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Road Relays 2017

Report by Gareth Murran

The National Road relays took place today in Raheny. This is one of my favorite races of the year. Since I began running with the club in 2009 I have run all but one of the road relays. In previous years, I ran the 1-mile leg which I honestly prefer but in recent years as more of our Senior runners moved into the Master’s category I’ve been running the two miles. This year was my first as an over 35 Maters runner and I was delighted to be back doing the mile.

 

With no Masters Women team today it was the Master’s men up first at 2.30 PM. This race is a 1-2-1 lap format with Gareth (00:04:46), Karol (00:10:08) and Derek (00:04:59).  I wasn’t sure how this was going to go after being on holiday for 10 days. After throwing a few elbows to secure a good start as the gun went I found myself in the lead, maintaining that for the first 400 meters or so. I then got a little worried that I was going too fast and slowed a small bit, allowing a couple of the Raheny runners to pass me.

The key thing about the lap is that the second half is easier than the first as it’s mostly downhill. When we turned the corner I quickly came to Myles and Paul who were shouting to give it everything. It was then that I realized that I was coating a little and dug in a bit more. I managed to get back into second with 200M to go and maintained that until the handover with Karol.  Karol had to run the 2 miles and did an excellent job after running a sub 55 minute 10 mile only last weekend. Karol handed over to Derek in 3rd spot and Derek, also just back from holiday ran a fantastic anchor leg to bring the team home in 3rd and secure a national bronze. It was a great all-round team effort with fantastic support on the course from those that came to watch and those that were running the seniors.

In the same race, we had 2 more Sportsworld teams with Martin Keenan (00:05:16),  Phil Kilgannon (00:10:37), Wesley Harrison (00:05:18) running a very solid 13th place. In the over 50 categories we had a 5th place from Jim Browne (00:05:41),  Anthony Gillen (00:12:00) and Declan Brady

The senior’s women were up next with Catherine (05:36), Sinead (00:11:34) and Helen (00:05:24) all putting in some excellent performances. The girls ran 1-2-1  and  most of the team being relatively inexperienced they are sure to move from 9th to top 5 next year. A great achievement in such a high-class field.

Last up was the senior men with Karl (00:10:43), Mark (00:05:22), Conor(00:16:37) and Stephen (00:10:58) facing the toughest challenge with 27 teams to compete against.  The lads all ran well. With none of the team having previously having run the event they finished a very respectable 21st in a field of internationals and sub 4-minute milers.

Thanks to everyone who was not running that came out to support and particularly Emily and Myles for their much-appreciated advice and coaching. The graded  meets starts on Wednesday so the track / road racing season is well and truly underway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Leinster 10 mile Championships

