Google+ Running in Cork, Ireland: April 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

More info about the Midleton 5 mile coming up on Thurs 4th May 2017


The big race in Cork next week is the annual Midleton 5 mile on Thursday the 4th of May. Here is some additional info from Midleton AC...

1) Prize Details ...
57 Prizes for runners on the night worth over €1900
Main prize sponsors Elverys, McCarthy Insurance Group & Kearys
Cash prizes for top 5 male & female finishers
Vouchers for top 3 in every age category from M40-45-50-55-60-65-70 & F35-40-45-50-55-60-65 plus 1st WC, MJ, FJ
Special prize from Lehane Motors and Midleton Yoga Space for 1st male and female over the line from Midleton AC

2) Freebies... As it says in the poster, nobody will go home empty handed as each runner will get a goody bag and key ring.

More details about the race in this previous post.

Results of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 29th Apr 2017



With the changeable weather, the numbers were down a bit this week at the Ballincollig 5k parkrun with 254 taking part. This is about the long term average and is nothing out of the ordinary. 

1 Unknown 
2 Patrick OMAHONEY    18:59    VM35-39    M2
3 Tobi GRAB    19:07    VM40-44    M3
20 Mary SWEENEY    21:24    VW55-59    F1 St Finbarrs AC
44 Edel BUCKLEY    23:38    SW30-34    F2
45 Orla STEVENS    23:39    VW45-49    F3 Athenry Athletics Club


The full results can be seen HERE

Marathon runner Sinead Kane is Cork Person of the Month



MARATHON RUNNER SINEAD KANE IS CORK PERSON OF MONTH. Sinead Kane from Youghal, with only 5% vision, recently ran seven marathons on seven continents over seven days to establish a new world record. Ireland's first legally blind solicitor, Sinead was selected Cork Person of the Month to mark her many achievements.

Pictured at the award presentation l/r Kelvin Flanagan, Lexus Cork; Michael Lynch, AV3 Productions; Sinead Kane, April Person of the Month; Ann-Marie O'Sullivan, AM O'Sullivan PR;  ManusO'Callaghan, Awards Organiser; Pat Lemasney, Southern. Pic Tony O'Connell Photography.

Press Release below...

Friday, April 28, 2017

Route changes for the 2017 Cork City Marathon



The big change this year for the Cork City Marathon is that it will be held on a Sunday rather than the usual Bank Holiday Monday. One effect from this change is that the route has to avoid some churches so some changes had to be made.

While the overall route is much the same, there are three areas where there have been changes...

The start and finish is still on Patrick's Street but the route has been changed.

As in previous years, the marathon starts on Patrick's Street, down the Grand Parade, down the South Mall....across Parnell Place...and down Merchant's Quay. In previous years, it went down to the North Gate Bridge and back up Popes Quay before going up to Blackpool. This year, it will cross the bridge by the Opera House and head north.


As for the finish, in previous years it went down Pope's Quay, across Patrick's Bridge and down to the finish on Patrick's Street. In 2017, it will cross the North Gate Bridge and down North Gate Street. Up Washington Street, onto the Grand Parade and onto Patrick's Street.

Verdict : Neutral. No real difference. The route is as flat as before.

In Ballyphehane, the church has to be avoided. This will result in a detour by Tory Top Park.


Anyone who knows this area will know that this is probably the highest part of Ballyphehane.

Verdict : Negative. The old route along here in Orange was pretty flat. The 2017 route introduces a new hill which won't be welcome at 19 miles.

The church at Dennehy's Cross must also be avoided. This is probably the biggest change. You can see the new route in red and the old route in orange.

With the old route, runners lost height by the junction with Clashduv Road and then had to climb out again. At the exit of Liam Lynch park where it came out by the Credit Union, the route went down slightly to Dennehy's Cross.

The new route loses a fair bit of height as it is close to Victoria Cross.

