Ciara Mageean & Mark English win Bronze medals at Euro Indoor Championships

Two of Ireland's best athletes won Bronze medals at the European Indoor Athletic Championships in Glasgow.

Ciara Mageean finished 3rd in the women's 1500m final.

Bronze on the double for Ireland as Ciara Mageean comes third in the 1500 metres at the European Indoor Athletic Championships #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/GUrumcoXzH

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 3, 2019

Mark English finished 3rd in the men's 800m final.

It is a bronze medal for Mark English in the 800 metres at the European Indoor Championships #RTEsport pic.twitter.com/soHvuBGwSp

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 3, 2019

Ballintotis Fit4Life mark Ballycotton '10' anniversary

The annual Ballycotton '10' was usually held on the second Sunday of March every year before it came to an end in 2017.

Members of Ballintotis Fit4Life were out in force on Sunday the 3rd of March 2019 to keep the tradition of running the 10 mile route alive. Looks like it was a bit wet!

There are now a multitude of races on the second Sunday of March where as the first Sunday of the month was very quiet.

Cobh Sisters complete World Marathon Major Series

Congratulations to Cobh sisters Orla O'Rourke and Kathryn Carruthers who have just completed the Tokyo marathon to complete the World's 6 Major Marathons! Orla who is a member of Ballymore-Cobh AC also ran a personal best time of 3h 14m.

The Series Qualifying Races are: Tokyo Marathon. Boston Marathon. Virgin Money London Marathon. BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Bank of America Chicago Marathon. TCS New York City Marathon.

Photos : Andy O'Rourke

Latest update on the Haulbowline Island works

Update 3rd March: This video below about the transformation of Haulbowline Island was put up on YouTube a few weeks back. As can be seen from the screenshot above taken in December, the island is beginning to turn Green as the grass grows and a substantial number of trees have been planted.

The provisional plan is to open in May of 2019.

Wild Atlantic Run in Ballinspittle CANCELLED

Please note that this 10k in Ballinspittle that was supposed to be on Sunday the 3rd of March has been cancelled. It will now be on Monday the 18th of March.

Results of the Mallow 5k parkrun - Sat 2nd Mar 2019

There was a drop on numbers this week with 75 taking part in the 5k parkrun in Mallow.

1 Unknown               
3 Gerard MCAULIFFE    20:58    VM35-39    M2
4 Bernard O'NEILL    22:16    VM35-39    M3                   
2 Carol FINN    20:47    SW30-34    F1
10 Eimear LAVERY    24:15    JW11-14    F2
14 Siobhan LAVERY    24:53    VW50-54    F3

Results

Results & Photos of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun - Sat 2nd Mar 2019

There was a drop in numbers this week for the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park with 261 taking part. No doubt the wet and windy weather put some people off.

1 Finbarr ODWYER    17:40    VM45-49    M1    Leevale AC
2 Sean UNDERWOOD    19:27    SM25-29    M2
3 Shane MINEHANE    19:32    VM35-39    M3
5 Nollaigh O'NEILL    19:47    VW45-49    F1    Leevale AC
26 Siobhan HOLLAND    21:45    VW40-44    F2    St Finbarrs AC
33 Trish HEGARTY    22:33    SW30-34    F3

Results

Photos...
1) Collette Ryan has a gallery HERE
2) Joe Murphy has a gallery HERE

Results & Photos of the Glen River 5k parkrun - Sat 2nd Mar 2019

The 15th edition of the 5k parkrun in the Glen on the north side of Cork City was held on Saturday the 2nd of March 2019. With the wild and windy conditions, there was a drop down to 61 this week.

After 15 events, a total of 603 registered runners and walkers have taken part and the average per week is 101.

1 Tobi GRAB    20:00    VM40-44    M1    Leevale AC
2 Fergal BRENNAN    20:19    VM40-44    M2
3 Liam MURPHY    20:29    VM50-54    M3    Watergrasshill AC
14 Rachel O'CALLAGHAN    23:46    VW45-49    F1
18 Pamela BARRY    24:35    VW40-44    F2    Aghada Running Club
20 Lauren MURPHY    25:05    JW15-17    F3

Results

Photos...
1) The organisers have a small gallery HERE
 and another one HERE 

Results of the Run the Line 5k in Carrigaline - Sat 2nd March 2019

28 runners turned out for this timed 5k on the Carrigaline to Crosshaven walkway.

The next one is on again on the first Saturday of April.

UCC announce plans for new sports park at Farm

 

It was announced some time ago that the UCC Farm in Curraheen was going to be developed into a science and technology park. Now UCC have announced that a new sports park will be integrated into it.

The plan is to have a 1,800m running track, a 1,300m inner walk, grass and synthetic playing pitches and a synthetic hockey pitch, along with 297 parking spaces.

Previous posts about the development HERE

Link...
1) Evening Echo

Weekend events - Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd March 2019

It looks as if the weather for the weekend will be very unsettled and all areas are going to get rain.

On Saturday, rain will arrive in the west of Cork early and for events close to Cork City and further east, it will be a case of hopefully completing the event before the rain arrives. It's also likely to be pretty windy.

On Sunday, a low pressure system will pass to the south of Ireland and it's likely to be another wet day. It will also feel a bit cooler than of late.
...
Cork... Sat 2nd (8:30am)... Run the Line 5k... €free... Free timed 5k on the Carrigaline-Crosshaven walkway...

Sat 2nd (9:30am)... 5k parkruns - Various locations - Free
Cork - Ballincollig, Glen River, Mallow, Macroom, Clonakilty, Rineen Woods, Glengarriff Woods, Bear Is /// Limerick - University of Limerick, Newcastle West, Mungret /// Kerry - Killarney, Tralee, Listowel, Inch /// Clare - Ennis, Kilrush, Clarisford /// Tipperary - Clonmel, Templemore /// Waterford - Tramore /// Kilkenny - Kilkenny Castle /// Carlow - Carlow town /// Wexford - New Ross, Gorey, Johnstown ///

Cork... Sat 2nd (11am)... Nagle Rice 5km Fun Run/Walk... €10... Doneraile Park...