Race report by Joe Byrne

Photos by Joe, Peter Knaggs and Lucy D’Arcy. For the full album on Facebook: Click here
Full Sportsworld results below
Leinster 10m Championships/Battle of Clontarf 10m Race.
Total abstinence from all chocolate over the Easter weekend was to prove decisive for Sportsworld athletes who medalled in a range of categories over the keenly contested battlefield of the Clontarf 10m race which incorporated the Leinster 10m Championships.
Bank Holiday Monday morning gave rise to an early start for the Runners and Supporters of Sportsworld as St Annes Park, Raheny was the venue for the above.
Traffic reports on radio warned of congestion northbound on the M50 due to a slow moving vehicle. This could only mean 1 thing. Martin Keenan was on his way to the race.
10am and after final instructions from Myles 15 Sportsworld athletes took their place amongst the 500 entries for the start of the 10m race.
The race itself started with a long run up and down the main avenue within the park followed by 2 x 4m loops of the perimeter. From the start Karol Cronin took his place amongst the leaders and clung on to finish with overall bronze medal in the senior category and gold in the over 35 category. Great running Karol.
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Karol was followed home by Kevin Curran in overall 18th place with Mark Hollowed (49th) in his first race for Sportsworld being the 3rd counter for the club. Hot on his heels was Martin (Lewis Hamilton) Keenan (53rd) just ahead of the smooth running Alan Hynes (61st) whilst Jose Chapa (67th)continues to go from strength to strength with another 10 mile PB. Eoin O Brien (237th)completed his very own easter egg hunt on the course. Above placings meant a finishing team position of 6th out 13 teams in what was a very competitive race.
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In the male o50s category the team missed out on bronze medal by 2 placings to Balbriggan. If ever a lesson was learnt in how every placing counts in deciding the final standings then this is it. All was not lost however as Anthony Gillen (62nd) picked up bronze in the individual category. Well deserved Anthony, after a narrow miss in Waterford a few months ago. Anthony was followed in by Jim Browne (94th), the baby of the team Peter Knaggs (117th) and Philip Kerr (128th).
These guys have already resolved to avenge this narrow gap in the Leinster Masters 6k in Gowran in 2 weeks. Ray Carpenter also flew the flag for sportsworld by claiming a bronze in the individual o60 category.
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Where the lads missed out above our ladies o50s were able to show the way by claiming  silver in the team event and only missing gold to the hosts by 12 placings. The team was made up by Orla McMenamin who took bronze in the o50 category whilst Eileen Rowland claimed Sportsworlds 2nd gold medal of the day in the individual 055 category. Audral O Driscoll completed the line up for the silver medal winning team. Well done ladies.
Race over and as is customary The Red Stables was the venue for much needed chat and refreshments and before athletes headed off for a chocolate indulgence so richly deserved. Well done one and all.
Race reporter Joe
A great race, increasing in popularity every year and maybe time to stick a diary entry for Easter Monday 2018!!!
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Sportsworld Medals

Over 50 Women Team 
1 Raheny Shamrock 651pts
2 Sportsworld 671pts 
3 Sloggers to Joggers 927pts
Over 35 Men 
1 Karol Cronin – Sportsworld – 54:10
2 David Fitzpatrick – Tallaght – 56:11
3 Brian O’Murchu – Sli Cualann – 57:31
Over 50 Women
1 Olwyn Dunne – Crusaders 77:14
2 Anne Lyons – Clonliffe Harriers – 80:17
3 Orla McMenamin – Sportsworld -84:23 
Over 50 Men 
1 John Farrelly – Rathfarnham WSAF – 63:56
2 David Long – Crusaders -64:46
3 Anthony Gillen – Sportsworld – 66:16 
Over 55 Women 
1 Eileen Rowland – Sportsworld – 74:47 
2 Charlotte Stevens – Sli Cualann – 80:22
3 Sheila Verdon – 80:52
Over 60 Men 
 1 Terry Clarke – Rathfarnham WSAF – 67:24
 2 David Byrne – 76:58
 3 Ray Carpenter – Sportsworld – 77:07

Sportsworld Overall Results

4th Karol CRONIN 00:54:10
18th Kevin CURRAN 00:59:15
49th Mark HOLLOWED 01:04:01
53 Martin KEENAN 01:04:19
61 Alan HYNES 01:05:57
62 Anthony GILLEN 01:06:16
67 Jose CHAPA 01:06:36 (PB!)
94 Jim BROWNE 01:09:25
117 Peter KNAGGS 01:11:45
128 Phillip KERR 01:12:39
154 Eileen ROWLAND 01:14:47
183 Raymond CARPENTER01:17:07
237 Eoin O’BRIEN 01:22:05
253 Orla MCMENAMIN 01:24:23
264 Audrai O’DRISCOLL 01:25:16

National 10k 2017

Report by Aidan Curran – Photos by Grainne Lynch

Sportsworld results below

Pre-race in the Phoenix Park on a grey Sunday morning, and the breaking news is that Fionnuala McCormack is a late withdrawal from the elite field of the Great Ireland Run.

Race reporter Aidan

Regular competitors at this event will have noticed other absences. The title sponsor from the last few years is gone, and without their red-and-green branding the start area is lacking colour. Also, this year’s race isn’t being shown on TV, so a lot of the buzz and hype is missing.