Verdict : Neutral. Lose a bit here, gain a bit there. Both the new and old routes have their drags.

Overall: The new route is much the same as previous years. The extra hill in Ballyphehane may well add a minute to people's times.

Half-Marathon : The loop at the start which caused all the problems last year is gone and it now starts near Kennedy Park. It joins the marathon route on the Marina so the changes in Ballyphehane and Glasheen will apply.


The Cork City Marathon website is http://www.corkcitymarathon.ie

Results of Colaiste 5k fun run and walk in Fermoy….Thursday 27th April 2017

Results of Colaiste an Chraoibhin 5k fun run and walk….Thursday 27th April 2017.

A total of 238 runners and walkers finished the annual Colaiste  an Chraoibhin 5k run/walk in Fermoy on Thursday 27th April 2017.

1 Tony Harty                 17.14
2. Don Pyne                  17.41
3.John Murphy            18.06
12. Joan Ennis               19.42
17.Mei-Ming Cronin    19.49
32.Stephanie Lynch     21.16

 

Full results below...



Thursday, April 27, 2017

Results of the East Cork Road Championships...Thurs 27th Apr 2017



The annual East Cork Road Championships were held in the village of Ballnoe on Thursday the 27th of April 2017. The numbers taking part this year were down somewhat, perhaps due to all of the other races on the calendar.

MEN 5-Mile
    Place    Time    Name    Team    Race Age Category    min/mile       
    1    0:26:39    MCCARTHY, James    East Cork AC    M    05:19.7    957    1
    2    0:26:42    MCGRATH, Sean    East Cork AC    M    05:20.3    505    2
    3    0:27:48    SHEEHAN, Nigel    Youghal AC    M    05:33.5    390    3

Team: 1  East Cork AC (4, 5, 7, 9)          25
           2  Watergrasshill AC (6, 10, 16, 19)    51
           3  St. Catherines AC (11, 12, 20, 23)    66

Women 3km   
    Place    Time    Name    Team    Race Age Category    min/mile       
    1    0:11:22    KEVANY, Sinead    Midleton AC    F40    06:05.7    338    1
    2    0:11:31    SANTRY, Fiona    East Cork AC    F    06:10.6    7    2
    3    0:11:44    HAYES, Laura    St. Catherines AC    FJ    06:17.5    369    3



Team: 1  Watergrasshill AC (7, 11,14)          32
           2  St.Catherines AC (8, 12, 18)    38
           3  Midleton AC (9, 13, 17)    39


Full results below...


Notice...East Cork Harbour Marathon, Half-Marathon & 10k - Sat 12th Aug 2017

This event up coming up on Saturday the 12th of August 2017...and there is a choice of a full 26.2 mile marathon, a 13.1 mile half-marathon and 10km race (6.2m).


This is the second year of this event and based on the success of the first year, it should get a good turnout again.

The race HQ is at Aghada GAA club which is near Rostellan on the Midleton-Whitegate road.


For more info on the three races and on how to enter...

Go to http://eastcorkmarathon.com/

The map below shows the full marathon route. It starts near Rostellan Woods and between miles 3 and 8, it takes in a lovely stretch by East Ferry. After 10 miles, it's most out on quiet country roads with some nice coastal views from miles 14-22. For the last few miles, you are looking over the harbour.


The half-marathon route is on nice quiet country roads to the south-east of Aghada...

The 10k course is out and back...

This is the dry fit top and medal for 2017...



Results & Photos of the Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile race... Wed 26th Apr 2017



The annual Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile road race was held in Carrigtwohill on Wednesday the 26th of April on what was a cool evening. A total of 666 runners took part which is a jump of 14% on the 583 of last year.

