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Overall since the club first competed in the Munster Senior XC championship in 1986 we have won an impressive 21 out of 33 runnings of the event. We have won the individual title 8 times by four men: Donnacha O'Mahoney, Liam O'Brien, James McCarthy and Michael Harty. Donnacha on his own has won half of these winning 4 times and hauling an unprecedented 13 team titles along the way stretching over 20 years from 1990 to his final team title in 2010. Our longest streak was 9 wins from 2004 to 2012 until St Johns won in Limerick Racecourse in 2013. Of the 21 titles won 23 men have contributed directly to the team by scoring in the top four. As mentioned Donnacha tops this list with 13. Close behind are James and Sean on 10 each, who are solely responsible for the consistent run of team results in the mid 00's. Liam O'Brien and Eric Meade contributed 7 wins each and John Kearney 6. Note: Traditionally the Munster Seniors XC was held in January which fitted naturally in the XC calander a number of weeks before the Interclub All Irelands. However with the merging of the interounties and interclubs to one race in December the Munsters changed to a November date in 2015. Which is why there were two races in that year. Any mistakes or omissions please let me know.  
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County Masters and Novice B: Congrats to the mens M35 team on winning the county masters in Castlelyons at the weekend. Michael Hary won the race outright, making a welcome return to racing after over 6 months out and maintaining his 100% winning steak for 2018. Sean was 2nd to Michael with Brian Harty in 5th and Graham Swords only a week on from Dublin marathon in 7th. Well done lads, it was nice to break Leevales strangle hold on most other cross country county titles for this season. Other Individual Medlal winners - Frank Hayes was 2nd individual in the M45 category with Denis McCarthy and Phil McGrath 3rd in the M55 and M65 catgories. Tim Mahoney was 4th M40 with Jens Waechter making his official club debut in 6th. In the Novice race Jonathon Finn had another good cross country run finishing 6th with the ever improving Donogh Wall not far behind in 8th. On the Roads: There were two road races of note over the weekend also. Jonathon Finn impressively took out the Airport Runway 5k at midnight Friday night in 17.52. This continues from Kevin O'Learys win in the inaugural race last year keeping a hold of East Cork AC winners of the event. Jens Waechter made his unofficial debut with a top 20 after going out hard with the leaders into the wind and finishing in 19.32. On Sunday morning in Little Island Kenneth Kelleher took to the line in the BHAA HSE 5k. This was Kenneths first race in nearly a year and made a very successful return in 16.45 for 9th overall. Brickly 5K: John Walshe was in Waterford on Sunday running the Brickly 5k in 25.14. Elsewhere... Normally Parkruns don't make it into the weekly reports but this week might just be the sole exception. We had two runners battling it out in Bere Island and Lees Road, Ennis. Eibhlin Cleary made her parkrun debut finished 2nd to Ennis Tracks Laura Chesser in a season best time of 23.22 on the undulating forest trail. And down in West Cork, while his teammates were battling Leevale for a county title in Castlelyons, Shane Harrington ran a confidence boosting 17.46 to come 1st by 5 minutes in Bere Island... This should set Shane up nicely for the Munster Seniors next weekend.  *NEW CLUB RECORD* In a very rare occurrence at the weekend one of the long standing club records was broken. Tim ran a superb debut marathon in Dublin coming 18th overall and 8th Irish finisher and smashed the former record of John Kearney by 5 mins which was set in Mallow in 1996. Tim ran 2.21.02. His splits were 69.16 through the first half and 71.45 home despite suffering a bit (in his own words) in the closing miles . Tim was in a group with some experienced 2.20 guys for the opening miles but found the going too slow so pushed on up the road passing 10 miles in about 52.45 minutes. Closing in on the half way point Tim was in a great position about 30 seconds behind 4 time national winner Sergio Ciobanu and current national half marathon champion David Flynn. Passing through the half way mark in 69.18 was a little bit faster than the pre-race plan but the legs were feeling good and the race was on. Tim maintained this pace for another 10-15km and closed right up to David Flynn after the 30km mark. The hot early pace did finally catch up in the legs over the last 3 miles and the pace dropped a little but still held everything together to finish with an overall average of 5.23 a mile. Which in other terms is eight 5ks back to back in 16.43 plus another 2km, or 105 x 400 in 80 seconds with no recovery! Graham Swords also ran an excellent race in 2.40:55 going a few minutes faster than his last outing in Cork and Lavinia ran a massive 20 PB with 4.47:47. Great to see all the training paying off. Frankfurt Marathon: Kevin O'Leary also ran an amazing marathon debut running 2.27:48 in Frankfurt for 53rd overall. To put this time into context Kevin only broke 60 mins for the first time last year in a 10 mile race and now has catapulted himself to running a full 26.2 miles in 5.37 average. This is back to back 56.23's for 