Joe Gough of West Waterford AC sets new World Masters Record

At an indoor 800m race in Abbotstown, Dublin on Thursday evening, Joe Gough (M65) of West Waterford AC set a new masters indoor world record! Finishing in a time of 2m 16.65s, Joe broke the previous over 65 indoor world record of 2m 16.80s which was set by Earl Fee of Canada way back in 1994.

Guest article by John Walshe...EAGLE ATHLETE WINS BRITISH MASTERS TITLE

EAGLE ATHLETE WINS BRITISH MASTERS TITLE... By John Walshe

Last Sunday week Richard Piotrowski, who now lives near Macroom and runs with the Eagle club in Cork, won the M70 title at the British Masters 10km road championships which took place at Gravesend in Kent.

A regular winner in the M65 (and M60) category on the Cork running scene over the past few years, Richard recently moved up to the M70 grade and his 43:08 over a difficult course and in warm conditions in Gravesend gave him the gold medal.

The report in last week’s edition of Athletics Weekly stated: “Back in the early 1970s Dick Piotrowski was one of the Reading AC senior team taking major team medals on road and country and here was an M70 victor in 43:08, half a minute clear of Peter Giles.”

That report was written by regular AW contributor Martin Duff, a team-mate of Richard on those Reading teams. Piotrowski also ran with the famous Belgrave Harriers and as well was an accomplished performer on the track, especially in the 3000m steeplechase.

As the accompanying result sheet shows (see below), the late 1960s/early 1970s was a golden age in distance running. The race in question – the Bracknell ‘5’ – was just an ordinary club event held in August each year. Although only 108 runners took part, as can be seen the first 12 broke 25 minutes with 82 of the 108 under the half-hour.

Richard finished sixth on that occasion in 24:27 and three seconds behind him was John Bryant, a newspaper editor who would go on many years later to write the story of the London Marathon titled ‘The History of the Greatest Race On Earth’.

In 12th position, and the last under 25 minutes, came Mick Woods of Aldershot, Farnham & District. A former Irish international marathoner, Woods is better known today as the coach to a host of British internationals such as Olympian Steph Twell, European cross-country champion Emelia Górecka, and Jonny Hay, one of the top British hopes in next Sunday’s London Marathon.

The Athletics Weekly edition of April 3rd, 1971, has a report and picture of the Reading AC team after winning the Crawley eight-stage 36 miles road relay. Running the anchor leg of just short of three miles that day was Richard (Dick) Piotrowski who brought his team home to victory with the fastest stage time of 14:51.

To make the pages of that historic and august publication exactly 46 years later with another winning performance is quite an achievement – and there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing the name of Richard Piotrowski appear with frequency on both Irish and British results over the coming months.

Michael Harty of East Cork AC wins National Master Cross Country title

The Athletics Ireland Masters Cross Country Championships were held on Sunday the 12th of February in Waterford IT. The winner of the mens race was Michael Harty of East Cork AC.

255 23:24 1 Michael Harty East Cork A.C. East Cork A.C.
408 23:50 2 Tim O'Connor An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C.
260 23:55 3 Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C.
112 14:51 1 Rosemary Ryan Dooneen A.C. Dooneen A.C.
48 15:02 2 Sara Doohan Corran A.C.
72 15:04 3 Barbara Cleary Donore Harriers Donore Harriers

The full results are up on the Athletics Ireland website

Photos...
1) West Waterford AC have a gallery HERE

Photo courtesy of John Cashman

Results & photos of the Munster Masters Cross Country Championships in Dungarvan...Sun 20th Nov 2016

The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Dungarvan on Sunday the 20th of November and West Waterford AC were the host club.

As is common with these events, the fields for both the men's and women's races were dominated by more local clubs. For example, in the women's race, there was no county team from Limerick or Clare. In the men's event, only Cork, Waterford and Tipperary had enough for a county team.

Overall, the standard for Masters  was pretty high and many fast runners finishing well down the field.

The full results are now up on the Munster Athletics website

Photos...
1) West Waterford AC have two large galleries.... Men ... Women 

The Cork results are highlighted below...