On the upside, we’re spared last year’s surreal pre-race entertainment, where a priest sang a former Eurovision-winning song at us from the start gantry. (The organisers seemed to have misunderstood the idea of a ‘mass participation’ race.)

Still, race day at the corner of Furze and Chesterfield is always exciting, and at the heart of this hullaballoo is the National 10K Championships. There we are in the wave at the front, on the VIP side of the velvet rope and conspicuous in our club vests and our short shorts.

The mass of runners in the waves behind wouldn’t thank us if they realized that a national championship means a championship course; the first half is flat to downhill but the second half is hilly and exposed to whatever wind there might be.

Sportsworld’s women’s team had already set off with the elite women’s start and they put in another great performance for the club. Sinead Tangney finished an excellent 7th in the senior women’s event in 38:22 and we had two teams in the top 10: along with Sinead, Crona Brady and Lucy D’Arcy also scored and ensured our A team finished fifth, while Zoe Greene, Caoimhe Costigan and Eileen Rowland combined to come in tenth overall, above all the other B teams – an excellent display of Sportsworld’s continued depth of strength.

Eileen just missed out on an individual podium place, coming 4th in the F55s, but Judith Lloyd ensured honours for Sportsworld women by winning the F70 category.

On the men’s side, Stephen O’Donnell and Karl Chatterton at 41st and 42nd in 35 minutes were our highest finishers in the senior race, with Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin also placing well and getting in comfortably under the forty minutes. Conor McCarthy, our fastest man today, would have got 38th place but the official results have him running hors compétition, as they say at the Cannes Film Festival.

Meanwhile, back in competition, Trevor Lloyd came 3rd in the M70 category – well done to both Judith and Trevor.

As for my own race, well… some races you’re playing the piano and other races you’re pushing the piano, and this was a piano-pushing day for me. From gun to tape I had no energy or adrenaline in my body, so I figured on keeping an even pace in the hope that any foolhardy frontrunners would come back to me on the hills.

This helped me keep my head up for the second half of the race, but my time and place were well down on what I had hoped to achieve. (If things had gone to plan I would have scored on the team, one of my ambitions.)

But that’s the useful thing about having a championship race tucked into a mass participation event. Do well and you’ve done well in the nationals; do less well and sure it’s only an oul’ road race.

Sportsworld Results

5km
Katie Nugent 00:24:19
Tara Murphy 00:25:03

10km
Conor Mccarthy 00:35:37
Stephen O’Donnell 00:35:42
Karl Chatterton 00:35:53
Sinead Tangney 00:38:19
Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin 00:38:20
Garrett Moran 00:42:46
Adrian Lanigan 00:43:48
Paul Canniffe 00:44:16
Sean Garry 00:44:45
Crona Brady 00:44:51
Lucy D’Arcy 00:45:04
Aidan Curran 00:45:11
Zoe Green 00:45:32
Caoimhe Costigan 00:45:45
Eileen Rowland 00:46:25
Sandra Gowran 00:47:09
Micheal Callaghan 00:49:18
delourdes Seymour 00:51:16
Trevor Lloyd 00:52:32
Audrai O’Driscoll 00:52:38
Judith Lloyd 00:53:04
Meaghan Carmody 00:57:26

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2017 Meet and Train Summer League Race 1

Report by Naoise Waldron & photos by Catherine Mulleady

Sportsworld results at bottom

The 1st meet and train of the summer league took place on Sunday last, hosted by Bros Pearse in Cherryfield Park. The meet and train league is great for women of all abilities, for those new to running, to those coming back to it and those who have never stopped!

Race reporter Naoise in acton

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning to be running. I  used the 2 mile jog from my house to warm up (and wake up) and arrived up just in time for team photos.

