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St. Finbarr’s
Athletic Club Coaching Sessions
Monday 6.15pm.
Leaving from railings at top of the Mardyke.
Group road run of four or eight miles with
Club Chairman Dan Kennedy. This is an extremely popular run with experienced
and new runners at a relaxed pace and is now attracting 25 runners each
Monday. Please wear Hi-vis /
reflective clothing. Ideal
preparation for the Ballycotton 10.
Wednesday 5.30pm– 6.30pm
Venue C.I.T running track, Bishopstown.
Track training session and Fit for Life
Coaching with club coaches Fergus O’Donovan and Marian Lyons. All welcome, especially beginners and
new members.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL ST.FINBARR’S RINNERS AT UPCOMING
ROAD RACES
Mallow AC 10 Mile
Road Race Rescheduled
The Mallow 10 has been rescheduled
for February 7th
2010, for details see www.mallowac.ie.
Bantry AC 10 Mile Road Race
February 14th 2010
Bantry AC are holding their first 10 mile road race on
the following Sunday (February 14th) @ 11.00am.
Belgooly 4 Mile Road Race
The Belgooly 4 Mile RR
(originally scheduled for St. Stephen’s Day 2009)
will
be held on Easter Sunday (April 4th).
Irish Masters Indoor Championships,
Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Sunday 24th Jan 2010
Superb performances were recorded by St.
Finbarr’s athletes, under the watchful eye of Club Coach Fergus
O’Donovan, in Nenagh at the Indoor Masters Championships. In summary, the club was represented
by 7 athletes who secured a
total of 14 medals including 5 gold and set 1 Irish record. All
athletes won at least 1 medal.
Mary
Sweeney: O 45 : 4 gold -- 400m
(75s), 800m (2m43.43), 1500m (5m37.64), 3000m (11m24.6)
Flor O
Leary: O 75 : 1
gold -- 400m (83.19) Irish record by 6.57sec
(2.28 sec faster than 1st O 70)
Michael
Murphy: O 55 2 silver -- 400m
(64.4), 800m (2m23.42)
Dan
Kennedy: O 55 1 silver
-- 3000m (11m39.54) 2 bronze -- 400m
(68.5) Long Jump (3.50m)
Margo
Dinan O 40 1
silver -- 400m (68.3) 2 bronze -- 800m
(2m33.38) 3000m (11m35.68)
Frank
Sheerin O 40 1 bronze --
200 (27.6)
Tony O
Brien O 45 1
bronze -- Shot (7.41m)
Former members:
Ian O Leary
(DSD)
O 40 3000m 1st
Jim O Hare (Limerick A.C.) O 55
Shot 1st, 60m 2nd, 200m 3rd
Pat Naughton
(Nenagh) O 75 Shot,
HighJump, Long Jump, 200m, 60m (1st in all)
January 23 – County AGM
Summary available
on www.corkathletics.org
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Track Training Sessions St. Finbarr’s A.C.
Due to flood damage at the Mardyke, track training
sessions have relocated to
C.I.T. track in Bishopstown
Prepare for Ballycotton 10
Road Run each Monday evening – 4 or 8 miles
Depart top of Mardyke at 6.15pm
Easy Pace
ST. FINBARR’S A.C.
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Munster Senior Cross Country Silver for St. Finbarr’s Ladies.
St. Finbarr’s Ladies team of continued
their fantastic cross country season and took second place in the
2010 Munster Senior Interclub Cross Country on Sunday January
17th 2010 in Carrignabhfear. Pictured here in their Cork
singlets are Margo Dinan, Mary Sweeney, Rachel O’ Callaghan and Emma
Murphy, who was 5th overall and also member of the winning Cork team.
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Cork Intermediate
and Masters Championships, Bandon
Selection of St. Finbarr's athletes who
took part in the Cork Intermediate and Masters Championships held in
Bandon on Sunday November 15th 2009.
Well done to Trevor Woods who was first over the
line on the day and also took the Masters Title and congratulations to
all our ladies and mens team members who ran in very testing
conditions.
Training at the Mardyke
(click here for more images)
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DUBLIN CITY MARATHON 2009
Massive Medal Haul for ‘Barr’s in National Marathon.
St. Finbarr’s A.C. had the most successful
National Marathon Championships ever in Dublin last Monday October 26th.
