Christmas and New Years catch up - January 10th, 2022
Firstly the club would like to wish all members a happy and prosperous new year. Hopefully gold medals and PB's will be the top stories each week!
Road Races:
We had a few athletes out and about over the holiday period with some standout performances. Tim set the tone on St Stephens Day with a time the club has not seen since Castlemaytr 1986 when Liam ran the same time. Tim equaled Liam's time of 19.02 with a 5th place in the MSD Clonmel 4 mile. Due to the new shoe technology the times today are a little harder to compare with the past so I have created a new club records section where "Super Shoe" records will be captured separately to the pre super shoe ones.
The old club records are still there to be shot at but without carbon plates and fancy pebax foam please.
Norah and Claire had a mother daughter day out in Togher then on the 27th. Norah ran 19.46 with Claire running 23.31.
Tim laced up again in the Grange Fermoy 10k and came within 2 seconds of club president Gerry Wallace's track club record of 30.31 but still nearly a minute short of Liam's road time of 29.39. Unfortunately for Tim his rival in the Leevale colours made it 2-2 in their head to head battle for the season. Ryan Creech won in a swift 29.54 with Sergio just behind Tim in 3rd.
Paul Hartnett following on from his excellent 4th in the National Novice was out on New Years Day in Newtownshandrum winning comfortably in 15.20.
Cross Country:
We had two racing in the BHAA 5k cross country in Beaumont Park too. Shane made a return to racing with a 26th placing and Avril was 98th overall.
Inch:
In the midst of the racing we also had our annual training trip to Inch. We had a good turn out for a one day session of the dunes. Some fared better than others.
Road Races:
We had a few athletes out and about over the holiday period with some standout performances. Tim set the tone on St Stephens Day with a time the club has not seen since Castlemaytr 1986 when Liam ran the same time. Tim equaled Liam's time of 19.02 with a 5th place in the MSD Clonmel 4 mile. Due to the new shoe technology the times today are a little harder to compare with the past so I have created a new club records section where "Super Shoe" records will be captured separately to the pre super shoe ones.
The old club records are still there to be shot at but without carbon plates and fancy pebax foam please.
Norah and Claire had a mother daughter day out in Togher then on the 27th. Norah ran 19.46 with Claire running 23.31.
Tim laced up again in the Grange Fermoy 10k and came within 2 seconds of club president Gerry Wallace's track club record of 30.31 but still nearly a minute short of Liam's road time of 29.39. Unfortunately for Tim his rival in the Leevale colours made it 2-2 in their head to head battle for the season. Ryan Creech won in a swift 29.54 with Sergio just behind Tim in 3rd.
Paul Hartnett following on from his excellent 4th in the National Novice was out on New Years Day in Newtownshandrum winning comfortably in 15.20.
Cross Country:
We had two racing in the BHAA 5k cross country in Beaumont Park too. Shane made a return to racing with a 26th placing and Avril was 98th overall.
Inch:
In the midst of the racing we also had our annual training trip to Inch. We had a good turn out for a one day session of the dunes. Some fared better than others.
Newmarket 5k and Christmas Party Parkrun
Newmarket 5k:
We had two athletes make the trip to the fast Newmarket 5k course last Sunday. Frank having a mid life identity crisis also debuted his new Vaporflys on Irish soil and ran a PB of 15.21 for 14th place. Claire ran with our fastest female 5k time of the weekend with 23.07.
Christmas Party Parkrun:
We had a good turnout for the Christmas Party this year. We paid a visit to the Pobalscoil Trionoide (Youghal) Parkrun and had 12 competing in the race. Tim won in 15.43, James 2nd in 16.30, Kevin 3rd in 17.06, Graham 4th in 17.18, Donal 5th in 17.20, Stephen 6th in 17.32, Jens 9th in 20.15, Eadaoin 27th in 23.41, Denis 28th in 23.47, Lorna 50th in 26.59, Lavinia 55th in 27.47 and Eibhlin 59th in 28.00.
