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Market Green and Walshtown sessions are back up and running, the nights are closing in and the weather’s taking a turn for the worse. It must be time to run around a field again so… East Cork Senior & Masters Cross-Country The good folk of Ballynoe certainly had the best of both worlds on the second Sunday in September. In the morning rain they could head to the shelter of the Community Centre to gaze upon the delights of the Miniature Model Show. Then, as the rains cleared and the sunshine broke through, they could simply stroll down the road to sample the more mobile delights of the East Cork Senior & Masters Cross Country Championships – the traditional curtain-raiser of the cross-country season. The field, prepared by St. Catherine’s AC, showed no signs of the morning’s deluge, and all was set for a good day’s racing with the under-10s kicking proceedings off at 11.30 sharp. In the senior ladies race our sole representative was Niamh O’Connor. A newly-reduced race distance of 3k ensured that action would be frenetic and Niamh was in the mix during the initial stages. It was the youth of Carraig na bhFear that came to fore in the end though and Niamh finished up in 5th place overall, picking up the bronze F35 medal in the process. Though numbers were looking low in the run-up to Sunday, in the end we had enough on hand to field both senior and masters teams in the men’s race. As usual, both junior and senior events were run off together with the young bucks completing three 1500m laps with the world-weary seniors made to suffer a fourth. Ballymore Cobh junior, Gabriel Le Donne took up the early running but was soon dispatched by Frank O’Brien and Nicky O’Donoghue who led the way for East Cork. Frank, as one might expect, went on to retain the crown he earned in 2024. Nicky, somewhat hot and bothered having tried, and failed, to squeeze himself into his good wife’s slightly more petite singlet ahead of the race (much to his clubmates’ amusement), had a very solid run to second, just under 40 seconds behind Frank. Matt Horrigan, making a return to racing, put in a typical Matt-like performance - starting sensibly, then gliding by the opposition on his way to a 3rd place finish. Stephen O’Brien was next up in 4th place with Ciarán McNamee 5th, these two citing rib and back discomfort as their excuses for losing out to the race-rusty Limerick man. A week later, and official results are yet to be published, but reports suggest that Martin Hennessy and Ollie Smiddy finished inside the top-10 with Martin one spot ahead of the Mogeely man. Denis McCarthy, attending the East Corks for the umpteenth time, did not have too far to travel and completed the club representation on the day. Thanks to St. Catherine’s for hosting a well-organised event as always. County Senior XC Championships West Muskerry will host the County Senior Cross-Country Championships in Carrigadrohid on this coming Sunday – September 28th. Races are due to commence at 12 noon and beware that the senior races opened proceedings last year so get there early to avoid disappointment. At this stage it looks like we will have a strong contingent representing the club. Best of luck to all! Road racing – the long and short of it A couple of half marathons On the same day as the cross country, we had East Cork representation at two international half marathons. Annelise Hutch got to enjoy the worst of the weather in Charleville, completing the course in just over 97 minutes. Mike Harty ventured further afield to Copenhagen. Though not quite at the level he hit on the Antrim coast a few weeks ago, he still ran a very impressive 66m 10s on his way to a 68th place finish in the Danish capital. A past member of the wider training group was making his own headlines at the half marathon in Copenhagen. Congratulations to Youghal AC’s Fearghal Curtin who finished 8th in 60 minutes 22 seconds, breaking the national record set by Efrem Gidey a year earlier. Passing the baton in the UK Fresh from his exploits in a field in East Cork, Frank found himself in the Hampshire town of Aldershot a week later. He was there representing his English club, Newham & Essex Beagles at the SEAA 6/4/3 Stage Road Relays. At senior men’s level this was a 6-leg (or stage) road relay race, with each leg measuring 6 kilometres in length – a distance familiar to Frank from the previous week. The Beagles finished 12th out of 113 entrants with Frank running the 5th leg in a handy 19m 17s. This was followed by an even handier dash to the airport to catch the last flight home. A single mile Friday 12th September saw the inaugural running of the Reb Heffernan Mile along the Marina in Cork. Tim Mahony represented the club coming in at 5 mins 38s. Tim’s primary responsibility on the night, of course, was to be a taxi driver for his son, Matt. Fed up with following Donal’s reps around Market Green, Matt let loose to record a 4m 35s mile, finishing 7th in the U18 race. Matt has a bit more in the tank and we will all be following his progress over the coming years with interest.  
