Churchtown South 4 Mile 2026

10 Things I Think About The Churchtown South 4 Mile 2026

1. On Holidays

I think that I hope my running and blogging was terribly missed. I hope everyone was wondering what I was up to. The answer is that I had a grade three bone stress response in my right anterior calcaneus. Basically my right foot was a bit sore under the arch and I had to stop running for 6 weeks. Chris Smetana fixed it with the magic shockwave machine and now I am fine again. I did 50 minutes of Zwifting most days while I was not supposed to run which was impressive enough for Chris Mintern to say that I should do Triathlons, although he probably just wants to give me a bad beating.

2. Sun, Sea and Churchtown South

I think that Churchtown South is a great place to go for the first race of the best summer in years. It has been extremely sunny; I am taking the credit for the sun as I got solar panels for the house and ever since they have been installed it has been sunny. The sun makes the Churchtown South race as there is nothing better than the view of the sea at about 2 miles.

3. Hatred y Agua

I think it was great that John Meade showed up as it made me motivated and nervous. The perfect combination of natural performance enhancing substances, nerves and hatred. The modern runner takes nomio shots, beetroot shots, bicarb, carbohydrate gels and lactate gels before races to maximise their performance. All I need is hatred and some water.

4. Revolut is King

I think that I was very bad turning up to a race with no cash. It just doesn’t feel right not putting the cash into the biscuit tin but I was very late and didn’t have time to go to the ATM. I had to jog up and down to the registration twice as the first time I didn’t have my phone as I thought I’d be able to pay with my Garmin watch but it was payment via Revolut so I had to go back down and get the phone. It all worked fine and excellently and I had a warm up and a number completed with 10 minutes to spare.

5. Multi Colour Pumas

I think that it is great how terrified Irish men are of wearing colourful shoes or clothing. It means that it is very easy to get clothes and shoes on discount. I’ve had this pair of multi coloured Puma Fast R3s sitting in box for the last three months. I probably should have worn the Vaporfly 4s as they would have been better on the rough section of the road but I couldn’t resist wearing the Pumas as they work very well with the purple Glanmire A.C singlet.

6. Bluffing

I think that when you haven’t done a lot of training the best thing to do in the first race is to bluff the first mile and pretend that you are as fit as you were before the injury. It is very obvious from watching many races that gaps are rarely closed in races so if you can open a gap in the first mile that is probably it. So when the race went off I ran the first mile as hard as I could, only John Meade came with me.

7. Two Kilometres

I think that I did very well to get to the two kilometre beep on my watch with John Meade. We ran 3:10 pace or 5:10 mile pace for the first two kilometres which was way too fast for me and the minute the course tilted any bit upwards John Meade opened a gap, a gap that with all the hatred in the world I could not close.

8. In Sight

I think that I did well to keep John Meade in sight for the rest of the race. I figured that if I can maintain the gap to him that it was unlikely that anyone would catch me as that would mean  they were catching John Meade which we all know is impossible.

9. Ineffective Training

I think that I will have to reevaluate my training as it seems not to work much if at all. All my training seems to be worth around 40 seconds over four miles which is pretty pitiful and a poor return on investment. While I was injured I asked Claude to analyse my training over the last 16 years on Strava. It concluded that the biggest single factor that resulted in faster times was the use of magic shoes.

10. Moderately Old Man Prize

I think that it was great not to win the moderately old man prize by finishing second overall instead. It means that I have yet to win an over 40 prize. There is something horrifying about seeing the three letters M40 after your name in results although if the M40 is towards the top of the list of results it’s not so bad and sure isn’t it great to be still racing and being beaten by John Meade.

Mooreabbey Milers Curley 4 Mile 2026

Mooreabbey Milers Curley 4 Mile

1. Children Chasing Conan

I think that it is a little-known fact that Galbally is the ancestoral home of Conan O’Brien. It is also the ancestoral home of me. This ancestoral link was the main reason I had for doing a four mile race a forty five minute drive from Glanmire on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm. That and I also like races organized by the Mooreabbey Milers.

2. Sabotage

I think that I was very horrified to see Michael Harty parked up getting ready for the race when I arrived. I had said to Rhona on the drive up that anyone could turn up in Galbally but I was thinking more along the lines of John Kinsella or Niall Shanahan, certainly not Michael Harty who lives even further away than me and as far as I know does not have ancestors from Galbally and is not a Conan O’Brien fan.

3. Stop The World and Let Me Off

I think that it was great to have Kevin Moore’s father in the jeep commentating and playing excellent music for the race. The Galbally 10 mile race where I ran with John Meade and Michael McMahon to an excellent soundtrack is still my favourite race of all time by miles. Unfortunately once the National Anthem had been played before the start, no music was played for the rest of the race. Perhaps he thought that Michael Harty would not appreciate his course record being run to the sounds of the remix of Declan Nerney’s classic Stop the World and Let me Off.

4. Dog Impeded Warm Up

I think that it was a very bad idea to bring two dogs to the race. I was already cutting it tight to get to the race so when we arrived at five past seven I thought I would have plenty of time to do a warm up and jog up to the start. Unfortunately the dogs started barking like mad when I went to jog down to collect my number so I had to walk at 13 year old labrador pace to the hall and back. My warm up was the jog up to the start which was plenty as it turned out.

5. A Fitting Tribute

I think that I was even more surprised to see Aidan Connell on the startline than Michael Harty. Aidan had run and won the Stryker 4 mile road race the previous night just over the road from me in Carrigtohill. I had skipped it as I thought it was a bit risky, being only one day after the Brutal Battle of Bartlemy with John Meade. I suppose it was a fitting tribute to Curley who was never shy of back-to-back races or even two races in the same day.

6. Tactically Astute

I think that I probably went off a bit too hard at the start. Michael Harty had the race won within 400m, leaving me with only Aidan Connell for company. I knew that the last thing a fella who has run a race the night before wants is a fast opening mile so I ran the first uphill mile with the wind as hard as I could. It must have been very fast as I could easily have hit Michael Harty with a stone if I wanted to after a mile.

7. I Have a Gap

I think that I thought I had second place sewn up after about 3k. I had a bit of a gap on Aidan and felt like I was moving well in the Pumas. Unfortunately there was a little hill up to the left hand turn back to Galbally at the 2 mile marker and Aidan used this hill to close right back up to me for the primarily downhill run to the finish in Galbally

8. Man of the Rás

I think that cyclists turned runners are a fearsome species. First I had to deal with Barry Twohig, now I have to deal with Waterford’s answer to Barry Twohig, Aidan Connell. They are both viciously strong on any sort of hill, ridiculously strong, nearly impossible to follow. Unfortunately I got to witness this power on the final climb of the race just after 3 miles. I thought I had a good chance with the downhill run to the finish but on the little climb Aidan put in a dig that seemed impossible and opened a gap so large that I’m pretty sure he was going faster than Michael Harty at that point in the race.

9. Asymptotic Curve

I think that most people don’t think of running and times correctly. People think that if you improve from say 21:10 to 20:59 over four miles in a 6 day period that it represents a 0.87% improvement. When in fact because the performance has an asymptote, a limit that you can technically never reach, which in my case is probably about 20 minutes flat, this represents a performance increase of 15.7% which is amazing and excellent and also why that 119 minute marathon is difficult to understand because all humans are limited by their asymptote.

10. Podium, Irish Flag, Statue

I think that the post race setup was excellent. They had a lovely podium with the statue and the Irish flag flying in the background. There was no waiting around which was great when you have to drive back to Glanmire on a school night. I did my warm down with Diarmuid McNamara who I went to college with. It is terrible to think that we are both nearly 40 which doesn’t make any sense as we both look exactly the same as we did in college. Running must be great for the ageing process.

Bartlemy 6K 2026

10 Things I Think About The Bartlemy 6K

1. Bartlemy, Where is That?

I think that no one knows where Bartlemy is. “I’m doing a race in Bartlemy” is always met with the response, “Bartlemy, Where is that”. Turns out its just up the road from Glanmire, slightly to the east of Watergrasshill. It’s a lovely place that reminded me of where I went to school in Anglesboro. We even had to stop to let cows cross the road just before arriving in the village, I haven’t done that in a long time.

2. The King of Bartlemy

I think that most people in the local elite cork club BHAA runner circuit know that John Meade is the King of Bartlemy. He also owns the title of King of Dingle Half Marathon, yes it is possible to be King of more than one place at the same time, it’s just not very common, for example Charles V was King of both Spain and Austria at the same time. I always wanted to be King of a place so I was very motivated by the prospect of potentially beating John Meade in Bartlemy just like Denis Hegarty had done the year before.

3. Back in the Pumas

I think that it was great to be back in the Pumas again. My knees were very good after Ballintotis so I decided that it was safe to return to the knee crushers. I wore the original colourway which just like the old Vaporfly 1 seems to be better than the later colourways. Why do the shoe companies do this? Make a perfect shoe and then change it slightly, it doesn’t make sense.

4. Is Bartlemy in Spain?

I think that Bartlemy could have been mistaken for a small village in the hills above Malaga on Sunday. I love these small races in small villages. Add the bit of sunshine and it was exactly like one of the approximados races in Spain without the approximados bit and an accurately measured 6k course. Collecting the numbers was a very efficient process in the hall with a nice warm up out and back the first mile to where the cows were crossing the road.

5. Ready Steady Go

I think that it was great to see a sea of Glanmire A.C singlets on the startline. Along with all the Glanmire A.C singlets there were a lot of children running in the race which made the first few 100m a little challenging as they start much faster than moderately old men like me and John Meade.

6. Youngfellas in Magic Shoes

I think that it was a little worrying when after a kilometre myself and John Meade still had company. It inevitable that with running becoming cool because of people like Tadhg O’Sullivan, youngfellas will start to dominate these races and myself and John Meade will be forgotten about. Luckily today was not that day and as we got to the bottom of the hill the group reduced to the King and his worst enemy  

7. Quiz Run

I think that it was an excellent idea to look at the route on Strava before the race. I knew that the there was a major climb from 1k to 4k What I didn’t know was that the race also involved a quiz with quiz questions written on the back of each kilometre marker. Surprisingly John Meade didn’t stop and do the quiz, instead he concentrated on trying to drop me on the 3k long climb which he failed to do try as he might.

8. He Breathes

I think that I thought I was in with a great chance as we started the descent from 4k to 5k. John Meade was breathing hard, I have never heard him breath before. It was very promising so I pushed as hard as I could down the hill. I looked at my watch which I rarely do and saw a 3:00 minute kilometre split. This might be enough I thought, I thought wrong.

