Tralee parkrunners! If you do a bit of parkrun tourism, send us a story and a photo and we will post it here.
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Mullingar & Longford parkruns
Bairbre Hickey If there is one person we knew would be on tour on New Year's Day, it was Bairbre! How could she miss the chance to two different new parkruns in one day. Just about within reach was the Mullingar-Longford Double. In Mullingar she met the mad bunch from Lough Key, and in Longford she was welcomed by the legendary Kevin Kane. The double moves Bairbre well into the top half of the Ireland Most Events Table. |
St. Anne's & Father Collins
Caroline & Jane Lynch Also doing an "away" New Year's Day Double were Caroline and Jane, visiting two of Dublin's parkrun - the comment was a bit less frantic than ours or Bairbre's! By chance, doing the same double was Bob Quinn, who just a week ago celebrated his 50th parkrun with us in Tralee, and was delighted to meet up with the Lynch's. "Truly, the year got off to a flying start .... when had the joy of meeting the smiling duo of your "Caroline and Jane Lynch" on New Year's Day .... at two parkruns .... St Annes and Fr Collins Park.. No doubt it will interest U all to hear that it took ..... a Kerryman .... to have a 52 acre Dublin Park ... called after him ! Yes the "late and great" Fr Joe Collins was 1st P P of Donaghmede, and he was Ballylongford born on the 4-yearly date of February 29th in 1924 and he died June 29th 1979. Thus he was a mere 55 .... and in a technical way .... Fr Joe had only celebrated his 13th birthday!" – Bob Quinn |
Buncrana parkrun
Siobhan Kearney Back home in Donegal for Christmas, Siobhan wasn't likely to miss a parkrun if at all possible. So she made a return to Buncrana, where her sister Liz and Liz's husband Jason are Event Directors. It's going great! Even on a dull day it's a really beautiful spot. She met up with her cousin (another Liz) who was roped in as Tail Walker. Liz lives in London... maybe she'll join us in Bushy? Also visiting Buncrana were Mary and Alan, Event Directors in Clonmel. They've also promised to make a trip to Tralee early in 2018! |
Mount Lucas
Bairbre Hickey Bairbre described Mount Lucas as "The strongest wind I have ever attempted to run in. Great morning" Well Bairbre, what did you expect, it is on a Wind Farm after all! It looks from the photo to be so windy that they have assigned a Hi-Vis-wearing marshal to each individual runner! |
Listowel
Tony Higgins, Caroline, Anna and Ruth Lynch. We were all volunteering this week in Listowel, myself (Tony) as Guest Run Director with Jane on Barcode scanning beside me, and Caroline and Anna as Tail Walkers (Anna even brought her own Tail Walker bib!) Read all about the day here. |
Rhodes parkrun, Sydney
John Hoare Striding along in his usual style, but without the trademark Hi-Vis jacket, was Johnny Hoare. What's that Johnny, an umbrella? In the middle of summer? Sydney Olympic Park is not a bad place for your first "away" parkrun, after over fifty in Tralee! At least he did not assume the traditional Australian parkrun attire favoured by some of his fellow runners! |
Castleblayney parkrun
Doreen Moore This was Doreen's third time in Castleblayney, she has visited four venues other than her home run and always sends us a photo and a bit of parkrun news! Thankfully she was back in time for our New Year's Day run! "Lovely crisp morning this morning for final parkrun of the year in Castleblayney. There was some snow on the ground to add a festive feel to the occasion, and plenty of puddles to dance around, but a lovely route around Lough Muckno (even if it does include 2 runs up McBrides Hill!). I’m not surprised that this area is known as the “Killarney of the North”, very picturesque. Thanks to the most welcoming volunteers for post run chats, coffee & biscuits. Doreen Moore" |
Lees Road parkrun (Ennis)
Garry Moriarty Sometimes work gets in the way of parkrun, but Garry is an early riser, and after he had done a job in Ennis he still had time to get to Lees Road Sport and Amenity Park just outside for a lovely run in the forest. Not only that, but he had a personal best taking over two minutes off his first time! He took this selfie, worthy of Siobhan the Queen of Selfies! |
Deerpark junior parkrun, Stillorgan, Dublin
Ruth & Anna Lynch (and mom too!) If you've seen The Godfather, you'll have heard of the meeting of the Five Families. Well, like the Mafia, parkrun has its families too, and this weekend saw the meeting of two of the great parkrun families, the Lynch's from Tralee and the Coppingers from... well.. all over the place! Caroline was welcomed to the latest junior parkrun by Event Director Lucy Coppinger and her brother Niall Coppinger (Niall is the one in the background looking suspiciously like a hit man!) And both Ruth and Jane were runners in the inaugural run. Not only that, but they invited another selebrity to join them when they were on the radio on Friday, and sure enough Ray Darcy, a great fan of parkrun, came along with his kids to enjoy a great event! (PS. Junior parkrun is nothing like the Mafia, really!) |
