Notice...Newmarket 5km road race - Sun 18th Dec 2016

This popular 5 km road race is coming up in the town of Newmarket in North-West Cork on Sunday the 18th of December. This is a fast 5k course and gets a good turnout every year.

The race HQ is at the High Street Bar (see preview). As you can see from the race flyer above, there are lots of generous prizes on offer and the entry fee is €10.

Course Preview...Lots more info including directions, photos, course details, etc can be seen HERE

This race is organised by Duhallow Athletic Club. More info on their website... https://duhallowac.wordpress.com/

Details for the 2017 Ballycotton 10 available Thurs 1st Dec

It's that time of year again! The 2017 Ballycotton 10 mile road race will be held on Sunday the 12th of March at 1:30pm.

The entry procedure(including online details and dates) will be published on the Ballycotton Running Promotions website on Thursday December 1st.

Make sure to make a note of it. Tell any friends that might be interested. You need to keep your eye on the ball with these entries as they sell out fast.

Irish team announced for the European Cross Country Championships

The Irish team was announced yesterday for the European Cross Country Championships in Chia, Italy on December 11th and includes a number of athletes from Cork.

In the Senior men's section, Mark Hanrahan secured selection with his 3rd place finish in the

Senior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Mark Christie Mullingar Harriers A.C.  Jerry Kiernan
2 Mick Clohisey Raheny Shamrock A.C.  Dick Hooper
3 Mark Hanrahan  Leevale A.C. Martin McCarthy
4 Liam Brady  Tullamore Harriers A.C.    Paul McNamara
5 Paul Pollock Annadale Striders A.C.    Andy Hobdell
6 Kevin Dooney Raheny Shamrock A.C. Jerry Kiernan

Junior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
3 Darragh McElhinney    Bantry A.C.    Steve Macklin
4 Fearghal Curtain    Youghal A.C.    Noel Curtin
6 Charlie O'Donovan    Leevale A.C.    Ken Nason/Michelle O'Donovan

In the Senior women's section, Michelle Finn from Cork and Shona Heaslip and Laura Crowe from Kerry were selected.

Senior Women....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Shona Heaslip    An Riocht A.C.  Niamh O'Sullivan
2 Kerry O'Flaherty    Newcastle & District A.C. Richard Rogers
3 Ciara Mageean    U.C.D. A.C. Jerry Kiernan
4 Fionnuala McCormack  Kilcoole A.C.   
5 Laura Crowe    An Riocht A.C. Donie Walsh
6 Michelle Finn    Leevale A.C.  Donie Walsh

L-R...Kerry O'Flaherty, Shona Heaslip, Ciara Mageean, Laura Crowe and Michelle Finn

Results & photos of the National Cross Country Championships...Sun 27th Nov 2016

This years National Cross Country Championships were held in Dublin on Sunday the 27th of Nov 2016 and a lot of the top runners in the country were there. The performance of the day came from Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry who won the women's title.

28:13 1 Shona Heaslip An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
423 28:23 2 Kerry O'Flaherty Newcastle & District AC
279 28:24 3 Ciara Mageean U.C.D. A.C.
319 28:30 4 Laura Crowe An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
251 28:33 5 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)

Place Club Positions Points
1 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. (A) 9, 11, 13, 21 ... 54
2 Leevale A.C. (A) 5, 14, 29, 36 ...84 (5 Michelle Finn, 14 Sinead O'Connor, 29 Carol Finn, 36 Michelle Kenny)
3 An Riocht A.C. (A) 1, 4, 54, 73 ... 132 (1 Shona Heaslip, 4 Laura Crowe, 54 Niamh O'Sullivan, 73 Sharon Cahill)

County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Dublin (A) 3, 11, 13, 25 ... 52
2 Cork (A) 5, 14, 17, 19 ... 55 (5 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C., 14 Sinead O'Connor Leevale A.C., 17 Martina Kiely St. Finbarrs A.C., 19 Emma Murphy St. Finbarrs A.C.)
3 Kerry (A) 1, 4, 20, 45 ... 70 (1 Shona Heaslip An Riocht A.C., 4 Laura Crowe An Riocht A.C., 20 Grace Lynch Iveragh A.C., 45 Maria McCarthy Farranfore Maine Valley A.C.)

In the men's event, Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC took the Bronze.

