Ballymore Cobh AC ‘Ballycotton 10’ Report

A twenty plus strong team of athletes from Ballymore Cobh AC took part in the 38th running of the now famous ‘Ballycotton 10’. The unmistakable bold, Black and Amber singlets were greatly increased in number from the one solitary entry the club sent forward to last years event.

Despite the slight blustery air beforehand, conditions peaked nearing the start time with summer like sunshine shining down on the 2,700 strong field.

Jostling for position on the deeply entrenched start line, the runners soon made their way down the village after renowned race starter Dan McCarthy fired the gun to signal the beginning of the ten mile journey.

Shrugging off a last minute injury scare to finish in a still impressive time was Trevor Cummins (1.03.45) whose main short term focus will be the upcoming Great Island 10 after setting a personal best here on his course debut.

Also recording a personal record whilst continuing preparations for a spring assault on the Boston Marathon was Orla O’Rourke (1.08.22). This was a stunning display from Orla and placed her second in her age group.

A recent re-focusing of training methods is already reaping reward for Stephen Pender (1.11.49) who also recorded a personal best here. His recently implemented approach to preparation will see Stephen peaking for the Cork City Marathon in June.

Tom O’Riordan’s (1.14.18) progress continues unabated with another sharp run here and he also will now look to continue building his weekly mileage with a view to peaking for the local marathon in early June.

Hot on his heels was Ken Hickey (1.14.46) who rounded off a busy weekend in some style after completing his Assistant Coach course the day beforehand. A great example to all in the club with Ken showing a willingness to seek improvement in both his own and his team mates performances.

Stephen Ryan (1.16.23) was yet another to beat his previous best for the distance by breaking off a sensational twelve minute chunk from last years effort in the same event. Impressive progression boding very well for a September visit to the Berlin Marathon.

Birthday girl Sinead Daly (1.23.01) celebrated in style with her usual display of seemingly effortless running, bringing her on nicely from a recent return to racing following a sensible period of recovery from last autumns Dublin City Marathon.

Harry Gibbs (1.24.07) might have enjoyed a smoother lead in to the big day with flu like symptoms slightly blunting his normal tenacity. However, with enjoyment and well being maintained, he’ll be raring to go when the time comes for next months Great Island 10.

They say that couples that run together, stick together and there’s no doubt that John O’Reilly (1:25:38) + Angela Leahy (1:27:42) are testament to that belief with both enjoying some strong running here which produced another couple of personal bests.

Ber Rowe (1:31:20) continues to impress since joining the club towards the end of last year. Another strong showing here in the fishing village saw yet another personal record set. Onwards to the Great Island 10 also for Ber after a taking debut here in the big race.

Another to have their preparation suffer from a slight interruption was Louise Dunne (1:32:22), who despite carrying a heavy cold into the race build up still managed to record a more than respectable time. Having also taken on a more measured style of training lately, expect big things to come from this quarter.

Helen Devery’s (1.35.33) star continues to shine with her quiet determination yielding some nice results of late. Building endurance within herself and her training run partners, Helen is another whose efforts benefit more than just herself, a team player if ever there was one.

Trish Doherty (1:38:25) recorded a huge improvement on her previous best effort over the distance by finishing nearly fifteen minutes better that a time recorded two years ago. This is a credit to Trish’s application to her training and more gains will be made in time.

Margaret O’Connell (1:38:41) ran very impressively on what was a debut outing for the club and will also find more improvement as the campaign continues.

After progressing from last autumns Fit4Life program, Jean Dorrity (1:38:50) is now comfortably completing 10mile events and put in a run here that really shows how much progress has made in such a short period of time.

The same can very well be said for Leilia Pender (1:38:46) who set a personal record here with a solid run that adds nicely to the mileage being banked in advance of a first attempt over the marathon distance due to take place early this summer.

Roseanne Kidney (1:40.27) used the Ballycotton event as a training run which all going well which act as a nice lead in to next months local race over the same distance with the possibility of a half marathon to follow.

Increased training mileage and the introduction of regular hill work allowed Heike Von Heyne (1:41:56) enjoy a smashing seven minute improvement on last years effort in the same race. The Killarney half marathon is next on Heike’s radar.

Laura Forrest (1:49:49), another to recently re focus their training methods, ran a very disciplined race as part of a continued effort to gradually build endurance over these longer distances in preparation for a mid season marathon.

Anne Collins (2.05.02) has made huge strides since progressing from a beginner to 5km plan late last year and will be rightly pleased with this run. Anne’s performance is a great example of how quickly one can progress once the hard work and determination boxes are ticked.

Regularly training with the club of late and soon to have an official transfer completed, Angela Histon (1.22.22) ran strongly here and is one whose presence will add a nice mix of quality and experience to the current group of runners.

A big well done to all who took part and made it a day to remember for Ballymore Cobh AC.