10 miles and finishing it off with a 35 minute 10km! Kevin ran a negative split race going through the first half in 74.16 and the second in 73.33. Interestingly Kevin's last 7km was the fastest portion of his race (from 35km to 40km he ran 17.06, this alone would podium in many 5km road races around Cork on a summers evening). Consistent dedicated training is very much paying off. Also this was Kevins 33rd race of the year. Congrats Kevin Cork Intermediate XC: Well done to Shane Harrington with a battling 4th in the Cork Intermediate XC in Conna on Bank holiday Monday. Shane was head to head with training squad member Dave O'Connor from St Catherines for the majority of the race but Dave just pulled ahead in the closing sprint. The ladies team was unlucky to be one short for a team. With Lavinia in Dublin, Lorna working and Niamh injured we would of had a great chance of a top 2 position if all were running. None the less Eadaoin had a solid run to finish 8th with Michelle hot on her heals in 9th and Eibhlin packing well in 14th. Well done all, it was not an ideal day for a race at the tail end of a bank holiday but great to see 3 in the top 10 in both races.  Irish Master Selections:
The highest honour in any sport is to represent your country and today East Cork AC has four men selected to wear the Irish singlet in Swansea next month in the British and Irish Masters XC. Sean McGrath and Michael Harty have been picked in a strong M-35 team. Frank Hayes is a reserve in the M-45's and Phl McGrath is a reserve in the M-65's. A huge congratulation to all of you from the club. It is a wonderfully achievement for such a small club to have this many representatives on an Irish team. This is a testament to their dedication to training and applying themselves fully to the sport over the years. Cork Intermediate XC: Best of luck to Shane and our womens intermediate team competing in Conna on Bank Holiday Monday. Men: Shane Harrington Women: Eadaoin O'Neill, Niamh O'Connor, Eibhlin Cleary and Michelle Ahern Marathon Men: Also this weekend is the National Marathon championships in Dublin on Sunday. Despite what the entry list might say East Cork have two athletes competing: Tim O'Donoghue and Graham Swords. Best of luck lads and make sure you wrap up, the forecast is looking chilly. This is Tims debut over the 26 miles and already John Kearneys long standing record is been talked about being under threat. After winning the Cork city 10 miler and destroying the field in the Cork Senior XC confidence must be high. Tim is also the clubs half marathon record holder with a 66.58 from Cardiff a few years ago. Graham ran the Cork marathon in the summer in a swift 2.45 and since then he has joined the club, made his cross country debut and has been training consistently very well. Even when out at sea for 2 week spells Graham finds ways and means to get the miles in. Another notable racer this weekend is Kevin O'Leary, who is heading International, competing in the Frankfurt marathon also on Sunday. Kevin has been racing strong and has been the most consistent trainer all year. His PB's have proved this so hopefully the marathon debut will follow the same trend. Munster Novice, Beaufort Kerry:
Congrats to the womens team in the Munster Novice in Beaufort on Sunday, winning a bronze team medal. Eadaoin led the team with a super run for 12th overall, which also was good enough to score on the gold winning Cork team. Lorna improving every week and back on a familiar flat fast course ran her best race of the season to come 16th. Michell and Eibhlin anchored the team excellently then in 22nd and 27th. Well done to all. The mens team finished 5th overall in a competitive race. Shane had a brilliant 9th place run and scored on the gold winning Cork county team. Jonathon, Tim and Donogh packed very well in 36th,42nd and 45th. All three lads are only getting back into the cross country races so great to see fielding a full team. Training squad members Frank and Paul had a ding dong battle in the U-18 boys race with Paul taking the honours and leading Midleton AC to the team title. Autumn Open XC: Up in Abbotstown at the custom built cross county course Sean, Frank and Phil were battling in their respective age categories to get selected for the British and Irish Masters International XC. Sean had an excellent race finishing 4th M-35, Phil in the 6,000m M-65 category finished a competitive 6th and Frank Hayes got a top 10 ten as well, finishing 9th in the M-45. The fields in this event are very strong with the very best in Ireland competing so well done to the three lads for representing the club with great distinction. Rebel Run 10km: John Walshe in between writing up cross country reports for the examiner and taking pictures of James' pasty white legs also finds time to support most other races around Cork in one way or another. This weekend he was photographer and athlete, competing in the 10k Rebel Run race in CIT. The race finished on the CIT track so it was a pretty impressive feat that in late October we had athletes running on cross county, road and track on the same day! Best of luck to the mens and womens teams competing in the Munster Novice in Beaufort Kerry on Sunday. The programme starts at 11.30am with the juveniles on first. So the Novice Womens race will roughly start at 2pm with the mens at approx 2.30pm.
