Full results HERE
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| Tom Keane and Denis O'Reilly with winner of the Nenagh Half Marathon, Ava Crean |
Sunday the 22nd of February 2026 was a busy day for races in Munster with the Kinsale 10-mile, the Adare 10k and the Nenagh Half-Marathon & 10k.
The numbers in Nenagh were really quite exceptional this year. The Nenagh Half is a relatively new event and in 2025, it had 304 finishers in the half... a modest number of finishers which put it in 62nd place for the top half marathons in Ireland in 2025.
The 2026 event saw the numbers surge to 711 finishers, well over double the numbers for the previous year. This puts it on track to be the largest half-marathon in Tipperary by years end.
The 10k also saw a substantial surge with a 44% jump from 311 to 448 finishers.
I suspect one of the main reasons for the surge is the apparent rise in the number of runners in Limerick with more events appearing on the calendar.
It's all the more appropriate that the first woman in the half was 19-year old Ava Crean from Limerick with a time of 74m 16s. Ava is the current Irish national marathon champion after taking the title at the Dublin marathon last October.
West Waterford AC are organising their annual Colligan League again this year in Colligan Woods to the north-west of Dungarvan. There are 5 events on the 5 Wednesday evenings in the month of April 2026.
From West Waterford AC... "Event Description: West Waterford A.C. will once again host a 5 week league in Colligan wood (By kind permission, Coillte) starting on Wednesday evening the 1st April at 6.30pm continues for another 4 Wednesdays, the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th of April.
The cost for all 5 nights is €20 and league is open to all over 16's members/non-members.
Entry link... https://eventmaster.ie/event/EYxqT4EF74
The venue is Colligan Wood just outside Dungarvan. From Dungarvan take the N72 and then the R672 to Clonmel. Colligan Wood is approx. 1 mile along this road.
There will be prizes for each distance but you must run 4 nights in your preferred distance to be on the final tables.
The 5 week Mark Mason’s Financial Planning Colligan running league for beginners and regular runners and all are welcome once they are over 16 years of age. We would especially encourage newcomers to come along and join in this league in Colligan Wood.
If you don’t fancy the hill section of the league why not come along and give the 2 lap flat route (2.5 miles approximately) or the 3 lap flat route (4 miles approximately) or join the 5 mile hill route which is one lap of the wood then up the first hill and down the hill and then across the wooden bridge and road for the second hill coming back down at stone bridge and back into the wood finishing at the wooden bridge.
The league will start on Wednesday April 1st, and continue for four more Wednesday evenings 08th, 15th, 22nd 29th .Mass start each evening at 6.30 pm. Online entry is €20 which is for all 5 nights of the league.
We would like to thank our sponsor Mark Mason sincerely for his support again this year."
West Waterford AC website... https://www.westwaterfordathletics.org/
Full results HERE
The popular Run Kilkee Half-Marathon & 10k is coming up this year on Saturday 25th July 2026.
Info and entries here... https://runkilkee.ie/
This is the largest half-marathon in Co Clare and as can be see from the chart below, both the 10k and half are increasing in popularity as more people return year after year and more people find out about the event.
Full results.. https://www.racetimingireland.com/limerick10km2026
The annual John Treacy Dungarvan 10-mile road race was held on Sunday 1st February 2026 with almost 3000 runners crossing the finish line.
Report, results & photos up on the Running in Cork site... https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/2026/02/results-photos-of-john-treacy-dungarvan.html
The 5k parkrun at the University of Limerick in Limerick started on the 23rd of January 2016 and it recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
In this time, there have been 427 editions and this is what the numbers look like...
You can see that there is a definite upward trend in the chart. I looked at all the event for 2025 and I got an average of 165 finishers.
The annual St Pauls Parish Frank Leahy 5 mile run in Waterford City was held on Sunday 25th January 2026 with 175 runners crossing the finish line, more than double the number for 2024.
Top 3 men & women...
Full results... https://my.raceresult.com/377724/
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| First place finish for Kate Veale of West Waterford AC |
The recent photo above means the Clonmel parkrun had to be cancelled last weekend and next weekend as well.
The normal course can be seen below which is on the Blueway which goes from Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir.
The photos are taken from the Gas House Bridge and this is what it looks like in the opposite direction to the west...
The Suir is on the left, the road is on the right and you can see the flood defences in place to protect the town.
This is the normal view...
While the images are dramatic, this is just part and parcel of having a parkrun next to a major river.
The Barefield 5k in Co Clare was the first race of four in the Run Clare Series and attracted a large field of 409 runners.
The Kerins O'Rahillys GAA Club Annual 5k &10k was held on January 25th 2026 at 11am in Tralee. There were 280 finishers in the 10k race while there were 189 in the 5k.
As the chart shows above, there was a jump in numbers in both the 5k & 10k events this year.
Top 3 men & women in the 10k...
Full results... https://www.racetimingireland.com/limerick5km2026
Newcastle School 5K Results - 18th Jan 2026
Top 3 men & women...
