Congrats to Davina Fenton who married Ian O’Malley recently. The honeymoon must be over as Davina is back running again! 🙂

Cork Half Marathon Sponsor 2011 - John Buckley Sports

John Buckley of John Buckley Sports, presents Ken Devine, race director, with sponsorship for the upcoming Cork Half Marathon at the recent launch of the race promoted by St Finbarr’s AC. Included (left to right) are Dan Kennedy (chairman), Marian Lyons (president), Ken Devine (race director), John Buckley (race sponsor), Trevor O’Neill (race committee) and Paul Gallagher (men’s captain)

Excerpt from the Cork Evening Echo dated Tuesday, 12th of July 2011:

ST FINBARR’S AC PLAN FOR THEIR HALF MARATHON

ATHLETICS

By STEVE DINAN

THE increasing growth in interest in running is apparent as you drive around the city day or night, and was confirmed by the numerous entries for the recently completed Cork City Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay.
St. Finbarr’s Athletics Club, which recently celebrated their 60th anniversary and are one of the largest athletics clubs in the City, recently announced their plans for the upcoming John Buckley Sports-sponsored Cork Half Marathon which will take place in Blarney on Sunday, September 11, at 11am.

Race H.Q. will be the Blarney GAA clubhouse and the course will follow the traditional route along quiet county roads from Blarney to Grenagh and back again. The race also incorporates the Cork County and Munster Half Marathon Championships. The course is suitable for runners of all abilities and would be an ideal challenge for runners who recently completed legs of the marathon relay and are participating in the shorter local road races. This year’s race will also feature highly visible race pacers who will be there to help pace and encourage runners to achieve their target times and should make for an enjoyable half marathon experience for all.

The Ballycotton 5M Road Race takes place on Thursday evening August 25th at 7.30pm. The 4th and final race in the Ballycotton Summer Series always attracts a large field of entries, so you’d better give yourself plenty of time for parking, registration, warm-up and any unforeseen delays you may encounter along the way. Entry on the final night of the series is €6, of which €1 is donated to a nominated charity. Parking is provided for in green fields on your left as you approach the village – just follow the stewards’ instructions. Registration takes place in the National School about 5mins walk away from the car park. Refreshments and prize giving will be held afterwards in the school hall.  

Ballycotton 5M Map - Click here

I’m sure the vast majority of you out there can find your way blindfold to Ballycotton. However, there are bound to be a few, like me, who’ve been up and down to Youghal for decades without ever turning left or right at Midleton. If you’re one of those intrepid few, welcome to pastoral East Cork and the Ballycotton 5M. You take the N25 Cork-Waterford road to the Midleton roundabout and exit southwards into uncharted territory. Veer left at Ballinacurra and take the R629 onwards to Cloyne. When you arrive in the centre of Cloyne, the R629 takes a left hand turn for Ballycotton, which is quite literally the end of the line for this stretch of road.

Ballycotton 5M Route - Click here

There’s a slight incline as the race starts out of the village heading for the first corner at 1km. You take a sharp right and head downhill for about 500m at which point the course begins to rise again until you reach Monagurra and take a sharp left. From there, the course is mostly flat until you reach the 4.3km (2.7M) mark. There’s a short steep 15m (50ft) climb before you turn right up to the 3M mark. The course drops again until just before the 4M mark where you will encounter the famous Ballycotton hill. This is a long gradual climb at a point in the race when you can almost smell the finish line and it’s sure to put dampener on your race progress. Once over the top however, you’ll be back on the main road and back in business, ready to start your final dash for the line. 

Catch me, if you can - Click here

A total of 25 BARRS members participated in the 2010 race, which drew an overall field of 497 runners. There’ll be prizes in all the usual categories plus overall awards based on cumulative times over the four race series. In addition, the first 50 men and the first 20 women overall will each receive a souvenir T-shirt and all runners completing the four races will receive the famous souvenir plaque.