9. Logotherapy

I think that John Meade’s primary motivation in life is beating me in races. How else could you explain what he did on the climb to the finish a little back further up the hill than where we started? He finished in a time 30 seconds faster than he had previously run on the course before. I was left to trail home three seconds later. Why didn’t I run faster up the hill? I tried as hard as I could, but it is very hard if not impossible to overcome a motivated John Meade.

10. Sparkling Water and a Spread

I think that the organisers must have known that I like nothing more than a bottle of sparkling water after a race. It is the first time in Ireland that I have been handed a bottle of sparkling of water. So good, very popular in Germany. It made up for having to watch John Meade collect his winners prize before I got my second place prize. After a short warm down we returned to the hall where a spread the like of which has not been seen since the Coolagown 10k was on display. Then John Meade was asked to draw the raffle for the signed Cork jersey, he really is the King of Bartlemy.

pHOTO: rhona

Ballintotis 4 Mile 2026

10 Things I Think About The Ballintotis 4 Mile 2026

1. Brigadoon

I think that the Ballintotis 4-mile road race is an incredible event. An amazing logistical achievement. I have often dropped Rhona to a Mary Kelly yoga retreat in the community centre in Ballintotis and wondered how anyone ever thought of holding a road race here on a route that runs along a national main road. It is amazing to return on the actual night and see the race appear from nowhere almost like it was a magical event which it probably is.

2. What Do Ye Be Doing?

I think that the people who turn up for a race that starts at 745pm at 6pm are great. It is because of them that I can rock up at 715pm without issue. But I do wonder what do ye be doing for the nearly two hours? A warmup takes 15 minutes max, putting on the number 5 minutes, putting on magic shoes? Even the pumas can be put on by an old man like me with tight hamstrings and an immobile back in less than 5 minutes, still loads of time left. Instagram, I suppose.

3. Puma Fast R Kneecrushers

I think that the Puma Fast R3s are an amazing shoe, definitely by miles and miles and miles the best 5k, 10k and 10 mile shoe out there. They do however have a slight flaw in that they are crushing my already battered knees. After the 25k on Sunday my knees were not good, so I decided to try out the more forgiving shoe geometry of the Asics Metaspeed Edge Tokyo. The Asics are very different, very very bouncy, perfect for a moderately old man with temporarily sore knees. A few wallsits and I’ll be able to tolerate the Pumas again but I think I will stick to the bouncy bouncy Asics for half marathons and above.

4. Tribal Rivalry

I think that it is great that the Ballintotis 4 mile incorporates the county road championship. You could feel the tension and the hatred between the different clubs on the line, it was wonderful, like being back playing GAA. “Why don’t we like Banogue? I don’t know we just don’t”. I’m with a new club now Glanmire A.C who are like a beautiful labrador puppy that none of the established clubs see as a threat, “ah look at them aren’t they cute in their lovely white and purple adidas singlets”, so I didn’t have to worry about anything which was both terrible and wonderful as I love a good inter club battle and even better a battle to get into the top four of the club team.

5. Youngfellas

I think that it was great to see so many youngfellas on the line. It is ridiculous that I am nearly 40 and I’m one of the younger people towards the front of races. The youngfellas were mainly from Rob Heffernan’s Cork City A.C, they were very good youngfellas the sort of youngfellas that would make nearly 40 year old men like me consider not turning up for races in future. When the race got under way the swarm of youngfellas took off at a ferocious speed led by their leader Sean Doyle, only Jeremiah Sheehan, Mark Walsh Niamh Allen, Michael Bruton and David Carter were able to follow.

6. A Masterpiece of a Road

I think that the road surface in Ballintotis should be preserved and perhaps some day put in a muesum. It would be difficult to make a road like that again. Years and years and years of filling in the potholes, it is a work of art. The perfect test of a good local club runner, can you navigate the filled patchwork of potholes at 5 minute mile pace or faster. You really do have to concentrate. I was a little worried as the Asics aren’t as nimble as the Pumas so I had a few scares.

7. An East Wind Blows No Good

I think that the wind direction was a big problem for me in Ballintotis. After the first ridiculously fast mile I was left in the second group on the road which comprised of essentially the moderately old man section of the race plus Chris Mintern. Being worried about the last mile I took the lead of the group and tried to run as hard as I could to see if I could maybe drop some of the other moderately old men before the inevitable swamping on the home straight by the lake. I obviously wasn’t as strong as I thought because Niall O’Callaghan had to take over at the front and push the pace on, he was followed by Maurice Feehan so at least I had some shelter.

8. How Do You Run Faster?

I think that it is very difficult to explain what a four mile race feels like at the three mile mark. It’s not very pleasant but at the same time it is wonderful. I’d love to be able to get to that point in a race and be able to start running faster but it has always seemed impossible to me. Like how do you run faster if you have no oxygen left, your legs hurt and are moving as fast as they can? It doesn’t make any sense when fellas like Conor McCauley, John Shine and a Cork Track Club athlete start flying past you from every direction like the race has only started. Maybe I need to pace myself better?

9. The Waiting Game

I think that I might try playing the waiting game in a race some time. It doesn’t seem like much fun, I much prefer the feeling of utter misery from the very start, it seems pure and how it should be. Perhaps we could introduce judges into running like in race walking where you get a yellow card, and then a red card if you aren’t visibly suffering enough during the race. I think it would work well introduce a bit of jeopardy into the event. Michael Herlihy would be a good man for the job.  

10. Fifteenth

I think that fifteenth wasn’t a bad result on the night. I was less than two minutes behind Jeremiah Sheehan who somehow managed to beat all of the youngfellas and their leader Sean Doyle. I was fourth in the M35 moderately old man category which meant I didn’t get any medal which was awful and terrible but I’m well used to it so I didn’t mind. I did a good long warm down with Ciaran and Mark Walsh which was supposed to be a mile but ended up being nearly four. By the time I finished it was nearly dark and nearly time for the magical race to disappear again for another year.

Great Railway Run 25K 2026

10 Things I Think About The Great Railway Run 25K 2026

1. Sub 1:30

I think that there is a very important time barrier in 25k running that no one talks about. The sub 1:30 25k. You never hear anyone on about it, there are no Instagram hashtags, nothing. For me however it is very important having run all four of the 25ks that I have finished in under 1:30. It is probably my proudest achievement in running, I should probably get a tattoo of it.

2. No Marathon, No Problem

I think that it is an enormous relief not to be doing the marathon in Cork this year. I was probably the only person doing the race who is not training for the marathon. Not training for the marathon meant that I could arrive on at 8:35, 25 minutes before the start and do 2k of a warmup. No big, long four or five mile warm up to make the race even harder and absolutely no chance of missing the start of the race like Dave Buckley and Andy Goulding.

3. All You Need is Love

I think that there was someone very popular in the lead group that formed on the first lap of the Ryan Creech Tempo loop before we headed out along the Marina. “I love you” was shouted at our group on two occasions. It wasn’t directed at me because Rhona was at home. We discussed it as a group before Barry Twohig said that he loved me and we continued off on our 25k journey to Carrigaline.

4. Second Best Priest

I think that I owe a woman on the Marina an apology. I need to practice my water bottle throwing while running. Just before we turned right at the playground on the Marina, I carefully lobbed a bottle that I had just picked up towards the large bag for collection of the bottles. Unfortunately, I missed the bag and the bottle collided with the foot of a woman who was sitting on a bench behind the bag. She sounded very cross as you would be after being hit with a water bottle while minding your own business on the Marina on a Sunday morning.

5. Tadhg and The Moderately Old Men

I think that it didn’t take Tadhg long to tire of the presence of the three moderately old men that joined him for the first four kilometres of the race. On the small climb off the Marina onto The Line, he put in a small carefully calibrated increase in pace from his usual setpoint of 3:25 a kilometre to 3:23 a kilometre. This increase in pace was enough to jettison myself, Brian Murphy from Kerry and Barry Twohig.

6. Comfortably Uncomfortable

I think that 25k pace is a lot more comfortable than marathon pace. I’m convinced that my body knows what race I’m doing and allows me to run at a pace that it knows won’t do any real damage. Perhaps if I could trick it into thinking a marathon was a 25k then I could finally break 2:30 in the marathon. Anyway from about 4k to 16k nothing happen except that I ran in the quarterback position right in between Brian and Barry. It was very pleasant if slightly uncomfortable at approximately 5:31 minutes per mile or 3:25 minutes per kilometre for the people who are Tadhg’s age.

7. 120g of Carbs per Hour

I think that the number of gels that people had on them for a 25k race was ridiculous. Barry Twohig had so many gels stuck to his bicep that I’m surprised he could still swing his arms; no wonder he got faster as the race went on as there were less gels to carry. I brought one SIS beta fuel gel with me which contains 40g of carbohydrate because all of the youngfellas are putting the amount of carbs that they consume during the run into the description on Strava now, so I didn’t want to be uncool and old.

8. Bye Bye Brian and Barry

I think that I am not designed to take gels. I am probably a low carb athlete or whatever they call it. Because the minute I went to take my gel at 16k I got dropped by Barry and Brian. I think the gels crash my blood sugar. I’ve run marathons fine with no gels like. It didn’t matter too much as I had no intention of trying to run up the hills from Raffeen to Shanbally at Barry Twohig pace, all it meant was that I had to do a few extra kilometres on my own and didn’t get to see who won in the battle for second behind Tadhg who was well gone at exactly 3:23 a kilometre.

9. Puma No Marathon

I think that if I was doing Cork marathon I would not be able to wear the Puma Fast R3. They are a wonderfully fast shoe up to about a half marathon but once you get tired there is no heel to heel strike with so it causes unusual pains. The pains for me came in my knees probably because I was heel striking. The pain only happened if I forgot to run up on my toes so it was kind of good as it kept me on pace to run under the all important 1:30 barrier which I did with two minutes to spare finishing fourth behind Tadhg, Brian and Barry in that order.

10. The Box Down

I think that it was so nice not to feel the pressure to do some mad length of a cool down after the race to make up numbers for Strava and the Cork marathon gods. A long warm down after a 25k race is completely insane when you think about it. It should be called a beat down instead of a cool down. Bash the badness into your legs even more, that’ll definitely make them better. Running is an impact sport, it’s not cycling, swimming or rowing, it’s more like boxing and you wouldn’t take more punches to warm down from being punched in the head, would you?