220 30:41 1 Mark Christie Mullingar Harriers A.C.
47 30:53 2 Michael Clohisey Raheny Shamrock A.C. Raheny Shamrock A.C. (1) (A)
21 30:57 3 Mark Hanrahan Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)
83 31:15 4 Liam Brady Tullamore Harriers A.C. Tullamore Harriers A.C. (B)
243 31:18 5 Paul Pollock Annadale Striders

Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 Raheny Shamrock A.C. (1) (A) 2, 6, 11, 19 ...
2 Ennis Track A.C. (C) 18, 22, 23, 38 ...
3 Leevale A.C. (A) 3, 17, 32, 52 ... (3 Mark Hanrahan, 17 Ben Thistlewood, 32 Tim Twomey, 52 Barry O'Donovan)

County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Dublin (A) 2, 6, 11, 15, 19, 28 ...81 pts
2 Clare (A) 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 38 ...136 pts
3 Cork (A) 3, 12, 17, 20, 32, 52 ...136 pts  (3 Mark Hanrahan Leevale A.C., 12 Sean McGrath East Cork A.C., 17 Ben Thistlewood Leevale A.C., 20 Michael Harty East Cork A.C., 32 Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. 52 Barry O'Donovan Leevale A.C.)

For whatever reason Michael Herlihy who finished in 47th position wasn't counted in the Cork team? This would have moved them into Silver position. (47 Michael Herlihy North Cork A.C.)

The full results of both race can be found here...  http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/

Photos....
1) West Waterford AC have plenty of photos on their Facebook page. Women's Race ...  Men's Race
2) Keith McClure has a gallery HERE

Fionnuala McCormack wins Cross Country race in Spain

As part of her preparation for the European Cross Country Championships in December, Fionnuala McCormack was in action in a high class cross country race in Spain.  On a course that was just over 8kms in lenght, the Irish athlete finished first.

Report from the IAAF.....

Photos of the RNLI Reindeer Run 5k in Fota...Sun 27th Nov 2016

The RNLI Reindeer Run 5k was held in Fota House and Gardens on Sunday the 27th of November. There are a small number of photos HERE

Frosty conditions last weekend...

This is one photo I came across which really highlights some of the conditions over the weekend. The photo shows some of the runners in the 5k parkrun in Macroom last Saturday morning. While there was no snow, there was a hard frost which turned everything white in this sheltered spot.

On Sunday, the 4 mile race in Glenville had to be cancelled due to ice on the roads.

For the next while, it's a bit milder but there is still high pressure over the country. While it's cloudy in Cork today, expect more frosts if the skies clear.

Alex O'Shea from Cork completes 100k in 7h 37m at World Championships

The World 100km championships were held on Sunday in Spain and Alex O'Shea from Cork was there representing Ireland. This is the first Irish international outing for the St.Finbarr's athlete and no doubt the first of many.

Alex's time for the 100km was 7 hours 37 mins and 16 seconds.

That's works out as 7:21 min mile pace or about 3h 13m for a marathon!

Photos of the Donal Ahern Memorial 5k in Blarney...Sat 26th Nov 2016

The Donal Ahern Memorial Charity 5k was held in Blarney on Saturday the 26th of Nov 2016. It looks like they got a nice sunny morning for it.

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy of Eagle AC has a nice gallery HERE
2) Mick Dooley of Eagle AC also has a small gallery HERE

Results.....They had problems recording the results so there are no times. You can see the list of finishers HERE

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 26th Nov 2016

With the frosty weather and the 5k race in Blarney, the numbers for the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park were down this weekend with 189 taking part. Still though, it's not too far off the 200 mark.

1 Conor DOLAN    16:50    SM30-34    M 1
2 Tiernan MORRISSEY    19:06    JM11-14    M 2    Leevale AC
3 Darren MCCANN    19:31    SM30-34   
38 Aoibhinn FOX    22:41    JW10    1    2017 Operation Transformation
49 Hannah FALVEY    23:34    JW10    2    Belgooly AC
59 Maria MADIGAN    24:09    VW35-39    3   

Results...The full results can be seen HERE

Cork Santa Cycle

Good for a giggle and if you want to do a night time cycle around Cork City...

Book signing with Rob Heffernan in Cork City...Sat 26th Nov 2016

Just a quick note to say that Rob Heffernan will be in Easons in Cork City on Saturday the 26th of November to sign copies of his new book.

