Charleville Half marathon Sunday 23rd September, 2012

Well done to Cathal O Connell who was 1st M45 in 72.10 and Mary Sweeney who was 1st F50 in 86.19 in the Charleville Half Marathon on Sunday

Apparently due to an error the times are off by 12-15 seconds. Here are the results of the Barr’s runners that competed:

Pos Firstname Lastname Gender Category Firsthalf Secondhalf Chiptime Finish
13 Cathal O Connell M M45 00:36:06 00:36:06 01:12:10 01:12:11
96 Mary Sweeney F F50 00:43:04 00:43:16 01:26:19 01:26:20
101 geraldine o shea F F40 00:42:54 00:43:57 01:26:41 01:26:51
103 Fergal Sargent M MO 00:44:03 00:42:55 01:26:49 01:26:57
129 Dave O Regan M M45 00:45:01 00:43:59 01:28:53 01:29:00
150 Emma Murphy F FO 00:45:08 00:45:10 01:30:11 01:30:17
152 Gillian Cotter F F35 00:45:08 00:45:11 01:30:11 01:30:18
169 Ruairi O’Mahony M MO 00:45:20 00:46:57 01:32:11 01:32:17
192 Anne Wolfe F F40 00:47:31 00:46:48 01:34:10 01:34:19
221 Margo Dinan F F45 00:48:07 00:48:52 01:36:48 01:36:58
233 Ann Donnelly F F50 00:48:54 00:49:02 01:37:47 01:37:56
305 Kathleen Kelly F F35 00:50:11 00:53:22 01:43:16 01:43:33
378 Martin Farrell M MO 00:55:13 00:54:03 01:48:45 01:49:15
409 Mary Mulcahy F F50 00:55:51 00:54:54 01:50:07 01:50:45
441 Brian Murphy M M35 00:56:10 00:57:52 01:53:39 01:54:02
461 Austin Murphy M M60 01:00:39 00:55:34 01:55:31 01:56:12
477 John  Coleman M M40 00:55:36 01:02:09 01:57:13 01:57:45

Well done to all who ran!

St. Finbarr’s Half Marathon 9th September, 2012

Congratulations to all who took part in today’s very successful Half Marathon in Blarney. In very warm conditions and into a headwind on the way back there were some great performances produced in a race completed by over 500 runners.

Emma Murphy won the ladies race with a brilliant performance, coming home in 1.22.08. In doing so Emma led the St. Finbarr’s ladies team to victory with Mary Sweeney (4th) completing the team. Geraldine O Shea was 5th. Esther Murphy and Niamh Cronin were 1st and 2nd F35, Col Conway and Anne Wolfe were 1st and 2nd F40, Orla Crosbie was 3rd F45 and Ann Donnelly was 1st F50.

In the mens race which was won by Michael Herlihy of North Cork AC with an excellent race in 1.10.44, John Meade led the St. Finbarr’s mens team to victory with a fine 4th place finish just a week after his Dingle Half Marathon victory. Cathal O Connell (1st M45) who was 5th and Michael Morgan who was 8th completed the team. Michael Murphy and Willie Hayes were 2nd and 3rd M55.

Well done to everyone who made the race such a success. That goes for participants but even more importantly to all who helped with the organisation on and off the course. The pacing, stewarding, water and post race refreshments were first rate and the timing chips worked very well so thanks and well done to all concerned. Thanks and well done also to Race Director Ken Devine who worked tirelessly to pull everything together and did a great job  in organising the race.

Final thanks to our sponsors John Buckley Sports who included a leaflet giving 20% discount for all participants in the goody bag. John is a great supporter of the club and indeed of athletics generally in Cork.

Full Results Here

John Buckley / St. Finbarr’s A.C. Cork Half Marathon 2012

Cork Half Marathon - Enjoying the fruits of one’s labours

St. Finbarr’s A.C. is pleased to announce that this year’s John Buckley / St. Finbarr’s A.C. Cork Half Marathon will take place at 11am on Sunday the 9th of September 2012. Race H.Q. for the event is the Blarney GAA Club off Castle Close Road. This race also incorporates the Munster Half Marathon Championships and follows a new out-and-back course between Blarney and Lower Rathduff. On-the-day entrants will be required to fill out an entry slip giving details of Name, Gender, Club, D.O.B, and Mobile. Just present the completed slip with the €25 entry fee at the desk and you will receive your race number and race chip pre-packed. A large number of entries is anticipated, so please allow plenty of time for parking, registration and warm-up. Post race refreshments and prize giving will take place back at the GAA clubhouse.