We had 12 entries over 3 teams and everyone ran their best out on the 3 lap course. Jean led us home in 2nd place, in what seemed to be a close nit race for 1st place, with only a second between herself and the winner Grainne Regan of Crusaders.

Next we had Sinéad in 8th position, followed by myself in 9th, Patricia 10th and Catherine 11th. It was great to have the girls to work off throughout the race. Aoife and Carmel had spectacular sprint finishes to hold on to their places. All in all it was a great mornings work! We had great support on the course which definitely kept me going, many thanks to those who came out to watch and cheer.

We retired to St Enda’s GAA club for a cuppa and and a very impressive post race spread. The winter league winners were announced with the Sportsworld A team winning the Gold category, with Sportsworld D coming 3rd the the bronze category. The A team are already on track to hold on to the title. The next race takes place on April 23rd hosted by Lucan Harriers.

Sportsworld results:

2nd Jean Wilson 19.04
8th Sinéad Staunton 20.18
9th Naoise Waldron 20.31
10th Patricia Fitzmaurice 20.37
11th Catherine Mulleady 20.39
19th Valerie Power 21.52
24th Natalia O’Grady 22.16
31st Sandra Kelly 22.53
42nd Carmel Dolan 23.45
46th Anne Marie Scanlon 24.23
51st Bronwyn Murphy White 24.45
63rd Aoife Lavin 26.10

Full results can be found on the Women’s Meet and Train Facebook page: Click here

Rome Marathon 2017

Report by Martin Doyle (finished with a PB of 3:06:32!)

I arrived in Rome Saturday morning. The city bursting with people and traffic. Checked in to the hotel which was only 3km from the start line to save rushing next morning.

The start and finish area were situated right beside the Colosseum, it all looked very impressive.

The race would start at 8:45.I arrived to start and hour early and it was already pretty full, with the race just split into 3 waves. 8:45 eventually came and I was on my way, I know I didn’t want to go out to quick but the first couple of km were ridiculously packed and against my better judgement I had to zig-zag through the crowd just keep a decent pace.

Around the 4km was a hill heading out of the city, this is where the crowd seemed to space out a little.

At this stage the rain had started,but I don’t think anyone was expecting the downpour that came, with flashes of lightening and thunder we had torrential rain for the first hour. The roads that go from asphalt to cobblestones( lots of cobblestone????)the surface grip was poor with a few falling on turns.

The first half of the marathon is pretty flat, I could keep a decent pace. There was water stations at every 5km and fruit at every 10km.

The second half at about 28k was a long hill heading back towards the city centre, at this stage you could feel it taking some of the energy out of your pace. Then we were back onto the cobblestone, which were now starting to get hard to run on. As we got to the 35-36km mark the crowds started to appear in numbers again with cheers gave you that extra push.Close to 40km I past the Spanish steps and the atmosphere had really picked up, I was nearly finished.

There was one last long pull up through a tunnel towards the finish, this felt like never ending hell, but as I turned out of it there was to my relief a nice downward run to the finish line.

I crossed the finish line feeling happy I had given it everything I’d got.

Dublin Port Tunnel 10K Run 2017

Report by David Saunders

The mark the 10th anniversary of the Tunnel’s opening, a 10K Road Race in aid of Focus Ireland was arranged. It was a glorious Sunday morning which marked the beginning of summertime, so all participants had to get up an hour earlier.

The route was to run 5km to the exit of the northbound bore of the tunnel  in Whitehall before turning back to run a further 5km to Dublin Port.  The start was fast in beautiful sunshine, then into the tunnel for a long downhill section.  This was followed by a gradually uphill section.   We caught a glimpse of the outside before turning back to the start line in the opposite tunnel.  This section had a longer downhill stretch and a steep last 1km to the finishing line. The second half of the race was faster.

There were a number of Sportsworld Athletes in action with Aoife and Crona Brady keeping pace with each other and narrowly missing out on a medal position. They finished just outside the top 3 with identical times.

