The Golden streak continues. Congrats to Sean who won the Munster Track and Field 5000m title, continuing his rich vein of form, in 15.13. Well done Sean especially as it was a close race the whole way but Sean used his winning instinct to kick home strong ahead of Michael Carmody and Dave Mansfield.

Also medaling were the ever consistent Frank and Denis who won bronze in the M45 and M55 categories respectively. Well done to all, keeping the club flag flying in championship races is the reason the club was set up in 1985.

Also running over the weekend was John Walshe who raced in Ballincollig and Meelin and Kevin O'Leary who showed no fear in racing within 5 days of his brilliant run in the half to finish 2nd in Clashmore 5k in a solid 16.17. ​

Best of luck to Sean McGrath, Denis McCarthy and Frank Hayes flying the club colours in Kerry this weekend for the Munster Senior and Masters track and field championships.

Sean will be going in as Cork champion and we have had considerable success in the race in recent years:
- 2017 James was 2nd,
- 2016 Sean himself was 3rd
- 2015 James 2nd
- 2014 James won and Tim 3rd
- 2013 James won and Sean 2nd

On top of that our own Donnocha O'Mahoney holds the meet record with a blistering 14.10 from 1994. ​

National Intermediate XC Champions - Sunday Feb 11th 2018:
Congrats to the Intermediate Mens team on winning Gold in the National XC in Clairnbridge, Galway at the weekend.
This is the first National XC title the club has won so well done to all involved. For such a small club the support was exceptional, with many travelling the 3+ hours on very bad roads to get there. 

Report:
There was an air of cautious optimism as our Intermediate men’s team made their way to Clarinbridge yesterday. Underfoot conditions were sticky to say the least and a biting wind contributed to what was a slog of a race in every sense of the word. A course for mud larks. Athletics Ireland’s race preview had two Dublin teams Donore and DSD as the ones to beat with no mention of East Cork as contenders. The club has a rich history in the event with James McCarthy winning individual honours in 2007 and the club taking 2nd in the team event three times previous in 1991, 2004 and most recently in Cow Park, Meath in 2014. 


Eoin Taggart of Clonliffe led out the 80 strong field with Michael Harty tucking in behind. Both athletes having enjoyed a recent stint of Kenyan altitude training. Kevin O Brien settled into a group of three hovering just outsides the top 10 with Brian Harty setting down a marker with a strong start just outside the top 20. Next came Shane Harrington in brand new shorts, Frank Hayes, Kevin O Leary, Diarmuid Collins and Nick  Donoghue packing well through the first lap all inside the top 35. The decisive move was made on the second lap with Harty opening a sizeable gap at the top of the field. A move which would eventually see him win by a considerable margin of 40 seconds from Kevin Moore. Seven weeks training on the hard dusty Kenyan highlands the perfect preparation for the sticky ankle deep lowlands of Clarinbridge. 


Back to the team event and with no sign of the Dublin teams, Celbridge and An Riocht were identified as the main competition. Team calculations throughout the race were hindered by scoring members of Celbridge and Riocht not wearing conforming club singlets. After 5km the East Cork were ahead of Celbridge by only 2 points. An Riocht were further adrift with eventual bronze medallists North Sligo AC hovering in contention. 


Consistent throughout, Kevin shrugged off the challenge of a Riocht athlete in the penultimate straight to take 11th.  Heading into the last lap with a slim margin a strong finish was required from the remaining two scorers on the team. Having paced himself well from the off, Nick finished with a flurry to take 20th , passing four in the last few hundred metres. An outstanding performance after a lengthy sideline through injury. With a point to prove or a bee in his bonnet, whichever way you look at it Brian Harty was a man on a mission. An excellent performance saw him take a well deserved 23rd place and seal the win for the club, mission accomplished. In a highly unorthodox moment, coach and athlete embraced in jubilation at the finish, another first for the club. Although both are now claiming they slipped and fell into each others arms, quite plausible given the underfoot conditions. Trading places with his teammates over the last lap, Kevin O Leary held on to take 29th, an admirable performance after a personal best outing in Dungarvan the week before. Another solid run from Frank saw him take 31st with Shane only a few seconds behind in a decent 33rdplace.  A late call up to the squad, Diarmaid finished well in 42nd. The club took the honours with 55 points ahead of Celbridge AC’s 64 with North Sligo pipping An Riocht by a point to take 3rd. This is the first national cross country team win for the club. Cork finished 2nd in the county standings to Kildare.
 