Tymon parkrun
Caroline, Ruth & Jane Lynch With not one but THREE junior parkruns starting up in Dublin tomorrow, it was a safe bet that there would be a few Lynch's in the Capital this weekend, and sure enough they got up early (despite staying up FAR too late watching the Toy Show, and of course becoming radio stars earlier in the day with Ray Darcy) to do the very welcoming Tymon parkrun. Deerpark junior parkrun tomorrow, where the Lynch girls will be doing the first ever warm-up, "The Beans"! |
Oughterard inaugural parkrun
Bríd and Pat Lawless, Siobhan Kearney, Bertie & Bairbre Hickey and Tony & Maeve Higgins Well, of course Bríd and Pat are locals really, living just across Lough Corrib from this great parkrun, in Corribdale Park - entirely built by the local community - in Oughterard, Co. Galway. But the Lawlesses are still Tralee parkrunners, at least for the time being! Bríd brought along a delicious (huge!) cake which was enjoyed by the runners in the Powers Thatch Café after breakfast - but there was still loads left to come back to Tralee! Thanks to Padraig Fahey, parkrun Ambassador for Oughterard (and based in neighbouring Knocknacarra) for the photos below, and of course to Cliodhna Ruane, Event Director for the great welcome and fantastic event. As Maeve said "It didn't feel like an inaugural run", everything went so smoothly! The breakfasts in the café are superb! |
New Ross
Bertie & Bairbre Hickey All we have from New Ross is this photo of Bairbre. Bertie is very shy and it's hard to get a photo of him... Bairbe described New Ross as one of the nicest she has done so far (and she's on 27 Irish events now!). "A lap and a half of beautiful JFK Park near New Ross, finishing by the duck pond where you are welcomed on the line by a fresh cuppa and treats. Lovely people as seems to be the case at all parkruns. Well worth checking out if ever visiting the Sunny South East" |
Caroline:
"I had already been told by Bairbre that Clarisford were a friendly bunch, but nothing could prepare us for the warm welcome we got this morning! Delighted because it was SO cold!! Definitely worth the trip & such a gorgeous place in Killaloe. We had long chats afterwards in the coffee shop with parkrunners & volunteers. Expect a gang to visit from Clarisford in the future & perhaps a junior event in the future at Clarisford." |
Clarisford parkrun:
"We had lovely visit from Caroline Lynch and her daughter Anna who travelled up from parkrun Tralee this morning. Looking forward to returning the visit sometime soon." |
Glengarriff parkrun
Tony Higgins We have had several reports back from Glengarriff, another day-trippable parkrun if you'd like a break from Tralee! I had to brave the snow and ice on top of the Caha Pass, but it was worth it! Glengarriff Nature Reserve is a beautiful setting for a parkrun, and with a new Event Director, Gerard "Harry" Harrington, taking over from Nuala who is taking a well-earned break after two years building up the event, the future is bright for this stunning parkrun. Read this week's Run Report here. It's not an easy one, with a steep hill near the end, but every step is rewarding and there is a fantastic spirit among the core team. |
Killarney parkrun
Monica Dillane Also on a Day Trip parkrun tour was Monica, visiting our nearest parkrun neighbour in Killarney National Parl. Of course, not every parkrun has a Pat Sheehy to control the weather, so other parkruns sometimes even have rain! It doesnlt matter, you'll still have fun! While we love to see everyone in Tralee every Saturday morning, it's a really great idea to take atrip to another parkrun, where you will experience the same great atmosphere and welcome. You don't have to get on a plane or drive hundreds of miles, there are over 70 all over the country! |
Citypark parkrun, Craigavon
Doreen Moore Thanks to Doreen for sending these pics from Craigavon. "Hi. Some pics from a beautiful parkrun this morning in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Very picturesque parkrun involving one lap around beautiful lakes. Lovely crisp morning here and met a very welcoming 1st time run director in Jonny Dewart and his equally welcoming group of volunteers. Craigavon parkrun were today hosting a "couch to 5km graduation" so there were well received hot coffee and treats at the finish! Would highly recommend this parkrun if anyone was in this neck of the wood." Doreen Moore |
Clonakilty parkrun
The Usual Suspects! Siobhan, Emer, Bairbre & Caroline Missing all the fun in Tralee this morning was this quartet who travelled to Clonakilty parkrun this morning. Three top ten ladies' finishers among them, and over 300 parnruns between the four of them. I wonder is Siobhán ever going to change that Marathon shirt? She will be back next week to put some discipline back in Tralee! |
Ireland's Most Events List is, for the moment, a fairly exclusive club. Just over 50 people have done 20 or more of the Republic's 71 parkruns, and four of those are Tralee parkrunners! (This is just the bottom half of the table!)