Coffee in the Boardwalk was had afterwards but nobody braved a dip in the sea.
We had two athletes make the trip to the fast Newmarket 5k course last Sunday. Frank having a mid life identity crisis also debuted his new Vaporflys on Irish soil and ran a PB of 15.21 for 14th place. Claire ran with our fastest female 5k time of the weekend with 23.07.
Christmas Party Parkrun:
We had a good turnout for the Christmas Party this year. We paid a visit to the Pobalscoil Trionoide (Youghal) Parkrun and had 12 competing in the race. Tim won in 15.43, James 2nd in 16.30, Kevin 3rd in 17.06, Graham 4th in 17.18, Donal 5th in 17.20, Stephen 6th in 17.32, Jens 9th in 20.15, Eadaoin 27th in 23.41, Denis 28th in 23.47, Lorna 50th in 26.59, Lavinia 55th in 27.47 and Eibhlin 59th in 28.00.
Coffee in the Boardwalk was had afterwards but nobody braved a dip in the sea.
National Novice XC - Gowran Park, December 5th 2021 and Christmas Parkrun!
National Novice XC:
Well done to our 5 athletes who travelled to Gowran Park last weekend for the most exciting and unpredictable race on the calendar.
Norah was our sole representative in the women's race and finished 84th overall (a big improvement on her 299th position from the 5k she ran the day before).
Our men's team was lead by a resurgent Paul Hartnett. After a disappointed National Juniors in Santry he bounced back almost as good as the bad guys in Home Alone with a superb 4th place overall in 18.59. He was in the lead group the whole way through and gave it everything in the final field to hold off William and Evan Fitzgerald. He also got revenge on Leevale pair Gavin O'Rourke from the county seniors and Tommy Connolly in the National Juniors. An oversight on the County Boards selection panel meant Paul was not on the winning Cork team but the good news is he will be eligible to run again next year at all Novice grades. Well done Paul.
Further back in the pack Stephen held off Donal and his last lap demons to finish 79th in 21.10. Donal was only 11 seconds behind Stephen but in this race that translated to 14 positions. Ollie Smiddy courageously stepped up to make sure we had a team and finished a commendable 178th in 23.32. The team was 12th out of 22.
As mentioned above Norah also ran the Jingle Bells 5k organised by Donore Harriers on Saturday. She ran an excellent 19.20 and beat former teammate Jen Preston too.
Next Up:
There will be no Christmas Night Out this year due to Covid. So instead we are going to attend the Youghal parkrun on Saturday morning (December 18th). The parkrun if you are not aware is a 5k run. You can race it hard or just use it as a jog. Meet time is 8.45am at Claycastle Beach carpark (near the start of the boardwalk). We will warm up with a 2k jog to the start, which is Pobalscoil na Trionoide at 9.30am. The entry fee is free but you do need to register online (https://www.parkrun.ie/register/?section=form) first.
We will jog back down to the cars then and grab a sociable coffee and optional dip in the sea. If anyone wants to join just for the coffee after we should be back in Claycastle at about 10.15am.
Well done to our 5 athletes who travelled to Gowran Park last weekend for the most exciting and unpredictable race on the calendar.
Norah was our sole representative in the women's race and finished 84th overall (a big improvement on her 299th position from the 5k she ran the day before).
Our men's team was lead by a resurgent Paul Hartnett. After a disappointed National Juniors in Santry he bounced back almost as good as the bad guys in Home Alone with a superb 4th place overall in 18.59. He was in the lead group the whole way through and gave it everything in the final field to hold off William and Evan Fitzgerald. He also got revenge on Leevale pair Gavin O'Rourke from the county seniors and Tommy Connolly in the National Juniors. An oversight on the County Boards selection panel meant Paul was not on the winning Cork team but the good news is he will be eligible to run again next year at all Novice grades. Well done Paul.
Further back in the pack Stephen held off Donal and his last lap demons to finish 79th in 21.10. Donal was only 11 seconds behind Stephen but in this race that translated to 14 positions. Ollie Smiddy courageously stepped up to make sure we had a team and finished a commendable 178th in 23.32. The team was 12th out of 22.