Mens Team: Shane Harrington, Jonathon Finn, Tin Mahony and Donogh Wall. Womens Team: Eibhlin Cleary, Eadaoin O'Neill, Lorna Santry and Michelle Ahern. Also best of luck to Sean and Phil McGrath running in the Autumn Open XC in Abbotstown. This is a qualifier for the British and Irish Masters International race in November in Swansea. Both McGraths won bronze medals in their respective age groups in the Nationals in Clarinbridge in February so have a great chance of being in the mix for an Irish vest. First Individual winner in 15 years:
Congrats to Tim O'Donoghue who blew away the field to win the Cork Senior XC title for the first time and the first East Cork athlete to claim the individual honours in 15 years since Donnacha O'Mahoney won his 6th and final title in 2003. Tim set a blistering pace in the opening lap and continued to expand his lead throughout comfortably winning in 33.06. Tim is at the peak of his training for Dublin Marathon so hopefully he will go just as well there in 2 weeks time. Sean was a commendable 2nd overall having a titanic battle throughout with inform and reigning National Masters champion Paul Moloney. Sean outsprinted Paul in the tight closing corners to ensure a 1-2 for East Cork. Unfortunately this still wasn't good enough to retain the team title as Leevale packed very well showing good strength in depth without their talisman Mark Hanrahan. They had 6 athletes in the top 10 with James and Kevin just behind in 11th and 12th meaning we missed out by 3 points. Frank Hayes had a solid run in 16th overall, Tim O'Mahoney in 22nd, Eric Meade in 27th and Denis running his 37th County Senior championship race was 33rd. Fiona Santry had a tremendous run in the Senior Womens getting 3rd overall in her 6th attempt on this race. Fiona has been consistently knocking on the door for a few years. This should be all the more sweeter this year having come only 9 seconds outside the medals last year. Fiona has been improving year on year with dedicated training so this was very well deserved. I am not sure when the last time an East Cork lady won an individual medal at the county senior championships but has certainly been a long time coming. Congrats Fiona. This was the first time East Cork had a team in the womens Senior race in many years and they finished in 5th overall so big congratulations to Eadaoin (19th), Eibhlin who had a stormer of a race and has really come into mighty form since recently getting married (23rd), Lorna who is only back training a few weeks in 24th and Michelle the new womens club captain right behind her in 25th. The next race on the calander is the County Seniors in Whites Cross on Sunday. Estimated start times are Junior women at 12pm, Senior Women 12.20pm, Junior Men 12.50pm and Senior Men 1.15pm. So please time your trip accordingly to include parking, collecting your number and sufficient warm up time. We have had a rich history in this race since the club formed in 1985 winning the team title 20 times and 8 individual titles from three men: Liam O'Brien (1989), Donncha O'Mahoney x6 (1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,2003) and Garreth Barry (1997) East Cork are the defending champions having won the team title back from Leevale last year. However Leevale have dominated the individual title winning with three difference winners the last 10 years since Alan O'Shea won in 2007 for Bantry AC. Perhaps this year that might change. The team titles were won in: 85,86,88,89,90,91,92,94,96,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,10,11,13,17. Breakdown of team winners below: *6 to count to 1995, 4 to count after   County Novice - Ballyverane, Macroom Oct 7th
Well done to all who competed in the County Novice cross country in Macroom yesterday. It was held on a tough hilly course but underfoot conditions were excellent for fast competitive races. Our ladies started proceedings and packed extremely well to match their performance last year coming 5th overall. Niamh led the team home in 24th, Lorna 26th, Michelle 28th and Eibhlin, relishing the hilly course, came through the field well was 30th. Lavinia rounded off the team then in 45th. Well done all. Our mens team was led by a brave Kevin O'Leary in 2nd place. Kevin set a blistering pace going through the first mile in 5.05, splitting all the lead contenders up from the gun. Kevin kept the pressure on and had a lead of about 25 meters at halfway. However Nathaniel Heyward from Leevale came thought strongly in the last lap to close the gap and just pip Kevin for the victory. Shane Harrington had another excellent team performance finishing in 14th. Graham Swords ran a stormer of a final lap coming from 23rd position up to 16th in the end, obviously the strength from his marathon training coming through. Our firemen came next with Tim Mahoney sealing the bragging rights this day finishing 29th with Jonny Finn not far behind in 36th. Returning from a long stint abroad was Donogh Wall who ran strongly throughout to come 38th. The team finished 2nd overall behind Leevale and ahead of St Finbarrs. Upcoming Races: The races will be coming thick and fast now the next few weeks with the County Seniors next Sunday at 12pm where our Senior mens team will try and retain their team title from 2017. Further details to follow when available. County Novice - Carrigadrohid