Claire Gibbons stormed home to take bronze in
the Senior Women race, also leading home the Senior Ladies with Emma
Murphy and Mary Sweeney to Team Gold.
Ger O’Shea took bronze in the Women 0/40 with
a time of 3.18.25 while Mary Sweeney took bronze in the W45 in a time
of 3.12.14.
The W35 team of Rachel O’Callaghan, Mary
Mulcahy and Marie Collins won a superb bronze in their category.
In the Male category the senior team of
Cathal O’Connell, Derek O’Leary and Cathal Kelly took Silver while
Cathal O’Connell won gold in the M45 and Brendan O’Neill took bronze in
the M55.
To medal winners and all ‘Barr’ runners and
supporters congratulations on a fantastic achievement.
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Greetings from Australia
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Dear The 'Barrs,
Paul and Alice Tucker here from Australia. We realise that this
is the marathon weekend and we are wishing ye the best of luck for
it.
Alice and I are doing well over here and we have bought a house near
the beach so any of the 'Barrs are welcome to come and 'say
g'day'.
Hope 'tis great weather for ye and the trip up and back is a safe
one. Anyone going on the bus watch out for Derek and his
heinekens... don't fall asleep.
Attached is a photo of Alice and I and one of our pals after the Gold
Coast marathon in July. You wouldn't believe it, but the camera
man who video-tapes your finish and puts it on the internet for ye
said, 'how's that from the Irish!?' as i crossed the line, so the
'Barrs is truly an internationally regarded club!
Up the 'Barrs and good luck from us both,
Slan,
Paul and Alice Tucker.
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JOHN BUCKLEY SPORTS
CORK HALF MARATHON 2009
Promoted by St. Finbarr’s
A.C.
Results 2009 (Word format) -
Click here
Sunday September 13th 2009 at 11.00
a.m. Blarney, Co. Cork
551 athletes took part in
John Buckley Sports Cork Half Marathon 2009
View photographs of the
event at the following link:
Barrs athletes (plus friends!) at Togher
PTAA 5k road race - Sept. 2nd, 2009
FLOR O’LEARY SMASHES YET ANOTHER IRISH RECORD
AT ALL IRELAND
MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS AT TULLAMORE (full details
below)
______________________________________
_________________________________________________
ALL IRELAND
MASTERS TRACK AND FIELD TULLAMORE AUGUST 16TH 2009
Flor O’ Leary broke the M 75
1500m Irish record with 6m36.41 ( (previous record 7m20.6 in
1995) -- 44.19 sec
Well done to Flor and all
the ‘Barrs athletes who represented the club.
Marion Lyons W 55 won
200m(41.04s) and was 2nd in 400m (90.93) 800m (3m21.1)and
1500m (6m54.7)
Michael Murphy M 50
2nd in 1500m (4m 45.63) and 3rd in 800m (2m18.84)
Eamon McEvoy M 50 2nd in
5000m (17m 25.18)
Tony O Brien M 45 competed
in the Shot(6.32m) and Javelin (27.11m), and in 5000m
(21m33.36)
“Barr’s
man Michael Kilemade in Toronto
10 mile road race”
____________________________________________________________
Calling all St. Finbarr’s Athletes preparing
for Dublin
Marathon 2009
Following on from successful 2008 Dublin (National) Marathon,
St. Finbarr’s A.C. will be entering teams in all categories in the 2009
race. All interested runners
please contact Marathon Team Manager Paul Dinan for further information
on training schedules, group runs etc.
_____________________________________
____________________________________________________________
ARE YOU “FIT FOR LIFE”???
St. Finbarr’s A.C. is pleased to announce the
FIT FOR LIFE programme for people interested in getting fit and having
fun into the bargain.
If you want to get into condition by following
gentle drills, stretching, and conditioning, then you should sign up
for the “FIT FOR LIFE” programme. The sessions are led by our coaches
Marian Lyons and Regina Burton and take place on Wednesday evenings
from 6.00pm to 7.00pm at the Mardyke Running Track. All are welcome.
RON HILL VISITS JOHN
BUCKLEY SPORTS & ST. FINBARR’S AC
Click
here to view more images
Running in Ireland – An Amateur
Appreciation
by Paul Tucker
This is the running I was used to in Australia: post-school, post-college and
in a town of 40 000 people, 4 hours north of Brisbane. I had a running pal and we would
often run together and when we couldn’t I would run alone or with my
wife. There were no races in the
region. No league or series, no
cross-country, no road races. (I
remember running in a club like cross-country race when I was 11 and I
was one of 3 competitors, one of which was a girl). There was an athletics club for kids
up to 16 and in theory for adults, but there was little to no track
racing for those over 13.
