19th May 2025 – a varied month so far

The first half of May has seen our athletes competing across a wide variety of events from track to trail and with some success.

​Limerick Marathon – hard work pays off
The Great Limerick Run was held over the May bank holiday weekend and we have two excellent performances to report. Christine Kelly took 4 minutes off her marathon PB, set in Rotterdam last year, to finish as 13th female overall in 3:15.26. Avril Crowley took a whopping 30 minutes off her previous best, finishing 25th overall in 3:25.38. These are two smashing performances and the results are very well deserved considering all the hard miles put in over the last while – new tracks have been worn out along the Greenway…. Well done ladies.

The race also doubled up as the Munster marathon championships. Somewhat surprisingly, official results are hard to come by, but one suspects that Christine and Avril may be due a medal or two once the non-Munster affiliated athletes are eliminated. We wait with baited breath.

On track – some championship action:
MTU hosted the second Graded League meet of the season last Thursday. Tony Forristal lined up in the 5000m race which doubled up as the County Senior Championship. In a race which started out fast, he bided his time and picked off the opposition as they ran themselves out of contention, finishing 3rd in 15.19 – and satisfied with a 15 second track PB.

On the night, John Spelman, entered under East Cork membership, running on a Clonmel team and sporting AC Milan colours participated in the mixed distance relay race. No official results are available but he ran the mile leg in around 4.40.

Tony and Frank O’Brien had made the trip to Clonmel the previous weekend to participate in the Fethard Irish Milers Meet. These are high-quality meets and Tony, freed from the shackles of racing John, ran an 8.54 PB in the 3k, finishing 2nd in the B race. Frank was 8th in the 800m A race in 1.54.

On the road​:
The 1st May saw the annual running of the Midleton 5 Mile. This one will live in the memory as the race was won outright by Leevale’s Niamh Allen – the reigning national 10k road running champion. Nicky O’Donoghue, left questioning what all the effort is for, was East Cork’s highest finisher in 4th. Tamzin Muldowney took a strong 3rd spot in the female race. She backed that up a week later with a fine run to win the Killeagh 4 Miler. It was a double success for the club on the night as Mike Harty comfortably won the men’s race in a swift solo 19.33 from Togher’s Gavin Sweeney.

Wicklow Way Relay – into the unknown​:
Last weekend saw the annual pilgrimage to the Garden County and the fabled Wicklow Way Relay. Without the presence of the talismanic Tim O’Donoghue, the big question going in to the event was whether East Cork had enough strength in depth to succeed in his absence. A close contest was expected and so everyone needed to be on their game.

Like the rest of the country, Wicklow (& south County Dublin) was basking in late Spring sunshine and warm temperatures come 7am on Saturday morning as Graham Swords lined up at the start in Kilmashogue. The pace was hot from the off as the usual suspects of East Cork, Rathfarnham and TT Racers separated themselves from the pack along with Belpark Triathlon Club – who took the early lead. Graham did his usual reliable job on trails he knows well, laying solid foundations for the day ahead and handing the tracker to Tony Forristal after just over an hour’s hard effort.

Fresh from a championship 5k on Thursday, Tony landed the first serious punch for the club and by the time he handed over to Fiona Santry by Lough Tay the early deficit had morphed into a 3 minute advantage over TT Racers with Rathfarnham and Belpark a further 4 minutes back. Fiona, making a welcome return to competitive action after a long lay-off, added another half a minute to that advantage with a very strong run over Leg 3 handing over to Donal Giltinan in Oldbridge.

With an overall course length of over 100 kilometres and nearly 11,000 feet of climbing, a three-and-a-half-minute advantage can disappear very quickly along the Wicklow Way, especially given the energy-sapping conditions experienced on the day. One slip or missed turn can cost a lot of time – a lesson learned the hard way over the years by this club.

Donal and Matt Horrigan kept their heads down holding the chasing pack at bay on Legs 4 and 5 through Glendalough and on to Glenmalure with Matt handing a two-and-a-half-minute lead over to Kevin O’Brien for the run up to Drumgoff. TT Racers were still in 2nd place at this stage but mis-steps and mishaps had caught up with Rathfarnham and Belpark at this stage and it was turning into a two-horse race.

Kevin, making his by now annual appearance in an East Cork singlet (one hopes his membership fee has been paid), set out hard on the newly-extended Leg 6, having recce’d it a week earlier on two wheels. After 10 miles of blood, sweat and tears the lead had extended by a whole 1 second by the time he reached the Iron Bridge and handed over to Nicky O’Donoghue, running the captain’s leg this time.

With Matt and the O’Brien clan out on course on water duties, Nicky dutifully gave his all and twisted the knife on Leg 6 stretching the lead out to a healthy 5 minutes by the time he reached Tamzin Muldowney at Crossbridge. With that, Tamzin set off and, given her recent form, was not going to let this one slip. She crossed the line in Shilelagh to seal the threepeat! The winning time this year was 7hrs 33m 35s – excellent going. TT Racers finished second, three and a half minutes behind, with Rathfarnham a further 48 minutes back.

Well done to everyone involved again this year. And big thanks to the support crew of Lavinia, Ava, Zach, Eadaoin, Sarah, Lorna, Daniel, Robyn, Holly, Cian, Saoirse, Ailbhe……. In 2025 East Cork gave a resounding answer to the most vexing question of the year. Yes, we can win it without the Big Man. We wouldn’t mind seeing him back next year though as an Over 40….

Summer training​:
While the lads and ladies were up in Wicklow a smattering of serious athletes were present at the opening training session of the summer season on Saturday morning. Training sessions have now moved to the CBS, gathering for warm-up at 6pm on Wednesdays and 10am on Saturdays. Looking forward to seeing you all there.​