Joe Gough of Ireland finishes 2nd in dramatic finish in Masters race at World Championships in Oregon

At the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, one of the morning events was the Masters men's over-60 800 metre race. In a dramatic final lap, Joe Gough from West Waterford AC kept the lead until the last few metres when his legs gave out.

In the end, Joe finished in a very credible second place against some of the best masters athletes in the world.

800m Masters race tells long history of Ireland & Great Britain: the Irish fall just short at finish. #Portland2016 pic.twitter.com/dr8jTGicsr

— Chris Barron (@tbc5150) March 19, 2016

More info...Runners World article

Results of the National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships...Sun 24th Jan 2016

The Athletics Ireland National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships were held this year in Dundalk on Sunday the 24th of January 2016. The numbers turning out were mixed with a very good attendance in the Masters events while the Intermediate Championships were pretty poor.

First off, the Masters (those aged 35 and over). The numbers here were pretty good and obviously reflect the growth in the number of masters nationally.

In February of 2015, this event was held in Tuam, Co.Galway and they got 223 men and 140 women in the masters. This year, the numbers for the masters were 255 men (+14%) and 196 women (+40%). In 2015, there were 20 club teams and 8 county teams in the O35 mens section. In 2016, that was 23 club teams and 8 county teams. In the mens over 50 section, that increased from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 10 club teams and 6 county teams.

The womens O35 changed from 16 club teams and 11 county teams to 19 club teams and 9 county teams. The womens over 50 changed from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 7 club teams and 6 county teams.

Overall, very positive and a growth in what were already good numbers. Perhaps the number of counties could have been higher but still a good turn out.

These are some of the medals picked up by club athletes from Cork and Kerry...

Masters Men...
Masters Men O35.....1st Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. // 3rd Tim O'Connor An Riocht A.C.
Masters Men O60.......1st Neillus Aherne Midleton A.C.

In the Mens O35 section, St.Finbarr's AC from Cork finished 3rd out of 23 teams.
Men O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Donore Harriers 11, 14, 18, 26.... 69 pts
2 Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. A.C.5, 12, 39, 40..... 96 pts
3 St. Finbarrs A.C. 15, 22, 24, 67...... 128 pts
4 North Belfast Harriers A.C.10, 30, 35, 55...... 130 pts

The Cork O35 team finished second out of 8 county teams.
Men O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Dublin 5, 11, 12, 14, 18, 26...86 pts
2 Cork 2, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24...99 pts
3 Donegal 4, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45...213 pts

Masters Women...
Masters Women O35........2nd Karina Teahan St. Finbarrs A.C.
Masters Women O50......1st Niamh O'Sullivan An Riocht A.C.
Masters Women O60.......1st Carmel Parnell Leevale A.C. //  2nd Majella Diskin An Riocht A.C.

The Cork Womens O35 team finished 3rd out of 9 county teams.
Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Dublin 1, 5, 12, 13...31 pts
2 Laois 3, 8, 21, 43...75 pts
3 Cork 15, 19, 38, 41...113 pts

The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Master Men (35-64), Master Men O65 & Masters Women

*****
Intermediate Men...
The Intermediate Cross Country Championships however were a different story. Last year in Tuam, there were 76 men and 55 women. This year, it was 85 men and 53 women...about the same. It's in the teams however that the poor numbers are really reflected. In the mens section in 2015, there were 10 club teams and just 3 county teams...Dublin 1st, Cork 2nd and Offaly 3rd. This year, there are 11 club teams but still only 3 counties....1st Clare, 2nd Dublin, 3rd Laois. Cork as the second largest county in terms of club membership was unable to field an Intermediate team of just 6 men.

Intermediate Women...
In the womens Intermediate competition, the numbers were poor also. There were 5 club teams and 5 counties represented in 2015. This year, the number of club teams went up to 7 but the number of womens county teams went down to just 2.........Dublin 1st and Cork 2nd. Think about that for a second. It only requires 4 women for a county Intermediate team..........and there are just two counties represented. It's not like the event was held up at the top of Donegal and way down in West Cork, it was in Dundalk. Where is Co.Meath? Kildare? Louth!

