Notice...MMRA Boggeragh Mtns Trail Race - Sun 15th Mar 2015

As well as there been plenty of road races locally, the Munster Mountain Running Association have their own series of trail races on various hills and mountains in the province.

Here is some information from them about their fourth race of 2015....Race number 4 of 6 in the Munster Sunday League.

From the MMRA...The race will start at 1pm sharp on Sunday and registration will take place in Bweeng Community Centre from 11:45am-12:45pm. The race will cost €10 and is open to all. However, please note, there will not be a junior race at this event or a Tiny Tots, so unfortunately no one under the age of 18 can run it. However, there is access to an 800m looped running/walk area accessible from the community centre which energetic little ones can trot around. And if they haven't burnt off enough energy with that, there is also a playground which families can use.
If you have already run an IMRA race this year, please bring the race number assigned to you at that race as it is valid for the rest of the 2015 season.

However, If this is your first IMRA race of 2015, please aware that ALL race participants MUST purchase IMRA membership for 2015 and cost is €10 per person for the 2015 calendar year. Please note this is a separate one-off yearly payment, in addition to race cost. Please download the membership form, print and bring filled out form to race (leave the race number field blank - you will be allocated a race number for 2015 on the day). This race number is to kept and used in all subsequent 2015 races.

Also, as of the start of January, it is MANDATORY to carry a rain jacket for ALL IMRA races. PLEASE note that under our new national rules, you cannot be allowed to race officially without this ... no exceptions.

Directions....You can find maps and directions to this event here... http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/03/misc011.html

Organisers of VHI womens mini-marathon in Dublin reverse ban on male guide runners

Sinead Kane is a visually impaired runner who has 5% vision in both eyes. She takes part in races with the assistance of a guide runner and has competed in several races in Cork.

In February of this year, she completed a 50km Ultra-Marathon in Donadea in Kildare with Irish international ultra runner John O'Regan as her guide.

A story that has been doing the rounds in the media for the last 48 hours is the fact that after she had entered the VHI Womens mini-marathon in Dublin on the June Bank Holiday Monday, she was told that John O'Regan couldn't run with her because he is a man. Considering that there are plenty of men running in dresses and costumes and raising funds for charity in the same event anyway, it was a daft decision.

On Twitter, Sinead expressed her own feelings on it.....
As blind female runner saddens me the decision that I am not allowed male guide to "assist" me in race. If I could see I would run myself!
Can anyone in Ireland please explain 2me why as a blind runner I am denied the right 2have a "male" guide in a Dublin race??? #disability
It was picked up by several media soruces with a pretty heavy backlash against against the organisers...... http://www.the42.ie/visually-impaired-runner-womens-mini-marathon-1986440-Mar2015/

This morning, the organisers finally relented and changed the rules to allow male guide runners to participate.... http://www.the42.ie/womens-mini-marathon-1987703-Mar2015/

Both Sinead and John were interviewed on the Anton Savage Show on Today FM today. You can listen to Part 1 here
19:48 to 30:21.....Sinead and John outlining the initial ban
38:50 to 41:06.....Listeners reactions

Part 2 here
10:20 to 12:40...Organisers reversal
16:40 to 20:00...Sinead's emotional reaction

The most suprising part of the whole saga is how the race organisers thought that banning a guide runner because of their gender was acceptable anyway??

Sinead has her own website here... http://sineadkane.ie/

Notice...The Great Railway Run...Cork-Monkstown-Shanbally-Carrigaline...Sun 19th Apr 2015

This event was held on the May Bank Holiday last year and this year, it moves back to Sunday the 19th of April 2015 .There are a choice of three distances.......a 25 km race starting at 9:30am from Cork City to Carrigaline, a 10 km race from Monkstown to Carrigaline starting at 10:45am or a 5 km run/walk from Shanbally to Carrigaline starting at 11:30am.

The run will roughly follow the route of the old Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway which ran from 1850 until 1932.

For a large part of the run, the route will follow the old railway line that skirts the shores of Cork Harbour. Each event will finish at Carrigaline GAA Club. Shower facilities will be available in the GAA Club after the race and there will be bus transport to take runners back to the start areas after the race.

The entry fees are as follows...

