Kerry...Preview of the Beaufort 10km Road Race - Thurs 1st Jan 2009 (2pm)

This 10 km road race take place in the small village of Beaufort which is just a few kms to the West of Killarney. The numbers are usually pretty small yet by all accounts, it is supposed to be a really nice race. The route is along nice quiet country roads with the mighty MacGillcuddys Reeks providing a backdrop to the south.

How to get there........if you are coming from the Cork direction, take the relief road around Killarney and take the N for Killorglin. After Fossa, pass the turn off left for Gap of Dunloe and take the next left.

See this link for a map.

A race flyer can be seen HERE.

Race results over Christmas in Munster...

The last few days have been very busy with no shortage of races in the province. There was something there for everyone...from fun runs in Waterford to a 10 mile road race in Limerick.

Results......

Fri 26th Dec 2008......

Cork....Belgooly AC held their annual 4 mile road and the numbers this year exceeded 600 entries. Race results are on the Running in Cork website as they become available.

Limerick.......Limerick AC had their annual 10 mile road race in Caherdavin and this year, they got 149 runners taking part. The full results are available at this LINK.

Tipperary.......Clonmel AC were holding the Tony O'Connell 4 mile road race. When the results become available, I'll put them here.

Tony O’Connell 4-Mile Road Race, Clonmel
Senior Men1 S Bralitis, West Waterford, 18.542,

S Ciobance, Clonliffe Harriers, 19.013,

B Maher, Kilkenny Ch, 19.364,

R Zakis, West Waterford, 19.575,

W Hughes, Thurles, 20.33

O40: M Traynor, Raheny, 20.12

O45: S Murphy, Kilkenny, 22,07

O50: P O Dwyer,St Senan’s, 23.41

O55: T Cahill, Clonmel, 24.28

O60: W O Gorman, St Catherine’s, 27.50

O65: M McHugh, Clonmel, 29.11

Junior: K Maher, Thurles, 21.06;

Senior Ladies1, S O Doherty, Borrisokane, 22.562,

A McCann, Clonmel 23.223,

D Behan,West Waterford, 24.254,

M Doolin, St Joseph’s, 26.135,

A Roche, Clonmel, 25.30

O35: M O Leary, Germany, 24.42

O40: M Moloney, Thurles, 26.11

Junior: E Neumerzhilskily, Clonmel, 31.06

Waterford.......There was a charity fun run in Dungarvan which raised almost €3000. Some details HERE.

Sun 28th Dec 2008.....

Cork....Bandon AC had their annual 5 mile road race. Full results HERE.

Road Races in Munster over Christmas...Thurs 25th to Sun 28th of December

In addition to the GOAL charity mile on Christmas Day, there are a number of other events on in Munster over the next few days.

Thurs 25th Dec....

Limerick.........As well as the GOAL mile at the University of Limerick campus, there is the Hunt Museum to Daughters of Charity (Lisnagry) 4 mile charity run. This event is starting at the Hunt Museum at approx 10.30am and going out to the Daughters of Charity in Lisnagry.

Fri 26th Dec...

Cork......There is the Belgooly 4 mile road race near Kinsale. This race starts at 12 noon and always attracts a big crowd. Details on the course HERE.

Limerick.......There is the Caherdavin 10 mile road race to the North-West of Limerick city. It is organised by Limerick AC and their description is as follows...."It starts from the community center in Caherdavin just down the road from the local Church. The route goes out from limerick along the Old Cratloe road and over the border into Clare and then it turns back towards Limerick at Setrights cross and onto the main N18 Limerick - Shannon dual carriageway. Start time is 11:30. The first 5 miles are on mainly country roads then there is about 4 miles on the dual carriageway, with the final mile coming into Limerick through the Coonagh roundabout and finishing just off the Ennis road close to Ivans shop. There are about 2 long slow climbs on the first 5 miles,.. nothing too bad. Tea and sandwiches and prizes at Caherdavin Community Centre after races ."

The course can be seen at this LINK.

Tipperary....The Tony O’Connell 4 Miler takes place on St Stephens Day in Clonmel at 12 noon.
Entries and changing facilities will be located in the Vocation School, The Mall, Clonmel.
Entry is €8, with lots of individual and team prizes on the day. Race flyer HERE.