Best of luck to our men and womens teams competing in the county Novice Cross country in Carrigadrohid. Please note The Novice & U23 Championships start at 12:00, with the Womens event first. Mens Team: Shane Harrington, Kevin O Leary, Donogh Wall, Graham Swords, Tim Mahony Womens Team: Eibhlin Cleary, Michelle Ahern, Niamh O'Connor, Lorna Santry, Lavinia Tait. Recent History 2017: Our mens team finished 3rd overall and our womens team was 5th in the County Board grounds in Riverstick. The teams were led home by Kevin O'Leary in 16th and Lorna Santry in 10th. 2016: In Conna our mens team finished 2nd overall and womens teams womens team was one short. Nicky O'Donoghue had a fine run leading the men home in 7th with Eadaoin O'Neill 4th overall. 2015: In Whites Cross the mens team was 4th overall and again the womens team was one short. John Hennessy led the men in 13th and Eadaoin was 17th. 2014: The last time it was held in Carrigadrohid our womens team of Fiona Santry (3rd), Emma Leahy (9th), Eadaoin O'Neill (23rd) and Eibhlin Cleary (29th) won gold beating Leevale on count back. Also that day Michael Harty won the mens individual title and the team finished 4th overall, interestingly with the same amount of points as the womens team. World Championships - Silver Medal Firstly congrats to Sean who represented East Cork and Ireland at the World Masters in Malaga at the start of September. Sean was 4th overall in the 8km cross country in the M35 category leading Ireland to a team silver behind hosts Spain. Sean then went one better in the 10km road race coming 2nd overall with an excellent 32.13. This tops of an exceptional year for Sean who has been competitive at every level on all surfaces all year. Cork City 10 Miler This doubled up as the Cork 10 mile championships and we took out 1st and 2nd positions. Tim winning in a brilliant 51.29 closely followed by Mr PB Kevin O'Leary in 54.13. Unfortunately we didn't have one more for the team event to make it a clean sweep. East Cork Cross Country Well done to all who competed for the club at the East Corks last weekend. Sean followed up with World Silver medal with a gold East Cork medal, improving on his bronze form last year. Fiona defended her title in fine style with a comfortable win in the ladies, leading the team home to a bronze medal. New Members: A warm welcome to new members Graham and Lavinia Swords who have jumped straight in the deep end with the training and racing, hopefully there will be a long and successful season ahead!  Well done Sean on a magnificent silver medal at the National Masters 5000m on Saturday. This medal completes a unique triple, where Sean has won individual medals at National Masters XC (bronze), Indoors (gold) and Outdoor Track (silver) this year. This is a testament to Seans ability to race at an extremely high level across different disciplines throughout the year. He clocked 15.22. 7th for East Cork Division at the AAI National League Congrats also to the East Cork Division in placing 7th in AAI National League 1st division. The ladies were actually leading after the first two rounds but unfortunately some injuries and absentees meant we couldn't match those feats in the final. It is the first year of this initiative with all clubs in East Cork supporting and leads to a very exciting day of athletics as all races and field events are equally important to the overall placing of the team. I'm sure it will go from strength tho strength. We had one athlete competing on the day. Lorna Santy ran a competitive 5.33 in the 1500m to earn 3 points for the division. Well done to all involved. Dungarvan 5 Mile: We had a 1-2 in this race on Friday night. Tim was making his comeback to racing after a long stint out injured and made it a successful one winning in 25.49. Just in time for cross country! Kevin continued his fine vein of form holding off the rest of the field for 2nd in 26.30. Well done lads. Heir Island 5k: Eibhlin touring around after her wedding last week came across the Heir Island 5k and over a very difficult hilly course finished 3rd lady. Congrats Eibhlin on the podium and of course to yourself and Ger on the wedding. It's good to see that she remembers where her priorities lie.  