There are some serious problems with this Intermediate cross country competition. Back in early December of 2015, there were 208 men and 89 women in the National Novice Cross Country Championships. It seems as if people just aren't interested in the Intermediate competition. Time to call it a day?

The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Intermediate Men, Intermediate Women

Photos.....
1) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has a large gallery on Facebook (account required to view)
2) Lisa Shine has a video clip on Facebook HERE

A closer look at the Atheltics Ireland membership figures...

Athletics Ireland recently released their membership figures for the end of 2015. The national figures are shown in the graph below to make the trends clearer.

The total membership which is based on all the athletic clubs around the country has gone up by 90% in the last six years, an impressive figure. For an organisation that is largely funded by grants from the Irish Sports Council, it's important that the membership should be as large as possible to have another source of funding.

The membership is broken down as follow...
Juveniles...Children and teenagers aged under 19 year old.
Juniors......19 years old...(numbers too small to be shown in the chart above).
Seniors......20 to 34 years old
Masters.....35 years old and above

Juveniles.....As the chart shows, the number of Juveniles has grown by 72% in the last six years. This growth has obviously placed demands on the various athletic clubs around the country as they've had to cope with the influx. The net effect of this has to been to see lots of club members taking the various Athletics Ireland coaching courses and some of the larger clubs having waiting lists for children trying to join.

Masters.....The vast majority of those aged 35 and over would be involved in road races and running i.e. what is often referred to as 'recreational running'. Like the Juniors, there has been a huge growth in the number of masters as the running boom has resulted in a surge in club membership.

Seniors.....It's not all good news however as the number of Seniors nationally has dropped 12%. It's probably fair to say that the majority of Seniors will be involved in road running but it's from this group that the bulk of those involved in athletics will be...i.e. Track & Field competitions. Considering the growth in the number of Masters then it's likely that those in the Senior group in say the 30-34 age bracket probably grew by a similar amount. What doe this mean for those in say their early 20's? Those who might be considered likely to be at the sharp end of athletics? Are their numbers dropping even faster than the graph below suggests?

Juniors.....The biggest drop however comes from the number of Juniors aged 19 years old. This group are much more likely to be involved in athletics rather than road races and are the future of track & field athletics. The number of Juniors dropped nationally by 37% in 2015 (-54% in Cork). It's possible that it's just a random drop as the numbers involved are small compared to the other groups but it may well represent a real problem. In the Junior Mens Cross Country race in Cork late last year, just two athletes took part which suggests that there is an issue.

Summary....In summary, the recent stats suggest that the membership of Athletics Ireland is being 'hollowed out'. There are plenty of children involved in the sport but by their late teens, they have mostly disappeared. Adults are joining in their 30's and 40's as part of the recreational running boom but there seems to be a big hole in the middle.

I think other sports may well have a large drop in numbers as well when members reach their late teens but I'm not so sure it's as dramatic? Again consider the graphs...juveniles growing year on year, juniors down 37% this year and back nearly to where it was in 2009. If that's not ringing alarm bells locally and nationally then it should be.

It raises two questions....
1) Why did the number of Juniors drop 37% in 2015?

2) What can be done to address it?

Comments?

Results of the Munster Masters Cross Country Championships...Sun 29th Nov 2015

The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships were held this year in Cappawhite, Co.Tipperary in what can only be described as pretty awful conditions. With all the rain, the course really got churned up and it was a sea of mud in places.

In the womens O35 team category, Mallow AC took Gold with Midleton AC taking Silver in the O45 team event. The Cork teams won both categories.

Women O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 Mallow A.C. 8, 20, 21, 24  ...73
2 Ennis Track A.C. 2, 17, 32, 40  ...91
3 Mooreabbey Milers A.C. 10, 26, 50, 52  ...138
4 West Limerick A.C. 37, 49, 51, 53  ...190

Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Cork 5, 7, 8, 11 ...31
2 Tipperary 9, 18, 26, 27 ...80
3 Clare 2, 17, 32, 37 ...88

Women O45 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 An Riocht A.C. 3, 6, 23 ...32
2 Midleton A.C. 13, 22, 39 ...74
3 Ennis Track A.C. 15, 38, 47 ...100

Women O45 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Cork 4, 12, 13, 14 ...43
2 Kerry 3, 6, 23, 25 ...57
3 Tipperary 35, 46, 59, 62 ...202

In the mens O35 team event, East Cork AC and Leevale AC renewed their old rivalry with the smaller club coming out on top this time. In the O50 team event, Youghal AC took Silver with Midleton AC taking Bronze. The Cork teams won the O35 inter-county event while they finished 3rd in the O50 section.

