marie McGlynn (1m) 5:21......Total 21:08
3rd Crusaders AC.....Caroline Crowley (1m) 5:10...Orla Drumm (2m) 10:49......Marie Hyland (1m) 5:38........Total 21:37

In the Master mens M50 team event, St.Finbarr's AC from Cork took silver. The team was made up on Michael Murphy (1m), Cathal O'Connell (2m) and Ken Devine (1m).

Silver for the St.Finbarrs AC M50 team...Michael Murphy, Cathal O'Connell & Ken Devine

In the first leg, Michael Murphy finished the 1st leg in 3rd place some 13 seconds behind the second placed man. In the second leg, Cathal O'Connell reduced that deficit to just one second. In the final leg, Ken Devine brought the Barr's team up to second place and just 6 seconds adrift from the winning team.

1st....Raheny Shamrock AC (A)...Damien Martin (1m) 5:33...Mick Traynor (2m) 10:14...Dave Woods (1m) 5:14.....Total 21:01
2nd...St.Finbarrs AC...Michael Murphy (1m) 5:15...Cathal O'Connell (2m) 10:47...Ken Devine (1m) 5:05...Total 21:07
3rd....Drogheda & District AC...Danny Skeffington (1m) 5:01...Patrick O'Grady (2m) 11:00...Martin Duffy (1m) 5:41...Total 21:42

The full results are up on the Athletics Ireland website under April 2015.

Photos...
1) Gearóid Ó Laoi has a number of photos of the womens race HERE

Results of the John Buckley Sports Cork City 10 mile road race - Sun 14th Sept 2014

A total of 500 runners turned out for the inaugural John Buckley Sport Cork City 10 Miler on Sunday the 14th of September 2014. Organised by St.Finbarr's Athletic Club, this new 10 mile race replaced the old half-marathon in Blarney.

When it was announced back in July that it would be changing to a half-marathon, there was a mixed reaction. Just looking at the numbers, the record for the Blarney Half was 501 in 2012. The figure for the new 10 mile race almost matched that so there is no real drop.

Race sponsor John Buckley of John Buckley Sports presenting the winners prizes to Orla Drumm and Mark Hanrahan

1 Mark HANRAHAN     Leevale AC    M    MSenior 51:22
2 John Meade        St. Finbarr's    M    MSenior 53:38
3 Colin MERRITT        Carrig Na Bhfear    M    M40+ 54:36
4 Danny Smith        ballynonty ac    M    MSenior 55:49
5 Darren MOLLOY        Naval Service    M    M35+ 56:18
14 Orla Drumm        Crusaders AC    F    FSenior 59:15
33 Carmel CROWLEY     Bandon AC    F    F45+ 1:02:12
42 Ann Marie HOLLAND     St Finbarrs    F    F35+ 1:02:53
73 Laoise NITHUAMA     F    FSenior 1:07:05
77 Anna Doris Midleton AC    F    F40+ 1:07:36

The full results can be found HERE

Photos...(Updated Tues 9am)
1) Gallery by Doug Minihane HERE
2) Kieran Minihane has 300+ HERE 
3) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has some presentation photos HERE 
4) Joe has another gallery HERE with 600+ photos. Some of these are also available on the Eagle AC Facebook page if you want to tag anyone.
5) Another album from Joe with 357 photos HERE

Blarney Half-Marathon in September changed to 10 mile race in Cork City

First off, some background info on this...

For many years, St.Finbarr's Athletic Club have been organising a half marathon every September. As a build up for the Dublin City Marathon, it was a favourite race for many people. Initially it was held in Cork City but with the Celtic Tiger and the increase in traffic, it had to be moved out to the quieter roads around Blarney some years back.

This year, the club has taken the decision not to hold the Blarney Half-Marathon in mid-September. Instead, they will hold a 10 mile race in Cork City instead on that date.

The course map is shown below...

Basically, the race starts on Monahan road.....past Kennedy Park and onto Centre Park Road. You then do a lap of part of the John Buckley 5k course....i.e. you turn right onto Monahan road again...past the start...Kennedy Park...and back onto centre park road again.