Cobh 10 Mile 2026

10 Things I Think About The Cobh 10 Mile 2026

1. Social Media

I think that social media has a lot to answer for. It’s causing a lot of problems. Big problems. People don’t want to run races with hills because of social media because you are supposed to run a P.B in every race and be in a state of perpetual improvement and betterment, regression will not be tolerated. Time goes out the window in Cobh, it’s a race, it would probably work better as a random distance, whatever the lap is.

2. Down With This Sort of Thing, Careful Now

I think that there is always something to worry about with races. This was a new one on me. Will I have enough diesel to get to the race? Will the protesters have taken the roads in? Luckily the scirocco sips diesel as slowly as I run up hills so there was no problem. I took the backroad of the backroad from Glanmire to Carrigtohill on the advice of John Meade who rang me as he was on his way to Cobh while I was having my breakfast of brown granary toast with peanut butter and an aeropress coffee which was very nice.

3. The Ascent

I think that my favourite part of the Cobh 10 is the ascent to the start from the town centre by the cool coloredy houses that tourists come to take photos of. I don’t know why that hill isn’t in the race. It would make the race better, probably attract more lunatics like me, the flat track runners are already deterred by the lesser hills in the route. Actually start the race in the town up the hill and make it 18k. Perfect. Imagine the photos, my calves would look excellent.

4. Sted Sarandos

I think that John Meade isn’t to be trusted. You never know what he is up to. There was no sign of him on the entry list, perhaps he entered under a pseudonym Harry Styles style because as soon as I completed the ascent to the start I spotted him looking fresh and rested having lots of photos taken with all his fans. I should just assume he will be in Cobh as it is made for him.

5. Sonia Asked Me

I think that John Meade is a genius mind game player. He loves to play tricks on his opponents. The first thing he said to me was “Sonia has asked me to pace Lily”, “We ran 53:30 last year”. It must have been totally made up as within half a mile John Meade was gone having resigned from the pacing job and appointed me in his place.

6. Me a Lady and a Bike

I think that once John Meade resigned from his pacing duties and disappeared up the road I had a nice stress free race. I didn’t really mind John Meade beating me as much as I normally would as I won the East Cork Road Championship on Thursday so I had enough glory for the week, I wouldn’t want my head to get too big, I could end up minding myself and selecting two races a year to peak in. Miles two to seven were hilly but fine running along with Lily Partridge and the bike assigned to the first lady.

7. Let Me Help

I think that I would have been better off resigning from my unofficial pacing job rather than being fired after seven miles. I thought I was doing an excellent job but on the long straight slightly uphill section into the relentless wind after mile seven Lily didn’t seem to appreciate my help anymore and said “let me help” before opening a gap that I only closed on the downhill before turning left under the railway bridge at mile eight.

8. Mná na hÉireann

I think that it would have been better if John Meade had stuck to his assigned pacemaking role as he could have responded as gaeilge to the shout of Mná na hÉireann as I ran past struggling to hold onto the back of Lily Partridge. Unfortunately my gaelige doesn’t work at 5:30 pace so I couldn’t correct the error.

9. Two Miles Easy

I think that the last two miles would remind you why people like running great P.Bs by me on nice flat courses with no wind. It’s really lovely and effortless to float along on a flat road in magic shoes. I looked at the watch and realised that all hope of a sub 55 clocking had vanished so I ran home at an enjoyable effort only to pass Michael McMahon who was obviously and visibly horrified at my lack of pointless suffering.

10. Aperture

I think that I was very unlucky not to get to go up on the bandstand and meet Sonia. I was first of the people who got no prize, a thing that will probably never happen to me again once I finally turn 40 in May. Shane Myler felt sorry for me so he gave me a hat to compensate which was nice. I also got another cup, the second of the week, the Cobh 10 cups are very good cups having the perfect aperture for sitting an aeropress on top. It’s a great race the Cobh 10 once you free yourself from the tyranny of times or perhaps run under a pseudonym if you must.

East Cork Road Championships 2026

10 Things I Think About The East Cork Road Championships 2026

1. A for Effort

I think that I made a serious effort to run the East Cork Road Championships. I watched for too many years with envy as the mythical fantastical first race of the evening running season was announced with the proviso that it was open only to East Cork affiliated athletes, also known as No Leevale. It had to be done, leave Leevale, setup a new club, get affiliated with East Cork Athletics by going to a meeting, run the race and you’d never know maybe win.

2. Ballynoe

I think that Ballynoe is a special place in running, it is almost as if the roads were built with running races in mind. It’s a great place with cross country courses, road race courses, a community hall and probably more important people who want to put on a road race and not make €40,000 from the race.

3. Photos > Internet

I think that running history is very important, the internet has forgotten all of my great races in my early days. It’s terrible because youngfellas like Tadgh O’Sullivan don’t realise how great me, John Meade and Michael Herlihy are. It was great to see that Denis McCarthy had created a display of all the people who had won the East Cork Road Championship over the years in a physical form that can’t be lost because someone forgets or doesn’t want to pay GoDaddy.

4. Road Cross Country

I think that there should be more cross-country style road races with laps. Laps are great, it’s easier for the organisers, good for spectators and great fun if there is a big huge massive hill every lap with an even longer downhill. I had never actually seen the famed hill in Ballynoe until the warmup, it was a very short warm up as taking inspiration from the cross country the start time was once the women’s race had finished. We got a 10 minute warning which was way more than we get in cross country so I was fine.

5. Shoe Chat

I think that the start line was a very relaxing experience. I have come to realise that I prefer smaller races, the big races are terrible, the stress, the crowds, the queues, the phones, the go pros, it’s become awful. The only technology in Ballynoe was shoe technology which I was having a good chat with Jim Harty about the difference between the Puma Fast R3 and the Asics Metaspeed Edge when suddenly the race started, Jim must not have been paying much attention to me as he was gone before I realised the race had started.

6. Colin Merritt

I think I was very afraid of Colin Merritt, Colin Merritt is a serious operator, and way better than me at running up hills and running in general. Once we got the only section of the course that is not repeated out of the way and passed through Ballynoe for the first time I realised that the race was between me and Colin. I ran down the hill as quick as I could, but when we started the hill for the first time Colin took over, I feared the worst. I sat in behind and hoped that the hill wouldn’t get too hard.

7. 0.7 Miles Downhill

I think that I was very lucky that the lap that is repeated four times in Ballynoe contains a lot more downhill than uphill. I may be terrible at going uphill, but I am magnificent and almost excellent at going downhill. I have also watched a lot of cycling races so I know that the most important thing on a hill is to go hard over the top to start the downhill with momentum so as Colin approached the top of the hill I ran as hard as I could to try and get a gap.

8. 0.4 Miles Uphill

I think that the race must have been entertaining to watch, a yo-yo race where I would gain going down the hill before Colin would gobble up the gap on the hill each lap. I was worried by the length of the gap that Denis McCarthy told me I had each lap. 20m gap with a lap to go, 20m is nothing when you can’t run up a hill and the race finished on the top of the hill and not at the bottom.

9. Where is The Finish?

I think that there is something great about finishing a race on a hill. Most race nowadays don’t even have hills never mind finishing on hills because everyone wants to run a great P.B by me and put it on Instagram and Strava to justify their perfect training. The great thing about hills is that they cause blow ups in races. People rarely blow up on the flat, but anything can happen on a hill. Unfortunately for me I feared greatly that I was going to blow the last time up the hill and that Colin Merritt would dance by. The stress was added to by not knowing where the finish was, to the left or the right at the top of the hill? Luckily Denis McCarthy was on hand to tell me it was right and I just about made it to the line in first.

10. Big Big Trophy and Photo

I think that it has been a long time since I won a big big trophy. Big big trophies are great because they are big and great and people ask you about them. The last time I won one was when I won the Cork County Novice Cross Country, did I ever mention that? I also got a photo with the trophy and an interview with John Cashman which I did in my best Cork accent. Hopefully Denis McCarthy will be able to find space for my photo on the display, it’s nice to be in the physical history books.

Streets of Killarney 5 Mile 2026

10 Things I Think About The Streets of Killarney 5 Mile 2026

1. What Are You Tapering For?

I think that the first inkling I had that I was going to be in trouble in Killarney was on Wednesday when Micheal Herlihy said he was tapering for the race on Friday. Races for Michael Herlihy are chosen only when the time is right, he probably sensed my weakness after Mallow, so the time was probably right to initiate taper mode. It was a worrying sign.

2. Check In

I think that you can accomplish a lot in the forty minutes before a race. I managed to collect a number, check into a hotel, do a 2km warm up and change into fast Pumas in the forty minutes that I had to spare before the race. The hotel right beside the start and finish is the dream combination. Michael Herlihy had arrived before even John Meade would have arrived for the race if he had been racing. An extensive warm up had been completed. I was in trouble.

3. New Shoes All The Time, Train Occasionally

I think that the variety of shoes on display at the start of races these days is very interesting. I do not understand people buying shoes that are shown not to be as economical as others. There is very clear evidence that the three most beneficial shoes from a running economy point of view are the Puma Fast R3, Asics Metaspeed Edge and the Asics Metaspeed Ray. Yet people still buy other shoes, I don’t understand it. Michael Herlihy was wearing the Adidas Pro 4s.

4. The Game is Up

I think that as I approach the date when I turn 40 and become an actual moderately old man I have come to realize that the days of having any chance of winning road races is over. This running boom is terrible. There are too many young fellas running and training properly. I used to be the only lunatic doing 100 miles a week, now all the young fellas do it. It’s terrible, there is no defense, a 40 year old man doing a 80 miles a week cannot compete with a 25 to 30 year old man running 100 miles a week. The old fellas when I started running were a lot cleverer, they used to tell the young fellas to run less and run faster, ingenious really.

5. Ready Steady Go

I think that the Killarney race gets better every year. I seem to run exactly the same time every year yet my finishing position is getting worse and worse. Oisin Murray, Jake O’Regan, Conor Kissane and Juan Pena were in a different race to the rest of us and were out of sight before we even left the gardens. A moderately old man group formed behind with a few random young fellas like Tommy Arthur and Darragh O’Leary thrown in. It was a very big group, too big and very worrying as I felt like I was running as fast as I could even if I was leading the group.

6. Elbows Up and Out

I think that the first two miles were a bit stressful. The moderately old man peloton was a bit too big for the narrow paths that winded around the gardens and park. It was complicated by the presence of the agile youngfellas who were much better at cornering than the stiff old men like me who don’t take corners well. I did my best to ensure I didn’t fall by making plenty of space for myself before every corner. It worked very well as after the first corner most people were afraid of me. Michael Herlihy stayed well back, waiting.