Men O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 East Cork A.C. 1, 10, 16, 26 53
2 Leevale A.C. 6, 12, 19, 43 80
3 Waterford A.C. 4, 9, 31, 40 84
4 West Waterford A.C. 2, 25, 29, 47 103
5 An Riocht A.C. 13, 17, 42, 46 118
6 Mallow A.C. 8, 27, 36, 50 121
7 Mooreabbey Milers A.C. 3, 20, 28, 89 140
8 Dundrum A.C. 24, 30, 39, 58 151
9 Coolquill A.C. 34, 35, 44, 49 162
10 Eagle A.C. 7, 18, 59, 82 166
11 Ennis Track A.C. 32, 48, 51, 61 192
12 West Limerick A.C. 38, 81, 83, 120 322

Men O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Cork 1, 7, 8, 10, 14, 18 58
2 Waterford 2, 4, 9, 25, 29, 31 100
3 Tipperary 3, 5, 20, 22, 24, 28 102
4 Limerick 21, 37, 38, 53, 54, 81 284
5 Clare 15, 32, 48, 51, 61, 108 315

Men O50 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 Ennis Track A.C. 63, 78, 98 239
2 Youghal A.C. 56, 93, 99 248
3 Midleton A.C. 71, 100, 119 290
4 Eagle A.C. 105, 117, 127 349

Men O50 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Tipperary 11, 41, 73, 76 201
2 Clare 60, 63, 67, 75 265
3 Cork 56, 71, 79, 92 298

There were plenty of category medals won by athletes from Cork. 

The full results can be seen on the Munster Athletics website. 

Photos... 
1) Mooreabbey Milers have a number of galleries... 23 here ...  26 here ... 17 here ... 9 here
2) West Waterford AC has a large gallery of photos HERE 

Nice & Dry in the Horse Box :o)

Results of the Cork County Masters Cross Country Championships...Sun 1st Nov 2015

The Cork County Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Conna on Sunday the 1st of November with dry and overcast conditions. In contrast to some of the cross country races, the Masters one seems to get a reasonable following with 84 in the men's race and 35 in the women's.

The chart below shows the numbers in the County Masters Cross Country since 2010. The men's numbers have been gradually increasing while the women's numbers seem to be relatively with an average of about 35-40 runners.

In terms of the numbers of teams, the slight increase in men's numbers meant that the M35 teams went from 9 last year to 10 this year. The M50 teams went from 3 to 4.

By contrast, the drop in the number of women had dramatic effect on the number of teams. Last year, there were 5 F35 teams and this dropped to just 2 in 2015. There was one F45 team last year and none this year.

Medal winners....Masters Men
Over 35 - 1 Tim Twomey  Leevale A.C., 2  Alan O'Brien Eagle A.C., 3 Paul Moloney Mallow A.C.
Over 40 - 1 Michael Harrington Bantry A.C., 2 Roy Fahy East Cork A.C., 3 Shane Simcox Mallow A.C.
Over 45 - 1 Frank Hayes East Cork A.C., 2 John Hennessy East Cork A.C., 3 Vivian Foley Eagle A.C.
Over 50 - 1 Noel Curtin Youghal A.C., 2 Mark Bickerdike Leevale A.C., 3 Denis McCarthy East Cork A.C.
Over 55 - 1 Neilus Aherne Midleton AC, 2 John Collins Leevale A.C., 3 Eddie O'Regan Youghal AC
Over 60 - 1 Joe Murphy Eagle A.C., 2 John Quigley Eagle A.C.
Over 65 - 1 Pat Twomey Eagle A.C.
Masters Men - Over 35 Teams
Place     Club     Positions     Points
1     East Cork A.C.     4, 5, 6, 8     23
2     Leevale A.C.     1, 14, 15, 16     46
3     Mallow A.C.     7, 12, 17, 23     59
4     Eagle A.C.     2, 9, 19, 65     95
5     St. Finbarrs A.C.     22, 33, 38, 47     140
6     Youghal A.C.     24, 33, 34, 62     153
7     West Muskerry A.C.     37, 41, 45, 51     174
8     St. Catherines (Cork) A.C.     21, 39, 56, 68     184
9     Carriag-Na-Bhfear A.C.     36, 46, 61, 73     216

