Page 24 - COBH EDITION 1st OCTOBER DIGITAL VERSION

Ballymore Cobh A.C. - Adults Section Race Report
Lately we have seen our athletes compete in multiple locations across a range of distances and
even sporting disciplines. First off, we head to Kilkenny for the Medieval Marathon. We were
represented in the Marble City by two athletes at 10km and 30km distances. In the 10k event
Peter Howie ran a fine race and was 12th over the line in a time of 44:32. In the 30km race, a
man we could not bet against getting to the finish, Patrick Power with a time of 3:13:30 Next
up was the Croppy boy (careful with the spelling on this one), 10k in Waterford on Saturday
September 22nd. Flying the Ballymore flag here was Stephen Ryan who flew home in a time of
43:52

Now closer to home we had the massively popular Charleville International Half Marathon on
Sunday September 23rd. This race attracts an elite field every year including the 2 winners of
our very own Sonia Osullivan Cobh 10, Lizzy Lee and Mick Clohisey who finished in 1st overall
female and 2nd overall male in this one.
We had 10 runners wearing the black and yellow of Ballymore at this race which had over
1200 finishers.
Heike Von Heyne, who while collecting her race T-Shirt the night before, managed to stub her
toe on a speed ramp but did not let it stop her completing the course in a time of 2:26:58.

Club mates Dana Duggan and Fiona Perryman ran a fine race together in 2:13:55.
Patrick Power (2:10:05) fresh from last week’s 30km in Kilkenny ran with his better half
Sinead 2:10:04 – 1 second of bragging rights there. Nicely done Sinead.

Ann Cooke, running her first ever half marathon, came home in an incredible time of 1:59:22.
A sub 2 hour finish for you first half is phenomenal going!!
Leilia Pender fresh from a 17 mile training run only two days previously ran an excellent
1:57:54

Deirdre Meyler who had completed a 20 mile training run on Friday showed how good her form
was for the upcoming Dublin marathon with a time of 1:53:45
Next up in her first outing since the Dingle Marathon was Tash Durity in a superb time of
1:45:44
Knocking 5 minutes off his Greenway Half time of two weeks ago was Shane Meyler who used
those lovely long legs to cross the line in a time of 1:34:14. We asked him about his race but
couldn’t understand his strange accent. The only word we picked up was “coddle” so we po-
litely moved on. First home for the club, 2nd in her category was our very own (prize envelope
collecting), running machine Orla O’Rouke in a blistering time of 1:30:41 (despite ‘taking it
easy for the first three miles!!). Awesome stuff as always!!!
Finally we move to a different country for an entirely different sporting discipline. More specifi-
cally, the Italian Ironman Triathlon set in the stunning scenery of Emilia Romagna in scorch-
ing 30 degrees heat on Saturday 22nd of September. For those not up to speed with these
monster endurance events, it comprises of a 3.8km sea swim, followed by a 180km bike ride
and all finished off with a marathon run!! Here club man Michael O’Driscoll embarked on his
5th ironman. These suckers are incrediblydifficult at the best of times but for Michael this one
was the toughest yet. His swim was rudely interrupted by a sting on the pad of his left foot by
a jellyfish. He received medical assistance once he finished his swim and off he set on his bike.
30km into his cycle he started feeling what he describes as a “hot left foot”. His foot had swol-
len so much he had to open his shoe for the remaining 150km of the cycle. So off the bike with
blisters on his foot all he had to do then was run a marathon… The mind boggles. The mental
and physical toughness on show here is inspiring to say the least. Well done on a fantastic
achievement Micheal.