               Before 17/3/2015       Normal Price      Late registration

5K...............€10.20..............................€12..............................€17
10K.............€17...................................€20..............................€30
25K.............€25.50...............................€30..............................€40

Proceeds from the event will go towards Carrigaline Lions Club

More details on the event website.

A full preview of the course can be seen HERE 

Notice...Munster Ladies Mini-Marathon - Sun 3rd May 2015

This Munster Ladies Charity Mini-Marathon is a brand new event and is coming up in Mallow in N.Cork on Sunday the 3rd of May 2015. The distance is 7kms and it will be accurately measured by Jone Counter.

The primary purpose of the event is to raise much needed funds for several different charities. It is open to everyone....runners, joggers and walkers.

The race website is http://munsterladiesminimarathon.com/

They also have a Facebook page

The entry fee is €20 and you can enter on the race website above. You'll find details of the course there as well.

Ballycotton 10 numbers...1978 to 2015

You can be looking at numbers until you're blue in the face but sometimes a nice simple graph makes the data jump out. The chart below shows the number of finishers every year since 1978...total, sub 60 mins, sub 70 mins and sub 80 mins....

a) Overall Numbers....As you can see, after an initial surge it was steady for most of the late 80's....grew slowly until about 2003-4 and then it really took off. The dip in 2001 was due to the Foot & Mouth crisis when the March event was cancelled and it was held in June instead. The record peak in 2006 was when the organisers left entries open until a certain date I think and loads of people entered. It's been restricted since then but the numbers turning up has been growing gradually.

b) 80 plus finishers......In the 'Results & Photos post', a number of people left comments saying people didn't require water for a 10 mile race. Perhaps that might have been the case before the year 2000 when most finishers were running under 80 minutes. That is no longer the case and as you can see above, those with finishing times over 80 minutes now make up a clear majority.

c) Fast runners......The numbers are small but I think you can see that the numbers breaking the hour mark  in recent times are down on the numbers back in the 80's and 90's. It's remarkable how steady the number of the sub 70 minute runners has been. It's about the same every year since 1983 despite the huge jump in overall numbers. For the last decade, the number of sub 80 minute runners has been pretty steady.

d) Women.....One major factor in the graph above is that there are now a lot more women running. Years ago, the % of women in the race was down around 20-25% whereas now, it's about 39%. As women in general are slower than men, they would account for a lot of the finishers over the 80 minute mark.

Another stat to consider is this. Last December, about 3700 people entered the Ballycotton 10. Last Sunday, about 2700 took part which means 1000 people didn't make it to the start line. That's about 27%. No doubt some people got injured or maybe they had to work but I'd guess the majority of that 1000 are people who had great intentions of doing it last December but never ended up doing the training. The remarkable thing is that it is pretty consistent every year...about 1000 don't turn up.

Notice...Passage West Community 10k road race - Fri 24th Apr 2015

The Passage West Community 10k road race was first held in 2013 and is on this year on Friday the 24th of April at 7:30pm.

Located to the south-east of Cork City and just a 10 minute drive from the South-Ring road, this 10k race is in close proximity to a lot of people...

The course itself takes in waterfront walkways and some country roads to the west of the town. It certainly isn't an easy course and it can be split into two halves. The first 3.5 miles are pretty flat while there are some 'nice' hills in the second half ;o)

The course was measured by Jones Counter and it has an Athletics Ireland licence.

The local GAA club are offering their facilities for registrations, changing area, showers, post race refreshments and prize giving. Supervised car parks are available at the GAA grounds and the Soccer club.

Proceeds from this years race go towards the Cork City Hospitals Children's Club. During the year, they bring sick and deserving children from CUH, Mercy Hospital, St. Gabriel's and the Cork Deaf Association on numerous trips, as well as hosting many fun and exciting events.

To enter and for more info, go to the race website... http://passagewest10k.wordpress.com/

Preview...A full preview of the 10 km course can be seen HERE

Online entries for the Ballintotis 4 mile now open...

Online entries for the 2015 Ballintotis 4 mile road race are now open. Go to http://www.ballintotis.com/

Please note there is no on line entry for walkers, who register on the evening of the race in Ballintotis

The race is on Thursday April 16th at 8pm and traditionally marks the start of the summer evening races in Cork.

More info in this earlier post.