7. Why is Mikey Hiding at the Back

I think that anyone watching the race would have thought that I would have no trouble beating Michael Herlihy after one lap of the town. The peloton had reduced to myself, two other moderately old men (Maurice Feehan and Michael Dullea) and Darragh O’Leary who I always seem to end up running with around the streets of Killarney. Michael Herlihy had been detached, the elastic had broken or so it seemed.

8. Keep Left

I think that the most important two words in this race were “Keep Left”. Before the start of the race the race director had told everyone to stay left on the laps of the town as because of the two laps there would be some traffic to navigate. As anyone who has had the pleasure of sharing a track with Michael Herlihy will know he loves shouting “Track” at people to clear them out of the way when he is powering around the track. So, as we started the second lap of the town, when I heard him behind bellowing “Keep Left” I knew I was in big, big trouble. Sure enough, it wasn’t long until he came powering by, every utterance of “Keep Left” seemed to result in even more power and anger, there was nothing I could do, he was unstoppable.

9. Had He His Hurts Before?

I think there is only one thing that one can do when faced with a powerful Michael Herlihy on top form and that is try and overtake him in the hope that he gets disillusioned by the terribleness of the athlete (i.e. me) that has overtaken him and gives up. There was only a kilometer to go when I overtook him for the last time. Unfortunately, my brave strategy did not work and instead of becoming disillusioned he seemed to become even more motivated and possibly angry too, which was a dangerous combination.

10. Bad, Bad Beating

I think that the last few 100m of the race were great fun. It was pure running, total hatred, hatred built up over years of running and training, wonderful stuff, added to by the chaos of trying to negotiate the lapped runners. On the second last corner the two Michael’s took the outside line even running up onto the footpath to find a clear line. I went with Maurice, nimbly weaving through the traffic like two Italians on mopeds in Milan on a Friday evening. I tried everything I could to close the gap to Michael Herlihy before the finish, but I could do nothing and he danced away probably laughing to himself as he crossed the line victorious in the only race that mattered. A bad beating, but probably a good lesson in running, the lesson being, in running anyone can beat anyone so always respect your fellow runner.

Photo Credits: RHONA

Mallow 10 2026

10 Things I Think About The Mallow 10 2026

1. Excitement

I think that I will have to do something about my lack of enthusiasm for racing. It’s getting very bad, the only thing that makes me nervous or excited is a cross country race. I wish I could be like the youngfellas at the races who are all excited and motivated about P.Bs. Perhaps I will have to start giving the races code names like Operation Epic Fury or something like that, that might work.

2. Hi B

I think that I have the logistics in Mallow down to a fine art. Please don’t move the start from the Castle it is very excellent. I wouldn’t have known the Castle was there only for the race, apparently there used to be a nice Castle in Mitchelstown too before they built Dairygold on top of it. Anyway the best place to park is outside the Hi B leisure centre in the middle of the town because if you ask kindly, they will let you use the bathroom which is great.

3. Kneerly Better

I think that it is very terrible to be getting even more moderately old. There is no solution to it. I have aches and pains everywhere. They move around the place randomly, you fix one thing and another thing pops up. My hamstring was bad for a few weeks now it’s perfect, now it’s my knee, the same leg, probably linked, maybe not. It doesn’t get any worse running on it so it’s probably fine. I wish I was younger; injuries are simpler when you are younger the bit that’s going to get injured just fails suddenly not gradually like now.

4. The Six Foot Club

I think that it is a myth that you must be over 6ft to be in Glanmire A.C. As we walked to the line in a pack someone said, “Do you have to be over 6ft to join that club?”. The height is purely a coincidence, and we probably look taller anyway in the purple and white singlet, it has that effect. It’s not exactly an advantage to be tall for running, we’d all be better off being about 5’6, that’s probably the ideal height for running.

5. Out the Gap

I think that the start of the race was very hard. There were a lot of very good runners which was terrible for my prospects of getting my €42 entry fee back. Paul Moloney, Sean Davin, Tadhg, Evan Fitz and Nate O’Leary were gone within 800m of the start, taking with them all the prize money. There is no moderately old man M35 prize so I essentially had nothing to run for except maybe trying to beat Aidan, Kris and Brian Murphy who are all very likeable fellas and hard to generate any desire to beat. Break 55 minutes, that’ll do I thought.

6. Bad Bad Legs

I think that there are days when you wake up with a bad body, there isn’t much you can do about it, it’s just random, somedays you feel good somedays not so good. The not so good days seem to be occurring more frequently these days. I knew after 400m that it was a bad bad leg day. It took emotional exertion to catch up to the second group on the road containing Aidan, Kris and Brian Murphy an unusual feeling, blocked, I think that’s what they call it in cycling.

7. Industrial Estate

I think that my race ended in the industrial estate. I don’t like running around industrial estates, don’t know why, just don’t like them, remind me of work. When we turned right into the estate to complete the lap, I knew I was about to be dropped. I didn’t fight it, off they went, gradually and annoyingly. Then we left the industrial estate and I felt ok again, I couldn’t hear anyone catching me so I kept going keeping an eye on the watch to make sure it didn’t drop below 5:29 pace allowing 1 second a mile for the GPS being off.

8. It’s 9 O’Clock on a Friday Evening

I think that the support out on the course was great. There were thousands of marshals on the course, they even had a fella out playing music of a questionable quality somewhere near the halfway market. I may have been the only person who had to listen to the dance tune “It’s 9 O’Clock on a Friday evening” on repeat. I suppose it was better than some AI written KPop Demon Hunters nonsense.

9. The Strait of Horseshoes

I think that my favourite part of the course was the most controversial. It nearly made more news and caused more Whatsapp messages than the Strait of Hormuz. The 750m in the grounds of Mallow racecourse was brilliant, a nice change from the road, the gravelly surface helped me to start running properly again as I realized that I was starting to heel strike which isn’t a good idea in the Pumas. I could see Aidan, Kris and Brian Murphy up ahead, so I didn’t feel too bad and the grass was nice to look at, there were no horses galloping alongside which is the only change I would make.

10. Wily Willy

I think that the finish is much better on this new version of the Mallow 10. It is such a relief to turn off the N72, there is nothing worse than a big wide open road to make you feel like you are running slowly. Turning onto a nice narrow cycle path is great as it feels like you are running fast again. The winding finish up to the castle was like something from a cycling race in Italy, it was wonderful, unfortunately Willy Hughes found it more wonderful than me and swept around me with meters to go taking 10th place with him but at the same time dragging both of us under the magical 55 minute barrier which is the whole point of running 10 mile races in the first place.

Crosshaven 10k 2026

10 Things I Think About The Crosshaven 10k

1. Tell No One, Absolutely No One

I think that the key to being an elite local Cork BHAA club runner is to tell no one the races you are going to do. It’s hard to define what a elite local Cork BHAA club runner is, it could be sub 50:30 for 10 miles but it’s probably more a case of when you know you know. I thought I had snuck into the race in Crosshaven completely unnoticed, but I made the huge mistake of telling Cork’s number 1 running influencer and fellow elite local Cork BHAA club runner Tadhg O’Sullivan that it was on, who unfortunately decided that he would like a nice flat 10k along the sea to round out his week of running more kilometers than me.

2. Crosshaven

I think that Crosshaven is a lovely place, it is like a mini-Monte Carlo with all the boats. I’d never gone all the way into Crosshaven as the Greenway finishes before the town. I has mistakenly assumed that the race would be on the greenway which filled me with dread, so I was delighted to see the Gardai closing the road and directing us onto the back road as we approached Crosshaven 30 minutes before the 1130 start time.

3. Drone Number Delivery

I think that having number collection the day before the race is great for extremely late people like me. I didn’t even have to collect the number myself as Gruff collected it and pushed it in the letter box on Saturday evening while I was eating a salad in Sprout in town. Having the number already allowed for a relaxed drive to the race as all I had to do was put on my yellow Pumas and jog down the hill to the start.

4. Courtmacsherry/Crosshaven

I think that it was so great that the race wasn’t on the greenway. The race is basically a carbon copy or clone of the 10k in Courtmacsherry, a full road closure on a nice flat winding road that runs along by the sea, great for big lumbering lumps like me. The only problem is the wind, the wind can be an issue, and it was. Tailwind out, headwind back, the worst version of wind.

5. 3000m

I think that the first 3k were lovely. When we got underway I did my best to keep up with Tadhg who seemed determined to run as fast as he could which is what you do when you aren’t a moderately old man like me who would be happy enough to win at the slowest possible speed. Tadhg’s determination and the strong tailwind meant that the first 3k was covered in 9:24 or so which is faster than my actual 3k P.B on the track.

6. Dropped

I think that it was terrible to get dropped by Tadhg. I was probably too worried about how fast we were going and doing a little too much watch checking. As soon as we passed the 3k mark Tadhg put in another surge, it was a malicious surge, the sort of surge that John Meade specialises in, I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been taught to him, it was malicious enough for me to quickly give up and resign myself to holding onto second place which I am quite good at.

7. If Only

I think that I probably should have thought the race through a bit more before the race. It was in effect a 5k race to the turnaround point. If I had gotten to the turnaround with Tadhg I could probably have sheltered behind him all the way back to Crosshaven where I would likely have outsprinted him like I normally do. Instead, I was left to run home with the terrible sight of Tadhg becoming slightly smaller in the distance and kilometer splits appearing on my Garmin that were about 15 seconds a kilometer slower than on the way out. At least they were consistent splits.

8. The Confluence

I think that the 10k/5k combo was very well done in the race. On the way out the 5k turnabout point was not put out until after we had passed. This was very good attention to detail. There wasn’t too much traffic for the last 2.5k when the two races merged and if anything, passing people in the 5k distracted from the misery of suffering into a headwind after running the first 3k too fast and probably also provided some slight aerodynamic benefit.

9. Donal Coffey

I think that the only problem with having the 5k and 10k finishing at the same time was that it was hard to tell who was running which race. The other problem was that Gruff had run the 5k finishing third and was at the finish line whispering into the ear of the man with the mic that “The Mudslayer” from Glanmire A.C was finishing in second. Thankfully the man with the mic recognized this as AI slop and instead called me Donal Coffey which was fine.

10. Bolack Biscuits

I think that Crosshaven is a great place for a race to finish. It was very pleasant with a nice playground and an excellent chipper. I warmed down with Gruff, Tadhg and Evita before returning for the prize giving where I got a nice envelope containing money. The only complaint came from Billy who was outraged at the lack of bourbon creams, so we had to go to Centra to buy a packet and get Rhona a cup of tea. I think if I was doing a rating system for races it would be in bourbon creams. Crosshaven 10k gets 4.9 bourbon creams out of 5, the 0.1 being deducted for the lack of said biscuits.