Anything like that was 400km away and if you’re not quicker than
6 minute miles there you’re a nuisance.
I was running to keep fit. I decided to enter the Gold Coast
Half Marathon (500km away) as a means of setting and reaching a
goal. It was too far for my
then-injured friend so I trained by myself and was glad to finish as I
did. I had an idea of what to do
because I was from a strong sporting school in a capital city that did
well in running. Others would
have to learn off the internet.
Something like this is typical of an Australian
provincial town: there are little to no races around you, with little
competition if any, and any big races on are quite a journey away, and
you could well be on your own in getting ready for them. The big races are very big, which is
great craic (I was one of 6 000 at the GCHM), but there are so many
obstacles in getting to them and performing in them.
Compare this with what’s on offer in Ireland. I was running in Phoenix Park
in Dublin
when I caught up with some lads.
Jimmy told Alice and I to come running with them at Liffey
Valley AC. Sure enough we were
welcomed into the club for the 2 months we were there.
Then we hit Cork.
When I first started running in Cork
I felt welcome. I was admitted
to a fantastic club (St. Finbarr’s) who gave me training, races and
friends. My first race was the
Ballycotton 5 mile series dash in Ballyandreen. I was one of 293 people of a
Wednesday evening. I then
discovered ‘BHAA’ races of similar numbers. I ran community races in Killorglin
and Crookhaven, track and cross-country races were on offer with the
Club too. Prizes, showers,
facilities, tea, coffee, competition and company were huge bonuses for
me, not the standard fare.
The mad Finbarr’s had a marathon pack that Alice and
I couldn’t resist. We had
runners around us to help us through some tough sessions which was
great. We couldn’t have got through
they way we did without the club.
This is the running scene in Ireland
which is absolutely fantastic. I
found myself wondering why the Cork
running experience isn’t available everywhere. After thinking it through I found the
answer.
Not everywhere has raw Irish talent that gives
competitive racing. I’ve heard
that the standard of competition has slipped since the 1970s in Ireland
which may be so, but the sheer numbers of amateurs competing today at a
sub-elite level is impressive, no question.
Recently I ran the 2009 Gridiron Classic – the big 4 mile race in Central Park, New York City and I was one of
5000. I finished 10th
in the Men’s. My last race was
the BHAA 4 mile at River
Island – I ran 30
seconds quicker at Little Island and I finished 6th. The amateur standard in Ireland
is (still) good.
Every runner who comes to a Cork race will almost always have
runners near them at their pace and runners ahead of them at the pace
they want. Runners here have the
opportunity to reach a personal or team achievement in a social,
supportive atmosphere. Not
everywhere has such a social scene in a sport.
Not everywhere has a supportive atmosphere at a race
or in training. A session with
the club starts with a handshake of how you went on the weekend and
finishes with a pat on the back for getting through it! There is a continued culture of
appreciation here and it can be seen clearly.
It can be seen when athletes have there achievements
recognised and celebrated at the presentation. It can be seen when contributors are
thanked at the end of every race.
It can be seen when one of its passed members are remembered
with a minute’s silence before the runners set out once more or when
Jerry gets applause as he takes on another course in his
wheelchair. The craic is there
from start to finish.
Not everywhere has John Desmond, who tirelessly
works on the Cork Runners Website to make running accessible for the
masses, from race information to photos to blog Q&A. All in quick time too. Coupled with the Club websites
(especially Eagle AC), running becomes available from the armchair and
the newcomer, rather than just by word of mouth.
Not everywhere has John Walshe, who can cross a
county to get to a race, enter all the entrants of that race, run the
race and print off the results of the same race within 2 hours! Week to (mid)week! His contributions to running are
exceptional, from the record keeping of it to its promotion in the
papers. John, Good luck for the Ballycotton
10!
Everywhere has the numbers to run these races and to
organise them, but nobody has the inclination to do it. Not everywhere has motivated people
to organise, participate or volunteer.
Cork
has all three. I write this from
Dayton, Ohio
at the minute: a USA
town of 177 000 without a shadow of the running scene compared with
your average Irish town.