1 Tim O'Donoghue M1      20:27 Dell-EMC
2 COLIN MERRITT 0/45B M2     20:42 Army 
3 John Meade M3    20:47 Joyce Wolfe Physiotherapy
32 Sharon Rynne F1   24:34 Kepak
44 Helen Leonard 0/45J F2   24:51 Dept of Ed
47 Lisa Hegarty F3    24:55 Dept of Ed 


The full results are up on the Cork BHAA website HERE

Photos... (Updated Thurs 28th @23:59)
1) There are two galleries up on the Running in Cork Facebook page...
a) Pre-race and start
b) Just after the 3 mile mark
2) Derek Costello of Eagle AC has a gallery HERE
3) Andy O'Rourke Photography has 3 nice galleries... #1 ... #2 ... #3


Start of the 2017 Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile road race
 
Winners of the race...Tim O'Donoghue & Sharon Rynne
 
Masters Gold...(L) Richard Piotrowski of Eagle AC who won the M70 title at the recent British 10k championships. (R) Ken Divine of St.Finbarr's AC who ran a sub 5 minute mile in the last leg of the national Road Relay Championships to give the Barr's the M50 team title.

Results of the Crosshaven 10k run...Wed 26th Apr 2017

This 10k run was held in Crosshaven on Wed 26th Apr 2017 and had a field of 136. The results are up on the Sports Timing website.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Irish results at the 2017 Hamburg Marathon...

While most interest might have been focused on London, the Hamburg marathon was also held last weekend.  Some of the Irish results are shown below with runners from Cork & Munster in Bold.

Platz    Name    Verein/Team    AK    Netto
63    » Herlihy, Michael (IRL) North Cork AC  M/W 35: 1978-1982    2:37:22
70    » Muldoon, Christopher (IRL)    Donore Harriers AC    M/W 40: 1973-1977    2:38:24
78    » Buckley, Paul (IRL)    Ferbane ac    M/W 40: 1973-1977    2:39:26
165    » Kelly, Noel (IRL)    Tullamore harriers    M/W 45: 1968-1972    2:46:27

231    » Mccarthy, Eugene (IRL)        M/W 45: 1968-1972    2:50:14
425    » Guiry, John (IRL)    Saturday Road Runners    M/W 40: 1973-1977    2:57:32
463    » Dowling, Stephen (IRL)        M/W 40: 1973-1977    2:58:15
505    » Doyle, Brendan (IRL)    Saturday Road Runners    M/W 50: 1963-1967    2:59:03

Results of the Ross 10k in West Cork...Sun 23rd Apr 2017


The annual Ross 10k in Rosscarbery in West Cork was held on Sunday the 23rd of April 2017 and 73 people took part. Over the last 6 years, this charity event has raised in the region of €10,000 for the Irish Cancer Society.

1 Andrew Sheehan    Leevale AC    M 35:33
2 John Dollard                M 42:48
3 John Santry                M 43:20
7 Imelda Neville    Clonakilty Road Runners F 45:19
10 Ellen Aherne        Rosscarbery Steam Runners F 47:40
12 Emer Courtney            F 48:51


The full results can be seen HERE

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Reminder...Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile race in Carrigtwohill - Wed 26th Apr 2017

This 4 mile race in Carrigtwohill in East Cork is coming up on Wednesday the 26th of April at 7:30pm. As with all Cork BHAA events, the entry fee is €5 for registered runners and €10 for non-registered.


Located just a few minutes drive from the Jack Lynch tunnel, this one is very close to Cork City and is easy to get to.


As BHAA races go, this one is noted for having some pretty good prizes and of course, there are loads on offer with the various categories and teams.

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



Claire McCarthy selected to represent Ireland at the 2017 World Championships


Athletics Ireland announced today the Irish teams for the 50km walk and the marathon in the World Athletic Championships which will be held in London in August. Included in the women's team is Claire McCarthy of Leevale AC. The Cork athlete won the 2017 Ballintotis 4 mile road race which was held last week

Men's 50km Walks... Alex Wright Leevale AC, Brendan Boyce Letterkenny AC, Robert Heffernan Togher AC

Men's Marathon... Mick Clohisey Raheny Shamrocks AC, Paul Pollock Annadale Striders AC. Sean Hehir Rathfarnham WSAF AC

Women's Marathon... Fionnuala McCormack Kilcoole AC, Clare Gibbons McCarthy Leevale AC

The World Championships will take place in London from 4-13 August 2017.