Results & Photos of the 2015 Ballycotton 10 road race...Sun 8th Mar 2015

Conditions were almost perfect for this years Ballycotton 10 mile road race. The temperature was about 8 deg C, a gentle breeze with blue skies and sunshine. At times though, it felt an awful lot warmer. Once we turned that corner about 5.7 miles and the wind was to our back, the heat seemed to soar and it felt more like mid July than March.

In the mens race, Sergiu Ciobanu finished 1st to make it 5 years in a row.

These are the top 10 men and women...

Top 3 men...L-R Seah Hehir 2nd, Sergiu Ciobanu 1st & Alan O'Shea 3rd. Photo credit: Kieran Minihane

1 Sergiu Ciobanu        Clonliffe Harriers    M    M    1    (49:03)    49:03
2 Sean Hehir        Rathfarnham-WSAF AC    M    M    4    (49:14)    49:14
3 Alan O Shea        Bantry AC    M    M    23    (50:37)    50:38
4 Greg Roberts        City of Derry AC    M    M    21    (51:26)    51:26
5 James McCarthy        East Cork AC    M    M    3    (51:44)    51:44
6 Tim O'Donoghue        East Cork AC    M    M    2    (52:18)    52:19
7 Trevor Power        Waterford AC    M    M    47    (52:22)    52:24
8 Colin Merritt        Carraig na bhFear AC    M    M40    6    (52:44)    52:45
9 Sean McGrath        East Cork AC    M    M    5    (52:54)    52:54
10 Chris Harrington        Leevale AC    M    M    10    (52:58)    52:59
1 Maria McCambridge        DSD AC    F    F35    12    (54:20)    54:20
2 Siobhan O’Doherty        Borrisokane AC    F    F    11    (57:23)    57:24
3 Claire McManus        North Shields Poly AC    F    F35    3683    (1:00:58)    1:00:59
4 Aoife Cooke        unatt/Youghal    F    F    3615    (1:01:09)    1:01:28
5 Aileen Flynn        unatt/Dublin    F    F35    2647    (1:02:03)    1:02:06
6 Ann-Marie Holland        St. Finbarrs AC    F    F40    1156    (1:02:34)    1:02:38
7 Laoise Ni Thuama        unatt/Cork    F    F    2124    (1:03:46)    1:03:54
8  Sharon Grant        Portlaoise AC    F    F    973    (1:03:57)    1:04:03
9 Adele Walsh        St. Senans AC    F    F35    1235    (1:04:12)    1:04:15
10 Helen Leonard        Leevale AC    F    F40    661    (1:04:44)    1:04:47

The provisional results are up on the Precision Timing website HERE


If you spot any errors or you're missing then let them know. They will correct mistakes over the next day or two and the official results will then be put on the Ballycotton 10 website.

There is also a copy of the results in one big list which might be handy if you want to copy and paste results for your own club. Click HERE 

Photos........(Updated Tues 10pm)
1) Kieran Minihane has 400 photos HERE
2) Alan Bannon of Eagle AC has 900 photos HERE
3) Mick Dooley of Eagle AC has a small gallery of 20 photos HERE 
4) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a gallery of about 60 photos HERE 
5) Gearóid Ó Laoi has a huge number of photos in his photostream on Flickr. Click HERE
6) Ballymore Cobh AC have a gallery HERE 

Photos...Facebook account required to view
1) Six year old Noah O'Shea has about 80 photos HERE
2) Siobhan Russell has an album HERE 

Check out this short video from the Irish Examiner...

Maria McCambridge...winner of the 2015 Ballycotton 10 race and setting a new course record in the process. Photo Credit: Alan Bannon

Mark English wins Silver at the European Indoor Championships in Prague

At the final day of the European Indoor Championships in Prague, Mark English from Donegal finished second in the final of the 800m to take Silver.

This was Mark's second major medal having won Bronze in the 800m at the European Championships in Zurich in 2014.

The race video is available on the RTE Player service ...pull the slider forward to 25:00 mins.

Post race interview...

Photo Credit : James Veale of West Waterford AC

Schedule for the final day at the European Indoor Championships...Sun 8th Mar 2015

The European Indoor Championships have been on in Prague since Friday and various Irish competitors have bowed out in the heats.

There are two Irish competitors left at this stage......Mark English in the 800m and John Travers in the 1500m.

This is the schedule for the running events in the final day......