1 Evan Fitzgerald West Waterford AC 15:05 MS 744
2 Sergiu Ciobanu Clonliffe Harriers 15:40 MS 1001
3 Pawel Hoc Clonmel AC 17:12 MS 142
7 Ruby Carroll Clonmel AC 18:19 FS 32
14 Neasa Moloney Mooreabbey Milers AC 19:24 FS 1016
16 Kate Veale West Waterford AC 19:39 FS 1082
I've been updating the race calendar over the last few days and there are loads of races to choose from all over the country.
One new race on the calendar is the Littleton Labyrinth 10 Mile at the Horse & Jockey in Co Tipperary which is about 1km off the M8 motorway.
The race is organised by Moycarkey CoolcrooAC and the 10-mile route incorporates The Littleton Labyrinth which is a new walk and cycle way in the bog lands that were once used by Bord Na Mona.
The race starts and finishes at the Horse & Jockey hotel over a loop course as shown above and it will be held on Sunday 29th March 2026.
The annual Tom Kelly 8k road race in Ardfert, Co Kerry was held this year on Sunday 11th of January 2026. There were 187 finishers this year and the race as always was organised by St Brendan's AC.
The winner of the race was Tadhg O'Sullivan on Glanmire AC in a time of 26m 38s. The first woman was Niamh O'Mahony of An Ríocht AC who broke the old course record with a time of 28m 44s.
Photos...
a) St Brendan's AC have some photos HERE
Full results below...
The annual Tom Walsh Memorial 10k was held this year in Caherconlish, Co Limerick on Sunday 11th of January and there were 424 finishers, up a bit on last year.
Full results HERE
Photos...
1) MyRunResults has a gallery of photos HERE
2) Ian Horgan Photography has loads of photos...
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| Members of West Limerick AC |
West Waterford AC are organising a 5-mile race in Colligan Woods to the NW of Dungarvan on Sunday 11th January 2026 starting at 12 noon.
Enter here... https://eventmaster.ie/event/OxnZcpmH0Z
From West Waterford AC... 37th ANNUAL KIELY MONUMENTAL COLLIGAN CUP ON SUNDAY 11TH JANUARY
ALL ROADS THIS SUNDAY LEAD TO COLLIGAN WOOD FOR THE 37th ANNUAL KIELY MONUMENTAL COLLIGAN CUP.
This coming Sunday the 11th January we will host the 37th Annual Kiely Monumental Colligan Cup. The McGraths Newsagents Juvenile race starts at 11 am. The senior race has a 12 noon start and is over the usual 5 miles Colligan wood circuit and Juveniles will have a single 1-mile circuit to run.
The Colligan cup is a unique event in that it is run on a handicap basis where you simply predict your finishing time over a 5 mile run, with the winner being the person who is nearest to that predicted time. This makes the race open to all no matter what your standard is, everyone has the same chance of taking the title.
Now in its 37th year we would like to thank sincerely our sponsor for all of those 37 years David and Margaret Kiely of Kiely Monumental for their on-going support for the local running club West Waterford AC. So for a great fun event on the yearly running calendar Colligan is where you need to be come next Sunday 11th January
HOW COLLIGAN CUP TIMING SYSTEM WORKS.
The race timing system itself will remain the same as the one Victor Mullins devised all those years ago. The following is how the handicap timing system works, the run begins when the clock starts with the time of the slowest predicted runner’s time, say 60 minutes. As the clock counts backwards down to zero every runner begins when his or her predicted time shows up on the clock.
The runner with the fastest predicted time will be the last runner to start the race. The winner of the Colligan Cup is the runner who is the first person to cross the finish line after the clock reaches zero-it is that simple. All you have to do is get your prediction right. Remember, no watches allowed or music head phones. So if you would like to become part of local athletics history and have your name inscribed on the now famous Colligan plaque which was erected in the wood some years ago by the race sponsor David Kiely of Kiely Monumental come along next Sunday.
We must also mention and thank Coillte for their permission and help in letting us hold the race. We urge all going to Colligan on Sunday to please allow plenty of time as parking will be restricted on the road to one side. Please do not park where your car might obstruct the flow of traffic or interfere with the runners. This is a great family event with something for everyone. The Colligan Cup itself will be awarded to the winner of the senior race, while the Shield will be awarded to the first lady finisher. The Victor Mullins cup will be awarded to the 1st runner on the right side of the clock who is running the event for the very first time. The Juvenile Shield will be presented to the Juvenile winner.
The junior race is organized by the club’s juvenile section over one lap of the Colligan circuit and it gets under way at 11AM sharp and this too is a guess your time handicap event. The senior race will start at 12 noon. All are welcome to participate.
Entry online at link... https://eventmaster.ie/event/r4AriPmS9y
David Kiely/West Waterford AC Colligan Cup 2026
Contact: http://www.westwaterfordathletics.org
36TH ANNUAL KIELY MONUMENTAL COLLIGAN CUP.
ROLL OF HONOUR