Ballycotton Post 3rd Race Positions 2011

The Army/Navy 5M Road Race takes place on Wed 17th August at 7.30pm. Entries are in the Sports Hall inside the Naval Base. The fee is €5 for BHAA members and €8 for non-members. The usual house rules apply and there’ll be prizes in all the usual categories as well as spot prizes. Over 300 turned out for this event in 2010. From check-in to changing facilities and post-race refreshments, the Army/Navy is more than representative of the high standards set by the BHAA. It’s worth remembering that Haulbowline is a fully functioning military base, so you’ll need to follow instructions and try not to break anything. To accommodate the BHAA road show for the evening, there’ll be a special password in operation – “DON’T SHOOT”.

BHAA-Army/Navy 5M Map - Click here

Those of you who attended the recent Novartis 5K will feel a sense of déjà vu heading off to Haulbowline. The former event could well be termed Ringaskiddy West and latter Ringaskiddy East, the difference being an extra 3km, allowing you to explore the delights of the lower harbour area. Getting there is pretty straight forward! From the old Carrigaline road (R609) or the South Ring road (E30), get yourself onto the N28 heading for the Ringaskiddy Car-Ferry. As you enter Ringaskiddy, instead of turning right for Novartis or left for the Ferry terminal, you go straight ahead through the village and follow the road all the way out to Haulbowline Island.

BHAA-Army/Navy 5M Route - Click here

The race starts and finishes inside the Naval Base. Apart from the Rocky Island bridges, the first 1.5M is almost flat. For the next 0.5M you turn left up a steep hill. You’ll have to work hard on this section. Once over the top, you turn right and head downhill along country back roads. At around 2.5M, there’s another short climb before turning right again and heading back down towards the main road. From there, you turn right and head slightly downhill through the village. From the 3.5M mark, you retrace the same route back to the Base. As you head over the bridge, you’ll find the sound of the waves lapping in the background very relaxing.

Congrats and best wishes to Derrick O Leary who is getting married today (Saturday 13th Aug). Derrick is a top runner and has a 2.29 marathon under his belt. Cathal O Connell is his best man today. All in the Barr’s wish Derrick and his bride the best.

The 6th and final Graded T&F Meeting takes place on Thursday evening Aug. 11th from 7pm at the CIT Track. These meetings are designed to bring athletes together in pursuit of competition. Electronic timing will be used. So, whether you’re an athlete, a keen runner or just someone who fancies a bit of a challenge, why not come along and set yourself a personal best target! As per usual, entry is €5 and open to athletes of all levels.

sponsored by

Sunday 11th September – 11:00

Blarney, Co. Cork

St Finbarr’s AC are pleased to announce that this year’s John Buckley St Finbarr’s AC Cork Half Marathon will take place on Sunday the 11th September 2011. The race will also incorporate the Cork and Munster Half Marathon Championships. The race headquarters will be the Blarney GAA club house, and the race will commence at 11.00 and follow the traditional looped course from Blarney to Grenagh and back again.

This year’s race will incorporate a number of new features

• Chip timing will be provided by Precision Timing.  The chip will allow for timely and accurate collation of results. Runners’ individual times will be forwarded by text on the day of the race.
• In conjunction with our sponsor John Buckley Sports highly visible race pacers (1hr 30 min, 1hr 45 & 2.00 hr) will be used for the first time in the race to help participants.
• Each runner completing the race will received a race souvenir and a money off voucher from John Buckley Sports

For more details and how to enter, click here!

Wednesday 3rd August was a very successful night for club members in the Novartis 5k as John Meade won the men’s race in 16.22 and Martina Kiely won the ladies race in 18.12. Ken Devine won M45, Michael Murphy won M50 and Eamon McEvoy won M55.

On Friday 5th August in the Mitchelstown GR8km race Cathal O Connell was third in 27.02 and John Meade followed up his Novartis win with 4th place in 27.31.

Well done everyone!