As mentioned above Norah also ran the Jingle Bells 5k organised by Donore Harriers on Saturday. She ran an excellent 19.20 and beat former teammate Jen Preston too.
Next Up:
There will be no Christmas Night Out this year due to Covid. So instead we are going to attend the Youghal parkrun on Saturday morning (December 18th). The parkrun if you are not aware is a 5k run. You can race it hard or just use it as a jog. Meet time is 8.45am at Claycastle Beach carpark (near the start of the boardwalk). We will warm up with a 2k jog to the start, which is Pobalscoil na Trionoide at 9.30am. The entry fee is free but you do need to register online (https://www.parkrun.ie/register/?section=form) first.
We will jog back down to the cars then and grab a sociable coffee and optional dip in the sea. If anyone wants to join just for the coffee after we should be back in Claycastle at about 10.15am.
Munster Masters XC - Clarecastle, November 28th, 2021
Munster Masters XC:
We had a very successful day down in Clarecastle last Sunday. Our Masters mens team retained their title that they won at the last hosting in 2019 in Beaufort. With Donal and Graham scoring on both teams and Micheal Harty and James McCarthy added their considerable support to the team they wrapped up the title comfortably with 39 points ahead of Leevale on 82 points.
Michael followed up his county win with another good performance and winning the overall race in 23.17. Michael tracked John Kinsella of Bilboa AC through the first half of the race and then opened up a gap in the final lap to take the title. James was next home in 5th overall (2nd M35). Donal and Graham had a big battle and only 2 seconds separated them in the end. Donal was 16th (6th M35) and Graham was 17th (5th M40). Stephen was just behind the lads in 21st (8th M35). Michael, James and Donal also scored on the gold winning Cork county M35 team.
Niamh O'Connor was our only representative in the womens race and ran a solid run to finish 22nd (7th F40).
Road Races:
Conor Tierney and Liam Aherne ran in the Thomas Kent 10k last week too. Conor ran 43.28 and Liam was on pacing duties.
Liam also ran the Glenville 4 mile and broke the 24 minute barrier with 23.56.And in the longest race so far ran for East Cork Chris McGrath ran in the tough conditions in Clonakilty half marathon in 94.09.
National Novice:
Next up this weekend is the National Novice in Gowran Park.
We will have a mens team with Paul, Donal, Stephen and Chris signed up. We should have a few in the womens section too (but as none of them were at training this week I was not able to find out!)
We had a very successful day down in Clarecastle last Sunday. Our Masters mens team retained their title that they won at the last hosting in 2019 in Beaufort. With Donal and Graham scoring on both teams and Micheal Harty and James McCarthy added their considerable support to the team they wrapped up the title comfortably with 39 points ahead of Leevale on 82 points.
Michael followed up his county win with another good performance and winning the overall race in 23.17. Michael tracked John Kinsella of Bilboa AC through the first half of the race and then opened up a gap in the final lap to take the title. James was next home in 5th overall (2nd M35). Donal and Graham had a big battle and only 2 seconds separated them in the end. Donal was 16th (6th M35) and Graham was 17th (5th M40). Stephen was just behind the lads in 21st (8th M35). Michael, James and Donal also scored on the gold winning Cork county M35 team.
Niamh O'Connor was our only representative in the womens race and ran a solid run to finish 22nd (7th F40).
Road Races:
Conor Tierney and Liam Aherne ran in the Thomas Kent 10k last week too. Conor ran 43.28 and Liam was on pacing duties.
Liam also ran the Glenville 4 mile and broke the 24 minute barrier with 23.56.And in the longest race so far ran for East Cork Chris McGrath ran in the tough conditions in Clonakilty half marathon in 94.09.
National Novice:
Next up this weekend is the National Novice in Gowran Park.
We will have a mens team with Paul, Donal, Stephen and Chris signed up. We should have a few in the womens section too (but as none of them were at training this week I was not able to find out!)
