Some of the races in Cork this weekend...Fri 7th - Sun 9th Aug 2015

At the moment, the weather forecast for the weekend looks pretty reasonable with mostly dry conditions. Here are two races on offer....

Fri 7th Aug....Galtee Runners AC are holding their annual 8km race in Mitchelstown in NE Cork. This race takes in a loop mostly in the surrounding countryside and starts at 7:30pm. More info including links to maps, directions & preview in this previous post.

 Sun 9th Aug.....On Sunday, the annual John Hartnett 10km will be held in Ballyhooly just to the west of Fermoy. It starts at 12:30pm. More info including links to maps and a preview in this previous post.

Results of the Shanagarry 5km road race...Thurs 6th Aug 2015

Just under 60 runners turned out for this low key 5k race in Shanagarry in East Cork.

1 16:03    MCGRATH, Sean    East Cork AC    M    05:09.8
2 16:42    HAYES, Frank    East Cork AC    M45    05:22.4
3 18:24    TIERNEY, Conor    East Cork AC    M    05:55.2
15 20:16    LEAHY, Eileen    Midleton AC    F    06:31.3
23 21:56    KENNEALLY, Julie    Youghal AC    F    07:03.4
26 22:20    CAHILL, Breda    unatt/Cloyne    F40    07:11.2 

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Tim McCarthy of Eagle AC has a gallery of photos HERE

Sean McGrath of East Cork AC...1st man, Eileen Leahy of Midleton AC...1st woman

Highlights of the 2015 Cork City Marathon

Cork Community TV is showing highlights of the 2015 Irish Examiner Cork City Marathon this week at the following times...

Thurs 6th Aug 8:30pm
Fri 7th Aug 8pm
Sun 9th Aug 2:30pm

The programme shows coverage mainly of the faster runners but there is plenty of shots of slower runners as well. It's likely you'll spot someone you'll know.

Cork Community TV is on UPC channel 803.

You can also view it online at http://www.corkcommunitytv.ie/onlinetv.html

Results of the Cloyne 5km road race...Wed 5th Aug 2015

It looks as if somewhere in the region of 500 runners turned out for this years Cloyne 5km road race in East Cork.

1 Michael Harty        M    15:01
2  Andrew SHEEHAN    Leevale AC    M    15:54
3 Elton Heffernan        M    16:06
19 Aoife COOKE        Youghal AC    F    17:53
23 Ann Marie HOLLAND        Youghal AC    F40    18:01
54 Fiona SANTRY        East Cork AC    F    19:16

The provisional results for the moment can be seen HERE

Photos...(Updated Tues 11th Aug)
1) Kieran Minihane has a gallery of photos HERE 
2) Brendan Barry has a gallery of almost 700 photos HERE 

Notice...Shanagarry 5k road race - Thurs 6th Aug 2015

This low key 5 km road race is coming up in the village of Shanagarry in East Cork on Thursday evening, the 6th of August.

As you can see from the race flyer above, the entry fee is only €3! The course has been accurately measured by Jones Counter and has an Athletics Ireland licence.

Preview......For maps and directions, see the preview HERE

Irishman from Meath completes 3,100 mile Ultra Race in New York

This surely must be one of the strangest races out there. The Self Transcendence 3,100 mile race in New York with contestants doing loops of a half mile course. It is run over 52 days with runners starting at 6am and finishing at midnight. In total, runner must complete 5,649 laps of a .5488 of a mile course (883 metres). It claims to be the world's longest certified road race.

This years race started on the 14th of June and finished on the 4th of August. Shane Magee from Summerhill in Co.Meath and who is now called Nirbhasa Magee has become the first Irishman to complete the 3,100 mile race.

The event website says the following......."The eighth finisher across the line was Nirbhasa Magee,35, from Reykjavik, Iceland. The young website planner and designer ran 3100 miles in 51 days +12:12:13 to become the first Irish born runner to reach the 'Everest" of ultrarunning."

To date only 37 people have completed the Self Transcendence 3,100 mile race.