Results & photos of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 22nd Apr 2017



Another week and another fine turn out of 272 runners for the Ballincollig 5k parkrun on Saturday the 22nd of April 2017.

1 Conor DOLAN    17:50    SM30-34    M1
2 Unknown                                   
3 Shane O'CALLAGHAN    19:02    VM35-39    M3
20 Sorcha CROWLEY    21:29    SW30-34    F1
26 Mary SLOCUM    22:10    VW50-54    F2
61 Imelda MARSHALL    24:21    VW35-39    F3


The results of the 45th edition can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Muphy of Eagle AC has a gallery HERE


St.Finbarr's AC win M50 title in Irish Road Relay Championships

The Irish National Road Relay Championships were held in Raheny, Dublin last weekend and a large number of teams from around the country took part. The number of teams from Cork clubs was very low but St.Finbarr's AC managed to take Gold in the M50 event.

Athlete 1 Michael Murphy 00:05:35 (One mile leg)
Athlete 2 Cathal O'Connell 00:10:39 (Two mile leg)
Athlete 3 Ken Devine 00:04:59 (One mile leg)

Update : Leevale Senior Women's Team are upgraded to Bronze after Queens are disqualified.

Athlete 1 Carol Finn 00:05:15 (One mile leg)
Athlete 2 Claire McCarthy 00:10:49 (Two mile leg)
Athlete 3 Freda Davoren 00:05:17 (One mile leg)


Monday, April 24, 2017

Irish results at the 2017 London Marathon

The annual London Marathon was held on Sunday the 23rd of April 2017 and over 39,000 people completed the 26.2 mile course. There were about 350 Irish runners listed in the results.

The top 3 Irish men & women were...
2    » Hehir, Sean (GBR)    NI Civil...    2:16:18
21    » SEAWARD, Kevin (IRL)        2:17:08
24    » CLOHISEY, Mick (IRL)        2:18:34
55    » Graham, Laura (GBR)      02:42:38
57    » SANCHEZ, Barbara (IRL)      2:47:36
1224    » Elvin, Jennifer (IRL)    Metro Ab...2:54:41



Full Irish results below...

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Results & photos of the Great Railway Run...Sun 23rd Apr 2017



There was a welcome boost in numbers for this years Great Railway Run with over 650 runners taking part. The numbers in the 25k were up 25% while the 10k was up 23%. This is in marked contract to a lot of other races in Munster where the trend is flat or down.

25km....Cork to Carrigaline
1 Alan O Shea     Cork       1:22:58 SM
2 Alan Lehane     Blarney   1:30:53 SM
3 Jeremy O Donovan     Kinsale 1:33:45 SM
17 Una Murphy Plant     Kinsale   1:47:08 SW
44 Mary Sweeney     Cork   1:54:11     SW
53 Sheila Buckley     Carrigtwohill   1:56:35 SW 


Full results below...

10km...Monkstown to Carrigaline
1 Tim Twomey         33:29     Cork     SM
2 Brian Kearney     35:35     Cork     SM
3 Gearoid O Leary    37:08     Macroom     SM
12 Eimear O Brien    42:32     Cork     SW
13 Ali O Connor     43:22     Cork     SW
17 Linda Kelly        44:30     Carrigaline     W40 


Full results below...

5km...Ringaskiddy to Carrigaline
1 Graham Nudds         19:53     Cork     SM
2 Mark Kells         20:57     Wexford SM
3 Cathal Twomey     21:11     Blarney SM
6 Mairead Lonergan     23:25     Cork     SW
9 Katie Harte         25:38     Clonakilty SW
10 Emma Riordan     25:58     Heineken SW 


Full results below...