Cork City Sports Athlete of the month - October 2021
Congrats to Tim on collecting the prestigious Cork City Sports athlete of the month award for October. This is given out on merit for outstanding individual athletic achievement. Tim collected the October award but has been building for it since the turn of the year when he came a lowly 4th in the East Cork AC 5k time trial. However since that day he has amassed 9 victories in 12 outings with the pinnacles being the County Senior XC and Munster Senior XC titles. He won both these in style beat some top class opposition both days.
Tim is also the current East Cork Road and XC champion and took masters victory in the competitive Autumn Open XC in October too. Interestingly he was pipped by newest club recruit Frank O'Brien in the East Cork track championship over 5k. But Tim rebounded by going on a rampage in the summer months clocking some truly eye watering times over 5k and 4 miles:
Fermoy 4 mile: 19:30 - 25th July
Conna 5k: 14:55 - 30th July
Rathcormac 4 mile: - 19.28 - 19th August
Bweeng 5k: 14.29 - 22nd August
Cloyne 5k: 14:43 - 19th September
Congrats again for an award that is much deserved. A few pictures below too to mark the occasion:
1) Tim and Liam trying not to laugh as they share a private joke.
2) Tim with wife Eimear and daughters Chloe and Éabha
3) Tim with all the City Sports board and dignitaries
Tim is also the current East Cork Road and XC champion and took masters victory in the competitive Autumn Open XC in October too. Interestingly he was pipped by newest club recruit Frank O'Brien in the East Cork track championship over 5k. But Tim rebounded by going on a rampage in the summer months clocking some truly eye watering times over 5k and 4 miles:
Fermoy 4 mile: 19:30 - 25th July
Conna 5k: 14:55 - 30th July
Rathcormac 4 mile: - 19.28 - 19th August
Bweeng 5k: 14.29 - 22nd August
Cloyne 5k: 14:43 - 19th September
Congrats again for an award that is much deserved. A few pictures below too to mark the occasion:
1) Tim and Liam trying not to laugh as they share a private joke.
2) Tim with wife Eimear and daughters Chloe and Éabha
3) Tim with all the City Sports board and dignitaries
National Senior and Junior XC, Santry - November 21st 2021
National Senior and Junior XC:
The National Senior and Junior XC was held in splendid sunshine in Santry Demesne last Sunday. The course was in excellent condition and the atmosphere around the very supporter friendly course was brilliant. The mixture of wooded sections, twists and turns, parkland trails and a few small hills makes Santry a delight to run.
Paul Hartnett was first up for us in the Junior Mens race. Paul, suffering from the flu all week, was off his best and finished 22nd overall. His training has been excellent since the end of the summer and his dedication and consistency will show through. He'll have an opportunity to bounce back at the National Novice in a few weeks.
Norah after racing County Novice B last week went to the other end of the spectrum to race double the distance at the national senior level. This was her first XC race at 8km and ran well finishing 87th overall and 19th U23.
Tim, like Paul suffered from the flu all week, was also off the form that won him the East Cork, County and Munster titles. He finished 43rd in the end but can hold his head up high after an exceptional cross country season. Frank made his long awaited debut for East Cork. As has been the case in his races in England recently Frank continued his streak of being closer to triple digits than single digits in the race results with a 79th overall and 24th U23. Kevin also took part and finished in 123rd. Unfortunately we did not have a 4th to field a team. Tim and Paul both scored on the silver winning Cork teams so at least we did take something home with us back down the M8.
Instagram:
Norah put together a new age hip Instagram video of the races. We have now entered the 21st century as a club! Updates of different club activates will be posted here too in future.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWjUkWwDpCP/?utm_medium=copy_link
Up Next:
- Munster Masters XC: November 28th in Clarecastle. Hopefully our gold medal County team can go and add the Munster title to their resume on Sunday!