You can find out more about the race at http://3100.srichinmoyraces.org

Races in Cork...Wed 5th Aug 2015

The weather is expected to improve this evening with a clearance from the West. Whether it comes in time for the following races remains to be seen but the rain may have stopped by then. Here are the two races on offer this evening......

Cloyne 5k......The annual Cloyne 5k road race in East Cork takes place at 8pm. Entries are open at the school hall from 3pm. This is a flat 5km course so it's a good one for a fast time or PB.

More info in this earlier post.

Knocknagree One Mile.....This one mile race in the village of Knocknagree in NW Cork is organised by Gneeveguilla AC and is part of their Summer Series. It starts at 7:30pm. More info on their website.

Cork runners win Gold & Bronze at the World Masters Athletics Championships in France...

The World Masters Atheltics Championships are currently being held in Lyon, France between the 4th and 16th of August. On the opening day, two athletes from Cork were on the podium.

In the womens F45 category, Carmel Crowley of Bandon AC won Bronze in the 8000m race.

W45 8000 Meter Run
Results - Women 45
 1 Graziani, Zohra    W49 France    28:44
 2 Loubele, Nathalie  W48 Belgium  29:10
 3 Crowley, Carmel    W47 Ireland   29:41


In the F60 category, Carmel Parnell of Leevale AC took Gold in the 8000m.

W60 8000 Meter Run
Results - Women 60
  1 Parnell Carmel, Ca W60 Ireland         32:10
  2 Ryan, Anne         W60 Australia         33:44
  3 Pospeshina, Lubov  W61 Sweden      34:28

The full results can be seen HERE

(L) Carmel Crowley of Bandon AC (Bronze) with (R) Carmel Parnell of Leevale AC (Gold). Photo: Anne Gormley

New 5k parkrun starting in Cork City at the end of Sept 2015

All over the country, there are 5k parkruns starting at 9:30am every Saturday morning. These are free events and they follow the exact same route every week.

The first parkrun in Cork started in Macroom in May of 2013. The second was in Clonakilty in February of 2014 and the third was on Bere Island in West Cork in August of 2014.

It has been announced recently that there will be a new parkrun starting in Cork City on Saturday the 26th of September 2015. The venue will be the Tramore Valley Park next to the South Link Road on the South side of the city.

This is the route that was used in the past for a 5k race organised by the Cork City Council. It is basically two laps of a 2.5km loop. It's likely the new parkrun will cover much the same route.

This is important news for two reasons.

1) It gives runners a place to run every Saturday morning. You can just jog around or use it as a fitness test. If you do it every 4-6 weeks or so, it should show how your training is going.

2) After a wait of several years, it finally looks like the Tramore Valley Park will be open to the public.

How parkrun works......It's' very simple....
1) Go to the parkrun website and register. You then need to print out the bar code that they give you.
2) Just turn up at the start line of the park run at 9:30am. There is no need to enter.
3) At the finish line, you'll be given a small plastic card/token which is your finish position.
4) Take this token to the scanning desk and give them your bar code as well.
5) The results of the parkrun will appear on their website later that day. You will also get the results by e-mail.

Again, the main thing to remember is that everything is based on your bar code. Not your name or anything else. Bring it with you to the parkrun and you'll be fine.

Notice...John Hartnett 10km road race, Ballyhooly - Sun 9th Aug 2015

This 10k road race is coming up in Ballyhooly near Fermoy on Sunday, the 9th of August at 12:30pm.

Features...

Date: Sunday 9th August 2015
Time: 12.30pm
Sign on:  GAA field
Presentation:  Community Hall
Limited parking in GAA pitch.
€100 for first male and female home.
€100 bonus if course record broke.
Mens record: 31.57 Sergie Ciobanu 2014
Ladies record:  39.08 Angela McCann 2014
Accurate course measured by Jones Counter
Athletics Ireland licence
10km course...marked at each km point.
Entry fee €10
Showers available at the GAA grounds.
Registration and Parking at GAA pitch, approx 200m from start line. Refreshments and presentation of prizes in the Community Hall after the race.