Photos
1) The organisers have a gallery HERE
2) There are several galleries of photos taken by Adrian O'Herlihy
a) 25km Cork City
b) 25km near Passage West
c) 10k Start
d) 25 & 10k nr Shanbally
e) Near the finish

3) Paula's Running Photos has a large gallery HERE

Full results below...


Saturday, April 22, 2017

Results of the North Cork AC 5k in Doneraile Park...Sat 22nd Apr 2017

There seems to have been a fairly big drop in numbers for this one with just 122 runners taking part. Back in February, North Cork AC organised two 5 k races in Doneraile Park and they got 143 and 242 respectively. The same race in April of 2016 got 190 so the numbers are down by about a third this year.

As for why the big drop? The most likely reason is just the glut of 5k's being held in the park at the moment.

1 Bjorn Downes Mooreabbey Milers AC    17:10 SM
2 PJ Carey Kilmallock AC    17:30 SM
3 David Hanlon Limerick AC    17:40 SM
7 Mei Ming Cronin Mallow    18:59 SW
12 Brigita Lukste North Cork AC 20:26 SW
27 Niamh Buckley Mallow    23:02 SW

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) North Cork AC have a gallery HERE

Blackrock Amenity Walkway Closed 18th Apr to 22nd May 2017

Back in February of 2016, I had a post up about plans to improve access to the Blackrock Amenity Walkway in Cork City.


Work has now commenced on this and the section of walkway shown above will be closed from the 18th of April to the 22nd of May 2017.

Anyone running this section will have to take a detour on the footpath by Mahon Point and the CSO office. I'd guess it might add on about an extra 800m.

Friday, April 21, 2017

East Cork & District Sports Awards recognise the Ballycotton 10 Mile Road Race


The East Cork & District Sports Awards were held in Midleton Park Hotel on Friday the 21st of April and this year, they recognised the Ballycotton 10 Mile Road Race team for their contribution to sport.

Anyone who is familiar with the Ballycotton 10 race will know that it is a huge logistical event and takes an enormous amount of work. For an successful event that is run on a non-profit basis, it's great to see their efforts being recognised by the local community.

Notice...Cork BHAA Stryker 4 mile in Carrigtwohill - Wed 26th Apr 2017

This 4 mile race in Carrigtwohill in East Cork is coming up on Wednesday the 26th of April at 7:30pm. As with all Cork BHAA events, the entry fee is €5 for registered runners and €10 for non-registered.



Located just a few minutes drive from the Jack Lynch tunnel, this one is very close to Cork City and is easy to get to.


The race HQ is the local community centre and the race route takes in a loop to the north of Carrigtwohill. Note that the start line is a few hundred metres away so allow plenty of time to get there.


As BHAA races go, this one is noted for having some pretty good prizes and of course, there are loads on offer with the various categories and teams.

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

To help raise funds for the Cork University Hospital Children's Unit, they will also be selling tickets on the night for a prize raffle. Details below.



Reminder...The Great Railway Run 5km, 10km or 25km - Sun 23rd Apr 2017

The big race in Cork this weekend is of course the Great Railway Run on Sunday the 23rd of April 2017. There is 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 11am or a 5 km run/walk from Ringaskiddy to Carrigaline starting at 11:45am.


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.

Route Change...Please note that there is a slight change to the route this year in that there is a short out and back section near Shanbally.


You can find details of the 2017 route HERE

More details on the event website.

Latest info... New Entries for 10K and 25K events will NOT be accepted on race day. 5K runners will be able to enter on race day.
Bib numbers can be collected on April 22nd from 4pm to 8pm at Phelans Pharmacy, Kinsale Road Roundabout or at the starting area on April 23rd. Late entries for all events will also be accepted on April 22nd.

Results of the Banteer Community Creche 5k...Thurs 20th Apr 2017

This 5k in Banteer in NW Cork in aid of the Community Creche was held on Thursday the 20th of April 2017. A total of 76 people took part. 