Masters Men - Over 50 Teams
Place     Club     Positions     Points
1     Leevale A.C.     20, 30, 42, 49     141
2     Youghal A.C.     18, 52, 59, 63     192
3     Midleton A.C.     28, 44, 60, 66     198
4     Eagle A.C.     50, 55, 57, 69     231

Masters Women
Over 35 - 1 Ruth Millerick Youghal A.C., 2  Lorna Davey Fitzgerald Mallow A.C., 3 Niamh O'Connor East Cork A.C.
Over 40 - 1 Ronnie Barry Bandon A.C., 2 Ann-Marie Healy     St. Finbarrs A.C., 3 Evelyn Cashman Youghal A.C.
Over 45 - 1 Anna O'Neill Doheny A.C., 2 Margo Dinan St. Finbarrs A.C., 3 Clotilde Fitzgibbon Grange/Fermoy A.C.
Over 50 - 1 Marie Gillman Midleton AC, 2 Sally Drennan Midleton AC, 3 Celia O'Regan Youghal AC
Over 55 - 1 Joan Hough Midleton AC
Over 60 - 1 Carmel Parnell Leevale A.C., 2 Marion Lyons St. Finbarrs A.C.

Masters Women - Over 35 Teams
Place     Club     Positions     Points
1     Mallow A.C.     3, 10, 11, 12     36
2     Youghal A.C.     1, 6, 20, 28     55

Masters Women - Over 45 Teams
Place     Club     Positions     Points
1    Midleton AC   13, 25, 26    64
2    St Catherine's AC    23, 31, 34    88

In the Junior races, the big suprise was the drop in numbers in the Junior Men with just 2 turning out. If I read the rules correctly then Junior Men are those aged 16 to 19 years old? As you might expect from a narrow age group, the numbers are always likely to be low but for some reason this year, the junior men stayed away.

 
Junior Women
Pos     Name     Team
1     Maeve Ahearne     Leevale A.C.
2     Maeve McTaggert     Togher A.C.
3     Sharon O'Sullivan     West Muskerry A.C.
Junior Women - Teams
1     Togher A.C.     2, 4, 6, 8

Junior Men
Pos     Name     Team
1     Seamus Gallagher     West Muskerry A.C.
2     James Murray Good     Old Abbey A.C.

The full results can be seen on the County Board website.

Masters Men

Masters Women

Results of the Munster Masters Cross Country Championships...Sun 30th Nov 2014

The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Watergrasshill on Sunday the 30th of November 2014.  In terms of conditions, it could hardly have been any better with blue skies and sunshine and a very gentle breeze.

As cross country events go, there was a very large turnout. When the juvenile events were on, the centre of the field seemed to be full of people. It had the feel of a national event and certainly way more than would be expected in a county championships. Looking at the results for last year in Kerry, there was 127 men and 56 women in the Masters races. This year in Watergrasshill, there was 182 men and 66 women.....an increase of 43% and 18% respectively. Obviously holding it near a population centre like Cork City helps but easy access from the M8 motorway is obviously a big factor as well.

Mallow AC...1st team in the F35 section

Womens team results......