PHOTO: rhona

Ballycotton Lighthouse 5 Mile 2026

10 Things I Think About The Ballycotton Lighthouse 5 Mile 2026

1. Memory Lane

I think that it was great to go back and run in Ballycotton 17 years after the first time I ran the 5 mile in Ballycotton. It was interesting to look back at the results from that day. I ran 27:59 finishing 14th in a pair of Nike Air Marathoners, the shoe that Paula Radcliffe broke the world record in. In 4th place was Ryan Creech in 26:46 who has improved a small bit since.

2. The Same but Different

I think that is great how little Ballycotton has changed over 17 years. I seems almost identical with a few more modern buildings and the obligatory coffee horse box. I think the registration and prizegiving was in the same hall as back then as well. The only thing missing from 17 years ago was the Ballycotton Running Promotions, John Walshe and the Sean McGraths and James McCarthys.

3. Parking

I think that the logistical challenges of a race in Ballycotton are significant. One road in and one road out. If it rains like it has every day for the last 60 days, then it is impossible to park in the fields like we used to in August. This wouldn’t be a problem if you weren’t incapable of being on time like me. Arriving at 10am for a 1030 start and having to park at the start of the cliff walk meant a very hurried warm up to collect numbers and get back to the car to install magic shoes.

4. Cashman and Gruff

I think that it is very odd to be on a startline where the other runners assume that you are going to win. Paul Cashman won it last year and was back again this year to attempt the double. The only other top 20 finisher from 2009 to be back was Gruff who had finished only 10 seconds behind Creech in 2009. The race started a few 100m further back than the Ballycotton 5 course outside what used to be a chipper I think. When we got under way I ran as hard as I could for the first kilometer, by which time I realized that no one was coming with me.

5. 2009 vs 2026

I think that running in 2026 is very different to running in 2009. Age has little and a lot to do with it. In 2009 I was 23 and could run very hard for the first two miles, then it would get hard and I would slow dramatically for the last three miles. This wasn’t unusual, no one kept running at the same pace all race because you actually had to do the running with your muscles. In 2026 it’s very different, you bounce along at the same pace for the whole race, no one slows down, blow ups are rare. I would have loved to have run in magic shoes when I was 23 it would have prevented a lot of injuries.

6. Eidetic Memory

I think that it is interesting what the brain remembers about race routes. I only remembered the first two miles of the Ballycotton 5 route. I had a video like memory of those miles then nothing of the rest of the course. This is probably because I was completely starved of oxygen for the last three miles every time I ran it in the past. They are a lovely two miles out to the cross roads near Shanagarry where you turn left. The new version of the race seemed to be as well organised with as many stewards as the old great race.

7. Selective Amnesia

I think that I completely forgot about how hard the last three miles are. It is a very tough course. The hill at three miles is mad. When I was going up it I had a flashback of getting dropped by someone, I think it might have been Donal Coffey, it was like a nightmare. I had no one to race but I was still scared, I feared that John Meade might appear on my shoulder having started at the back like he did before in Age. I’m sure he would have told me the story of the time he won the Ballycotton 5 beating James McCarthy in a sprint, he loves that story as he should.

8. Proper Course

I think that there is no way the Ballycotton 5 mile would be popular with the modern runner. There is no way they would tolerate the hill. “You mean it’s not completely flat and I probably won’t run a P.B? What will I put on Instagram? The lighthouse? The time will be slower, what will I do? It will look like I am getting worse, what about continuous improvement. They won’t know what to comment on Strava.” It wouldn’t work; it’s just as well it isn’t on anymore. It was perfect in its own time.

9. Media Training

I think that it was great to win the new version of the race. The finish line was a little different, finishing outside the school on a little hill. I finished in 27:29, 30 seconds faster than in 2009 which isn’t too bad considering that I’m now a moderately old man. Once I crossed the line I got a nice medal with the lighthouse on it and a bottle of water. Then I was interviewed by the man with the mic, I can’t remember what I said but it must have been good because the people listening to it said that I must have received media training.

10. Nostalgia Overload

I think that it was nice to collect the prize for the race in the hall where the prize giving for the Ballycotton 5 mile series used to take place. My best finish in that series was in 2010 when I came 6th, just behind John Meade and just ahead of Donal Coffey. I can’t remember what the prizes were but I think I got a nice Nike hat and an Army Surplus voucher. This time I got a nice envelope from Midleton Credit Union with some money in it. A great day out, the best compliment I can pay the race was that it reminded me too much of the old Ballycotton 5.

Wokingham Half Marathon 2026

10 Things I Think About The Wokingham Half Marathon 2026

1. Ankylosaurus

I think that the best races are the random races that are found after booking flights somewhere. An excellent Dinosaur Zoo with extra dinosaurs meant a trip to London for the midterm break. Wokingham Half Marathon happened to be on but it was sold out, luckily I just about had the elite entry time so not only could I enter it was free entry.

2. Satisfy Tracksmith Soar

I think that the London running fashion scene is interesting. Batterseat ParkRun was like a running fashion parade. None of the fashion mismatch catastrophes that you’d see down the Marina of a Sunday morning. Having been heavily influenced by a million runners in the ParkRun the shops had to be visited, incredible boutiques, selling coffee (every shop in London sells coffee), with minimal stock. Hold onto your old race t-shirts, ones from the 80s were being sold for £100. I’m going to be a millionaire.

3. WHAM

I think that it would be great if WHAM were actually from Wokingham, I know nothing about Wokingham except that it is west of London and they shorten it to WHAM on the road markings coming off the M4. I was very lucky with the accommodation as when I looked there was one room left in the hotel where the race started and finished so I booked that.

4. Irish People = Party

I think that the Cantley Park Hotel where the race started was very nice, an old country house in a nice park near the town centre. We arrived at around 9pm the night before the race having spent too long looking at running fashion shops. At reception the man seemed abit worried about our booking. He said that they thought we were with the party that was going on in the hotel so they had put us in a room right beside the disco. He moved us to a room slightly further from the disco. You could still hear the disco but it was no problem as it was in England where people follow rules and by 12 there was zero noise. I don’t think they played any WHAM songs.

5. Breakfast Pickup

I think that all races should start and finish at a hotel. I don’t understand why it isn’t more of a thing. Runners are great customers for hotels, very easy. In the morning after a good sleep, it was very nice to collect the race number from the tent which was right outside the breakfast house. Very efficient. You could see the start line gantry from the breakfast room, a great job.

6. John Meadeing

I think that I’m getting better at doing what John Meade does so well, talking to absolute strangers about nothing at all. Normally what happens at races is that whoever I talk to before the race I end up running the whole race with afterwards. Sunday was no different. This time it was a fella wearing all soar kit but with a ciele hat, who was wearing the same pumas as me. He had even gone so far as having lab tested them and found that they were the most efficient of the lot, even better than the Asics Metaspeed. I’m not as good at talking as John Meade so there was about three minutes of silence before the race started.

7. Pat The Mayo Bull

I think that the first mile of the race was very tough. It was slightly uphill. An uphill race start is very hard for the modern day runner used to perfect splits. 3:27 said my watch for the first kilometre. What will people think I thought? Then it went downhill and I passed a fella wearing a Pat The Mayo Bull singlet. He said he’s been in London for 16 years. I said I was just on holiday. Then I tried to get the watch looking more Strava pleasing, which I did because the course went downhill. 3:10, that’s more like it. I wished it was Seville or Barcelona.

8. Charleville

I think that the course was very like the Charleville Half marathon just with more humpback bridges. In between the bridges it was relatively flat with slight drags. Just like Charleville there were complete road closures, which is unusual and great. Marshals everywhere, even the fellas at my pace took time to thank the marshals.

9. Science vs Art

I think that the reason people like Seville and Barcelona half marathons is that you don’t need any course experience to run them well. They are effectively science experiments. The Wokingham half marathon course is more like a piece of art, running it before would be a great advantage as you’d know where the lumps, bumps and wind would be. I hadn’t a clue what came next, so I settled for the only thing I could do which was follow the soar fella I had been talking to at the start which worked fairly well.

10. 45th

I think that it’s great to be from Cork and not from the Greater London area. It must be very hard to get praise in London. I thought I did ok but I only finished 45th. There were loads of people ahead of me, loads of them. I’d never win a prize ever, not even as an old man. Not to worry, the excellence of having the race finish at a hotel soon took over. It so good to be able to walk 200m from the finish to the hotel room. All races should start and finish at hotels.

Dungarvan 10 2026

10 Things I Think About The Dungarvan 10 2026

1. Important

I think that there should be a list of important races. I don’t know who would decided who the important races are, maybe me or an influencer like Tadhg, but Dungarvan is definitely an important race, just like Newmarket 5K was an important race. Why is it an important race? It’s an important race because it is very important to beat people in the race, and even if the people aren’t in the race you can run a faster time than they’ve run before which makes you better than them. It’s very important stuff.

2. Cup of Goose

I think that I will continue to be amazed by how runners will park anywhere except in an actual car park. My trusty secret public car park 2 minutes jog from the start was free again 50 minutes before the start. I car pooled with John Meade which meant that I had loads of time to jog over to the fancy Meades cafe (no relation) to use the facilities. Unlike everyone else I bought an espresso to pay for the experience. 2.60 for the single shot espresso . The coffee was acceptable. Pre race espresso could become a thing.

3. Puma vs Li Ning

I think that it is only a matter of time before everyone is wearing Chinese shoes. Puma is basically a Chinese company now after Anta bought a good bit of them so I’m pretty much wearing Chinese shoes. Chris Murnane was the only one brave enough to wear the Li Ning Feidan Elite 6 which is the Chinese Vaporfly which can be bought for as little as 160 euro on tacky looking websites that you’d probably be wise to use a disposable revolut card on. There were a lot of my Pumas on the line, most people even had the new yellowee colour. I was a bit worried that my new pair were a fake pair as they felt a bit firm but it was probably more to do with having forgotten how they feel like after a few weeks in cross country spikes.

4. Loads of Them

I think that the importance of the race was evident from the start line. Everyone was there, if you weren’t training for an imminent marathon or weren’t injured you were there. Importance takes a while to catch on, Dungarvan has become important over the years because you can run fast times there, mainly because of the temperature and prevailing tailwind for the last five miles. Importance is all about the times, it’s nothing to do with winning or anything like that, just times, most people don’t even know what position they finished in, that’s how you define an important race, it’s a race where the only consideration is time.

