For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo of the main man Jerry Forde at the recent Cork BHAA MTU 5k.
This one has 150-pieces and you can find it HERE
Welcome to the Running in Cork blog, home of the Cork running community. This is the largest website in Cork & Munster for news on road races and general running news. Included are a current race calendar, race previews, photos, results as well as some local, national and international news items.
For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo of the main man Jerry Forde at the recent Cork BHAA MTU 5k.
This one has 150-pieces and you can find it HERE
Last weekend in the UK, Nicki Clark had the honour of being the first ever parkrunner to reach the 1,000 volunteer milestone!
As can been seen from the photo, it means there is a new milestone colour. 250 is green, 500 is blue and the new 1000 mark will be yellow.
I think the highest volunteer credit in Cork is still a bit shy of 400 and Bere Island leads the charge on that one.
Earlier this month on the 11th of March, UCC announced that they had to close the athetlics track due to safety concerns.
They released this statement... "There are now over 15 full rips down to the underlying surface and perhaps up to 20 per cent of the track with large bubbles on it – which will lead to further tears. We were advised by Sports Lab to cut away all rips and bubbles but on looking further at this we all agreed that the scale of cutting would be too high to sustain our operations safely. We cannot allow students/staff and external users continue to use the tack in such conditions. "The underlying surface is very wet and slippery and cannot be repaired at this time. The scale of the repairs is such that the full track will probably need replacing in the right weather conditions.”
All of this was reported in the Echo article HERE and it seems accurate.
As can be seen from the photo above, the track layer is obviously losing its adhesion to the surface below and it likely to break up and become a trip hazard.
The track surface was laid in late 2011 so it's just over 12 years old. I would have thought it would have lasted longer than this but maybe not? Did the floods of 2009 have an impact on the moisture in the subsurface? Who knows.
That was fine until Dylan O'Connell of the Echo wrote this headline on the 12th of March in this Echo article...
Think about what the headline says... all of the adults and juveniles that are members of athletic clubs in Cork City and county can't train because the Mardyke track is closed! It's complete nonsense of course.
In terms of adults, the vast majority of the club members are runners and they don't go anywhere near the Mardyke track to train. Any runners that were using it can easily make alternative arrangements now that the evenings are getting longer.
On the 21st of March, the Claire Byrne show on RTE radio ran will the same incorrect headline... "Why thousands of athletes in Cork are without a running track to train on"
The adults that really need an athletics track to train are those involved in track events like sprints & middle distance e.g. 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m. The truth is that the number of track & field senior athletes is very small but they still need some place to train.
The biggest losers in this will be the juvenile athletes. There should have been doing competitions on an athletics track for the summer and that's for club members as well as for schools competitions. In terms of disruption, the number of juveniles impacted may be large but nowhere near the 8,600 claimed.
Why the fibs? It's a good narrative to put out there to put pressure on politicians to get involved.
Athletics Ireland... During the month, the CEO of Athletics Ireland Hamish Adams meet with UCC to discuss the situation and they released this statement. Maybe he just popped down from Dublin for a chat but I would assume the question of money and who is going to pay for a new surface came up. I'm sure UCC would be delighted if someone else paid for the new surface.
Irish Independent... It looked as if a week ago a solution had been found but Cathal Dennehy wrote this is the Irish Independent on Wed 27th March... "Hopes that the Mardyke track in Cork would be repaired and reopened in the coming months have been dashed after UCC confirmed that it will require a complete resurfacing, renbdering it out of action in the "short to medium term". The article also mentions that UCC are dealing with a claim from a user at the facility.
In conclusion... There doesn't look like there is any easy solution. Looking at Google, the travel times from Cork City to the athletics track in Newcastle West in Co Limerick is 1h 15m so traveling there by bus might be an option for competitions?
Someone did mention to me how if you look at other sporting organisations like the GAA, FAI and a host of others, they all have their own facilities. In Cork, there is the farcical situation where the Cork Athletics Board have spent several hundred thousand Euros on a 'dedicated' cross country course out by Riverstick which sits idle for most of the year growing grass while there's not a single athletics track in the city or county to use. You couldn't make it up.
Race news update - 26th March 2024: The Cobh 10 mile is now SOLD OUT.
There are fewer than 100 places left for the Great Railway Run 25k from Cork City to Carrigaline... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2024/02/notice-great-railway-run-25km-sun-21st.html
First place finish for Carol Finn in Torc Woods trail race |
The IMRA race last weekend was the 8k trail event in Torc Wood near Killarney last Sunday 24th March 2024. A total of 87 runners completed the course.
Full results... https://imra.ie/events/results/id/2426/category/O/
Photos HERE
The annual Mallow 10-mile road race was held on Sunday the 24th of March 2024 on what was a damp day. A total of 1004 runners crossed the finish line which is down about 2% on last year.