Ballyhooly is located just 9 kms west of Fermoy on the N72 road to Mallow. Considering that it's reasonably close to the M8 motorway, it's within easy access.

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

John Hartnett.......
John Harnett is a former Irish International runner who held several Irish records back in the 1970's. He also represented Ireland at the 1972 Munich Games. He grew up near Ballyhooly and ran with Grange Fermoy AC before taking up a scholarship in the US with Villanova.

Notable races...
1970 : International Junior Cross Country Champion
1972 : Ran the 5,000 metres in a time of 13m 43.4s to set a new Irish record
1972 : Represented Ireland in the 5,000 metres in the Munich Olympic games
1973 : June - Ran the mile in a time of 3m 54.7s setting a new Irish record which at the time was faster than the British record!
1974 : Set a new Irish record for the 1,500 metres with a time of 3m 38.1s

John Hartnett currently resides in Marleton, New Jersey, USA.

1) Background on John Harnett's athletic career.....HERE
2) Unveiling of the John Harnett plaque in Ballyhooly in Sept 2008.......HERE

Results of the Shane Fitzgibbon 4 mile in Milford...Sun 2nd Aug 2015

Between runners and walkers, a total of 647 people turned out for the inaugural Shane Fitzgibbon 4 mile race in Milford in North Cork. In total, over €9000 was raised for Shane's ongoing treatment.

1    Shane    O Rahilly    Cork    MALE    Adult    22.25
2    Rory    O'Connor    Charleville    MALE    Adult    22.45
3    Sean    Doyle    Charleville    MALE    Adult    23.03
18    Lisa    Murphy    St. Michaels AC    FEMALE        26.02
31    Ursula    Bluett    North Cork AC    FEMALE    J1    28.09
34    Eimear    Lenihan    North Cork AC    FEMALE    J1    28.33

The full results for the runners can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) The organisers have almost 200 photos HERE

Lizzie Lee from Cork wins National Half-Marathon in Dublin...

The Rock n Roll Half- Marathon in Dublin was held on Sunday the 2nd of August and attracted thousands of runners. It also doubled up as the National Half-Marathon Championships.

Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC was the first woman home in a new personal best time of 1h 13m 27s.

Lizzie last won the title in 2013 with a time of 1:14:48 and was missing in 2014 as she was having a baby.

Some other Cork results...
Pos    Forename    Surname    Cat    Club    Time    
4    Mark    HANRAHAN    M    Leevale A.C.    01:06:02
9    Tim    DONOGHUE    M    East Cork A.C.    01:08:21
14    Chris    HARRINGTON    M    Leevale A.C.    01:11:41
21    Lizzie    LEE    F35    Leevale A.C.    01:13:27 ...1st Female
23    Michael    MORGAN    M40    St. Finbarrs A.C.    01:13:37 ..3rd M40
27    Donal    COFFEY    M35    Leevale A.C.    01:15:46
47    James    GRUFFERTY    M    Leevale A.C.    01:20:06
58    Liam    COTTER    M50    St. Finbarrs A.C.    01:22:10
85    David    BUTLER    M    St. Finbarrs A.C.    01:24:46
105    Nollaig    O'NEILL    F40    Leevale A.C.    01:27:10 ...1st F40
113    Colm    MURPHY    M55    Leevale A.C.    01:27:53
139    Brian    O'CALLAGHAN    M35    Togher A.C.    01:29:56
162    Helen    LEONARD    F40    Leevale A.C.    01:32:44
236    Shane    O'SHAUGHNESSY    M35    Eagle A.C.    01:39:33
293    Michael    BRENNAN    M45    Leevale A.C.    01:45:13
387    Cormac    CUSHION    M    Abbey Striders A.C.    01:53:37
518    Maretta    BRENNAN    F45    Leevale A.C.    02:06:40
579    Anne    HICKEY    F50    St. Finbarrs A.C.    02:15:52
626    Maggie    DUNNE    F70    Grange/Fermoy A.C.    02:36:59 ...2nd F70

Leak of Secret Athletics Database shows widespread doping..