Women O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Mallow 10, 13, 18, 25...66 pts
2 Farranfore Maine Valley 1, 6, 32, 41...80 pts
3 Ennis Track 15, 23, 34, 36...108 pts

Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 3, 4, 7, 8...22 pts (Ruth Millerick, Evelyn Cashman, Deirdre Nagle, Ann-Marie Holland)
2 Kerry 1, 6, 32, 6...105 pts

Women O45 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 An Riocht 2, 17, 4...63 pts
2 Midleton 24, 26, 51...101 pts
3 St. Finbarr's 12, 46, 65...123 pts

Women O45 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 5, 19, 21...45 pts (Carmel Parnell, Clotilde Fitzgibbon, Anna O'Neill)
2 Kerry 2, 17, 33...52 pts
3 Clare 15, 29, 37...81 pts

Mens team results...
Men O35 Club Team Points
1 Leevale 1, 7, 21, 30...59 /// 2 Moreabbey Milers 2, 1, 15, 59...87 /// 3 St. Finbarr's 8, 13, 27, 42...90

Men O35 County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10...33 (Tim Twomey, Kenneth Kelleher, Michael Dullea, Michael Harrington, John O'Connell, Frank Hayes)
2 Tipperary 2, 9, 1, 15, 17, 34...88
3 Clare 12, 23, 26, 27, 32, 40...160

Men O50 Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Leevale 53, 58, 10...21 /// 2 Dundrum 41, 102, 159...302 /// 3 Kilmurry Ibrickane/N.Clare 95, 96, 145...336

Men O50 County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 53, 58, 66, 88...265 (John Collins, Mark Bickerdike, Eamonn McEvoy, Stan Byczek)
2 Tipperary 41, 97, 74, 97...284
3 Clare 56, 7, 95, 96...324

The official results from Munster Athletics can be seen HERE

Note from the Munster Athletics website.."Please note that any Masters results already published elsewhere online are incorrect." The correct results can be found at the link above.

Photos....(Updated Wed 3rd Dec @4pm)
1) Shannon AC have some HERE 
2) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has loads of photos HERE 
3) Conor Tierney of East Cork AC has a gallery HERE    

Results & photos of the Cork AAI Masters Cross Country Championships - Sun 12th Oct 2014

The Cork AAI Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Conna on Sunday the 12th of October 2014. The event was hosted by St.Catherines AC on what was a challenging but fair course with a nice mixture of uphill and downhill running.

Carmel Crowley of Bandon AC leads from the gun to take the win in the womens masters race

 
The category winners are shown below...

Masters Men
M35...1st Michael Dullea West Cork, 2nd Rory O'Sullivan St. Finbarr's AC, 3rd Kenneth Kelleher    East Cork AC
M40...1st Michael Harrington    West Cork, 2nd John Hogan Mallow AC, 3rd Liam Slattery Mallow AC
M45...1st Frank Hayes East Cork AC, 2nd Donncha O'Mahony East Cork AC, 3rd Eric Meade East Cork AC
M50...1st Mark Bickerdike, Leevale AC, 2nd John Collins Leevale AC, 3rd Colm Murphy Leevale AC
M55...1st Eddie O'Regan Youghal AC, 2nd Joe Murphy Eagle AC, 3rd Pat Maloney North Cork AC
M60...1st Eamonn McEvoy St. Finbarr's AC, 2nd Pat Twomey Eagle AC, 3rd Maurice Tobin Grange Fermoy AC
M35 Teams...1st East Cork AC 36pts, 2nd Mallow AC 51pts, 3rd Leevale AC 60pts
M50 Teams...1st Leevale AC 56pts, 2nd Eagle 159pts

Masters Women
F35...1st Mags Dempsey Tracton AC, 2nd Ruth Millerick Youghal AC, 3rd Deirdre Nagle Eagle AC
F40...1st Ronnie Barry Bandon AC, 2nd Evelyn Cashman Youghal AC, 3rd Gillian Cotter St. Finbarr's AC
F45...1st Carmel Crowley Bandon AC, 2nd Anna O'Neill Doheny AC, 3rd Sally Drennan Midleton AC
F50...1st Maria Hurley Bantry AC, 2nd Angela McEvoy St.Finbarr's AC, 3rd Meg Murphy Mallow AC
F55...1st Joan Hough Midleton AC
F35 Teams...1st Mallow AC 66pts, 2nd Youghal AC 76pts, 3rd Eagle AC 78pts
F45 Team...1st Midleton AC 40pts

The Cork Athletics Board have the full results of the masters and juvenile races HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a gallery HERE
2) The Cork AAI has some photos HERE
3) Bandon AC have a few photos of their own athletes HERE

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

Tony Kelleher of Togher AC sets new Irish 800m Masters record...