This year’s race will incorporate:

  • Chip Timing by Precision Timing.  The chip will allow for timely and accurate collation of results. Late online entries can pick up the timing chip at the clubhouse on the day.
  • In conjunction with our sponsor John Buckley Sports, highly visible Race Pacers (1:30, 1:45 and 2:00hrs) will be used to help participants reach the finish line while maintaining pace, staying safe and most importantly, having fun! The race pacers will be equipped with balloons, brightly coloured tee-shirts and a target time on their backs.
  • Goody Bag with a race souvenir and a 20% money-off voucher from John Buckley Sports.
  • Munster Half Marathon Championships. No separate registration required. Individual prize categories are 1st, 2nd & 3rd Men (Senior, O/35 & O/50) and Women (Senior, O/35 & O/45). Athletes must be AAI registered members of a Munster based club. There are no team prizes!

Cork Half Marathon Map 2012 - Click here

To get to the Blarney GAA Grounds, head out of Cork on the N20 (Mallow Road) and exit at the Blarney (R617) slip road at (A). Take the first left turn (Route 1) after the roundabout and follow the Clogheen-Milcon Walkway on your left. There’s a car park for users of the walkway about half way down this road at the START line. At the next junction turn right and then left to arrive outside the GAA Grounds at (B). There’s a small lay-by with limited parking facilities between these two junctions near the Scout Hall. There’ll also be limited parking inside and outside the GAA Grounds on Castle Close Road. There’s also plenty of parking in the Secondary School just off the R617. To arrive at the School, take the second left turn (Route 2) beyond the roundabout.

Cork Half Marathon Route 2012 - Click here

The beautiful wooded countryside just north of Blarney village provides a leafy backdrop for the Cork Half Marathon. No matter what the weather conditions, all this natural greenery makes for a very pleasant running experience. There’ll be five water stations in total – one at the FINISH and four out on the course. Two stations are passed twice en route for a total of seven water stops. Click on the Route Map above for details. The course itself runs northwards from Blarney past Waterloo, Monacnappa Estate and Lower Kilmona. For the most part, the route runs parallel to the N20 Cork-Mallow road, whose traffic can be heard in the background.

Cork Half Marathon Elevation 2012- Click here

This year’s race is an out-and-back course, which incorporates a looped start in Blarney before heading northwards on the Waterloo Road. The race turns around at Cheese Factory entrance in Lower Rathduff and heads back to the traditional finish on the Waterloo Road. The new course takes out the hill up to Grenagh village removing over 50m of elevation and making the course significantly flatter and faster.

Cork Half Marathon Start 2012

The race starts at the Amenity Car Park opposite the entrance to the Clogheen-Milcon walkway. When you exit the GAA Grounds, turn right, cross the road at the Yield sign, go past the Children’s Playground and turn left at the Mallow/N20 road sign. You’ll do one lap coming back to the Amenity Car Park. On the second lap, you’ll go straight ahead at the Garage, past another Garage and right onto Waterloo Road and the beginning of your hinterland odyssey.

Cork Half Marathon Turnabout 2012

You’ll pass the FINISH line just short of the 2M mark. There’s a relaxing downhill section beyond the 2M mark. For the next mile, you’ll be running through woodland with the river Martin on your right. At the Waterloo Inn (3M), you’ll go over Putland’s (Waterloo) Bridge passing the church and the round tower on your right. From here, it’s a nice steady rise all the way to the 7.5M mark and the Turn’about at the Cheese Factory. From there, you’ll be running slightly downhill and retracing your steps all the way back to the FINISH. Don’t forget to pick up your water bottle and goody bag before heading back to the GAA Grounds.

St. Finbarr’s A.C. members have expended a lot of time and effort in preparing for the Cork Half Marathon. We greatly appreciate your participation and will do everything possible to ensure that yours is both a pleasant and rewarding experience. Please note that the public roads will remain open to traffic during the race. Therefore, runners must run on the left hand side whilst exercising due care and caution. Also, participants are strongly advised not to use headphones during the race. In the event of an emergency, all stewards will be issued with an emergency contact number. We wish all of you the very best of luck on Sunday and look forward to seeing you back at the GAA Grounds for some Tea, Sandwiches and Cakes.

Dingle Half Marathon 1st September

Congratulations to John Meade and Gillian Cotter who made it a Barr’s double in the Dingle half marathon on Saturday.
John completed a hat-trick with his third successive Dingle half marathon victory in a time of 1:14:38 over the challenging course.
Gillian Cotter completed her biggest win to date in a time of 1:31:16.
Well done to all who took part in any of the Dingle races!

BARRS Athletes win top prizes at “Route 2 Crook” 2012

First man Cathal O’Donovan of St.Finbarrs A.C.

The eight running of the “Route 2 Crook” 5M road race took place on Sunday last with good numbers once again completing the scenic route from Goleen to Crookhaven. Although the weather on the morning was threatening, people still travelled from all over the country and from abroad. World Champion Steve Redmond waved off the runners from the Grotto at 4pm. First to the finish line was Cathal O’Donovan of St.Finbarrs A.C. The West Cork Tri-athlete powered his way home in windy conditions in a time of 0:26:22, a full two minutes ahead of his nearest rival. In the women’s category, Emma Murphy of St.Finbarrs A.C. was first over the line in a time of 0:33:15. Well done to all BARRS athletes who took on the long round trip to Goleen.