2024 November 10th - December 5th Update

Championship Races:
National Senior XC:
The National Senior XC went north again this year and was held in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. This year saw another change to the course distance down from 9k last year to 7.5k. We had a team of 5 competing on the day with some excellent results! Paul was 14th overall and importantly 5th U23 which booked him a plane ticket to Turkey and an Irish cap for the European XC championships in December. I think this is the first time an East Cork athlete will run in these championships, congrats Paul it is richly deserved after a few near misses the past two years. His experience running the European Club XC race in 2023 in Spain and the Cross Cup XC in Belgium will be valuable.

Frank was next home with a strong showing in 36th, Tony was next in 59th with Nicky and John in 132nd and 139th. Overall we were 10th team and the only Cork team in the race so fair play to everyone who made the effort to go and compete.

National Novice XC:
The National Novice was in Tramore Racecourse and we had 5 on the start line for everyones favourite race of the year. 217 athletes and not a lot separating them leads to chaos and an action packed race. However we did not have anyone in the top 100, some soul searching and deep questions must be asked to understand what sort of training has actually been happening in Market Green and Welchtown the past few months... A debrief can be had at the Club social on December 19th! Saying that the team packed very well, there was only 4 seconds separating Ciaran (106th), John (107th) and Stephen (110th) at the finish. With 10 seconds between Graham and Chris in 155th and 161st. Well done for flying the East Cork colours at another National Championships.

Munster Masters XC:
The Munster Masters were held in the usual XC course Twomileborris. Nicky led the team home valiantly for 3rd overall and 2nd M35. Stephen was next in 15th with Matt, taking a break from his Tik Tok career after being catapulted to overnight fame during the Coast to Coast in the summer, running his first race of the year in a competitive 18th. Chris was 23rd and Ollie 38th. With this we won the M35 team title and Nicky and Stephen also scored on the Country gold team for Cork. Well done lads!

County Novice B XC:
Aaron and Karl continued their cross country exploits this year with strong runs in the Novice B race. Aaron was 16th and Karl 23rd. These are excellent races for building experience and racing nuance.

Road Races:
Catching up on last month well done to Michael Furlong who ran the Chicago marathon in 3.05.

There have been lots of races in the past few weeks, we have had 4 in the top 10. Michael won the Cloyne 4k in 11.58, Kenneth was 5th in 13.09. Tamzin was 5th in the Glenville 4 mile in 25.40 and Nicky ran his first half marathon and was 7th in Waterford in 74.04.

Next Up:
Paul running in Turkey at the Europeans. It will be live streamed on European Athletics HERE and also on RTE. Pauls U23 mens race starts at 1pm local time so 10am Irish time.

Also the Christmas dinner is on in the Rock Cloyne December 19th. If you have not let Lorna know by now please do, to confirm your place.