The tunnel run was certainly a different kind race and considering it’s in a tunnel it was a new experience for many participants. The traffic information boards were used to display encouraging messages, there was music and lights at the 3km and 7km markers. It was a fast course on a straight piece of road allowing the competitors to take advantage of race track like conditions.

It was a most enjoyable event from which Focus Ireland will benefit.

Results

Winners
Declan Power 33.09
Anne Marie Kenny 41.47

Sportsworld Results
20th David Saunders 38.59
Aoife Brady  44.05 (4th female overall)
Crona Brady 44.05 (5th female overall)
Eoin O’Brien  51.50

BHAA K-Club 10km

Report and photos thanks  to Peter Knaggs

I don’t know why but, having never visited, I envisaged the post run spread at the K Club to entail being attended to by nattily attired Butlers serving swan in a Georgian mansion.

The reality, however, was only marginally less salubrious. Hot dogs, pasta, noodles and plenty of cake were the order of the day.
Before that, though, what a fabulous run in glorious weather. The BHAA K Club 10k has a great reputation and it lived up to its billing in spades. A decent turnout from Sportsworld athletes, some running in their corporate alter egos, returned some great performances. Jose Chapa continues his run of great form and broke the 40 minute barrier to record a career best, while Anna Delaney also gave everything to achieve a superb PB.
There was a respectful minutes applause before the race for the late and very highly respected Maurice Timmons, a great stalwart of the running scene.
There was a big turnout of 429 runners, testament to the reputation this race has for the “great spread” afterwards. Not just a few slices of Brac and a cup of Tea – definitely one for your culinary running diary for next year. Spare a thought for our Lucy D’Arcy, though – while we were scoffing all before us, she was busy wrapping up the results and dismantling the timing apparatus and only later got to eat the
barely existent leftovers.
The course itself was reasonably flat and gently undulating, reminding one of those great summer road races down in Dunboyne and Dunshaughlin.
Afterwards we sat in glorious sunshine outside, ate the very tasty grub and, although very sorry to miss the Sportsworld track session, remarked how lucky it was we made the decision to run in such a splendid location on such a lovely morning.

Sportsworld Results

Paul O’connell 37.07
Jose Chapa 39.54
Peter Knaggs 42.39
Adrian Lanigan 43.06
Anna Delaney 43.39
Phillip Kerr 43.46
Eileen Butler 43.57
Noel Lynam 44.22
Conor Kenny 51.27
Maria Finnegan 52.12
Ray Carpenter 54.52

2017 MSB St. Patricks Festival 5K

Report by Michael Cunningham

I have watched the St Patricks day 5K for the last 6 or 7 years but never ran it. Handing out the race flyers, injury or post Cross County blues I never got around to doing it. Watching a 5Km while drinking a cup of coffee is so easy, effortless, even enjoyable. Running it mmmmmm. I ran the Phoenix park 10mile last Sunday with the race organiser of this years race as he did the last part of his 2.5 hour run training for the London marathon. So while running that my mind was made up to enter this years race.

A few of us did our warm up in St Stephens green which you easily forget is so nice, full of history and character and on a Sunday morning runners warming up nearly had the park to themselves. After a few strides it was time to head to the start line were around 20 Sportsworld runners were lining up to do the race. It really is disgraceful how none of us had hangovers or had St Patrick’s day outfits on.

The course is flat with a few twists and turns but because of the wind you were happy of the turns as it meant a change in the wind direction. The course goes through Georgian Dublin so any one visiting Ireland does get to see a nice part of Dublin while doing a 5k race.

There is nothing easy about a 5k and I think the shorter the distance the more you have to concentrate and push yourself along and of course lie to yourself as your running that you are nearly there, your running great and this is the last time I’m doing a 5km.

The men’s team was 4th overall out performing the women’s team for once with great runs from Karol, Stephen and Karl. Val Power organised a brunch after the race but she never said they were going to pick who did the race report at that brunch. Pretty sneaky Val. Below are the race results.