Full results HERE
Photos... (updated 25th Mar 6:15pm)
1) Joe Murphy has loads of photos as per usual on the way...
a) 1-mile mark ... Album 1 of 3 ... Album 2 of 3 ... Album 3 of 3 ...
b) 9-mile mark... Album 1 ... Album 2... Album 3... Album 4 ... Album 5... Album 6... Album 7... Album 8... Album 9...
** The Equinox **
As I write on the 21st March, we hit the stage of the year where sun-up / sun-down is equal. Throw in dawn before sunrise and evening after sunset and we are ahead in light available.Time to be thinking about a change in ourselves and attitudes.
The year and the weather chart a predictable course, sometimes the change needed is between our own two ears.
Time to be finding the summer gear and starting to consign the winter woolies to the cupboard. (It is Ireland so don’t go mad)
Time to looking forward to some short evening races locally.
Time to be getting serious about any plans for a big Autumn run and clocking up the mileage.
Time to challenge ourselves in many ways.
Lots of runners look for races with flat routes and fast times. I can understand it but I don’t agree.
A hilly route with lovely views will always be slower but maybe a better sense of satisfaction when you finish it.
A PB over a distance only applies to a particular course. Allow yourself the leeway to be slower but more fulfilled.
Chasing that actual PB forever can lead to disappointment, whereas just doing the best you can, on any given day is a far more rewarding way to run and live your life.
I speak from experience and my own situation as one who is aging and slowing down. My PB days are gone, but an age related good performance is always possible.
However I’m as happy with some of my own times now, as I was many years ago. It is relative to the here and now and the fact I still am doing something.
How many sports allow you to still participate at my age..? Answer.. Very few.
So forget the moans, the groans, the worries and anything else that holds you back.
Get out into the light and just be magnificent. Enjoy lacing the running shoes and know that you are an integral part of something good, regardless of your time or finishing position.
Lecture over. No run today. The sun is shining, I’m going cycling (total hypocrite)
#pwr
For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a photo from last Saturday's 5k parkrun in Tramore Valley Park.
This one has 209 pieces and you can find it HERE
The Cork BHAA PwC 5k in Cork City is coming up on Wednesday the 10th of April 2024 at 7:30pm.
This is always a very popular race and should get a good crowd again as it's centrally located in the heart of Cork City and about as flat a 5k course as you can get. It's also the first evening race of 2024 in Cork!
First off, the race HQ is the PwC building at One Albert Quay. You can enter there on the evening of the race from 6pm. As always, it's €5 for registered BHAA runners and €10 for non-registered.
One Albert Quay |
From PwC... We are pleased to inform you that we are hosting the third PwC Anthony Reidy Memorial 5k race, in association with the BHAA, this spring.
We also welcome donations to our chosen charity for this year, UNICEF Ireland.
Please donate at: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/PwCCorkUNICEF
For more information on the event, please go to: https://www.corkbhaa.com/races/pwc/ or contact PwC Cork on 021 425 4000.
We look forward to hopefully seeing you on the evening.
This race is officially called the PwC Anthony Reidy Memorial 5k
Anthony Reidy was an Assurance partner in PwC’s Cork office. He sadly passed away in July 2021. He was much beloved, well respected and well known amongst his colleagues, clients and around Cork. We are holding this race to commemorate him.
Please donate at: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/PwCCorkUNICEF
Course... There is a change in the route for 2024 and the 5k course will now be one big loop rather than two laps of the Centre Park Rd - Monahan Rd circuit. As can be seen from the map below, the course goes as far east as the Atlantic Pond and then does a bit of a loop on the plaza around SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
New course marked in miles |
The main thing to remember is that the start and finish lines are near Kennedy Park and they're only a short distance from the race HQ at One Albert Quay. Registration from 6pm.
As per usual, there will be refreshments post race in One Albert Quay, which is where the BHAA prize-giving will happen.
The IMRA Claragh Mtn 7km trail race near Millstreet was held on Sunday 16th of March 2024 on what turned out to be a very wet day. A total of 54 runners took part in this event.
Full results HERE
Photos... IMRA have a gallery HERE
First 3 men |
John Spelman of East Cork AC... Overall series winner |
The Cloyne Commons 4K Winter Series from Nov 2023 to March 2024 was organised by the Cloyne District & Community Council.
Individual race results in the series...
These are the overall prize winners of the 4k series...
Top 3 men & women...
Rebecca McEvoy is the first woman home |
The 5th and final race in the Cloyne Commons 4k Series was held on Sunday 17th March 2024.
Race #5 17th March 2024
Top 3 men & women...
1 1650 Adian Noone Leevale AC M 00:12:48
2 136 John Spelman East Cork AC M 00:13:06
3 66 Keith Kelly Youghal AC M45 00:13:13
11 77 Rebecca McEvoy St Finbarr's AC F 00:14:34
21 54 Katie Hennessy Midleton AC FJ 00:16:10
22 1595 Niamh O Connor East Cork AC F40 00:16:10
Full results below...