5. Have a Little Patience

I think that I am a very experienced man at running the Dungarvan 10. It is a route that requires experience as it is very easy to get carried away in the first two miles. A quick opening two miles can ruin your race, the key is to be calm and run to feel and not get too angry at the annoying people who have gone ahead of you. I was a very calm and patient man on Sunday, I waited until as is normally the case after about three miles a group naturally formed, then we turned into ever present usual headwind and there was no leaving the group.

6. Mighty Beasts of Glanmire

I think that it was great to have a team to run with again. After the January transfer window where Glanmire A.C signed runners like Chelsea under Mourinho we suddenly have a very good team. We didn’t even have to roll out Aidan Noone, myself, Kris and Tadhg were enough with the three to score. We all ended up together in a group as we turned into the wind after three miles for the only hard two miles of the race. At one stage it was three Glanmire singlets across the road in a mighty ducks flying V formation with everyone sheltering behind, it’s a pity that no one was there to take a photo of it as it could probably be made into a film. Paul Mescal could play Tadhg, I’d be Benicio del Toro, don’t know who’d play Kris.

7. The Surface

I think that I did great in the race until we turned back towards Dungarvan just after 5 miles. The wind was at our backs for the last five miles but I was unable to respond to the injection of pace by Tadhg and Kris and was shed out the back of the rather large pack along with Emily Sisson and Pat Fitzgerald. The only consolation was that the road surface was so good that I almost forgot about how awful it felt to have a large group of people I really wanted to beat run away from me. What a road surface, smooth as silk.

8. Emily and Pat

I think that it was some consolation that after being mercilessly shed out the back of the Tadhg and Kris group I was left to run with Emily Sisson and Pat for the last four miles. I ended up going by Emily on the downhill section just after 10k leaving me with only Pat for the last three miles. Nothing much other than suffering happened for the last three miles, a lot of suffering. I used my trick of concentrating on keeping my cadence the same to keep going at the same speed as running is a very simple sport, stride length x cadence = speed.

9. The Uphill Stretch

I think that everyone forgets about the ninth mile in Dungarvan, it is a very hard mile for such a fast course. When I was driving into Dungarvan I saw the mile 9 sign and was suddenly overcome with a desire not to do the race. It is the point where the suffering is at it’s worst, you have to run up a hill and then run another mile. I was still just about stuck to the back of Pat at this point doing my best to minimize the amount that Tadhg was going to beat me by.

10. Europa League Champions

I think that no one forgets about the last little hill in Dungarvan, the hill when you turn left off the roundabout with about 800m to go is cruel. Pat took off up the hill leaving me to crawl up the hill as best I could, all I could hear were the shouts of “Well Done Emily”. Once I got to the top of the hill, I suddenly found energy and gravity again before launching a viciously slow sprint which was good enough for 20th position holding off an Ennis Track fella who seemed to appear from nowhere. It was also just enough to come second in the overall team competition and first in the Europa League version of the team competition where the individual prize winners are excluded. An important result in an important race.

Campaccio XC 2026

10 Things I Think About The Campaccio XC 2026

1. €1 Espresso

I think Italy is great, what a great country, a country where coffee isn’t out of control. €1 for an espresso at a café just outside probably the best running park in a city anywhere, Parco Sempione. There was no Trevor to run with this time like I had done before Cinque Mulini, although he was still in Milan, managing a team of Great Islanders and introducing them to the joys of Hotel Poli and The Birra. I should be getting commission at this stage.

2. Straight Down Rain

I think that the rain in Italy is much better than the rain in Ireland. Italian rain comes straight down because there no wind, also because there is no wind it’s not even cold. The weather for the Campaccio weekend was nothing like the almost summery weather we got for Cinque Mulini in November. I was hoping for enough rain to turn the course into a mucky swamp like last year but unfortunately all we got was enough rain to make the course a little mucky and a little soft in places.

3. How Dare You

I think that I was horrified to see M40 on the envelope when I went to collect my number for the race. The Italians do things differently, along with banning juvenile athletes from wearing spikes, age categories are based on the year of birth not the actual date so being born in 1986 makes me M40 already which is terrible as I’m still only 39 and a half. The only good thing is if they let me run this year I still have 5 more years left which is great.

4. Burundian Warm Up

I think that it is worth going to these Gold Label XC races just to see how the real athletes prepare for the race. An hour before the race just as Rhona was getting ready for her race, the Burundian ON athletes were warming up with a most impressive, synchronized skipping routine. I can do the skips but not this type of skipping, this was next level skipping, no wonder they are so much better than us.

5. Zero Craic

I think that the best level of running is my level, the level where things like results and times don’t really matter and it is just from fun. There was very little craic in the warm up pen before we were brought to the start line. I tried talking to the Burundians in the ON kit but I got no response. So I moved on to David Nillson a Swedish runner with Puma who was probably the second oldest man in the race after me albeit with a slightly faster 2:10 marathon time. He was a little bit more responsive than the Burundians, then we were called up to the line for the real craic.

6. Lesson Learned

I think that the most important thing with running these cross country races in Italy is that you have to get out fast at the start otherwise the race is over. I think I learned the lesson a little too well though as after a few 100m in Campaccio I was not far off the top 20 and ahead of my Swedish 2:10 marathon runner friend. This didn’t last long and as soon as we hit the twists, hills and turns of the middle bit of the 2k lap I began to be passed and passed and passed some more until it felt like I was last.

7. Turn Right then Turn Right

I think that I need to remember that the Campaccio course has some unique challenges that other cross country courses don’t have, the middle of the 2k lap is a mixture of almost all right hand turns which is a terrible thing when you have a very bad right ankle like I do. It didn’t seem so bad last year when the course was 95% muck but in this less mucky edition it was proving very difficult, a difficulty that was amplified by my poor choice of footwear in the Dragonfly 2 instead of the Dragonfly XC although it’s almost a course where a trail running shoe would be the best choice.

8. Backwards

I think that it is an awful feeling to be passed by loads of runners. Everyone in Campaccio is really good at running, most of whom are probably doing double threshold and stuff like that, so any mistakes like going out too fast will be punished badly. A lot of people passed me over the first three of the five laps. The only advantage of going out fast was that it seemed very unlikely that I would end up lapped which is my main concern at these races anyway.

9. Francesco Meade

I think that I have done enough of these races now to have some enemies. It took until the second last lap for my enemy from Cinque Mulini, Francesco, to pass me. I had just beaten him back in November so I decided that he was going to be last person that was going to pass me. As I got to the end of my fourth lap I saw the Burundians on the other side of the course heading out on the last lap so I was sure of not being lapped which made me happy.

10. Hot Lemon Tea

I think that the best part of the Campaccio is the hot lemon tea in a special Campaccio mug with the masot on it that you get after finishing the race. I didn’t manage to catch Francesco but I did hold off everyone else by sprinting as hard as I could on the track which makes up the last 300m of the lap. I collected my hot tea said well done to Francesco and walked back over to my shoes where I explained to an women in Italian that her son would be fine with 9mm spikes. Then I went back for a second cup of tea.

Cork County Masters XC 2026

1. PGA Tour vs LIV Golf

I think that we have reached a crossroads in running. Racing is being replaced by time trials, time trials that can only be run on idyllic days in Valencia and no where else. No one cares where they finish, you have fellas crossing the line in 497th place celebrating like they won the Olympics, it’s mad. This didn’t happen in Golf, no one cares if you shoot 59 on an easy course. It’s about Augusta and the challenge, maybe it’s a bit of stretch to compare a field a few miles outside Bweeng to Augusta but it’s my Augusta.

2. Boys in the Better Land

I think that I probably shouldn’t have watched the Valencia 10k before heading off to Bweeng. It was sort of like being in fifth year in school and seeing the easy Leaving Cert Maths paper the sixth years got, thinking that’ll never happen again, they’re going to make it harder next year. Do we all have to go to Valencia? I’ve been there before and I prefer Bweeng and Italy. I suppose there’s always Grange Fermoy on New Years’ Eve, that was fast this year.

3. The Trifecta

I think that it was great to finally get a day with perfect cross-country conditions. We basically had the opposite of Valencia 10k. We had wind, very strong big wind, wind that whistled through the electricity wires, wind that broke tents. We had big rain, the sideways rain that you can video even on an old iPhone, rain that hurts you like its hailstones but is actually only fast-moving big droplets of rain. We had muck, all kinds of muck, sticky muck, slippy muck, dirty muck, treacherous muck, cold muck, deep muck, something for everyone. Fantastic stuff, perfection, idyllic, bliss.

4. First Annual Athletics Ireland Award for Excellence and Sportsmanship

I think that I should get an award from Athletics Ireland for offering shelter to a rival club runner in the stormy horrific weather. As I was searching for the horsebox with the numbers, I came across Trevor Cummins from our great rivals Great Island Athletics. He was trying and failing to get changed outdoors in the cold rain and wind. It was a far from glamorous sight as he did the flamingo pose in a failed attempt to remove his soaking pants. He asked if he could use my car to get changed into the green and white, “of course, no bother, come with me to the purple Scirocco”.

5. Sheltering Behind a Bush with Barry

I think that there is only one problem with the conditions that we encountered and that is staying warm and dry before the start. The organisers did a fantastic job, when you consider that it was basically a storm that the race was run in. Luckily there was a perfectly positioned bush where I stood with Barry Twohig to shelter before the race. I tried to persuade Barry to go home as it was too wet and windy and he’d been there all day; he was almost on the point of leaving but then Dan Kennedy turned up so he had to run.

6. Point of Order

I think that I should have ruled Michael Herlihy out of order when he suggested not doing the two 500m laps that had been planned to make up the 7000m distance. “Just do 3 big laps”. I don’t know why I didn’t object; it could have been that Michael Herlihy is a big scary man that looks like he should be responsible for deciding how long that we should be racing for. Anyway no one objected so we were left to race over the shortened distance of three two-kilometre laps.

7. Bad Decisions Lead To

I think that I made a terrible decision when I decided where to line up on the start line. I picked the inside line because I thought we were doing the 500m small lap which would have meant a left hand turn first. Because of Michael Herlihy’s point of order the first turn was now right which meant that the outside was the place to be especially as the ground was better out there. You know who was on the outside, Barry Twohig. The race started and Barry Twohig was gone, I was left floundering in the muck, happy but floundering.

8. Gonna be Golden

I think that despite my atrocious start I still thought I might win. I was very tempted to barrel through the people who were in front of me on the downhill to the first corner but instead I stayed calm and waited for the course to open up before making a move up to second. I’ll catch him no bother on the downhill I thought, just get through the zig zags and it’ll be no bother. I was correct, up to the top of the hill and then down the hill onto the back of Barry Twohig. Phew, now just get up the big big hill.