Over the last few months, there have been serious allegations of doping in the world of athletics. A German TV documentary claimed that doping in athletics was widespread in Russia and that the governing body the IAAF did very little about it.

Now, a secret IAAF database has been leaked to the media. It shows tests 12,000 blood tests from around 5,000 athletes in the years 2001 to 2012, including numerous Olympic and World champions. It was passed on by German and British media to leading blood doping experts for their review.

Here are some of the quotes and headlines coming out of this story....

Leading experts: “It is alarming how widespread doping in athletics is”

"A total of 800 athletes in disciplines from 800 metres to the marathon register values which, according to the definition of the Biological Passport of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are regarded as suspicious or even highly suspicious."

"At World Championships and Olympic Games between 2001 and 2012, every third medal was won by athletes, for whom one or even both experts had identified suspicious blood values in the database. For every sixth medal winner at least one of the scientists is even as good as certain that the athlete has doped in the course of his/her career."
“Often two out of the three medalists had probably engaged in blood doping during their career. In one event the entire podium was comprised of athletes, who in my opinion had most probably doped at some point in their career”,

 “For the IAAF to have harvested millions of dollars from the broadcasting of athletics competitions around the world year after year yet only devotes a relative pittance of those funds towards anti doping, when they must have seen the terrible truth of what lay beneath the surface, is in my opinion a shameful betrayal of their primary duty to police their sport and to protect the clean athletes.”

A top UK athlete is among seven Britons with suspicious blood scores.

Ten medals at London 2012 were won by athletes who have dubious test results.

Russia emerges as "the blood testing epicentre of the world" with more than 80% of the country's medals won by suspicious athletes, while Kenya had 18 medals won by suspicious athletes.

Stars such as Britain's Mo Farah and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt recorded no abnormal results.

Athletes are increasingly using blood transfusions and EPO micro-doses to boost the red cell count.

Russia had the largest number of suspicious readings, with 30% of its athletes in the data registering abnormal blood tests. Ukraine and Turkey were hot on its heels with 28% and 27%. Kenya was 14th with 11%, while Great Britain was 47th with 4%.

For more info, go to....
Athletics Illustrated
BBC Sport

Statement from the IAAF... http://www.iaaf.org/news/iaaf-news/ard-anti-doping-response

Update.....If you have any interest in athletics then you should watch the latest video from German television. It's pretty explosive stuff.....Click HERE

Australian to run from Mizen to Malin in August 2015

Simon Chodziesner from Australia is planning to run from Mizen Head to Malin Head during the month of August 2015.

From his support team........Simon’s biggest drive is his next big challenge and his passion for using his running to raise funds for charity. Through the Mizen to Malin challenge, Simon hopes to raise money for two charities close to his heart:
Friends of Letterkenny General Hospital - the local hospital where Simon's Donegal family have been well cared for over the years [ http://www.friendsoflgh.ie ]; their current project is the Friends of LGH Onconolgy Bus.

If you wish to support this worthwhile charity….
●    Online at: www.iDonate.ie/mizentomalin2015
●    Sponsorship cards: email: simonmizen2malin@gmail.com
●    Loose change: bucket collection on route

He is starting from Mizen Head in West Cork on Saturday 1st August and hopes to finish 18 days later in Malin Head at the Northern tip of Donegal on the 18th of August.

He also welcomes runners to join him for part of the route and to keep him company.

You can read more at http://www.mizen2malin2015.com/

He also has a Facebook page HERE

Highlights of the 2015 Cork City Marathon on TV...

Cork Community TV is showing this year's Irish Examiner Cork City Marathon on Saturday the 1st of August between 2:30pm and 4pm.

Description...."The video was shot and edited by Eddie Noonan from Frameworks Films and his crew. It really captures the awful weather on the day, but it also gives a great sense of the extraordinary atmosphere created by our participants, volunteers and the wonderful Cork public. Despite being drenched to the skin and frozen to the bones, there are a surprising number of happy, smiley faces throughout! It's well worth tuning in."

Cork Community TV is on UPC channel 803.

You can also view it online at http://www.corkcommunitytv.ie/onlinetv.html