Celtic International: Congrats to Frank O'Brien (Midleton AC) on being selected and competing for Ireland in Scotland in the Senior Boys 2k steeplechase. In a very high standard field Frank placed 4th and is still eligible next year. It is great to see local athletes racing at international level, especially when you can see the hard work that goes in week in week out over the winter and summer to get to this level. Road Racing Scene: As we have no athletes in the Diamond leagues track and field is effectively finished up for the year (the exception is Sean will be competing in the world masters in Spain in September and the national Masters is also on this weekend). Cross country is still a few weeks away so the roads are where everyone is chasing times at the end of the summer or trying to find out where their fitness is at leading into the winter sessions ahead. Kevin O'Leary has continues his impressive form with two wins in two weeks, winning the Marine Bar 6 mile in 34.53 and moving up in the podium in the East Cork Harbour 10k from 3rd in 2016 to win in a healthy 33.49, blowing away the rest of the field in the process. Conna and Castleyons: Denis, Phil and John went to Conna to support the St Catherines annual 5k on August 3rd. Denis ran a tidy 20.37, Phil 22.04 and John 25.52. I'll leave it up to you to figure out who is chasing the times and who is gauging fitness! Denis and John then popped down to nearby Castlelyons a few days later and ran the 4 mile. Denis somehow managed to run a faster pace here then the 5k in Conna, perhaps the expectation of local hero got to him. The rarely ran 8km distance was the order of the day in Mitchelstown Friday the 10th and John was our sole runner, he completed the route in 46.36. This was won by Clonmels Kevin Mauncell in 23.57. Musgrave 5km: Michelle and Niamh tackled the Marina 5k route last night in the Musgrave 5k. Michelle improved her season best by 31 seconds to 22.33 and Niamh also knocked off 40 seconds from her last 5k race in Coolagown in April to finish in 21.27. There must of been something in the water in Ennistymon last weekend!  National Track and Field - July 28th/July29th: National Track and Field and two local road races in the last week. Sean made the trip to Morton Stadium in Santry on Saturday to take part in the National T&F championships. He was 11th in the 10,000m in a stacked field in 31.26. Frank also took part in the Junior Mens 3000m and was 4th in 9.15. Ballinacurra 4 Mile and Cloyne 5k: Ballinacurra 4 mile was on last Thursday in very wet conditions. The course for the race is part of many of the clubs local training routes. Kevin O'Leary was 3rd in 20.53, Denis 41st in 27.02 and John Walshe finished in 33.09. The race was won by Paul Moloney from Mallow AC in a new course record of 19.59. Cloyne 5k was on last night and again we had a very good showing from the club, hopefully a sign that people are starting to get ready for cross country again. Kevin O'Leary as so often this summer was our first athlete home. He was 4th in 16.07. Brian Harty made a welcome return to racing with a top 15 in 17.45. Conor Tierney just missed out in breaking the 6 min miling with 18.43 and Denis just missed a sub 20 in 20.10. Michelle and Eibhlin had a close battle with Michelle winning out in 23.04 and Eibhlin in 23.38. John Walshe beat the 8 min miling barrier for the second time this year with a 24.37. Well done all. The race was won by Alan O'Shea from Bantry AC in 15.11.  Cork City Sports and Graded Leagues Rd 4: As we get into late July the track starts to get a bit more serious with Nationals just around the corner. First up last week was the 67th Cork City Sports International Meet in CIT. Sean ran in the Open mens 3000m and finished 4th in a high quality mens field in 8.42. This was won by Damien Landers in 8.31, with the top 12 all finishing sub 9 minutes. Frank ran in the Junior Mens 1500m and was also 4th in a new PB of 4.07 with a trade mark storming finish. Staying at the track last Friday night was the 4th and final night of the John Buckley sponsored Graded Leagues. Sean and Frank were both racing again. Sean winning the 3000m in 8.45 from Rossa Hurley of Donore Harriers and Frank coming 2nd in the 800m in 2.03. Michelle and Eibhlin also ran the 3000m and both were in the top 5 women. Michelle ran 12.55 and Eibhlin ran 13.58 (over 2 minutes faster than the East Cork Roads 3k back in April - well done Eibhlin). Carrigtwohill 5k and Ballymac 5 Miles: We had three athletes running in in the Carrigtwohill 5k last Wednesday night. Kevin O'Leary had a big battle with rival Michael Morgan and Brian Kearney and finished 4th in 16.04, impressive going with the number of races and mileage he is clocking up at the moment. John Walshe was his consistent self too finishing in 25.07. While Lorna was our sole ladies representative running her first road race since May ran 20.58. Kevin also continued his destruction of the Waterford Road Race Series winning the Ballymac 5 Miler in 26.29. This sets him up nicely to take out the overall summer series with 3 races to go. National T&F - July 28th/29th We have one entry in the National Track and Field this year. Sean is running the the 10,000m at 3pm on Saturday in Morton Stadium. It is a straight final. Best of luck to Sean from all at the club, he has been our leading runner all year with very impressive times and results so hopefully he continues his fine form on Saturday and runs a PB. I think his PB is from 10 years ago so it is about time that is broken.  