9. Mountain Dew

I think that last year I said that there were two men I was terrified of on a course like this. Barry Twohig and John Meade. I was very right, very right. It is a pity that there wasn’t a drone following Barry Twohig up the big big hill so everyone else could witness what I witnessed. He clearly had some sort of insider knowledge about the ground near the tidy high quality fencing as he seemed to be almost magnetically attracted to the fence as he flew up the hill effortlessly, it was incredibly annoying, the only way it could have been any more annoying is if it was Barry Twohig and John Meade together and they were whistling or telling each other stories while flying up the hill.

10. Hyrox Bweeng

I think that Michael Herlihy was right to shorten the race to 6000m. I don’t know if we would have been able for 7000m of that. By the time the last lap came it was more of a survival contest than a race, I had given up on catching Barry and Michael Dullea was probably thinking the same thing about me in third. The last time up the hill was like what I imagine a Hyrox event would be like, my legs were burning and screaming no more, I felt like I was carrying weights. I barely got up to the top of the hill before jogging across the line as best I could as my legs no longer worked. Second to Barry Twohig at what was basically a day’s work for him isn’t too bad I suppose. I’m happy I chose Bweeng over Valencia. Always choose Bweeng.

Capodanno di Corsa San Giovanni Valdarno 2026

1. 49th Capodanno di Corsa

I think that it is great to do new races, it is also great to do new distances. I’ve always liked the races where it is just whatever the loop around the town is so I was delighted to find a 13.5km race on New Years Day about the same distance from Florence as Mitchelstown is from Cork in a town called San Giovanni Valdarno. The ideal race, no expos, no queues, no sold out 12 months in advance, sign up on the day if you like, perfection.

2. Sub Zero

I think that it has been over 15 years since the last time that I ran a race in sub zero temperatures. That time was the All Ireland XC in Derry when there was a thick layer of snow on the ground for the race. There was no snow in Italy but it was ridiculously cold. Dry cold, cold which is good for running fast but not for standing still.

3. Music Hall

I think that the registration and number collection was very efficient. I had been in contact with the race organisers on Facebook to send them our medical certificates. All we had to do was queue up in the music hall, collect out numbers and the generous goodie bag which contained all my favourites, wine, coffee and pasta. We even got a running singlet all for the very low entry price of €10, yes €10 for a race.

4. Partenza

I think that the start line was very atmospheric. The advantage of having a loop or two loops of the town is that the start line can be in the best spot possible which in this case was the centre of the town in front of the main square framed by a large old building with impressive arches that you only see in Italy. I warmed up by jogging up and down the main street in my Pumas as it was too cold to be changing shoes. A local club seemed to have exactly the same purple and white singlet as my Glanmire A.C top so I exchanged confused salutes with my new clubmates. Before the start we were all huddled together like penguins before being walked up to the start line where the mayor fired the starting pistol to get us underway.

5. The Man in The Van

I think that races with a man in a van are my favourite. This race had a very excellent man in a van, the van drove off in front of us with the man in the van with the boot open videoing and doing commentary on the race. We would occasionally get too close to the van at which point he would shout at the driver to go faster. We followed the van for about 2km until he pulled over to video the rest of the field, before overtaking us and resuming the coverage. I made sure to make my move to the front every time the van appeared as it is the age of social media and it’s important to be seen.

6. YouTube

I think that this must be one of the most well televised races in the world. After entering the race I found the videos of the previous editions on YouTube. Before Covid the race seemed to have a contingent of Kenyan runners who would dominate. This years race was the 49th edition making it the longest running race in the locality. Luckily for me I appeared to be the only foreign athlete on this occasion.

7. Podium

I think that my favourite thing to do on holidays is to get on the podium in a local road race. After the first 5km lap around the town I knew I was in with a great chance as the group at the front had been whittled down to three of us, me and two athletes from a local club with green singlets. I led the race going through the line for the first time as it isn’t too often than you get to lead a race in Italy while running over a red carpet. The second lap was a larger lap of the town to make up a total of 13 km or so. With 3km to go the man in the van was back to see the group further distil down to just me and one of the two green singlets.

8. Sprint

I think that I knew I was in trouble if the race came down to a sprint finish. I have never out sprinted anyone so I decided to try and go from a kilometre out. I picked a point just before a sharp right hand turn into the long finishing straight. Initially I had some success but I knew from the lack of heavy breathing from the pursuing green singlet that it was only a matter of time before I was defeated. Sure enough with 100m to go the afterburners were initiated and I was left to sprint home on the red carpet happy enough in second place four seconds behind the winner.

9. Hot Tea

I think that one of the best things about racing in Italy in winter is that once you cross the finish line they always have hot lemon tea as a post race drink. There is no better post race drink. I think it is just the Lipton stuff warmed up but it is so good in sub zero temperatures. I had a nice cup of hot lemon tea while I discussed the race with the winner who is aiming for a 68 minute half marathon in Florence at the end of the month. I warmed down by running out to Rhona and finishing the race with her. I told her they had the hot tea at the finish to motivate her.

10. Spider Baby

I think that the local organisers were delighted to have an Irish person on the podium. They were very interested in interviewing me. I had learned some Italian sentences quickly from google translate so that I could make some attempt at an interview but they also had an excellent translator who had spent two months working in a hardware shop in Cork. It was great fun and a great way to spend New Years Day. After the interview we had a nice coffee and vegan croissant in the local bar. The Italians know how to organize races to perfection, I suppose after 49 previous editions they have had plenty of practice.

Clonmel A.C 4 Mile 2025

1. It’s Good To Be In Clonmel

I think that the closer I get to 40 the more I appreciate just being able to do a race. I wish I was this sensible and less mad 15 years ago. It’s good to be able to do any race. Clonmel on St Stephen’s Day is pretty good too.

2. People Like You

I think that it was very unfair of Viv to blame the slight delay to the start on me and people of my ilk, yes I didn’t arrive until 11:40 but that’s just because I don’t like queuing. I prefer nice relaxed races like Clonmel where the race starts when people like me are ready for the race. It’s the way it should be.

3. Calm Down, Calm Down

I think that one of the keys to running well is calmness, lots of things go wrong when you are running races. It’s how you react to them that dictates the result. I could see the stress in Viv’s eyes that the delay was causing, his perfectly planned and measured warm up disrupted. Me in contrast, I jogged the few 100m from the school to the start to the left of the bridge with not a worry in world, well apart from the worry that I was going to miss the already delayed start.

4. Loads of Them

I think that all of the young fellas must have seen last year’s results of this result and though if that useless article can finish 3rd man, I’ll have a bit of that, as there was absolutely loads of them on the start line. It’s great to see so many young people running road races again. Hopefully they will go back to the track in the summer or do a good long training block.

5. New Shoes

I think that there were a lot of Christmas present shoes on display at the start. It appears to be a draw between the Puma Fast R3 and the Asics Metaspeed at the moment with a few Vaporfly 4s thrown probably because they are basically giving them away. I’m still in the Pumas which are probably the best shoe I’ve ever worn by miles.

6. Very Fast

I think that owing to the amount of young fellas the start of the race was very fast. I have discovered a cure for my slow starts in Creatine which has definitely helped to make me more like a young fella. I take 5g a day with a similar sized scoop of beta alanine in a smoothie. I haven’t gotten any more muscly but I feel a bit more powerful.

7. Count the Beeps

I think that it is very hard not to look at the watch during a race like a 4 mile or 5k. I kind of want to know what pace I’m going but I also don’t. Instead I listen for the beeps every kilometre and count them, three more beeps, you can take three more beeps of this misery. That’s how I get through it.

8. Idyllic Marathon Weather

I think that if a marathon was to be organised in Clonmel on days like this it would be faster than Valencia. The conditions were ideal, about 6 degrees, little to no wind and dry. Perfect for running, you couldn’t rely on it so it would have to be like a cancellable marathon where you could keep moving it until the weather came right. Might work the week after Christmas.

9. Revenge of the Dermot

I think that it would have been better if Clonmel had of been a cross country race than a 4 mile road race. I spent the whole race in Clonmel with Dermot Gorman glued to my back waiting to exact revenge for my great victory in the moderately old man Munster cross country in Tramore. Sure enough the minute we got near the line I was overtaken by Dermot and his red Asics Metaspeeds in the sprint for the all important 11th place and absolutely no prize at all.

10. Worlds Best

I think that someone should be keeping track of Vivian Foley, he is definitely worthy of at least a Cathal Dennehy article and maybe even Paul Kimmage. 20:50 in the M55 category must not be far off a world record for 4 miles. I’m having to run probable PBs over 4 miles to give him a bad beating these days.

Newmarket 5K 2025

1. Valencia of 5Ks in Cork

I think that the Newmarket 5K is to 5ks what the Valencia marathon is to marathons, except maybe just confined to Cork and surrounding counties. Because of the generous course and usually ideal running conditions it offers the perfect chance to run a great P.B by me which can be broadcast across social media for all to hear, witness and acknowledge which is very important and the reason that most of us run.

2. Perfect Timing

I think that 1pm on a Sunday is the perfect time for a race. It allows plenty of time for sleep even allowing for the hour-long drive to Newmarket. It initially looked as if the race would be held in pouring wind and rain but as I left Glanmire at 11:30 the rain started to stop and the traditional perfect Newmarket 5k running conditions of cold and dry with a little hopefully helpful wind prevailed.

3. Photo Photo

I think that the Newmarket 5k offered many great opportunities for excellent photos to be taken. We had a big turnout of Glanmire A.C athletes, five in total which is our highest to date, we failed to get a group photo because of the large crowd and my lateness but I did get a photo with chairman Gruff.

4. False Start

I think that it would have been great if the rules and regulations of local 5k road races had of been enforced and all the youngfellas that false started had been disqualified. This would have returned the race to the moderately old men like me who are more used to the local road race scene. Instead, everyone just lined up again and off we took at a ridiculous speed down the hill that is primarily responsible for the quick course.

5. Need for Speed

I think that people get a little bit carried away at the start of this race. There is no need to panic at the start of a 5k, it is a very long race, yet still everyone goes off like it is a 400m race. I was a long way back after 400m despite seeing 4:40 mile pace on the watch, perhaps the times would be faster if the start wasn’t so fast, there aren’t many people that can tolerate running 4:40 mile pace for 400m and continue to run 5k.