All of the above, together, simply isn’t anywhere
else. Its the sense of a real
running community that gives Cork all this. So much is done for this community on
a near voluntary basis, and so much of it is appreciated by the
runners. All of the above will
remain while your community remains.
So the Cork
experience isn’t everywhere. Any
outsider can see how good it is.
Hopefully in reading this article the average Irish countrymen
or regular Cork
rebel can see it too. It is
unique and it is a model for runners all over the world. And it’s a bloody good reason for two
Australians to return to Cork
one day: to be part of an excellent, talented, welcoming running
community.
Regards and Thanks,
Paul Tucker
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Our
Ladies and Men's Teams who competed in the
Cork County Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships
Clonakilty – Nov. 16, 2008
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Dublin City
Marathon / National Marathon
Championships 2008
St. Finbarr’s A.C. Masters Women Retain All Ireland
Crown.
Congratulations
to our Masters Women who retained their All Ireland title in
fine style at the Dublin
City / National
Marathon championships. St. Finbarr’s had a combined total of
10.42.27 which was nearly seven minutes ahead of Raheny Shamrock who
came second and 25 minutes ahead of Dunboyne AC who took third.
In other
categories our Senior Ladies put in a gallant run to take 4th
place in their race with a combined total of 10.00:22.
Superb
running from our Men’s Master 2 team who secured silver in their
race in a time of 9.50:28. And well done too to our Senior Men
team who took bronze in a time of 7.52:11 in a race won by Galway AC
followed home by Letterkenny AC.
Cross
Country Coaching
Saturday November 15th - Mallow / Strand in Youghal 11.00am
further
details - Padraig 086 8689599
The
International Scene,
Well done
to Ann Donnelly (our lady captain) and Mary Sweeney on qualifying for
the Irish Cross Country team for the Home Internationals.
Further
afield both Eidìn Christie and Marti Burke completed the Chicago
Marathon in blistering heat while nearer to home Angela McEvoy cruised
through the Amsterdam Marathon in a great time of 3hrs 21 min to finish
2nd in her category. Well done to all!
**St. Finbarr’s A.C. are County Champions 2008**
St.
Finbarr’s Novice Men’s cross country team swept to victory in the Cork
County Championships at Carrig na Bhear yesterday. In an
outstanding team performance the ‘Barr’s won by a wide margin of 11
points over the next team home, Leevale AC who were followed by Togher
AC.
Well done
to manager John Buckley and all the team: (3)
Con Marshall, (7) Colm O’Donovan, (8) Paul Tucker, (9) Kieran
O’Sullivan, (11) Denis Coughlan, (22) Wesley McNamara, (27) Martin
O’Reilly, (43) Brian Russell, (44) Tony O’Brien. Good running also from
Alice Venables who finished in 7th position in the women’s
race.
Mizuno
Cork Half Marathon 2008 – Results
- Word format
- .PDF format
Our thanks to
Marguerite O’Brien & Roy Cummins, with assistance from John Walshe
& Liam O’Brien, for producing these results.
ST. FINBARR’S A.C. ARE ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONS.
Congratulations to St. Finbarr’s
Masters Women Team who won the All Ireland Half Marathon team
title in Waterford
yesterday, September 7th 2008. In a superb team effort
the ‘Barr’s trio of Mary Sweeney, Geraldine O’Shea and Sharon McGarry
(ably assisted by team manager Mary Murphy!) took gold in a highly
competitive event. Mary and Geraldine were also in the medals in
the O/45 and O/40 categories. In the men’s race strong
performances came from Cathal O’Connell (2nd O/45) Derek
O’Leary, Paul Dinan, and John Landy. The overall winner of the
National Half Marathon was Killian O’Leary, son of Barr’s man Liam.
ST. FINBARR’S A.C. men at the AAI National Half-Marathon in Waterford
- Sunday September 7th, 2008
Dan Kennedy, Cathal O'Connell (2nd O/45), Paul Dinan, Derek O'Leary
and John Landy.
One from the archives.....
Dan Kennedy &
Michael Joyce at the inaugural Ballycotton 10 in 1978.
A total of 31 athletes took part in this event
which was won by Barrsman
Richie Crowley. The Barrs were represented by 9
athletes.
Click
here for full results.
Cork City Marathon 2008
Full results for
individuals and teams now available for the Cork City Marathon 2008. Just
click on the website below:
http://www.corkcitymarathon.ie
Upcoming Events:
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