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July has come to a close and it has certainly been an action-packed month. Where to start…? National Senior Track & Field Championships & AAI Games: We’ll start with the most significant achievement of the month. Last weekend was the high point of the country’s track calendar – the National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium, Santry. Frank O’Brien made the annual pilgrimage to the Capital and for the first time he got full bang for his buck. In the hotly-contested 800m heats, Frank lined up in the first race of three on Saturday alongside the Finn Valley great, Mark English, who has been setting PBs and national records for fun over the past few months. With only the top two from each race guaranteed a place in the final, along with the fastest four losers, the pressure was on. Frank acquitted himself well, stayed in the mix and finished 5th with a 1:53.64 – his second fastest time this season. The first heat proved to be the fastest of the three and that time was enough to see Frank through to Sunday’s National Final for the first time. Although Mark English and UCD’s Cian McPhillips stole the show in the final, Frank pinned his ears back and stayed competitive throughout. He finished 9th in 1:52.06 – easily his fastest time this season and his second fastest ever. It was great to see the East Cork singlet lining up in a national final, and on national TV, and hopefully we will see it many more times in the future. Well done, Frank! Two weeks earlier, Tony Forristal found himself at SETU in Carlow for the AAI Games 10,000m with the race also doubling-up as the national championships. Despite some last-gasp marketing from Athletics Ireland, turnout was low, but – as a wise man once said – it only takes two to make a race. That man couldn’t believe his luck when four showed up at the start line! It does only take two to make a race however, and Tony battled with Clonliffe Harriers’ Sean Doran throughout, overturning an early deficit so that they were neck and neck with around 600m to go. Doran then put the afterburners on and Tony was just unable to respond, finishing up 2nd in 32m 45s, picking up a silver national senior medal for his troubles. National Masters Track & Field Championships: Tullamore was the venue for the National Masters T&F Championships on Saturday 26th July and we had three participants making the trek along the bog road to Offaly this year. Early in the afternoon Nicky O’Donoghue placed 7th overall in the 5000m in 16.17. Brian Harty and Stephen O’Brien were entered in the 1500m a few hours later. Stephen is an old hand at this distance but Brian lined-up a nervous first-timer… M35s and M40s were drawn together and there was a bit more strength in depth in the race this year compared to the previous few years. Brian would have to call on all his training form in order to fulfil his medal ambitions. He eased himself into the race and ran strongly throughout, crossing the line as 3rd M40 in an impressive 4m 20s. The national medal was a well-deserved reward for all the work that has been put in throughout the summer. It’s also the third year in succession that East Cork has claimed the bronze here. Stephen finished up as 5th M40 in 4m 35s. National League Final: The next day saw the National League finals taking place in Tullamore and we had three younger representatives making the same trek along the bog road to Offaly to tog out for the East Cork Division. Frank O’Brien and Tony Forristal took maximum points for the side by winning the county 800m and 5000m races respectively while John Spelman got his feet wet on the way to a 2nd place finish in the 3000m steeplechase. This all contributed to an overall 4th placed finish for the men in the County League. The women of the Division were also 4th, just one point behind County Louth. Meanwhile, a rivalry is brewing on the roads of East Cork... Corkbeg 4: It was a busy month on the roads to the east of the Dunkettle Interchange. We started off on the 3rd July in Whitegate for the club’s Corkbeg 4 miler where 214 runners and riders took the starting gun in glorious evening sunshine. And it was our own Tony Forristal who mastered the rolling course coming home in 1st position with an 11 second gap back to Leevale’s Conor McAuley. Fiona Santry, returning to road racing for the first time in a little while, and Tamzin Muldowney battled throughout the race with Fiona just edging it towards the end. They both had to play second fiddle to Lizzie Lee on the night though with Fiona 2nd and Tamzin 3rd. Congratulations to race director, Eibhlin Cleary, for overseeing the organization and running of the event and thanks to all club members who donned the hi-viz vests for stewarding and administrative duties on the night. Churchtown South: The next big race took place on the scenic roads around Churchtown South with the third running of the 4-mile event in the modern era. Here, Tony was going for the threepeat but got a bit more than he bargained for as Conor McAuley came back out to play. The two set a scorching pace early on and Tony sat in behind the