16:03 Tim O'Connor An Riocht
16:40 Eoin Surgue
17:20 Maurice Feehan Gneeveguilla AC
20:02 Mei-Meng Cronin
21:29 Niamh Hartnett
22:18 Susan Looney Duhallow AC



Full results below...

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Results & photos of the Ballintotis 4 mile road race...Thurs 20th Apr 2017



Just under 900 runners turned out for this years Ballintotis 4 mile road race in East Cork. This is often seen as the official start of the evening road races for the Summer. It was also pretty obvious why this was voted the best 4 mile road race in Cork in 2016. From the car parks to the catering, it was obvious to see the level of effort that was put in.

Both the men's and women's races were keenly contested with the winners only being decided in the closing stages.

1 James MCCARTHY 19:55 M (1) MO (1) East Cork AC
2 Sean MCGRATH 19:55 M (2) MO (2) East Cork AC
3 Eric CURRAN 20:45 M (3) MO (3) Leevale AC
9 Claire GIBBONS-MCCARTHY 21:31 F (1) F40 (1) Leevale AC
10 Aoife COOKE 21:38 F (2) FO (1) Youghal AC
40 Niamh ROE 23:31 F (3) FO (2) Leevale AC


The full results can be seen HERE

If there are any errors or omissions, please contact MyRunResults.

First woman home...Claire McCarthy of Leevale AC


Photos...
1) Andy O'Rourke Photography has 3 albums... #1 ... #2 ... #3
2) Mick Dooley has a gallery HERE
3) There are a number of galleries up on the Running in Cork Facebook page...
a) Pre-Race
b) Just after start
c) Approx 3.1 miles
d) Post race & prizes


More video & photos below


Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Final instructions for the Ballintotis 4 mile road race... Thurs 20th Apr 2017

One of the most popular races on the calendar is the Ballintotis 4 mile road race. Coming in mid-April, it's usually seen as the official start of the summer season of road races.

Here is some info from the organisers...

Car Parks...
There are three main Car Parks for runners and walkers.

Car Park A is located on the Main Road at the Ballintotis Junction on the Midleton side of Loughaderra Lake.

Car Park B is located on the side road, just off the N25 on the Castlemartyr side of the Lake.

Car Park C is located adjacent to the Community Centre just behind the Church.

Car Parks may be prioritised to cater    for traffic flow - please follow the instructions of    gardai and stewards. In relation to the Car    Parks on race route – cars  will not be allowed    exit until all runners have passed. -



Boston Marathon's first woman finisher Kathrine Switzer competes 50 years later

 

Back in 1967, the Boston Marathon was an all male event and women weren't allowed to compete. A then 20 year old Katherine Switzer entered using only her initials K. V. Switzer and ran. The iconic photo above shows the moment the official, Jock Semple, tried to remove the number and force Ms Switzer from the course. She finished the race in an unofficial time of 4h 20m.

Fifty years on, aged 70, Katherine Switzer ran the 2017 Boston Marathon wearing the same race number '261' that she wore all those years ago. This time, she wasn't alone as she was joined by more than 12,300 women who started the race. Her finish time was 4h 44m...pretty good considering she's 70!


Link...
Katherine Switzer...the first woman to enter and run the Boston Marathon

Launch of Cheetah Run in Fota Wildlife Park



The annual Cheetah Run, held at Fota Wildlife Park, was launched on Tuesday by Cork Paralympian medallist and discus record holder, Niamh McCarthy.

The 5k race will take place on Thursday May 18th and online registration through the Eagle Athletic Club website will open on Wednesday May 3rd. There will also be a one mile race for juvenile runners.


Due to its popularity, the registration usually sells out within a few hours and the race is limited to 900 adults and 100 juveniles in total.