A ne Irish record was set at the Munster Senior & Masters Track and Field Championships at the CIT track in Bishopstown today. In the mens 800m, Tony Kelleher of Togher AC finished in a time of 2m 00.03s to set a new national Over 45 record.

The previous record was held by Ken Deevey from Kilkenny who ran 2:01.57 at the World Masters Championships in San Sebastien, Spain back in 2005.

Having previously broken the 2 minute barrier on several occasions, no doubt Tony will be seeking to break his new record again.

Results of the Cork Novice & Master Road Championships, Midleton - Sun 2nd Mar 2014

The Cork AAI Novice & Masters road championships were held in Midleton, East Cork on Sunday the 2nd of March with both men and women competing over a 4 mile course. The races were very well organised and it's a credit to the host club Midleton AC for doing such a fine job.

One of Cork's newest clubs Watergrasshill AC competing in their first county road championships

 
These are the top 3 in each race...
1 25:27 MCDAID, Ailbhe Leevale AC (Novice) F 06:21.6
2 25:39 HAYES, Orla Leevale AC (Novice) F 06:24.6
3 25:43 O'NEILL, Anna Doheny AC F40 06:25.6
1 20:44 MOORE, Colm Leevale AC (Novice) M35 05:10.9
2 21:27 SOSNOWSKI, Wieslaw Eagle AC M40 05:21.7
3 21:32 O'CONNELL, John Leevale AC (Novice) M35 05:22.9

The team results will be out later but in the meantime, you can find the individual times HERE

Provisional Team Results...
Womens Novice
1) Leevale AC...21 pts ...2) Mallow AC...43 pts ...3) Eagle AC...63 pts 
Womens Masters
1) Mallow AC...56 pts ...2) Eagle AC...68 pts ...3) Midleton AC...90 pts
Women Masters F45
??

Mens Novice
1) Leevale AC...15 pts ...2) Eagle AC...40 pts ...3) East Cork AC...69 pts
Mens Masters
1) Leevale AC...25 pts ...2) Eagle AC...50 pts ...3) East Cork AC...51 pts
Mens Masters M50
1) Youghal AC...151 pts ...2) Eagle AC...162 pts ...3) Midleton AC...220 pts

Photos...
1) Kieran Minihane has a gallery HERE

Results of the Cork Cty Masters Track & Field Championships...Sat 13th July 2013

The Cork County Masters Track & Field Championships were held at the CIT track in Bishopstown on Saturday, the 13th of July 2013.

The full results can be seen HERE

Cork Teams score well in the Munster Masters X-Country...Sun 2nd Dec 2012

The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships were held in Newmarket-on-Fergus in Co.Clare last Sunday, the 2nd of December. In the womens Over 35 section, the Cork team took first place ahead of Kerry and Clare. In the mens Over 35 section, the Cork team repeated the feat by taking first as well. In the mens Over 50 section, the Cork team took second place.

Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 4, 6, 7, 8 25
2 Kerry 1, 2, 10, 16 43
3 Clare 2, 5, 17, 19 59

Men O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Cork 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17 41
2 Tipperary 3, 11, 13, 15, 18, 23 83
3 Clare 1, 10, 16, 19, 20, 41 107

Men O50 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Clare 32, 40, 42, 43 157
2 Cork 27, 35, 51, 56 169
3 Kerry 39, 54, 72, 113 278

Full results HERE

Photo courtesy of Joe Murphy

Results of the Cty Intermediate & Masters X-Country Champs...Sun 18th Nov 2012

The Cork County Intermediate and Masters Cross Country Championships were held last Sunday, the 18th of November in what might be described as appalling conditions. After a dry morning, the heavens opened up later to give everyone present a fine soaking on what was a tough hilly course.

Looking through the photos, it seems like an interesting course......more like what a real cross country course should be like as opposed to laps around a farmers field.

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos.....
1) Gearoid O'Laoi has a gallery of photos HERE
2) The Cork County Board have their own gallery HERE

British & Irish Masters Cross Country...Sat 10th Nov 2012

The British and Irish Masters Cross Country International was held in Belfast last Saturday, the 10th of November. Included in the Irish team were Carmel Parnell (Leevale AC), Carmel Crowley (Bandon AC), Mary Sweeney (St.Finbarr's AC) from Cork and Niamh O'Sullivan (An Riocht AC) from Kerry.