Leevale-man for the first 3 miles. He then made a bid for glory on the last climb, however the preceding day’s session of 600s appeared to catch up with him on the dash to the line as McAuley came breezing past to take the honours. Only three seconds separated the duo at the line. As an illustration of the pace, Tony took victory in 2024 in 20m 52s. This year’s wining time was a full 45 seconds faster. Fiona Santry finished 2nd in the ladies’ race, runner-up to Lizzie Lee for the second time this month. A notable performance was put in by local lad James Furlong who finished up 11th in 22m 50s. His brother, and East Cork AC man, Michael, however disputes this result, claiming that this performance was the result of an administrative error whereby the Furlongs’ race numbers were somehow switched in advance of the race. The official results show Michael down in 26th spot just over two minutes behind his big brother. St. Catherine’s 5k: A week later and the roads around Ballynoe saw the next instalment in the Forristal/McAuley saga at the St. Catherine’s 5k. After proceeding gingerly for the first two thirds of the race the two exploded into life over the final mile. This time they were separated by a hair’s breadth at the line – Tony given the nod for victory as the two of them clocked 15m 47s. Fiona Santry was runner-up – yet again – in the ladies’ race, while Nicky O’Donoghue and Brian Harty finished in close formation in 5th and 6th places. All this ensured that East Cork was just one spot short of securing the team title. Other matters on the track: Cork City Sports: Tony Forristal, John Spelman and Nicky O’Donoghue secured golden tickets for the Open 3k at the Cork City Sports on 9th July finishing 13th, 18th and 19th respectively in what is always a popular and competitive event. Tony’s 8m 54s was only just shy of his PB which he set at this event in 2024. Graded Leagues: The Graded League season finished up on 14th July. Donal Giltinan and Stephen O’Brien lined out in the B race while Nicky and John entered the A race which also acted as the county championship. John was our star of the show as he took the A race by the scruff of the neck with about 600 metres to go. He had built a nice gap back to Midleton’s Dinny McLean going into the final bend but just tied up in the last 100 metres and he was overtaken within sight of the line. Still, a silver county senior medal was his reward after 4m 08s of hard effort – yet another PB for the Ladysbridge man. Nicky had a competitive outing at the shorter distance, battling with Cork Track Club’s James Hayes throughout to finish 9th. Donal was to the fore in the B race, leading into the final lap. In the end though he had to settle for second place behind Togher’s Ethan Wyse having been passed in the final 200m. Stephen wound up 11th. MTU Track Night: Cork Track Club held a track night in conjunction with MTU on Friday July 18th with some very competitive fields lining out on what was a very pleasant night for racing. Participants in the distance events faced the novelty of starting their races from the opposite side of the track - the result being that there was no bell available with which to ring in that last lap adrenaline rush. Stephen O’Brien put that distraction aside and returned to the 800m dash. He finished 9th with rather uneven splits, but it was enough to see him break into the 2:11s for the first time. Nicky O’Donoghue and Donal Giltinan placed 8th and 10th in the 3000m. Elsewhere on the roads: A couple of days after running the Open 3k in the Cork City Sports, Nicky O’Donoghue braved the heat and humidity in the Tracton 4 miler – taking 3rd spot on the night behind the Leevale duo of Nathan O’Leary and Conor McAuley. The previous report neglected to mention Mike Harty’s strong 4th place finish in the Dunshoughlin 10k (30m 14s). And two weeks later, Mike was on his local roads winning the Cloyne Summer 4k which was run in aid of Marymount Hospice. We had several participants in the Gas Networks 5k on a muggy Wednesday night along the Blackrock loop in Cork. Brian Harty ran a very strong 16m 07s personal best on his way to a 13th place finish. Tamzin Muldowney also had a really strong run – 17m 58s and 5th lady across the line. Christine Kelly and Avril Crowley picked up 3rd place category prizes on the night. Dave O'Dwyer rolled back the years to win the Mary Courcey Memorial 5k in Cleggan in Galway too. Well done Dave. Whoever sits next to him at the club social will surely get a blow by blow account. And finally….. The curtain has come down on training at the CBS now that the national championships are out of the way. It is now time for all athletes to enjoy a break for a couple of weeks before training resumes in mid-to-late August on Tuesday evenings at Market Green and Saturday mornings in Walshtown Woods. More details will be communicated in due course.
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Please support our road race in Whitegate on Thursday night July 3rd. Race starts at 8pm sharp and be aware of the 800 meter jog uphill to the start! RACE RESULTS HERE  |
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