The first athlete up for the club was Phil McGrath, donning spikes for the first time in 20 years. Phil set the tone for the rest of the club with a valiant effort over the 4km course to take individual bronze and county team gold in the M65 category, just missing out on silver by the smallest of margins. In the women’s Intermediate event, Eadaoin O Neill clawed her way around the 5km circuit to finish in a very respectable 27th. Untested in these conditions, Lorna Santry found the going tough but stuck it out to finish a commendable 40th. In the M35-M55 7km race the club had 4 competitors. Sean McGrath toed the line with just over two weeks of running in the past two months.  Testament to his never say die attitude and refusal to perform consistent with his current fitness, he broke away from the chasing group in the dying stages of the race to take individual bronze and county team gold. Arguably the performance of the day. Pat O Connor managed a decent 29th in the M40 with club stalwarts Eric Meade and Denis McCarthy finishing 24th and 25th in the M50 and M50 categories respectively. ​

Last Sunday saw the staging of the National Novice x country in WIT, Waterford. With an untimely distracting event taking place on the Friday prior to the race our athletes could be excused for not having the best preparation. The course was made up of 1km and 1.5km laps with muddy underfoot conditions. A member of the club found themselves on the course one day in advance of the race, clearly disorientated from the previous day. He did however provide some useful information on the conditions of the course. A change to the usual route over the last few years meant athletes had a greater amount of an incline to cover. In the woman's novice, Eadaoin O'Neill ran a composed race to finish 58th and her club mate Eibhlin Clearly finished in 105th. In the men's race Kevin O'Brien was the sole club representative. Kevin, who had two day's previous raced down the isle in Waterford, found himself in the mix for an individual medal. A lead group of around 12 athletes set the early pace with Kevin placed strategically off the back of the group. As the race progressed he moved through the pack to find himself closing on 4th in the final lap, a brave move saw him overtake 4th and 3rd on the long hill. With second in his sights Kevin found himself caught on the inside of the final bend losing his stride in an extra muddy patch, this would prove disastrous as both athletes ahead of him opened a slight gap to leave Kevin finishing in 4th. A great effort from Kevin, who will now focus his efforts on the National Intermediate x county in February. He led home the Cork county team to take silver.

Results at the following link http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/

The 10th of December saw the staging of the East Cork Novice Championships in Watergrasshill. Our Woman's team consisting of Lorna Santry, Niamh O'Conner and Eibhlin Cleary took home the team gold with Lorna taking home an individual silver. Great stuff from Lorna and the ladies team.

Elsewhere on the roads a number of our athletes lined up for the Cloyne Commons race last Sunday. James McCarthy lead home Sean Mcgrath in second. Eric Meade finished inside the top ten, with Martin Hennessy, Denis McCarthy and John Walshe also representing the club.

Sunday saw the highlight of the x country session taking place in Abbottstown. We had seven athletes representing the club, on what was a cold day with the course in relatively good condition barring a few sticky patches. Fiona Santry put in another impressive display to finish 29th on the 8km course, just inside her aim of a top 30 finish. Her exploits at the same distance in Galbally 2 weeks previous clearly proving beneficial. Fiona fought hard all the way finding herself in a mighty race with a group of 6 athletes for the second half of the race, before finishing strongly. Our Men's team were the next up to do battle with five 2km laps in what was a highly competitive field of 170 athletes. The lads placed well from the gun, with the leaders setting a ferocious pace. Tim O'Donoghue put in a solid performance working hard to stay in touch with the front pack before picking off a few places to finish well inside the top twenty in 15th position. This was enough to earn Tim second place on the Cork team who secured third place county team on the day. James McCarthy was next placed scorer on the East Cork team finishing in 30th place after working hard through out, great running from James who also picked up a bronze for Cork. Kevin O Brien came home in 46th position finding himself running large parts of the race solo, which no doubt made it more difficult, Kevin also picking up a county medal. The recent x country races should provide Kevin with a decent foundation for the upcoming Novice and Intermediate All Ireland. Rounding off the team scoring on the day was Sean Mcgrath in 57th who fought hard, putting in a monumental finish to claim another few places. A tough four weeks of racing for Sean who is continuing his return to form. The All Ireland Masters will be firmly in his sights for February. Fergus Meade, fresh from his 3k indoor track victory on Thursday, ran a fine race to finish in 79th followed by Kenneth Kelleher in 83rd. A valiant effort from the guys who finished in 7th team position overall out of 19 teams.


Results at the following link http://www.athleticsireland.ie/downloads/eshop/Sen_Men.pdf

Next race is the Novice All Ireland on December 17th in WIT, Waterford, the only important event that weekend.

This weekend coming will see the staging of the Munster Intermediates on Sunday December 3rd in Beaufort, Shane Harrington and Kevin O Leary are the sole club representatives.

​Another day, another X country race in Riverstick. One might think our athletes could be getting a little tired of the drive to Riverstick, but this was certainly not the case today with a double gold for the club and a host of County medals for Cork won by our athletes. Weekend three of Sean Mcgrath's four weekend racing streak saw the Ballyandreen man take control from the gun to power home in first, taking the Munster Masters title in the process. Sean struggled with the drive home due to the extra weight in the jeep of three gold medals. All positive signs from Sean which should set him up nicely with Abbottstown on the horizon next weekend. Shane Harrington and Frank Hayes bunched well for the majority of the race before Shane made a move with a half a lap remaining to finish in a well fought 9th place, 4th M35. Shane showing great form as of late following his second place finish in Eyeries last weekend. Frank Hayes swapped the dancing shoes for the spikes this weekend finishing strongly in 11th position, taking second in the M45 category also. Brian Harty ran a steady race to round off the team scoring in 17th, 9th M35, consisting training from Brian now starting to prove dividends. Donnacha O'Mahony finished in an impressive 28th position, 3rd M50, Pat O'Connor finished in 33rd, 9th M40, a fine run for a man with little running under the belt, Conor Tierney finished in 42nd, 13th M40 with Denis McCarthy in 75th position, 13th M50. Elsewhere, Kevin O Leary tore up the runway on Friday night to win the Cork Airport 5k.

