Senior Section News

Book Launch, Marathon Memories And Races Galore

Mid summer is upon us and whilst many of our club members are reflecting on last week’s Cork City Marathon, others are plotting out their busy summer schedule, but all of us should be ‘off the road’ on this Thursday night for a special club occasion.

Jim McMurtry’s magnificent pictorial history book of Midleton AC spanning 5 decades will be officially launched at a special function which will be hosted at Midleton GAA Pavilion. Events begin at 8pm and apart from the formalities there will be refreshments and a disco later to follow. This is an occasion for all strands of our club, adult and juvenile, an a rare opportunity for both sections to come together and now doubt jog a few memories from the corridors of time.

A few years back Jim McMurtry was on his marks and up and running rather quickly as the he began to gather photographs from current club members past and present. The idea grew as the content grew and soon Jim was looking at a more ambitious and detailed project which turned out to be a marathon not a sprint

The man from Ballyandreen has been relentless in his pursuit of material and has done an absolutely fantastic job in compiling a book that will create treasured memories for many families from all over East Cork. The publication is a credit to Jim’s outstanding dedication to the cause and thus he deserves huge support on this Thursday as a ‘thank you’ gesture for all his work.

Midleton AC is now the envy of several athletic clubs across the county and further afield. Both at juvenile and adult level our club has rocketed in popularity over the past decade. Please tell your family, friends and any potential new members about Thursday’s function.

On behalf of all of us at Midleton AC – congratulations are extended to Jim McMurtry.


Marathon Review

Kevin Smith and Shane Cooney ran almost stride for stride for much of last week’s Marathon, before Kevin pushed on near the end to cross the line 2:58:46 with Shane coming soon behind in 2:59:25. The guys deserve a huge word of congratulations for breaking the magical 3 hour mark. Many runners strive to reach this land mark but only a small percentage succeed. Both had put in the necessary preparation for the big day with Kevin having used the Limerick Marathon as a warm up for the Cork event and Shane who missed the Connemara Marathon topping up his training for the Cork race.

Unfortunately Kevin’s time did not appear on the classified results as he lost his timing chip along the way. Hopefully after putting his case to the powers that be the situation can be rectified in the near future.

Elsewhere Mick Murk Murphy made an impressive debut over the distance crossing the line in 3:36:52, whilst Fergal O’Meara, Ned Ramsell, Adam Duchnicz and Vincent O’Neill all came home comfortably under the 4 hour mark. Kevin Morrisson followed up his exploits in Paris with another very solid run just over the 4 hour mark whilst Mary B Walsh who produced a big finish and Mary Toher kept the ladies flag flying for their performances. Congratulations to one and all!

As for the relay event we had a host of representatives on a variety of teams. Despite the inclement weather conditions, reports indicate that all enjoyed the occasion and no doubt many will be back again nest year. Well done to all!

Glanmire Success

Despite damp weather conditions over 300 took part in the Glanmire ‘5’ recently. It proved a very successful occasion for our club with numerous individual and team honours captured.
Prize winners were Michelle Nolan (2nd overall after another superb run – 31:32), Sally Drennan – 1st Over 40, Joan Hough – 1st Over 50, Margaret Barry – 1st Over 60, Donal Broderick – 2nd Over 40, John Cashman – 2nd Over 45, Edmond O’Sullivan 3rd – Over 45, Neilus Aherne – 2nd Over 50 and John O’Halloran – 3rd Over 55.
Midleton AC runners had also great success in team events with our members on the honours list with Midleton UDC, Flexible Connectors, Department of Education and Midleton News teams. Congrats to all!


Hectic Line Up

The fixtures just keep on coming on the roads over the few months. Holiday time means that most people will miss a few fixtures along the way but with such a packed programme of races, there will still be ample opportunity to race. In fact we are in the best region of the country when it comes to race alternatives. The East Cork region is becoming almost the running capital of the south and with the West Waterford Series and The Ballyhoura Series just over the county bounds the options and alternatives are always varied.

The following is the list of races for the remainder of this month and the diary for July. Note the new additions to the annual calendar in Dunmanway, Macroom, Youghal, Ballinrostig and Carrigtwohill.


June
Tue 15th – John Buckley 5K – Marina, Cork – 8pm
Fri 18th – Bilboa 10K – Cappamore County Limerick – 8pm
Fri 18th – Ras na Rinne – 6 Miles – Ring County Waterford – 8pm
Sun 20th – Dunmanway 10K – 2pm
Thur 24th – Ballycotton Series – Shanagarry 5 Miles – 8pm
Fri 25th – Courtmacsherry 10K – 8pm
Fri 25th – Dromana 5 Miles – County Waterford – 8pm

July
Thu 1 – AIB Macroom, 5K – 8pm
Wed 7 – EMC 5K – Ovens – 8pm
Thu 8 – Corkbeg 5 Miles – Whitegate – 8pm
Fri 9 – Dungarvan 5 Miles – 8pm
Fri 16th – Donoughmore 7 Miles
Sun 18 – Youghal 4 Miles – Charity Race – 2pm
Thu 22 – Ballycotton Series – Churchtown 5 Mile – 8pm
Sun 25th – Ballinrostig 5K – 12noon
Wed 28th – Carrigtwohil 5K – 8pm
Fri 30th – Kinslae Regatta 5 Mile – 8pm
Fri 30th – Ballymacarbry, Co Waterford – 5 Miles – 7.30pm


Track Dates

The next graded Track & Field meeting will be at the C.I.T Track on Friday week June 25th. Log on to the Cork County Board web site for further information. Remember the Cork City Sports will also be at C.I.T this year on Saturday July 3.



Training

Remember the regular training sessions – Monday 6pm at Midleton CBS and Tuesday – 7pm from the Community Centre.

In the meantime ‘keep on running’.