Youghal 5k: We had seven racing in Youghal on Thursday night. Kevin had another great run with a sub 16 for 3rd. Conor Tierney continues his comeback and was breathing down Erics neck. Denis ran a solid 20.16 and nearing that sub 20 again! Phil, Lawerence and John rounded off the East Cork showing. National Juveniles in Tullamore: The dedicated winter training has also paid dividends for some of the non East Cork contingent of our training squad. We would like to congratulate Midleton AC's Paul Hartnett and Frank O'Brien for both winning National titles in Tullamore at the weekend. Paul won the U-17 Boys 3000m in an impressive 9.03. Frank followed up his Junior 3rd with a win in the U-18 Boys 3000m S/C in 10.07. Both are a model of consistently and winning the Nationals is richly deserved due to a patient build up for the last 10 months since August. Liam has been overseeing there training throughout this time and credit goes to him for getting both to peak at exactly the right time. Congrats to all involved. Full results below:  Sean and Kevin continued their winning streaks. Sean won the 5000m in Athlone in round 2 of the National Leage for the East Cork Divisional side. Sean set a blistering pace solo, finishing in 15:00.92. Also competing for the East Cork Divional side was Frank O'Brien who was 2nd in the 3k S/C and 4th in the 800 in 1:58. New member Michael McSweeney was 4th in the Discus with 27.10 mters and was 5th in the 56lb weight with 4.40 meters. Again these are great races for anyone trying to improve a road PB or even to try another event. So if you have any interest please contact Liam. He might even tailor make a programme for you... Kevin raced a 5.5 mile in Dungarvan and seems to be getting comfortable leading form the front as he comfortable eased away form the field to be the only man home sub 32 mins. Full results below:  All 5000m and 4 miles the last week over four different races. Kevin O'Leary has hit a hot steak and won two races in three days the VMware 5k and Mount Uniake 5k. Also winning, and taking his tally to 12 wins this year, was Sean in the Corkbeg 4 mile in a time to match the weather. A scorching 19.30 and Course Record! The club had a great turn out for the Robbie Steele Memorial with 9 athletes towing the line in what is one of the club organised races. And no doubt there were plenty of hands helping out behind the scene as usual making sure everything runs smoothly as usual and adds to the race experience. Congrats to all for racing and helping. Reminder there is training still ongoing in the usual places Tuesday, Thursday at 6pm and Saturday morning at 10am. So if you are even just going for a jog there will always be a few around. Full results below:  National League Rd 1 and John Buckley Graded League Rd 3: A mixture of track and roads the last week. Sean won the 5000m in the National League in Templemore on Sunday in 15.17 gaining 9 points for the East Cork Divisional team. Congrats to the Ladies East Cork Divisional Team for winning the first round with 122 points from Kerry County with 116. If anyone is interested in competing for the divisional team in the National League Round 2 in Athlone on July 8th, please contact Liam and let him know. Staying with the track we had three racing on Monday night in the Graded Leagues in CIT. Lorna brought her track experience to the fore to get 3rd place in a competitive race in 5.33. Michelle raced nicely to crack the 6 min barrier in 5.55 and finish 5th and Eibhlin raced her first ever 1500m and ran a great 6.23 for 7th. It is great to see the training groups most consistent members racing it up on the track and with plenty of more track races to go this year watch for the PB's to tumble. Road Warriors: Back on the roads Kevin was back across the border in the Dromana 5 mile where he beat rival/training partner Ravis Zakis to get 2nd in a swift 26.37. Our two traditionalists Denis and John raced the Donoughmre 7 mile race on Friday night. Denis despite a tempo run the previous night still managed a top 40 finish in 49.12 with John just missing out on the hour mark with 60.05. A busy enough weekend of racing from Merck Millipore BHAA in Carrigtwohill last Wednesday night to the Lee Fields on Sunday we had 9 members competing. Top results were Kevin O'Leary in 3rd, Brian Harty 7th at Coolagown and John Hennessy claiming 6th in Merck Millipore 5k.