Registration opens on the May 3 in two blocks at 10.00 am and at 7.00pm, costing €15 per adult runner and €8 per juvenile and entry is strictly on-line at www.eagleac.net.

The Cheetah Run adult race commences at 8 pm and the juvenile race starts at 7.15pm on Thursday May 18. Each runner can bring a maximum of four visitors along with them free of charge to watch the race, each runner will receive four wristbands at registration on race night.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

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.


Irish results from the 2017 Boston Marathon

The 2017 Boston Marathon was held on Monday the 17th of April and just over 30,000 people completed the famous 26.2 mile course. There were 177 Irish runners listed in the results and they are shown below.

If anyone knows of any runners from Cork in there, let me know and I'll highlight them.



Results of the Dromina NS 5k in Doneraile Park...Sat 15th Apr 2017

The Domina National School 5k was held in Doneraile Park in North Cork on Saturday the 15th of April 2017 and 133 people took part.

Well done to Mei Ming Cronin who won the race outright finishing ahead of all the men! Mei often features in the top 3 women in the 5k races in Doneraile Park.

1    222    Mei Ming Cronnin        19.12
12    212    Michelle Kelleher    Dromina    24.26
13    220    Mary Murphy    Shandrum AC    25.04

2    133    David Kilmartin    North Cork AC    19.18
3    130    Colm Walsh    Cork    19.48
4    139    Adrian O Sullivan    Freemount    20.50

Full results below...

Monday, April 17, 2017

Results of the Boherbue to Kiskeam 4 mile race...Mon 17th Apr 2017



A total of 122 runners turned out on Easter Monday the 17th of April for the annual Boherbue to Kiskeam 4 mile road race. This race is organised by Gneeveguilla AC and always has a large number of category prizes on offer.

As can be seen from the chart above, the numbers are up a fraction on last year which is a plus. Any race that isn't losing numbers at the moment is doing well.

1 19:18    CIOBANU, Sergiu    Clonliffe Harriers    M    04:49.4
2 19:54    MCCARTHY, James    East Cork AC    M    04:58.4
3 19:58    O'SHEA, Alan    Bantry AC    M35    04:59.4
16 23:37 FINN, Carol    Leevale AC    F    05:54.1
28 25:31 CAHILL, Sharon    Riocht AC    F50    06:22.6
31 25:55 WOODS, Sharon    Mallow AC    F40    06:28.6


The full results are up on the Gneeveguilla AC website

Photos...
1) Gneeveguilla AC have several photo galleries... Race 1 ...  Race 2 ... Race 3 ... Presentation 1 ... Presentation 2 ...

The man who catches Marathon cheats...

While the vast majority of marathon runners are honest, there are a few who will cheat and fabricate faster times. This can be done by cutting out sections of the 26.2 mile course or by giving the race number to someone who can run a lot faster...often called a 'bib mule'.

While timing mats out along the course can catch people who take short cuts and photos can catch bib mules, the sheer number of runners can make it difficult to catch cheaters.

Cue Cindy. According to online results, she has never broken 2 hours for a half-marathon yet she 'finished' the 2016 New York City Marathon in 2016 in a time of 3:17:29. This also gave her a Boston Marathon qualifying time.


After the race, she posted this on social media...
SO THIS HAPPENED AGAIN TODAY. WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT RUNNING MARATHONS IS THAT IT TRULY DOES TEST MENTAL STRENGTH THAT ALSO TRANSLATES TO HOW WE DEAL WITH CHALLENGES IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. RAN MY HEART OUT TODAY AND LEFT EVERYTHING ON THE COURSE. ALL THE TRAINING PAID OFF AND QUALIFIED FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON! ?‍♀️ AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU #BELIEVE. NEXT UP: LOTS OF YOGA AND HIBERNATION!

All very well except there is a guy who runs a website called www.marathoninvestigation.com and he check through suspicious results and time. Post about Cindy. The guy above on the right is shown wearing Cindy's number so she was well and truly caught.