Sportsworld Results:

16th Karol CRONIN 00:16:26
33 Stephen O’DONNELL 00:17:19
40 Karl CHATTERTON 00:17:43
45 Michael CUNNINGHAM 00:18:00
58 David SAUNDERS 00:18:14

68 Martin KEENAN 00:18:31
99 Denis McCaul 00:19.18
146 Johnny DWYER 00:20:09
153 Jean WILSON 00:20:24
165 Jim BROWNE 00:20:38
195 Dermot SULLIVAN 00:21:10

209 Eoin O’BRIEN 00:21:29
267 Ray CARPENTER 00:22:46
270 Valerie POWER 00:22:52
277 Damiano CELESTINI 00:23:08
291 Sandra KELLY 00:23:18

303 Grainne LYNCH 00:23:27
317 Breda BROWNE 00:23:45
351 Conor KENNY 00:24:21
455 Tara MURPHY 00:25:56
481 Phil DALY 00:26:36

Barcelona Marathon 2017

“Més Que un Race Report” by  Will Greensmyth

 

I travelled with some pals from Limerick to Barcelona last weekend for the marathon. I got talked into signing up for this race while supping pints in JJ Bowles’ pub in Limerick after the Munster v Glasgow game last October. Great call, genius.

While I didn’t get the pb time I thought I was in the shape of, I did get around in one piece with no injuries. The heat was tough and I guess a winter of training in cold and wet Dublin wasn’t condusive to a spring marathon. I thought that my training went well with decent long runs logged, and my weekly mileage since December was consistently up around 80-100k mark but as Phil K advised me post-race, I probably didn’t do enough long pace runs, which would have helped put another bit of steel in the legs. Still Marathon #4 in the bag, and a decent block of training to attack a fast 5k/10k time in the summer.

Anyway back to Barcelona, we landed in on Friday afternoon and there was no escaping the reality of the heat which we classified as scorchio. In order to keep cool and stay properly hydrated, we took refuge in The George Payne Irish pub for the Wales v Ireland rugby match. The following morning, we hit up the expo early to collect numbers. The expo was located at Placa Espanya, right beside where the marathon starts and finish. A stroll around Parc Gúell that afternoon ticked the culture box for the weekend. I retired early to the cot on Saturday night.

Alarm set for 5.30am on Sunday morning, quick feed of porridge and off I toddled from the hotel to the metro. En route, I met many revellers still partying who must have quite the come down on the metro surrounded by luminous lycra clad runners in their hundreds.

There was the usual pre-race buzz around the start line. Into the pens we went and at 8.30am, we were let loose on the streets of Barcelona, showered with confetti and serenaded by Freddie Mercury. Straight away I knew this was going to be a long tough hoor of a morning, the first couple of kms were up hill and I don’t think I relaxed into the race until after five miles or so. I had notions of breaking my pb of 3’09 so placed myself a sensible distance behind the 3 hour pacer lads and kept a nice rhythm. As the kms increased so did the heat and it was obvious how much this would play a part in the day as everyone seemend to be gulping down the water from the first refreshments station onwards.  At half way I felt tickety-boo and was thinking that a respectable – but not by Gareth Murran’s sub 2’40 standards 😉  – time of sub 3’05 was on the cards.

A few miles down the road however and the gig was up. We came to the Forum where we had to run 2k up and 2k back down the same road. This was a part I knew well, from partying at the Primavera music festival a couple of times in the past. However, this was not a happy reunion and unfortunately I had to seek refuge twice in the portaloos in this stretch. The time lost along here and the stop/start nature meant it was a long traipse home from 30k. I was going to finish the damn thing though, and I shuffled, jogged, walked my way home to a time of 3’24”. The support in the last 10k was unreal – even better and more intense than Berlin or Dublin. At times, I felt like a Tour De France cyclist climbing up the alps with the amount of people cheering “Venga Venga” in our faces and running (well, walking) alongside me.