From there, it's past Pairc Ui Chaoimh and down the Marina....past Blackrock Castle....onto the walkway by the river in Mahon......back up the old railway line....past Pairc Ui Chaoimh......Centre Park Road.....left onto Monahan Road and on to the finish line at Kennedy park.

In terms of courses, it's a pretty fast 10 miler and would certainly be as fast as say Ballycotton or Dungarvan. There will be more info in future posts but in the meantime, here is the info from St.Finbarr's AC...

Race Announcement...Inaugural Cork City 10 Mile Road Race

Promoted by St Finbarr’s A.C. in association with John Buckley Sports and SuperValu

Sunday 14th September 2014 @ 10.00am
Race Start / Finish Kennedy Park, Monahan Road, Cork....Full prize list in all Senior, Masters & Team categories...Race Entry Fee €25.00 of which €2.00 donated to COPE Foundation

On-line entries opening soon at www.stfinbarrsac.com

80 year old Flor O'Leary from Cork sets new national 400m masters record

Flor O'Leary (L) pictured with Fergus O'Donovan, 
head coach of St.Finbarrs AC

At the recent Cork County Track & Field Championships, Flor O'Leary of St.Finbarr's AC in Cork set a new age record for the 400m. Flor finished in a time of 1m 29.37s to set a new M80 record. The previous record of 1m 42.8s was set by Paddy Whelan in Kilkenny in 1995.

Flor also holds the M75 record for 400m...
M75    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    1.19.4 secs    01/08/2010    Cork

...and for 1500m...
M75    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    6.36.41    16/08/2009    Tullamore


The current M80 record is 7m 52.34s held by Nick Corish which might be on shaky ground now :o)
M80    Nick Corish    Raheny    7.52.34    14/09/2007    Riccione

Flor also holds a number of age records for road races as well....
5k    M65    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    19mins 21secs    10/10/1999    Dublin
5k    M75    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    23mins 30secs    09/09/2010    Cloyne

...including the Marathon...
M55    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    2hr 41.27    Oct. 1989    Dublin
M60    Flor O'Leary    St Finbarrs    2hr 48.48    Oct. 1994    Dublin

Race notice...Cork Half-Marathon, Blarney - Sun 8th Sept 2013

This is a race notice for the John Buckley Sports Cork Half-Marathon coming up on Sunday, the 8th of Sept 2013 at 11am. This race starts and finishes in Blarney just to the west of Cork City. Last year in 2012, the hill up around Grenagh was removed and it resulted in a much faster course overall.

The race is organised by St.Finbarrs AC, one of the main running clubs in Cork City and this is their flagship event of the year. There will also be pacers available for those trying for 1:30, 1:45 and 2 hours. As with most big races, they will be using chip timing.

The race also incorporates the Cork County and Munster Half-Marathon Championships.


The race sponsor is John Buckley Sports, one of the main sports shops in Cork for running shoes and other running related gear.

Entries.......
The Half-Marathon costs €20 to enter before Sunday, the 1st of September. You can enter by the following means...

Online (€21.40)..........You can enter online HERE

By Post........You will find an entry form HERE in PDF format.

Make cheques payable to St.Finbarrs AC. Post the entries to John Buckley Sports, Mulgrave Road, Cork.

Direct.......Probably the easiest and cheapest option if you are in the city is just to call into John Buckley Sports, fill out a form and enter.

You can find John Buckley Sports across the river from the Cork Opera House and his opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm – late opening Friday until 7.00 – closed Sundays.

They also have a website at http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/

20% Off Voucher.........Note also that all runners that enter will get a 20% off voucher for the John Buckley Sports store. If you use the voucher to buy something like a good pair of running shoes which could easily cost €100, then essentially you will have entered the race for free. Obviously, the more you spend, the more you save.

Late entries.........If for some reason you miss the early closing date, you can also enter on the day of the race......cost €25.

Preview........A full preview of the course with map, directions and photos can be seen HERE

Results of the poll for the best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2012...

The poll for the best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2012 has now closed and these are the results...