Looking through that website, it would suggest that just over 1% of the entire field for the Boston Marathon may have cheated to get there. This is way way higher than the 0.01% that the organisers suggest.

The full story is also up on the BBC News website.

Ballintotis On-Line Entries close Mon 17th Apr

The big race in Cork this week is the Ballintotis 4 mile road race on Thurs the 20th of April 2017. Ballintotis On-Line  Race Entry Closes On Monday

From the organisers.....On Line Entry for the Ballintotis 4 Mile Road Race closes on Monday April 17th. Please  Log on to ballintotis.com to avail of the pre reg' option.

Those who pre enter on line are advised to collect their number and running buff in the Community Centre on either Wednesday 19th from 5pm to 7pm or from 1pm onwards on Thursday 20th. By entering on line you can of course avoid potential queues on the night and also help the organisers advance their plans.


More info in this previous post.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

British PM Theresa May at 10 mile race

 

Here's something you don't see every day. At a 10 mile road race organised by Maidenhead AC in England last Friday, British PM Theresa May was spotted acting as a race marshal. She helps out at the race most years and did so this year during her Easter break.


More photos

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Results of the MMRA Claragh Mtn race nr Millstreet...Sun 2nd Apr 2017


Looking back at some recent results, I noticed that the Claragh Mountain trail race on Sunday the 2nd of April 2017 attracted a field of 99 runners. While trail races tend to get reasonable numbers, the numbers usually drop off with the steeper ones.

It sounded a bit high so I looked back at the numbers for previous years and plotted out the chart shown above. As you can see, there was a record turnout this year and is probably over double the 40 or so that it used to get in years past. 

1 Paul Deane        M    0:32:53    Clonakilty Road Runners AC    Cork
2 Tom Blackburn        M50    0:33:15    Mooreabbey Milers AC    Tipperary
3 Brian Mullins        M    0:33:17    St.Finbarr's AC    Cork
51 Keadley Tideswell    F    0:44:30    Clonmel AC
56 Debbie McCarthy    F40    0:45:58    Riverstick Kinsale AC    Cork
70 Mandy Parslow    F40    0:50:02    Mooreabbey Milers AC     Tipperary


The full results can be seen HERE

If you are interested in doing any trail races in 2017, there are loads organsed by the Munster Mountain Running Association.

Results of the Sheeps Head 10k...Sat 15th Apr 2017

The annual Sheeps Head 10k organised by Ahakista Rowing Club was held on Saturday the 15th of April 2017 and 101 people took part. Looking through the results, just 9 runners were faster than 7 min/mile pace which seems a bit low.

1  O'Shea     Alan     32:18     5:10/M
2  Harington     Michael 34:58     5:36/M
3  O'Shea     Alex     35:53     5:44/M
17 Harrington     Deirdre  44:54     7:11/M 
20  Coppinger     Alice      45:12     7:14/M 
24  O'Brien     Julie      46:03     7:22/M 


The full results can be seen HERE

Results & phoots of the Ballincollig 5k parkrun...Sat 15th Apr 2017

 The numbers were up slightly this week with 330 taking part in the 5k parkrun in Ballincollig Regional Park. Some people have said on the past that race numbers might be down on a bank holiday weekend because more people are away on breaks. The rise this weekend certainly suggests that isn't the case. It looks as if the weather and other local races are much bigger factors.

1 Cillian O'LEARY    16:40    VM35-39    M1    Raheny Shamrock AC
2 Barry O'MAHONY    18:02    SM30-34    M2    Piranha TC
3 John LYNCH    18:14    VM35-39    M3    Tracton AC
5 Laura LOMBARD    18:42    VW35-39    F1
23 Mary SWEENEY    21:09    VW55-59    F2    St Finbarrs AC
29 Louise SHEEHAN    21:46    VW40-44    F3    Ballincollig Athletic Club


The results of the 44th edition can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) The organisers have a gallery HERE