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As usual, August was a chance to recharge the batteries with the summer season coming to a close and cross-country season up ahead. Some, however, went searching far and wide for a slice of personal achievement. Antrim Coast Half Marathon – a national M40 record for Mike Harty! Mike Harty made the long trip to Larne for the Antrim Coast Half Marathon on Sunday 24th August – an event which attracts a top-class field and, only 5 years since its inception, has earned Elite status from World Athletics. It was Mike’s second attempt at the distance following on from his 2023 victory at the Charleville Half. At ease with the fact that he would not be in contention for overall honours this time, the Cloyne man set out to battle against the clock with a national M40 record on his mind. And with another clock ticking on Mike’s stay in this age bracket this would be his last chance to do so. Anything under 65m 55s would do – this being the record set by Brian Maher of Kilkenny City Harriers in The Hague back in 2018. In what was a battle against body and mind as much as against the clock, things were very much on track with the 10-mile mark being reached in under 50 minutes, with Mike feeling strong at that point, and after a further mile feeling that the record was on. Passing Paul O’Donnell with around a kilometre to go, he crossed the line after 65 minutes and 34 seconds, averaging 5-minute miles and shaving over 20 seconds off Maher’s record. Overall, this was good enough for 12th place and second Irishman home behind Leevale’s Ryan Creech (8th – 64m 48s). It’s also the fastest half marathon run by an Irish M40 on Irish soil so the record has been brought back home! This is a rich reward for Mike’s dedication and focus and surely more records will be there for the taking, should he wish, as he moves up into the M45 bracket soon, aging like the finest of East Cork’s whiskies! For the record, the race was won by Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, a previous World Half Marathon and World Cross Country champion, in 59 minutes 51 seconds. Track season’s Indian summer: Trafford Grand Prix - Fresh from his performance at the nationals, Frank O’Brien headed to Manchester for the second time this summer, this time for the BMC Trafford Grand Prix, part of World Athletics’ Continental Tour. Action took place at the Longford Park Stadium, the home of Trafford AC and just a mile or so from an ageing football stadium in the Older part of Trafford. It was a busy evening with a packed schedule of 32 mainly middle-distance races ranging from 800m to 5000m. Frank ran the 1500m and was drawn in the C race. It was a tight race with 2 seconds covering the top 6 in the end. Frank carried his form through from the previous weekend, finishing a strong 4th in 3m 48s, taking a full second off his previous PB which he set 2 months earlier at the same track. Frank also kept the Irish flag flying in the race as he finished just ahead of Bohermeen’s Kevin McGrath. This was a great way to close out on the season and Frank could head home to enjoy a well-earned break! East Cork Track & Field Championships 5k & 3k - Meanwhile, Wednesday 27th August saw the latest instalment of the venerable institution that is the East Cork T&F 5000m & 3000m Championships, held at MTU. Unfortunately, turnout was somewhat low on the night with just 14 athletes present for the evening’s racing. The club had two participants in the men’s 5k with Donal Giltinan and Stephen O’Brien taking the gun. Donal was determined to write his name into the annals of East Cork athletics history as he controlled the race from the start and dominated proceedings, taking a 16 second victory over Carraig na bhFear’s Tadhg Crowley. Stephen found himself down in 4th place after 8 laps but a spurt over the final mile saw him overhaul Midleton’s Rod Scanlon to take the bronze medal. The women’s 3000m race was run alongside the men’s race and we had Eibhlin Cleary flying the flag for our ladies, finishing in 6th place. Fair play to those who participated on the night, as well as to the organizers and administrators for giving up their time to run the event. A round-up of racing on the roads: Tony Forristal kept up his good form on the roads with victory in the Youghal Bay 10k on a murky Sunday morning by the seaside. The winning time was 32m 27s, Tony crossing the line with 27 seconds to spare over Carrick-on-Suir’s Dermot Gorman. Ex Youghal AC-man Ciarán McNamee also put in a very strong shift, finishing 6th in an impressive 34m 45s. Meanwhile, Paul Hartnett dusted off the cobwebs in the north of the county, winning the Rathcormac four-miler in a time of 20m 06s, 26 seconds ahead of West Waterford’s Pat Hennessy. Christine Kelly battled the elements in Kilmacthomas for the Waterford Greenway Half Marathon. Dodging the odd torrential downpour, she finished 18th overall in the women’s race and 2nd F35 - another strong performance. Christine, along with Avril Crowley and Martin Hennessy participated in several BHAA races during the month, picking up various category prizes along the way. They are surely not short of vouchers for John Buckley Sports at this stage… Finally, a mention for Michael Furlong who has run a whopping 6 road races in the past few weeks as he sharpens his racing nous ahead of the winter. He is also doing an excellent job marketing East Cork in his adopted Kerry home having run three of those races in the Kingdom. Summer Sports & Social The great and good of the club descended on The Thatch in Killeagh on 22nd August for a fine feed and an evening of chat, reminiscences and plan-hatching. Thanks to our Sports & Social Officer, Lorna, for taking on the task of organizing! Winter has come - the return to training As the evenings close in, the winter training schedule has now resumed with the usual sessions at Market Green (Tues 6pm - intervals) and Walshtown Woods (Sat 10am – hills). Looking forward to seeing everyone there over the next few months. |
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