6. Top Cat

I think that it is interesting how popular the Pumas are. They really are fantastic, my favourite shoe ever. The really great thing about them is that some people can’t wear them, so I get an advantage. Viv wouldn’t believe me for ages about them because he doesn’t trust me but when he ran in them in Waterford, he got two minutes back in the half marathon which is amazing. They seem to be sold out now which is terrible as they don’t last long so I’ll have to use my pair sparingly.

7. Ken’s Army

I think that it was great to see the abundance of youngfellas in the race today. There were hundreds of them and they are really good, most of them appear to be coached by Ken Nason or influenced by Ken Nason. It is very terrible to have to race youngfellas over 5k as a moderately old man as you simply cannot compete with the power and speed that they have. The only hope you have is that they go out too fast and blow up, but this doesn’t happen any more now because they all believe in LT1 and LT2 etc and don’t just train flat out the whole time.

8. Magnitude and Direction

I think that we were very unlucky with the wind today. It appeared to be some sort of cross headwind that was no help going out the road nor back the road. It seemed to be pushing us back no matter which way we ran. Luckily there was an abundance of youngfellas to shelter behind, so it didn’t really matter too much.

9. There Goes Sean Davin

I think that other that the speed and power of the 100s of Ken Nason’s youngfellas in the race the most impressive thing I saw was Sean Davin’s overtake of me at 4km. He came past like he was going to go past everyone ahead and win the race. It really helped me as I am programmed to chase after that St Finbarr’s singlet due to John Meade so I was able to use him to get through the last km which is ever so slightly uphill.

10. What’s 5k Effort?

I think that some people struggle with defining 5k effort. To me 5k effort is really not much different to all out sprinting effort. At the end of a 5k you should be experiencing a lot of misery and not really be able to breath. Luckily there is a photo from the end of the race that shows exactly what I mean by 5k effort. My 5k effort resulted in a 19th place finish which I was quite happy with, the time was very good too. I’m unsure if it was a great P.B by me but sure it was close enough and you can never have enough P.Bs.

pHOTO: dERMOT hever

Munster Masters XC 2025

1. On The Promenade

I think that Tramore was a great venue for a cross-country race. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to Tramore before, it is quite far away from Glanmire but worth the trip. A nice seaside town, like a Spanish town without the sunshine and heat. The course was right beside the promenade in a park with a playground, a bit different to the usual farmer’s field. It was almost like having a cross-country race in a town. A great idea.

2. Norwegian Michael Herlihy Method (NMHM)

I think that the closest thing that I have to a coach is Michael Herlihy, both of us are pretty much uncoachable but we do run together a lot so we must agree to do the same sessions. Before the start of the race, I told him that we should repackage the training program as the Norwegian Michael Herlihy Method and sell it on the internet for €20 a month more than normal training because of the word Norwegian, it could be a sensation, we could even get local Glanmire Norwegian physio Chris Smetana to endorse it.

3. Short, Long or Studs

I think that it is very important to come to a cross-country race prepared for all conditions. Because there is no timetable for these events you may not have a lot of time before the start of the race. What I do is I make sure I am prepared for all eventualities and bring three pre tooled pairs of spikes, one with studs, one with 6mm spikes and one with 12mm spikes. Then you can have a look at the course while collecting your number before taking the appropriate pair of spikes from the boot of the car and running over to the start. In this case the studded Dragonfly XC were chosen.

4. Sure I Wouldn’t Know I’m Just Getting Changed

I think that the self-service number collection system worked well at the event. It was sort of like the self-service checkout at SuperValu where there is a person watching you and they only intervene if you get stuck. I jogged over to the tent and found the numbers neatly stacked in brown envelopes on the table with the club names labelled on them. There was a man in the tent who I asked if I could take the number for Glanmire A.C but he was only getting changed in the tent and had nothing to do with the operation so I just took the envelope and jogged back to the car hoping that I might get a mile of a warmup done.

5. La Source

I think that who ever designed the course in Tramore should get an award for designing the best cross-country course ever. It was wonderful, a triumph of imagination, sort of like a combination of a Scalextric track and a Formula one track except with moderately old men instead of super-fast cars. The first corner was like the first corner at Spa-Francorchamps, I was wary of a first corner collision, so I took it handy off the line and waited for the second or third corner to make my move to the front.

6. Take a Mucky Picture of Me

I think that it was great that there was a bit of muck on the course. It wasn’t anywhere near as mucky as I had hoped for but there were still hairpins with ankle deep muck that made you grind to a halt before getting going again in the opposite direction. It appeared as if there were several people taking pictures which pleased me greatly as it is great to get a picture of yourself running through the muck.

7. Dermot and Me

I think that it was a very tough race with Dermot Gorman. You are always guaranteed a tough race in the Masters division. On the line there were numerous people with marathon times sub 2:30 with Dermot’s excellent 2:28 from New York this year being one of the more recent sub 2:30 marathons in the field. I was particularly worried when he was still following me around like my shadow on the third of the four big laps.

8. Downhill Difference

I think that I was very lucky with the course design. The great person who designed the course helpfully made the uphill section twisty with the downhill section straight, so I was able to push the downhill every lap and survive on the uphill twists. On the second last time down the hill, I managed to get enough of a gap on Dermot that I could see him parallel to me as we went up the twisty hill for the last time. I was still terrified of being caught so I continued to run as hard as I could all the way to the line which is generally a good idea when you are leading a race.

9. The Missing 500m

I think that it was terrible for Michael Herlihy that the course measured 500m short on the infallible GPS watch. It was very clear that he was catching me and only for the short course he would have beaten me. I do wonder about people who look at their watch in cross country race. What is the watch going to tell you? The pace? The distance? All are irrelevant just run faster than the fellas around you and run the number of laps that you are supposed to run, who cares about the distance. I felt like it was a good long race anyway as I was completely out of breath crossing the line, so out of breath that I didn’t see the black dog doing his best dancing priest impression.

10. Medals

I think that it was great to win the first cross country medal for the newly reformed Glanmire A.C. I don’t know the history of the old club as the internet only goes back to about 2006. I presume someone from the old Glanmire N.A.C.A club would have won some sort of medal at some stage as Glanmire is a great place for running. Hopefully it is the first of many more medals for Glanmire A.C.

Photo: James Veale

93rd Cinque Mulini XC Race 2025

1. The New Marathon

I think that cross country events like Cinque Mulini will eventually become the new marathons. Cross country races abroad are a far superior experience to marathons. Cheap flights (Ryanair), cheap four-star hotels with jacuzzi baths (Poli Hotel), no problem entering and a unique experience where you run through a few old houses. It’s only a matter of time. Trevor Cummins and Mark Gallagher have already been converted.

2. Milano Nord

I think that much like the marathon weekend it is important to have a shakeout run the day before. For our shakeout run we took in two venues, the incredibly cold but somehow ice free Milano Nord ParkRun for Mark and Rhona followed by a influencer style collab run by myself and Trevor around Parco Sempione which must be the best city centre park for running in the world.

3. Campione Trevor

I think that it was great to get to watch Trevor and Mark run in the masters race early in the morning on Sunday, they ran the same course as the international race, the only difference being three laps instead of four. Trevor who much like myself is experiencing new club fever ran like John Meade and ended up winning his age category. Not since Michael Herlihy beat me badly in a session a few months ago have I seen a man as happy as Trevor going up on the podium to receive his gold medal for first in the M40 moderately old man category.

4. Bravissima Rhona

I think that the great thing about international cross country races versus marathons is that a couple can both run and not need childminding to do so. It’s something that is rarely thought of in Ireland. Rhona’s race started after Trevor’s podium with two laps of the course which means two runs through the houses. The only reason I discovered the Cinque Mulini XC is Rhona, she had heard about the race where you run through the houses and had always wanted to do it, so was great to see her have bravissima and dai! shouted at her as she navigated the frosty course in the glorious November Italian sunshine.

5. Rules and Regulations

I think that I am very lucky to still be able to run the international race. Technically it is limited to non-moderately old men as you can’t enter online with a date of birth after 1990, luckily I am very good at reading all the clauses in the regulations and it said that if you could run under 33:00 for 10k you could enter as a moderately old man so I emailed them and was let in. I think it may also have helped that I ended up 96th in the World Cross Country Tour last year mainly because of the race in Castlegar, just ahead of Aregawi and Crippa.

6. Drills and Troy Parrott

I think that the warm up for these big international races is nearly the best part of the whole experience. Getting to see the elite Kenyans and Ethiopians doing their A,B,C skips while trying to do my own hobby jogger version of an A-skip is great fun. To make it even better I spotted a fella warming up in full Hungarian kit so I ran up behind him and whispered Troy Parrott in his ear. I was surprised to have him reply in a Dublin accent but it turns out that he is coached by Feidhlim Kelly so he caught the accent too. Istvan was his name, he beat me badly.

7. Great Sport

I think that running is the only sport where a total amateur like me gets to compete side by side with the best in the world. On the start line I was standing beside Iliass Aouani who had finished third in the World Championship marathon. I had been talking to him the day before at the elite athlete presentation as he was in college in America with Ryan Creech who he said was a legend which is correct. Anyway there is no other sport where this happens. It is unique, then the race started and I realized that there is a reason why this doesn’t happen in other sports as I wasn’t able to keep up.

8. Don’t Come Last

I think that when you are one of six moderately old men in a field of 100 youngfellas a lot of whom are Kenyans, Ethiopians and World Championship medallists the best you can hope for is not to come last. This was proving quite difficult initially as the race went off at a pace that I simply cannot run. Luckily for me there was a small bit of muck at the far side of the course which slowed them down a little bit allowing me to gain a good bit of a buffer from the tail end of the field.

9. Trevor in the Houses

I think that running through the houses is every bit as good as it looks. It never gets old, I would happily run this race forever it is so perfect and great. The first time through the house there was even a bit of a traffic jam which meant that I had to stop and wait for the backlog of runners to clear. Then on the last few laps I spotted Trevor who had somehow snuck into the area around the houses which is not for spectators, this was very good for me as he managed to take some rare video footage of a tall moderately old man like me navigating the houses expertly.

10. 81st

I think that I did very well to finish 81st out of the 100 starters despite being the second oldest man in the race. The fact that there was an older man than me running in the race is great because it probably means I can run it again next year. The fella that won it Amanuel from Eritrea was born in 2007, 21 years later than me which is very scary but also great. Once finished I collected my nice cup of hot lemon tea and returned to the nice hotel before a nice pizza and some wine at the other reason that this is a far better weekend than any marathon TheBirra. Everyone should run Cinque Mulini, it is the Boston Marathon of cross country races.