Carmel Parnell won the W55 category while Niamh O'Sullivan was second in the W50. It would also seem as if the womens race was not without controversy as Ireland's Barbara Cleary stopped just short of the finish line having thought that she had finished. She had been well clear of the other runners in the last lap. A despondent Cleary crossed the line in 21:36 to take 3rd place.

Saturday November 11
British and Irish Masters' Cross-Country International, Queen's Playing Fields,  Belfast.
Women...1 Claire Martin (Eng) 21.21, 2 Julie Turley (N Ire) 21.34, 3 Barbara Cleary (Ire) 21.36. Categories -  W35: Claire Martin (Eng). W40: Jackie Carthy (Ire). W45: Philippa Taylor. W50: 1 Fiona Matheson (Eng), 2 Niamh O'Sullivan (Ire). W55: 1 Carmel Parnell (Ire). W60: Janice Neeham (Eng). W65: Dot Fellows (Eng).
Men...M35-45- 1 Andy Morgan Lee (Eng, M40) 26.55, 2 Ciaran Doherty (Ire, M35) 26.59, 3 Stephen Duncan (N Ire, M35) 27.00. M50-55: 1 Graeme Saker (Eng) 27.22; 2 Deon McNeilly (N Ire) 27.25; 3 Tommy Payne (Ire) 27.32.  Categories-  M35: Doherty.  M40: Lee. M45?; M50: 1 Saker, 2 McNeilly, 3 Payne. M55: Davis Butler (Eng). M60: Mike Hager (Eng).
Open races - Women...1 Jo Coates (St Edmund's,  Eng) 23.23; 2 Gillian Carr (Clydesdale Hrs, Sco) 24.16; 3 Maureen McCarthy ( W Suffolk, Eng) 24.50; 4 Shileen O'Kane (Lagan Valley, NI) .  
Men...1 David McNeilly (Newcastle, NI) 28.52; 2 Stephen Smith (Preston, Eng) 28.58; 3 Greg Lavery (Larne AC, NI) 29.13. 

The full results can be seen HERE

68 year old Rae Baymiller sets 15k record in New York...

Rae Baymiller, 68, set a single-age world record in the New York Colon Cancer Challenge 15K on Sunday, running 1:07:36 to win the 65-69 age group and finish 33rd out of 1,464 women. Her time smashed the previous record by almost nine minutes. According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, Baymiller currently owns five single-age world records:

15K, Age 54 (59:03) and Age 67 (1:06:43);
Half-Marathon, Age 67 (1:33:43) and Age 68 (1:37:50);
Marathon, Age 55: 2:52:14

Baymiller ran her first race, the 1992 Twin Cities Marathon, at the age of 49, finishing in 3:18. But that’s not to say that the training came naturally. “My body just fought it,” she said. “The first time I finished the six-mile loop around Central Park, I sat on a rock with an ice cream and thought, ‘I made it!’”

For seven or eight years, Baymiller tore through the age-group record books before taking what she thought would be a short break from competitive running. The break stretched to over a decade before Baymiller came back in 2010, immediately breaking the U.S. 65-69 age-group record for 15K at the Ted Corbitt 15K.

Just because Baymiller doesn’t know how many records she has set doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in setting them. “I really would like to get the 15K age-group world record and the half-marathon age-group world record, for myself and for the aging population” she says. “People get into their 60s and kind of give up, and you should just never give up. Some of these older runners are just amazing. It’s wonderful. I would like to be part of that group.”

Masters athletes in the USA get caught for doping

You would think that cheating and doping in sports would be confined to young athletes but it doesn't seem so. In 2011, the US Anti-Doping agency have caught 11 masters athletes...one in his 50's and three in their 60's. While some can be explained away by people taking certain medications because of their age, there are others who are doping to enhance their athletic performance in competitions.

At that age, you'd have to wonder what's the point? It's not like there is some huge amount of money at stake?........or is it a case of old habits die hard???

There is an article about it on the Associated Press website