Results at the following link https://www.corkathletics.org/latest-results/2017/65-november/726-munster-masters-and-juvenile-relay-cross-country-championships-2017.html

Next up is the big one in Abbottstown next Sunday November 26th where our Men's Senior team are in action along with Fiona Santry in the Ladies Senior race.

​The Munster Senior X Country Championships were held in Galbally, Co.Tipp on Sunday November 12th under the watchful eyes of the Galtee Mountains. The course consisted of 2km flat laps, with tough underfoot conditions. A 200 meter stretch on the back end of the course was in serious boggy condition. Our Senior Women's team consisting of Fiona Santry, Eadaoin O'Neill, Lorna Santry and Eibhlin Cleary took to the start line at 14.30. Fiona found herself in third position early on in the race before taking command of the second place position and maintaining a 14 second gap over her third placed rival, before extending this margin in the final lap. A mighty run from Fiona who took home a gold medal with the Cork County team, an individual silver medal and a team bronze medal. Sinead O'Connor of Leevale led the race from start to finish. Next home for East Cork was Lorna Santry in 11th position who paced herself decently throughout the race followed by Eadaoin O'Neill who also ran well to finish in 12th position. Eibhlin Cleary rounded off the team scoring for East Cork in 17th position meaning the team finished on 42 points, only two behind An Riocht. In the Men's Senior race Tim O'Donoghue and Kevin Maunsell set the pace from the gun with the two battling it out for the first 3km before Kevin opened up a gap. Tim pushed hard in pursuit ensuring he kept the chasing pack at bay in the process. Tim went on to pick up a gold County team medal for Cork as their first scorer, a silver individual medal and a silver team medal with East Cork. James McCarthy had an exceptional run battling his way in third for over half the race before falling slightly back to 6th overall. Huge improvements being made by James which should prove fruitful at the All-Irelands in two weeks time. Next up was Sean McGrath with his typical hell for leather attitude giving it his all to finish in an impressive 9th position. This was the second of four consecutive racing weekends for Sean with the Munster Masters coming next weekend. Kevin O'Brien rounded of the scoring for East Cork in 11th position, solid running from Kevin who should have fresher legs come the All Irelands. Tim, James, Sean and Kevin all received a gold medal for Cork and were the first four scorers on the County team. Kenneth Kelleher had a strong performance in the muck to finish in 16th position. Fergus Meade made his first cross county appearance for East Cork this season to come home in 19th, with Kevin O'Leary finishing in 31st position on his senior debut . Overall East Cork finished on 28 points in second position with Ennis Track in first on 20 points and Leevale somewhere over Galteemore on 73 points in third.

Results at the following link : http://www.munsterathletics.com/results/2017/Results%20%281%29.pdf

Next x county fixture is the Munster Masters in Riverstick on Sunday November 19th.

​Hello All,


This weekend saw the staging of the Cork County Masters Men & Woman and County Novice B Championships at Riverstick. Conditions were good given the time of year, a dry and fresh day, with the course itself in far better condition in comparison to the County Novice a few weeks previous.  In the Woman’s Novice B Lorna Santry worked her way up to third over the course of the first lap and ran well to finish in this position over the 4km course. Eibhlin Clearly strategically picked a different racing line from the start finding herself in 5th position early on before coming home in 12th position, well inside the top half of the field, a great run from Eibhlin. In the Men’s Masters Race, Sean McGrath took to the front in the first lap closely tacked by Tim Twomey and Paul Moloney. Sean found himself in third position mid-way through the second lap, a position he would remain until the finish of the 7km course. Sean is improving his fitness every week at the moment after a long injury layoff and will no doubt continue his return to form. Frank Hayes produced another fine display on the fields with a 6th place finish, 2nd 045. Brian Harty ran a fine race to finish in 11th overall, 4th 035. Donnacha O’Mahony rolled back the years to come home in 22nd overall and 1st in the 050 category, well done Donnacha. Tim Mahony continued his return to cross country running with a 25th place finish. Eric Meade finished in 32nd and 2nd in the 050. Denis McCarthy finished well in the middle of the pack in 45th position, 5th 050, well done Denis. All this meant that from a team perspective our Masters 050 team finished in 1st on 99 points and our Masters O35 team finished second on 45 points. Mighty running lads, fair play.


Link to the results as follows https://www.corkathletics.org/latest-results/2017/65-november/707-cork-athletics-masters-novice-b-and-juvenile-relays-cross-country-championship-results-november-2017.html

Next up is the Munster Senior Championships on Sunday 12th in Galbally Co. Tipp were the club is represented by both the Men’s and Woman’s teams.