The National Senior and Junior XC was held in splendid sunshine in Santry Demesne last Sunday. The course was in excellent condition and the atmosphere around the very supporter friendly course was brilliant. The mixture of wooded sections, twists and turns, parkland trails and a few small hills makes Santry a delight to run.
Paul Hartnett was first up for us in the Junior Mens race. Paul, suffering from the flu all week, was off his best and finished 22nd overall. His training has been excellent since the end of the summer and his dedication and consistency will show through. He'll have an opportunity to bounce back at the National Novice in a few weeks.
Norah after racing County Novice B last week went to the other end of the spectrum to race double the distance at the national senior level. This was her first XC race at 8km and ran well finishing 87th overall and 19th U23.
Tim, like Paul suffered from the flu all week, was also off the form that won him the East Cork, County and Munster titles. He finished 43rd in the end but can hold his head up high after an exceptional cross country season. Frank made his long awaited debut for East Cork. As has been the case in his races in England recently Frank continued his streak of being closer to triple digits than single digits in the race results with a 79th overall and 24th U23. Kevin also took part and finished in 123rd. Unfortunately we did not have a 4th to field a team. Tim and Paul both scored on the silver winning Cork teams so at least we did take something home with us back down the M8.
Instagram:
Norah put together a new age hip Instagram video of the races. We have now entered the 21st century as a club! Updates of different club activates will be posted here too in future.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWjUkWwDpCP/?utm_medium=copy_link
Up Next:
- Munster Masters XC: November 28th in Clarecastle. Hopefully our gold medal County team can go and add the Munster title to their resume on Sunday!
County Masters and Novice B XC, Dungorney, November 14th, 2021:
County Masters and Novice B:
The county masters and Novice B was held together as one race last Sunday in Dungorney. We had a bumper number running with 18 overall and came away with 3 individual medals and two team medals!
Michael Harty continuing his comeback, ran a strong race to pip fellow M40 Paul Moloney for the overall win. Michael also lead our mens team to the team title. Interestingly Cork athletics used times as the basis for calculating the team results. For the mens M35 masters team it worked in our favour. For the Novice B womens team it worked against them! Scoring on the mens team was James (7th), Graham (12th) and Stephen (13th). Also running on the master teams were Brian Harty (22nd), Chris Kelly (23rd), Donal Giltinan (29th), Oliver Smiddy (53rd), Mike Cremin (64th), Eric Meade (75th), Jens Waechter (92nd), Denis McCarthy (110th). Dan Mc Donnell also made his East Cork debut in the Novice B race and was 106th overall. Well done to all.
Norah having also ran on Saturday in Maynooth in the University road relays, showed her maturity by skipping the after party and made her way down for a crack at another title. Following her East Cork novice win last month she duly delivered again by winning the County Novice B title on Sunday. And to top it off Annelise also won the bronze medal with a huge sprint finish against Ashling Kennedy from the Barrs. The team also won bronze with Avril Crowley (13th) and Lavinia Swords (19th) completing the team. Niamh O'Connor was 15th overall and 6th F40.
Next Up:
National Seniors is on this Sunday in Santry. We are one short of a team in the Senior mens but all eyes will be on Tims individual run after his season to date. Frank O'Brien is making his East Cork debut and will be also eligible for the U23 competition. The Juniors mens race will be one to keep an eye on too, the other young gun Paul Hartnett will have eyes on a big result. Norah will also be looking for a good result in the Senior / U-23 womens race.
The county masters and Novice B was held together as one race last Sunday in Dungorney. We had a bumper number running with 18 overall and came away with 3 individual medals and two team medals!
Michael Harty continuing his comeback, ran a strong race to pip fellow M40 Paul Moloney for the overall win. Michael also lead our mens team to the team title. Interestingly Cork athletics used times as the basis for calculating the team results. For the mens M35 masters team it worked in our favour. For the Novice B womens team it worked against them! Scoring on the mens team was James (7th), Graham (12th) and Stephen (13th). Also running on the master teams were Brian Harty (22nd), Chris Kelly (23rd), Donal Giltinan (29th), Oliver Smiddy (53rd), Mike Cremin (64th), Eric Meade (75th), Jens Waechter (92nd), Denis McCarthy (110th). Dan Mc Donnell also made his East Cork debut in the Novice B race and was 106th overall. Well done to all.