The clear winner with 181 votes was the John Buckley Sports Cork Half-Marathon in Blarney. This race which was organised by St.Finbarr's AC was held last September and attracted a field of 501 runners. In second place with 123 votes was the Charleville Half-Marathon in North Cork. A total of 476 people took part in the poll.

It's important to note that just because the other races got less votes, they are not necessarily bad. Many people will have done more than one half in 2012 and the fast courses seem to be a firm favourite.

So, congrats to St.Finbarrs AC on their flagship event which goes from strength to strength...

Bus from Cork to Dublin for the Marathon...

Local club St.Finbarrs AC are organising a bus to the Dublin Marathon next weekend and there are some places available.

The cost will be €20.00 return departing at 11.00am on Sunday morning from the back of the Metropole Hotel and going directly to RDS for registration.  Bus returning to Cork on Monday afternoon after the Marathon.

Anyone interested should contact Maria Collins at 086 0226850

(By the way, the bus might look a bit better than the one shown in the photo ;o)

Cork Half-Marathon in Blarney coming up next Sunday...

Just a reminder that the Cork Half-Marathon in Blarney is coming up next Sunday, the 9th of September at 11am. This race is sponsored by John Buckley Sports and all finishers will get a 20% discount voucher once they finish the race. More details in the race notice and in a course preview coming up next Friday.

Conor Kavanagh of John Buckley Sports presenting Marian Lyons, President of St Finbarr’s Athletic
Club and Dan Kennedy, Chairman, with a sponsorship cheque for the upcoming John Buckley St
Finbarr’s AC Cork Half Marathon taking place on the 9th September in Blarney.

Race notice...Cork Half-Marathon in Blarney - Sun 9th Sep 2012

This is a race notice for the Cork Half-Marathon coming up on Sunday, the 9th of Sept 2012 at 11am. This race starts and finishes in Blarney just to the west of Cork City. This year however the course has been modified and the hilly section near Grenagh has been removed. As a result, it promises to be a much faster course.

The race is organised by St.Finbarrs AC, one of the main running clubs in Cork City and this is their flagship event of the year. There will also be pacers available for those trying for 1:30, 1:45 and 2 hours. As with most big races, they will be using chip timing (bib).

The race also incorporates the Cork County and Munster Half-Marathon Championships.


The race sponsor is John Buckley Sports, one of the main sports shops in Cork for running shoes and other running related gear.

Entries.......
The Half-Marathon costs €20 to enter before Saturday, the 1st of September. You can enter by the following means...

Online (€20.90)..........You can enter online HERE

By Post........You will find an entry form HERE in PDF format.

Make cheques payable to St.Finbarrs AC. Post the entries to John Buckley Sports, Mulgrave Road, Cork.

Direct.......Probably the easiest and cheapest option if you are in the city is just to call into John Buckley Sports, fill out a form and enter.

You can find John Buckley Sports across the river from the Cork Opera House and his opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm – late opening Friday until 7.00 – closed Sundays.

They also have a website at http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/

20% Off Voucher.........Note also that all runners that enter will get a 20% off voucher for the John Buckley Sports store. If you use the voucher to buy something like a good pair of running shoes which could easily cost €100, then essentially you will have entered the race for free. Obviously, the more you spend, the more you save.

Late entries.........If for some reason you miss the early closing date, you can also enter on the day of the race......cost €25.

 Full race preview and more details closer to the race date.

Cork Half-Marathon, Blarney - Sun 11th Sept 2011

This is a race notice for the Cork Half-Marathon coming up on Sunday, the 11th of Sept 2011 at 11am. This race starts and finishes in Blarney just to the west of Cork City and uses the usual looped circuit to Grenagh village and back.

The race is organised by St.Finbarrs AC, one of the main running clubs in Cork City and this is their flagship event of the year. One of the additional features this year is the inclusion of pacers for those trying for 1:30, 1:45 and 2 hours. As with most big races, they will be using chip timing and finish times will be texted to all competitors after the race.
The race also incorporates the Cork County and Munster Half-Marathon Championships.

The race sponsor is John Buckley Sports, one of the main sports shops in Cork for running shoes and other running related gear.

Entries.......
The Half-Marathon costs €20 to enter before Saturday, the 3rd of September. You can enter by the following means...