Sunday 08 March 2015 – afternoon
13:30    60 m    W    SF
13:55    60 m    M    SF
14:15    800 m    W    F
14:30    800 m – Mark English    M    F
15:10    1500 m    W    F
15:30    1500 m – John Travers    M    F
15:55    60 m    W    F
16:15    60 m    M    F 
16:35    4×400 m    W    F
16:55    4×400 m    M    F

RTE2 TV have coverage from 2pm. There is live coverage online at http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/ea/index.html

The race at 2:30pm will certainly be worth worth watching as Mark has a really good chance of getting a medal.

Latest weather for the Ballycotton 10

The rain cleared a bit earlier than usual and as of 8:30am, the clouds are clearing over Cork. See photo. As you can see, there is a mixture of clouds and clear skies to the west. The arrow shows the  wind direction. I'd guess an odd shower isn't out of the question but it's looking pretty good.

Final post for the 2015 Ballycotton 10 race

Here we go, final post of a busy week...

1) Again a reminder........you SHOULD NOT transfer your number to any other runner if you are not running! In a recent race, a female runner give her number to a male, leading the said female appearing in the results as a prize-winner! You might think it's no big deal but it creates a huge problem for the organisers of the race. You also signed an entry form saying you wouldn't transfer your number.

2) Don't forget your race number....stick it on the front of your singlet / t-shirt the night before. Remember, the timing chip is built into it.

3) Get there early! Get to the car parks in the fields by 11:30am and to the start by 1:15pm. Traffic is restricted a long way away from Ballycotton and you'll be directed to an outlying car park if you are late. Road side parking is not allowed by the Gardai. Avoid disappointment...be early.

4) Ballycotton T-shirts and clothing....

Ballycotton ‘10’ 2015 Clothing Prices
New Items for 2015
Back Packs, with Logo – Black & Green €10
Zipped Hoodies – Navy €20

Sale Stock
Zipped Hoodies – Brown (Large Only) €15
Zipped Hoodies  – Olive Green (Medium Only) €15
Zipped Hoodies -  Pink €15
Half Zipped Sweat Shirt - Grey
T-Shirts – Red €8
T-Shirts – Green €8
T-Shirts – Dark Blue €8
Long Sleeve T-Shirts – Light Blue €5
Zipped Hoodies  –  Pink €15

All clothing items will be for sale in Community Hall/School beside marquee, from 10am onwards. Please bring correct money where possible.

6) Weather Forecast......It looks as if it may well be wet on Sunday morning. The rain is forecast to clear about noon so hopefully, it will be gone by the time the race starts at 1:30pm. It will be mild enough with a temp of about 10 deg. There should be a light breeze of about 10mph/15kph from the north-west. See map above....it will be into your face for the first half and behind you for the second half.

7) John Buckley Sports  will have a shop at the race headquarters at the school. They will have their usual special offers for Ballycotton with deep discounts off selected items.




......and finally here is a video clip from Fergus Meade of the start of the 2011 Ballycotton 10. You can see how narrow the road is and just how many people take part in this race...

Notice...Knocknagree 5k run/walk - Sun 8th Mar 2015

Of course, the Ballycotton 10 isn't the only event on next Sunday. If you are living in north-west Cork then you might be interested in this 5k in Knocknagree.

Knocknagree is a small village on the road between Rathmore and Ballydesmond. I don't have a whole lot of info on this other than the fact that the entry fee is €10 for adults, €5 for children, €20 for families and it has an Athletics Ireland permit.

You can see a map on the Gneeveguilla AC website.

Preview & Audio description of the Ballycotton 10 course...

With the clock ticking down to the Ballycotton 10 mile road race next Sunday, you can find all the details about the course here... http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/01/cork003.html

Thanks to John Cashman of C103 who put together a great series of interviews which have been on the site for the last few days.

In the final installment below, John describes the course in his own words. Have a listen and refer to the map further down.

Derval O'Rourke finally to get European Bronze medal...

In the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Gothenburg at the start of March 2013, Nevin Yanit won the Gold in the womens 60m hurdles. Derval O'Rourke finished 4th in that final. Since that time, Yanit failed a drug test and as such, she should be stripped of her Gold medal which would move Derval up into bronze.

After appeals and a long process, Yanit was finally given a 3 year ban today. It is now clears the way for Derval O'Rourke to get her Bronze medal.

The Irish Independent have the story HERE