Membership stats for athletic clubs in Cork...Oct 2016

Athletics Ireland have recently released the membership stats for all the athletic clubs in Ireland as of the end of October 2016. Mallow AC remains the largest athletic club in Cork in terms of adult membership. These are the athletic clubs in Cork with more than 80 adult members...

Club (Seniors & Masters)...End of October 2016
1. Mallow AC    228
2. Ballymore Cobh AC    217
3. Eagle AC        196
4. Leevale AC    182
5. St.Finbarrs AC    177
6. Midleton AC    176
7. Togher AC    170
8. Ballintotis Fit4Life    163
9. Youghal AC    162
10. Watergrasshill AC    138
11. Bandon AC    135
12. Dromahane Road Runners    104
13. Aghada Running Club    95
14. Tracton AC    91
15. Grange Fermoy AC    89
16. Clonakilty Runners AC    80
17. Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC    77
18. St.Nicholas AC    76
19. North Cork AC    72
20. Bantry AC    60
21. Ballincollig AC 59
22. Bweeng Trailblazers    56
23. Carraig na bhFear AC   50
24. Carrigtwohill AC   50
25. Galtee Runners AC 50
Some points...
1) Clubs with Fit4Life beginner programmes tend to have a large membership. There are plenty of smaller clubs that are more focused on other areas like track and field and the faster end of road running.

2) Adult membership tends to reflect the clubs active in road race. There are plenty of clubs with lots of juvenile members but the number of adults coaching them would be relatively small.

3) These stats are for clubs registered with Athletics Ireland. There are a growing number of small running clubs who are doing their own thing.

You can find the stats for Oct 2016 up on the Athletics Ireland website.

You can find more info about clubs in Cork here... http://corkrunning.blogspot.ie/p/clubs-groups.html

Notice...Togher 5k road race - Tues 27th Dec 2016

The annual Togher 5k is coming up over the Christmas period on Tuesday the 27th of December at 1pm.

This is always a popular race and is one of the biggest in Cork over Christmas. After the success of last year, Togher AC have decided to keep the same 5k course.  As 5k courses go, this one is pretty fast and it's mostly around quiet housing estates.

Here is a video of the course from Togher AC (Note the date is for 2015!)...



Course Preview...Full details on the new course with directions, maps, photos, preview, etc can be seen HERE

Entries...The online entry fee is €12 and you can enter online HERE

Entries on the day also cost €12. 

All proceeds from the event go towards Togher AC and Cork Mental Health Foundation.

From the organisers....Following on from the success of our event last year we are back this year with kind sponsorship from Ryans of Togher SuperValu. We are delighted to be running this event again in association with Cork Mental Health Foundation and Housing Association. All funds raised will go to support this great organisation and Togher AC.

This years event has special meaning with Togher AC celebrating 50 years in the community. There will be a sport T-shirt for all entrants and a junior race for younger competitors.

There's also a childrens race on the day at 12 noon for 10-15 year olds...0.5 miles and €2 entry. 

We look forward to welcoming you all during the festive period on December 27th :-)

The course has been properly measured by Jones Counter.

This years Togher 5k was officially launched recently by Liam Ryan of Ryans SuperValu Togher who are the main sponsors of this years event. Also pictured are members of Togher AC with Brendan McCarthy of Cork Mental Health and Niall McCarthy of Togher Community Association. This years event has special meaning with Togher AC celebrating 50 years in the community. There will be a sport T-shirt for all entrants and a junior race for younger competitors.

Guest Article by John Walshe...DONIE WALSH – NCAA CROSS-COUNTRY 1970

Cork native Donie Walsh of Leevale AC is one of the top running coaches in the country and has been involved in athletics all his life. John Walshe recently wrote an article for the Irish Examiner and the extended version appears below with his kind permission.

DONIE WALSH – NCAA CROSS-COUNTRY 1970
By John Walshe (Irish Examiner, 18/11/2016)

Last Saturday saw the culmination of the American collegiate cross-country season when the 79th NCAA championships took place at Terre Haute, hosted by Indiana State University.

Considering the major impact Irishmen on scholarship have made over the years, it may come as a surprise to learn that just three have come away with the coveted individual title – Neil Cusack (1972), Sean Dolman (1991) and Keith Kelly (2000).