Niamh O'Connor made a welcome return to the racing scene after a spell injured on the sidelines. Great to see her back and will really strengthen up our ladies teams for the rest of the summer. John Walshe was a man on a mission racing 3 times in 4 days. Upcoming Races: - Daniel Kingston 5k: June 21st Macroom 8pm - John Buckley Graded Leagues: June 25th (1500m) - Robbie Steele Memorial 4 mile: July 5th 8pm 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. All roads lead to Cork City center this weekend (except the ones that were closed!). We had members competing in the full marathon, the half marathon and the relay. Fiona had top individual result bettering her position from last year to finish an amazing 2nd, behind Irish International athlete Claire McCarthy, in a new PB of 83:27. Kevin O'Leary also PB'd and finished 5th again this year in a swift 73.23, even more impressive as he only began his warm up 19 minutes before the start. James Mc and Paul Cleary both tackled the full marathon. James in his first marathon (never even trying a half before) completed in a commendable 2:52. No doubt a great learning experience and plenty more to come. Paul our experience campaigner ran a great 3.14 and probably in the middle of a jam packed weekend of multiple difference activities. Our ladies relay team of Annalise, Michelle, Eadaoin and Lorna were 5th female team in an excellent 3.25 even though there were some funny changeovers noted!  Plenty more silverware being won in the last few weeks on the track and roads. Sean and Denis were our sole representatives in the County Track Championships. Sean won the 5k and Denis was 3rd in the M50 category. Kevin O'Leary and Fiona both won the new Ballymacoda 4 mile race last Friday night. No PB's but both getting very comfortable front running and leading from gun to tape. John Walshe also ran and was 86th overall. We had a big club turnout at the John Buckley 5k in the Marina on Tuesday night. There were highly competitive fields for both the men women. This didn't deter Sean who claimed victory with a blistering last mile to splinter the leading group and finsh sub 15 for the first time in 8 years. John Hennessy had a super run in 16.35 and others ran were Phil McGrath, Philip O'Neill, Lorna Santry, Michelle Ahern and John Walshe. New Member Profile: Long time club member Dave O'Dwyer is in the spotlight this week, please see his member profile below. There seems to have been more of a focus on training the last couple of weeks since the fast start to the summer season. Frank O'Carroll was our only representative in the Munster Half Marathon championships in Limerick. He was on pacing duties and was within 11 seconds of his pacing balloon advertised. Sean ran in a competitive 3k in the Leevale Open Sports and looked to have extended his winning streak to 8 but for a fast finishing David Fox from the hosting club to pip him on the line. Kevin O'Leary was back over the border again taking out 2nd in the Ardmore 5 mile. John Walshe made the trip to Clonmel for the Annervilla 10k which was won in an impressive 31.01 by William Mansaull. There was good showings also in the South Munster Schools by some of the training squad too, it's great to see some fast times and winning performances. Saturday Morning Training: We have moved from Welchtown hills now too to the Cricket pitch for the Saturday morning training. This is a 10am warm up start and generally will involve intervals from 200m - 1000m depending on your racing goals. Below is a shot of the grass track we use, with Denis in a commanding lead during the 400's session. All are welcome to join us. |
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