Sun 3rd (9:30am)... 2k Junior parkruns - Various locations - Free
Cork - Cobh /// Limerick - Shelbourne Park /// Kerry - Tralee /// Wexford - Heritage Park ///

Tipperary... Sun 3rd (10:45am)... Leugh School 6km fun run... €15... nr Thurles...
Cork... Sun 3rd (11am)... Wild Atlantic Run 10km... €20... Ballinspittle... CANCELLED
Kilkenny... Sun 3rd (11am)... IMRA Woodstock 9.5km Trail Race... €?... IMRA Membership required... IMRA-MMRA event info...
Tipperary... Sun 3rd (11am)... MMRA Tountinna 6.5km hill race... €?... MMRA Membership required... MMRA event info...
Limerick... Sun 3rd (12:30pm)... Hospital Fundraising Group 5 mile fun run/walk... €10... Hospital Community School...
Tipperary... Sun 3rd (1pm)... Munster 4 Mile Road Championships... €club only... Dundrum...

As always, there is a list of events up on the race calendar.

FILM REVIEW : 7 DAYS - THE STORY OF "BLIND DAVE" HEELEY

 

Now for something different! I was sent on a film to review recently titled '7 Days - The Story of "Blind Dave" Heeley'.

The film portrays the life story of Dave Heeley, a runner who was inspired to undertake the challenge of running the “Sevens” -  seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. The only problem is that Dave is completely blind.

The film follows his progress through the seven events with flashbacks to his earlier life when he was beginning to lose his sight. It's an inspirational story of how someone battled against adversity to complete what must have seemed at the time like an impossible goal.

I found it a enjoyable film to watch and at roughly 41 minutes in length, it's just about right. It obviously doesn't have the special effects or locations used for say a Hollywood blockbuster but it does a good job of getting the story across.

"Blind Dave" Heeley seems to be a remarkable character and he has raised an incredible £3 million to date for charity.

The film website is here... https://www.pixelrevolutionfilms.com/7days

It is hoped that there will be a charity screening in the UK in mid-May as well as at some upcoming film festivals. It is hoped that it will be released online for the general public in late May or early June, via a paid link.

There is a video trailer and a radio interview below..

Results of the poll for the best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2019

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll for the best Half-Marathon in Munster in 2018.

These were the nominees...
Charleville Half-Marathon (Sept 2018)
Cork City Half-Marathon (June 2018)
Dingle Half-Marathon (Sept 2018)
Clonmel Half-Marathon (Aug 2018)
Clonakilty Half-Marathon (Dec 2018)
Run Killarney Half-Marathon (July 2018)
Cahir Half-Marathon (July 2018)
Rosscarbery Surf, Turf 'n' Tar Half-Marathon (May 2018)
Waterford AC Half-Marathon (Dec 2018)
Waterford Greenway Half-Marathon (Sept 2018)
East Cork Harbour Half-Marathon (Aug 2018)

As you can see, the Clonmel Half-Marathon topped the poll! Some of the comments left for the Clonmel Half are shown below...

Guest Post : THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY... by John Walshe

The English National Cross-Country Championships attracts thousands of entrants and this year was no exception. With a start line as wide as a field, the assembled field eventually thins out as shown in the above photo... if you could call that 'thin'! :o)

(Videos of this years races)

In this guest post, John Walshe of Ballycotton looks at this years event and reflects on the same event 40 years ago.

THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY
(By John Walshe)

On Saturday last the Saucony/English National Cross-Country Championships took place on the grounds of Harewood House on the outskirts of Leeds. At what was regarded as one of the best venues in recent years, the 10-race programme attracted over 9000 entrants, culminating in the 131st senior men’s championship over 12km which had over 2000 finishers.

It was a great day for the local Leeds City club as they took both senior titles. Their women defeated Aldershot, Farnham & District (who had the individual winner in Emily Thornhill-Hosker) by three points while the Leeds City men had a clearer victory, finishing 81 points ahead of Tonbridge. Last year’s junior champion, Mahamed Mahamed from Southampton, won an exciting senior race by just one second from Emile Cairess of Leeds.

Less than three-and-a-half-minutes covered the top 100 finishers. An indication of the standard can be seen from the performance of Sean Fitzpatrick from Kent AC. After finishing third in 25:58 six days before at the Carrigaline five-miler, the 2:28 marathoner could only manage 282nd at Leeds.

Notice : Mallow 10 mile road race - Sun 24th March 2019

The Mallow 10 mile road race is coming up on Sunday the 24th of March 2019 at 12:30pm. Entries opened on Friday December 7th.

Update Sat 8th Dec... 1000 of the 2000 online entries are now gone.
Update Fri 4th Jan... 1600 of the 2000 online entries are now gone.
Update Tues 5th Feb... Fewer than 100 places left now! 
Update Tues 19th Feb... Just under 50 places left. Race website updated with details of elite entry requirements and all the prizes. 
Update Sun 24th Feb... All 2000 entries have been sold. The transfer window is still open until Friday 1st March.

Link... https://register.primoevents.com/ps/event/MallowAC10mileroadrace2019

Entries are now open.  

There will be a lot of demand for this race and it will certainly sell out. Outside of the Dungarvan 10, this is probably the second most popular 10 miler in Munster.

Going on previous entries, the Dungarvan 10 is an event that sells out in hours where as the Mallow 10 sells out in days.

Updated info will appear here and on the race website... https://mallowtenmile.wordpress.com/