Crossing the line, I was disappointed. Then I looked around, saw moms and dads crossing the line with their kids (at least, I assume, they were their kids) and some lad with an Ecuador flag bawling his eyes out and I realised that it was a sunny morning in Barcelona, I wasn’t in a field in Ballycotton and a great night of tapas scoffing and dive bars awaited with good friends.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.

 

Ballycotton 10 2017

Report by Naoise Waldron

Photos from the ‘Running in Cork Blog’ Facebook Page. For Full albums: Click here

On Sunday 12th March a number of Sportsworld runners made the trip to Ballycotton in Cork for the 40th running of the famous 10 mile course.

I had been in two minds all week about whether I would run, but when I woke up in Passage West that morning to glorious sunshine, I decided that it would be a shame to miss the race. I had combined the trip to Cork with a visit to a friend on Saturday to avoid having to complete the round trip in one day.

I left my friends house with plenty of time to get to Ballycotton and spent an hour in the car park psyching myself up. Having arrived there I realised that Ballycotton was a lot windier than Passage West had been and I was beginning to question my decision.

I met Anne in the car park and we wandered down to the start area together. This year they changed the route to the start line and as we were dropping off our bags we were met with the most spectacular view.

We made our way to the start with only minutes to spare and tried to squeeze our way as near to the front as possible but made very little progress. And then we were off.

As we set off down the main street music was blaring and the crowds were cheering. As I left the them tune from Baywatch behind me, I couldn’t help think that I might need rescuing later on!

The course is roughly 2 miles down hill out of the village, a 6 mile loop and then the same 2 miles back in to the village again. Starting so far back, my first mile or so was slow and I was trying not to get too caught up with weaving in and out of people.

Once we were down the hill, the race field started to spread out a bit and I got in to a rhythm. There was a bit of cross wind for the first few miles and when that eased off, the conditions were perfect.

One good thing about starting at the back was I could see the Sportsworld singlets up ahead of me, so I was using them as targets and I slowly made my way up through the field. There was lots of encouragement from club mates I met along the way – thanks to Ann, Aoife, Tom and Phillip to name a few.

After the half way point I found the sun was over powering and started to wilt a bit with the heat of it. The final 2 miles up hill were tougher than I had remembered them being the previous year.

I spotted Peter ahead of me and focused on keeping him in my sights for the final mile. There was a huge crowd cheering on the main street again. The race organisers have countdown signs every 200m with 1000m to go. There was discussion after about whether this was helpful or not – not being the general consensus. Sometimes 200m seems so long!!

A few of us gathered after for the walk back to the car park and post race analysis. In general people were happy with the run, there were a number of PBs gotten and the trip down had been worth it. Our top man was Karol in 32nd place overall and Sinead was our first female to cross the line in a spectacular 5th place. Not bad going for her first 10 mile race! Race winners were Mick Clohissey of Raheny in 49:20 and Siobhan O’Doherty (Borrisokane) in 58:02.

Sportsworld Results

32nd Karol Cronin 55:53
5th Sinead Tangney 1:01:45
Martin Doyle 1:05:18
Diarmuid O’Suilleabhain 1:05:52
Michael Lillis 1:05:48
Damien Geraghty 1:06:54
Jose Chapa 1:07:24
Alan Hynes 1:10:14
Naoise Waldron 1:12:03
Adrian Lanigan 1:12:09
Kathleen Horgan 1:12:30
Peter Knaggs 1:12:44
Aoife O’Leary 1:13:29
Neil Purdy 1:13:50
Philip Kerr 1:14:44
Noel Lynam 1:15:11
Thomas Kinsella 1:16:50
Ann Higgins 1:19:41
Peter Duggan 1:22:55
Anne Belton 1:25:35
Siun Tobin 1:29:37
Declan Horgan 1:34:31
Kathryn Potterton 1:36:55

Full results available on http://www.myrunresults.com/events/ballycotton_10_mile/1987/results

Photos from the ‘Running in Cork Blog’ Facebook Page. For Full albums: Click here

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