Norah having also ran on Saturday in Maynooth in the University road relays, showed her maturity by skipping the after party and made her way down for a crack at another title. Following her East Cork novice win last month she duly delivered again by winning the County Novice B title on Sunday. And to top it off Annelise also won the bronze medal with a huge sprint finish against Ashling Kennedy from the Barrs. The team also won bronze with Avril Crowley (13th) and Lavinia Swords (19th) completing the team. Niamh O'Connor was 15th overall and 6th F40.
Next Up:
National Seniors is on this Sunday in Santry. We are one short of a team in the Senior mens but all eyes will be on Tims individual run after his season to date. Frank O'Brien is making his East Cork debut and will be also eligible for the U23 competition. The Juniors mens race will be one to keep an eye on too, the other young gun Paul Hartnett will have eyes on a big result. Norah will also be looking for a good result in the Senior / U-23 womens race.
Upcoming Fixtures - XC
- Sep 26th: Charleville Half Marathon, 10am
- Sep 26th: County Novice, Junior and U23 XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Oct 3rd: County Senior XC
- Oct 10th: County Intermediate XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Oct 17th: Autumn Open XC, 2pm
- Oct 17th: East Cork Novice XC Day 2
- Oct 24th: Munster Junior and Novice XC, Two Mile Borris
- Oct 31st: Munster Senior XC, Two Mile Borris
- Nov 7th: Munster Intermediate XC, Cork
- Nov 13th: British and Irish Masters XC, Santry
- Nov 14th: County Masters XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Nov 21st: National Junior and Senior XC
- Nov 28th: Munster Masters XC, Clare
- Dec 5th: National Novice XC
- Dec 12th: SPAR European XC
- Sep 26th: Charleville Half Marathon, 10am
- Sep 26th: County Novice, Junior and U23 XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Oct 3rd: County Senior XC
- Oct 10th: County Intermediate XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Oct 17th: Autumn Open XC, 2pm
- Oct 17th: East Cork Novice XC Day 2
- Oct 24th: Munster Junior and Novice XC, Two Mile Borris
- Oct 31st: Munster Senior XC, Two Mile Borris
- Nov 7th: Munster Intermediate XC, Cork
- Nov 13th: British and Irish Masters XC, Santry
- Nov 14th: County Masters XC, Riverstick 12pm
- Nov 21st: National Junior and Senior XC
- Nov 28th: Munster Masters XC, Clare
- Dec 5th: National Novice XC
- Dec 12th: SPAR European XC
Munster and National Medals - A compilation by James McCarthy and Denis McCarthy
James and Denis have spent a lot of time and effort compiling results from Munster and National championships from the start of time (well 1986). It is very well put together and shows the success the club has had over the years. Thanks to both for this. It might be a trip down memory lane for some people or a source of inspiration to others!
There are one of two gaps that perhaps you might be able to help with. Mainly these are:
- 1989: National Road Relays 3rd team - Missing 3 members of the team.
- 1991: Intermediate Cross Country 2nd team - Missing one member of the scoring team.
- 1996: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - All missing!
- 2000: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - 2 missing
One wonders if we will have a junior mens or womens team compete again in the near future..
The file can be downloaded below and is also saved in the Club Records section.
There are one of two gaps that perhaps you might be able to help with. Mainly these are:
- 1989: National Road Relays 3rd team - Missing 3 members of the team.
- 1991: Intermediate Cross Country 2nd team - Missing one member of the scoring team.
- 1996: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - All missing!
- 2000: Munster Cross Country Junior Men 3rd team - 2 missing
One wonders if we will have a junior mens or womens team compete again in the near future..
The file can be downloaded below and is also saved in the Club Records section.
| east_cork_medal_winners_1986-2018.docx |