Waterford....There is a charity run at Dungarvan GAA club. "A 2 mile or 5 mile fun run in aid of Chernobyl Ireland. No entry fee.
Donations towards Chernobyl Ireland welcome.Entries taken at the Dungarvan G.A.A.club house at Clougherane. Run begins at 11 a.m. Changing rooms and shower facilities available.
Refreshments afterwards at the club house. "

Sun 28th Dec.......

Cork....There is the annual Bandon 5 mile road race to the South-West of Cork City. Start time is 2pm. This will be previewed on the Running in Cork website on the 27th.

GOAL charity mile - Thurs 25th Dec 2008

The traditional GOAL mile takes place on Christmas Day, the 25th of December at various locations throughout the province. Most of them are during the morning time. You just turn up, make a donation to GOAL and run your mile.

Clare...
Ennis...Fairgreen (St Joseph's Hospital Side), Ennis 25 Dec - 11-12pm

Cork...
Ballydesmond...Meet in Church Grounds, 25 Dec - 11.30am
Bantry...The Square, 25 Dec - 1.45pm
Cork City...Cork IT, Bishopstown, 25 Dec - 10-12.30pm
Mallow...Doneraile Park, 25 Dec - 10-12pm
Ballynoe, Fermoy...Ballynoe, St Catherine's GAA, 25 Dec - 11-12.30pm
Youghal...Tower Park, 25 Dec - 11-12pm

Kerry...
Castleisland...Castleisland Athletic Club, 25 Dec - 10-12pm
Cahersiveen...South Kerry Sports Centre, 25th Dec 10-11am
Killarney...River Walk, Knockreer (Deeniagh Lodge), 25 Dec - 10:30-11.30am
Killorglin...The Dragon's Den, Intermediate School, 25 Dec - 11-12.30pm
Tralee...Town Park (Denny Street Entrance) , 25 Dec - 10-11am

Limerick...

Kilcornan...Curraghchase Forest Park, 26 Dec - 11-12.30pm
Limerick City...University of Limerick Athletics Track, 25 Dec - 11-1pm

Tipperary...
Carrick-on-Suir...Ormonde Castle , 25 Dec - 11am
Clonmel...Pat O'Callaghan Sports Ground, Cashel Road, 26 Dec - 12pm
Fethard...Town Hall, 25 Dec - 12pm
Thurles...Outside Sarsfield Sports Centre , 21 Dec - 11am

For other locations outside of Munster or to get more information, see the GOAL website.

Road Races in Munster this weekend...Sat 20th to Sun 21st Dec

This weekend, there is a choice of 3 road races in Munster.

Sat 20th...Cork...The Shanagarry Christmas 5k road race take place in East Cork at 2:30pm.

Sun 21st...Cork...The Newmarket to Kanturk 5 mile road race at 1:30pm in North West Cork.

More details on the Cork races in the Running in Cork blog.

Sun 21st...Limerick...This is a charity 7 km run here from the University of Limerick campus at 10:30am. Here is some additional info.....

Sunday December 21 - 7km(4.3 miles) This race uses the same route as the Limerick Leader Limerick Women’s Marathon around the University campus. Starting at 10.30am from the UL Arena. Sponsorship cards are available from the Limerick Leader Office. Spot prizes galore after the race. All funds raised go to the Daughters of Charity.

The route for the Limerick race can be seen on the MapMyRun website.

Waterford - Results of the 'Old Parish Turkey Trot' - Sun 14th Dec 2008

56 Hardy souls turned out for the first running of this race starting from the Marine Bar on the Youghal to Dungarvan road in West Waterford.

The full results can be found HERE.

Clare...Results of the 'Bernie Meaney' Memorial 5k Road Race - Sun 14th Dec 2008

This race in the South of County Clare attracted 132 entrants with some fine times been recorded. As we as attracting local runners, some came from as far as Cork, Kerry and Galway for this event. The full results are now available HERE.

Tipperary...Results of the Tipperary AAI Masters & U23 Cross Country Championships - Sun 14th Dec 2008

The results of the Tipperary AAI Cross Country Championships for Masters and Under 23's is now available at this website.

Races in Munster this weekend....Sat 13th-Sun14th Dec 08

There are no shortage of races this weekend in the Munster area.

Sat 13th.....Cork.......In the suburb of Mahon in the South East of Cork City, the Cork BHAA are holding their annual 'Cork Simon' 5km charity run. For this race, you have to estimate what your time will be and the person that is closest to their estimated time wins. More details on the Running in Cork Blog.

