Colin Condon was the winner of the Ballinhassig Straight Mile race on Sunday in a time of 5.24. In windy conditions Colin finished 13 seconds clear of our own Eamon McEvoy for his maiden victory. Congrats Colin!
In the ladies race Orla Crosbie was 2nd and Rebecca McEvoy 3rd. Well done everyone!

The second of the John Buckley Sports Graded T&F Meetings 2012 starts on Monday, May 14^th, 7.30pm at the CIT Track. By all accounts, the first graded meeting was a rip-roaring success on a somewhat cool but thankfully dry evening. Over 40 signed up for the MILE event, which had to be split into three separate races. The inclusion of a 3km event at the next meeting is sure to prove an equally popular draw with athletes.

These are graded meetings open to people of all levels of ability from any club. It should be a fun night out for all. Entry is €5.00 on the night. Do as much or as little as you like!

Cathal O Connell was 15th in the Belfast Marathon yesterday. Cathal ran his usual time of 2.35 🙂  and was 1st M45! Cathal finished very strongly and ran a negative split having completed the first half in 1.18.59. Congrats Cathal!

Congrats to Cathal O Donovan who won the Bay Run yesterday in a time of 79.02. Cathal, who was 24th in last weeks European Duathlon Championships in Holland, continued his excellent recent form to win by 14 seconds in a closely fought race over the difficult course.

Congrats to the ageless and peerless Mary Sweeney who was 3rd in the Limerick Marathon today (6th May)! Mary who has been in excellent form recently in the local races was training hard and it paid off today with a brilliant perfornace to finish in 3.07. I’m guessing she was 1st F50!!! Well done Mary, enjoy a rest, at least until the Pfizer 6 mile race on Wednesday!

In the Bride 10k in Rathcormac John Meade was 1st and Rory O Sullivan was 3rd!

In the Stride By the Tide race Michael Morgan was 1st while Mary Sweeney was 2nd in the ladies with Valerie Vaughan 3rd.

In the Midleton 5 mile race on Thursday John Meade was 3rd while Ken Devine who was 9th overall was 2nd M45.

Haven’t updated results in a while so there is a lot to get through!

In the Great Island 10 Mile Race John Meade was 3rd in the mens race while in the ladies Mary Sweeney was 2nd, Ger O Shea 3rd and Esther Murphy 4th. Niamh Cronin was 3rd F35, Margo Dinan was 2nd F40 and Eileen Buckley was 2nd F45. Well done to all!

In the Munster Masters Road Championship Eamon McEvoy was 2nd M55 while Mary Sweeney was 1st F50 and Mary Murphy was 3rd F50.

In the Kilnaboy 10 mile race on Easter Sunday Cathal O Connell was 2nd overall in the John Buckley Spring Classic Series. The series includes the Dungarvan 10, Ballycotton 10, Mallow 10 and Kilnaboy. Brilliant running from Cathal!

In the Ballintotis 4 mile race Martina Kiely was 2nd home in the ladies. Cathal O Connell who was 6th overall was 1st M45 with Ken Devine 2nd M45.

 A statute (land) mile is 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet. By international agreement, a yard is 0.9144 metres, so the mile works out at 1,609.344 metres, commonly rounded to 1,610 metres or 1.61km. That’s four laps of a track plus, depending on a person’s height, 5-10 strides. In Europe and the Olympic Games, the standard middle distance race is 1,500 metres commonly referred to as a metric mile. Funnily enough, while the U.S. has yet to embrace the metric system, the standard middle distance in High School T&F competition is 1,600 metres, exactly four laps of a 400m track, which is also referred to as a metric mile. Advocates of the metric system on this side of the pond could well be accused of not practicing what they preach.

After the 2008 Cork City Marathon, somebody asked me if I’d noticed mile makers on the N22 straight road. At that stage of the race, I was involved in a life or death struggle with the pull top on a half litre Gatorade, which someone thrust on me like a half ton alligator. In any event, I’m not very perceptive after 22-23M on the road, especially, when it’s overbearingly hot! I did of course locate these markings at 22M, 23M and 24M. Often, while running on the N22, I’d try out my mile time on the 23-24M section – I avoided the 22-23M section for reasons outlined below. The point is, my times were always below expectations or embarrassing. On the track however, I’d nearly always achieve my target. I could only conclude that the 23-24M markings were out, way out! Fortunately, those markings have long since disappeared, though they might reappear for the Marathon. 