Online..........You can enter online HERE

By Post........You will find an entry form HERE in PDF format. Make cheques payable to St.Finbarrs AC. Post the entries to John Buckley Sports, Mulgrave Road, Cork.

Direct.......Probably the easiest option if you are in the city. Just call into the John Buckley Sports store, fill out a form there and then and enter.

You can find John Buckley Sports across the river from the Cork Opera House and his opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm – late opening Friday until 7.00 – closed Sundays.

They also have a website at http://www.johnbuckleysports.com/

20% Off Voucher.........Note also that all runners that enter will get a 20% off voucher for the John Buckley Sports store. If you use the voucher to buy something like a good pair of running shoes which could easily cost €100, then essentially you will have entered the race for free. Obviously, the more you spend, the more you save.
Late entries.........If for some reason you miss the early closing date, you can also enter on the day of the race......cost €25.

Race Souvenir...This year, all entrants will be getting a hat.......just the trick for those long winter runs ;o)

 Full race preview and more details closer to the race date.

Results of Round 1 of the John Buckley Sports Graded Track & Field League - Mon 23rd May 2011

Just catching up on a few results...! The 1st round of the John Buckley Sports Graded Track & Field League was held on a very windy track in CIT last Monday, the 23rd of July. There were a number of events on offer.......200m, Long Jump, Shot, 4 x 400m Relay and the 3,000 metres.

The event was organised by St.Finbarr's AC while the sponsor of the event was John Buckley Sports which is one of the longest established running shops in Cork City.

John Buckley Sports

The full results of Round 1 can be found in PDF format HERE

There are 5 more rounds in this series. The next one on the 10th of June has the 100m, a high jump, discuc, 4 x 200m relay and the 800 metre.

Here is some more info from the organisers if you are interested in attending.....
A series of six meetings is planned for Athletes male and female over 17 years on the day of the competition; the Shot, Discus, Hammer and 56lb Weights are limited to athletes over 18. Track events will, if necessary, be divided into separate races on the basis of performance, which could involve mixed races. Admission is €5 per meeting. Each athlete will receive a performance certificate and electronic timing will be used.

John Buckley Sports 5k.........Coming up next Tuesday evening, the 31st of May at 8pm, the Cork

BHAA in conjunction with John Buckley Sports are holding a 5 km road race on the Centre Park Road / Monaghan Road circuit. This is one of the largest, fastest and most popular 5 km races on the local race calendar and is sure to attract a large crowd.

As well as the usual refreshments, prizes, etc, they will also be handing out a 20% discount voucher for John Buckley Sports at the end of the race. I asked John about this by mail and he told me that there is no time limit on it and the 20% is off anything for sale in his shop regardless of price.

More details on this race in a later post.

60th Anniversary Dinner Dance for St.Finbarrs AC on Fri 25th Feb 2011

St.Finbarr's Athletic Club are one of the oldest clubs in Cork and this year, they are celebrating their 60th anniversary. The following was issued by the club...
St. Finbarr’s A.C. will hold its 60th Anniversary Dinner Dance and Awards presentation on Friday 25th February 2011 at 8pm in The Clarion Hotel, Lapps Quay, Cork. Tickets cost €40 each and are available from club committee members and John Buckley Sports on Camden Quay. Current and former members, family and friends of the BARRS are all welcome to attend. We very much look forward to seeing you on the night.

Contact details HERE

Flor O'Leary of St.Finbarr's AC sets new Indoor 800 metre record...
I normally don't cover other athletic events as I try and concentrate on the road races but this item caught my eye on the St.Finbarr's AC website.

"Flor O’Leary Smashes All Ireland Indoor 800 Metre Record. In a resounding demonstration that he is back to his true form, our own Flor O’Leary smashed the Irish M70 record for 800 metres at Nenagh on Sunday last (Munster Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships - 6th Jan 2008). Flor ran a superb time of 2.58.8 minutes which was over six seconds inside the existing record."

That time works out about 6 minutes per mile pace. That's an amazing achievement for someone who is aged 70 as there are a lot of people who are half his age or less who would be unable to do it.