Sun 14th.....Cork......The Cork AAI are holding their Senior Cross Country Championshionships in Watergrasshill just to the North of Cork City. More details HERE.

Sun 14th.....Tipperary......The Tipperary AAI are holding their own Masters and Under 23 Cross Country championships in the East of the Country. Location HERE. Tipperary athletes should contact their club officials for details.

Sun 14th.....Clare.......In the South-West of the county near Kilrush, there is the annual Bernie Meaney memorial 5K road-race. This race is in Kilmurry McMahon which is about 15kms to the East of Kilrush. This race is not far from the Tarbert Car Ferry so it might of special interest to any runners from North of the Kingdom.
Start-time: 1:30pmEntry-Fee: €10 - payable on the dayPrizes:
First 6 men and ladies
First 3 masters men (V40/V45/V50/V60)
First 2 masters ladies (V35/V40/V45/V50)
First 3 junior men and ladies
First 4 mens teams (4 to score)
First 3 ladies teams (4 to score)
First 6 novices confined for the James Hanrahan Shield

Sun 14th.......Waterford.......West Waterford AC are holding their inaugaral Old Parish Turkey Trot over 5 miles. This charity run is starting at 11 AM. Regristration at The Marine Bar, Pulla. Entry Fee is 8 Euro.
All proceeeds donated to South east Cancer Foundation.

See the link above for the location. This race is within easy reach of Cork and Waterford cities.

So that's it. Overall, there is no shortage of races this weekend in Munster.

Kerry...Results of the 'Puck Warriors' 10k Fun Run - Sat 29th Nov 2008

It looks like a reasonable crowd turned out for this 10km Fun Run in the West of the Kingdom. As well as the results, there are 2 races reports with a gallery of photos as well.

1st Race Report by John Dunphy of Midleton AC...

"November 29th saw the first of the Jingle run's get under way with a 10k road race held in Kilorglin Co,Kerry. What a lovely setting for a road race with the Kerry mountains overlooking Kilorglin with plenty of white snow at the summit of these mountains. Ideal conditions for a road race with no rain and little wind but very cold for the athletes begining their warm ups. The race itself did not attract many of the familiar elite athletes that I have witnessed in other races held in the county all except one or two familiar face's. But it was billed as a 'fun run' and to be fair, it was. Donal o'Callaghan once again continued his good form by taking 1st place in just over 33 minutes and you could see from the start this was going to be his day as he pulled away early on from the rest of the field. After 2 kms, he was a fair distance ahead and running well and this continued for the rest of the race. For Donal, it was all about getting a good run under his belt for future races to come in the county and that he did, well done Donal. The course was very good, pretty flat in the majority of places but there was a killer climb around the 6km mark that lasted about 1 km. I have never run a hill like that in the Cork races....it was very tough going!! As for the race organisation.....first class, well organised with great facilities, plenty of stewards and a few water stations along the way as well. To finish it off, we had a nice hot cuppa afterwards with fruit and snack bars and some biscuit's....what more could we ask for! Well done to Aine and the team at A Fit Body gym........... take a bow, ye deserve it. ...............John DunphyMidleton AC".

Photos...........John Dunphy very kindly took a set of 42 photos. These can be seen HERE.

2nd Race Report by Irene Hartigan of UCC AC...

"It was a nice frosty morning for a run. There was a good turn out of 135 runners and a good contingent from Cork crossed the county bounds. The facilities at Laune Rangers GAA club were excellent, lots of toilets, showers, drinks etc. Plenty of Santa's about to help and Christmas music to get everyone in the festive spirit. The run was a challenge and every second kilometer was marked with markers hanging from the trees on the right hand side of the road. Once off the N70, the road surface on the country roads of Killorglin was excellent with some nice sea views. There were stewards at every road junction with red flags to direct runners and plenty of water stops along the way. The climb began just after the 5th kilometre.....a good climb of 220m to clear the lungs!! From 7 to 8k, it seemed as if the end was never going to be in sight. The descent on Sunhill was not fully appreciated as it was short and steep but it gave a great kick to the finish line. The crew at A Fit Body gym did a fantastic job with prizes, refreshments and dressing up!! ......Irene Hartigan, UCC AC"

Results........The results of the Fun Run are now available at this LINK. (....Thanks Irene for the link)