Cork N22 MILE Stretch - Click here to enlarge

I thought it would be nice to have an N22 mile marker that would be accurate and unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Thanks to modern technology, you can now do such measurements without getting off your bum – if only Marathon training were so easy? This mile stretch runs from just city side of the County Hall, or Kinsley Hotel entrance, down to the end of the Lee Fields pathway, opposite the halting site entrance. To all intents and purposes, this is as near as be dammed to a statue Mile or 1.61km. About three quarters of the way down (at the traffic lights), the footpath has a 45 degree outward bend, but nothing to put you off your stride. More often than not, you’ll have a clear run at it, but do be mindful of the public and please don’t run on the road.

Staying on the straight and narrow

People frequently complain about the standard of public services. However, our city planners rightly deserve kudos for extending the pubic lighting and widening the footpath all the way from the N22/Orchards intersection to the Ballincollig roundabout. Prior to 2011, running this section of the N22 in winter was a task undertaken with some trepidation. It was often pitch black and the footpath was quite narrow. More than once I ended up bruised and battered having lost sight of the kerb and crashing onto the road. People said, “You could have been killed if a car was coming”. But if a car was coming, I wouldn’t lose sight of the kerb, would I!

Staying on the straight and narrow - Original N22 Footpath

Dips & Rises

It’s not all plain sailing however. There’s a cluster of bungalows about 200m beyond the Orchards intersection and negotiating these drive-ins can be hazardous. The light-coloured (bleached) concrete makes it hard to judge the dips and rises. Misjudge a dip and you’ll land on your heal with a jolt to your spine. Misjudge a rise and you’ll stub your foot and fall over shredding your hands on the jagged concrete. This section of footpath is totally unsuitable for speed work. Indeed, the issue of badly laid footpaths is more widespread; the footpaths around Victoria Cross are particularly hazardous. Concrete mixtures should have better contrast and contractors can surely do a better job with the surfaces. As for those problematic drive-ins on the N22, I might just have a spare tin of yellow paint and some paint brushes in my shed. Any volunteers guys?

Proceed with caution! Footpath at Victoria Cross

Best of luck to Cathal O Donovan who is representing Ireland in the European Duathlon Championships in Holland this weekend. The club made a presentation to Cathal after training last Friday and everyone in the club wishes Cathal well as he represents Ireland for the first time.

Back in the summer of 2010, senior coach Fergus O’Donovan, with unqualified backing from the Cork AAI, organised a series of open Graded Track & Field Meetings. In 2011, John Buckley Sports came on board with sponsorship and the John Buckley Sports Graded T&F League is now an established summer fixture on the T&F calendar. Together with the County and Munster Championships and the National Leagues, it is hoped that the local Graded League will contribute to a more substantial Track & Field season for Athletes.

As the Mardyke is still under development, the venue for the Graded League of 2012 is the CIT track in Bishopstown. A programme of eight graded meetings is planned for male and female Athletes over 17 years of age on the day of completion (see table below). The Shot, Discus, Hammer and 56lb WD events are limited to athletes over 18 years of age on the day. Track events will if necessary be divided into separate races on the basis of performance, which could involve mixed participation.

All meetings on the 2012 calendar feature a middle distance race of some description or another, so there’s something there to satisfy everybody. You may, of an evening, do as much or as little as you like. The admission charge is €5 per meeting and entries will be accepted on the day. Each athlete will receive a performance certificate and electronic timing will be used.

Forget about the Costas, the crowded airports, the lost luggage, the cancelled flights, the screaming kids, and look forward to a long hot summer of competition and heliolatry on the banks of your own lovely Lee. With the Euros kicking off in Warsaw on June 8^th and the Olympics opening in London on July 27th, the summer of 2012 promises to serve up a veritable feast of sporting activities throughout the silly season. To whet the appetite, why not come along and join us for Hors d’oeuvres at CIT on Tuesday 01-May-2012 at 7.30pm. See you there!

Graded T&F League 2012 - Click here