We are all a long way short of Dermot and Des at the top of the list, Des became the first to complete all the parkruns on the Island in Clonmel this week, and a few weeks ago Dermot (who did his 50th different parkrun in Tralee) hit the last of the Republic's runs - although these are of course moving targets with new parkruns appearing all the time! |
Athlone parkrun
Marco Polo - I mean Bairbre Hickey, the other great explorer We are used to getting Selfies from our tourists (usually Siobhán - see below!). But this is the first time we got a Footsie. I think what Bairbre is trying to say is "It was very mucky in Athlone today!" "Athlone parkrun. The hardest course yet. Plenty of rain and very mucky but the people made up for it. They could not have been more welcoming. Michael was the director." |
Another trip to Newcastlewest Demesne for the TPOT (Tralee parkrunners on Tour) bus, but this time with different passengers on board! It was a very wet morning but the rain stopped for most of the run.
Roland was second finisher with Luke (fastest junior) not far behind! Lots more photos on Newcastle West's Facebook Page and a full report on the morning's proceedings here. |
Glengarriff parkrun
Garry & Claire Moriarty Of course we all love our home parkrun. But Garry and Claire are lucky enough to have two home parkruns, Tralee and Bere Island. They like them so much it's rare to see them stray further afield, but at last they took the chance today to visit Glengarriff parkrun! I wonder will Garry change allegiance from Bere Island to Glengarriff now that he has sampled its delights? I think not, but it's undeniably a lovely run through the Nature Reserve... except for that hill at the end. |
"The Long Way Round"
Check out another event in Clonmel in the next couple of weeks - and for a very good cause! |
Corkagh parkrun
Emer Lardner After the diaspora of last weekend, we only had a couple of sightings of Tralee tourists this weekend, Emer doing her 10th different parkrun in the beautiful Corkagh Park in Clondalkin. It's just off the M50, and probably the easiest of Dublin's parkruns to get to from Kerry, but of course Emer would have flown directly by broomstick to nearby Baldonnel Aerodrome. (There's also a really nice campsite right next door so this is an ideal tourist destination.) Emer ran their 6th event with over 150 others. Even this photo doesn't do justice to one of Dublin's loveliest spaces and even though they're only up and running for the last six weeks, it's already proving very popular with tourists and we are told they are very friendly there - although they might not look too friendly in some of this week's photos! |
Father Collins parkrun
Bertie and Bairbre Hickey She's off again! This week she dragged her long-suffering husband to Father Collins parkrun in Dublin, while the rest of the KPOT (Kerry parkrun On Tour) gang went to Fairview (see below). (To be fair, the family connection that made them decide to go to Father Collins was Bertie's, not Bairbre's, but that doesn't make him any less-suffering!) The weather wasn't as nice as it is in the lovely photo from their Home Page, on a day when nearly half of Ireland's parkruns were cancelled due to the stormy couple Ophelia and Brian. There were still nearly 70 runners, Bairbre finishing 6th lady and Bertie volunteering this week. After their parkrun, Bairbre and Bertie joined the rest of the gang in DCU. |
Fairview parkrun, Dublin
KPOT (Kerry parkrunners on TOUR) This is one of the big weekends in the Irish parkrun calendar, with the fourth National parkrun Conference taking place in DCU. Fairview is a relatively new addition to Dublin's ever-increasing parkrun collection, and was selected by many of the parkrunners attending the conference who didn't want to miss their weekly 5k. Over a dozen from Kerry made up a sizeable proportion of the runners, and what a fantastic welcome we got from Event (and Run) Director Leonie Weekes and her team, and especially the marshals who stood in the cold and rain with smiles on their faces and cheered us around each of the three laps! The Tralee crowd were joined by Tim and Maggie from Listowel's core team. You can read all about the event here. |
Athlone parkrun
Maeve Higgins and the Twomey Sisters! Three of the four did their first parkrun in Tralee, the fourth has just joined the parkrun community! Máiréad is now a regular runner and volunteer at Nose Hill parkrun in Calgary, having been bitten by the bug here in Tralee. They got a great welcome from the Run Director! |
Ballincollig parkrun
Siobhan Kearney, Caroline & Ruth Lynch, Triona Daly There was more Tralee Apricot on show in Ballincollig, with our two Event Directors and a Run Director paying their first visit to Cork City's only parkrun! Ballincollig parkrun is a lovely two lap trail, and the team are doing a fantastic job coping with very big numbers until Cork gets another parkrun, or the suspended Tramore Valley (hopefully) opens again! |
Inverness parkrun
Bertie and Bairbre Hickey In Scotland for some climbing, there was no way Bairbre was going to miss her parkrun! So our favourite B&B were at Inverness this morning. For Bairbre, it was her 22nd different venue (and her second time parkrunning in Scotland). She is getting quite famous now, and so of course there was a piper waiting to welcome her! |
Oranmore parkrun
Pauline & John Walshe There's been a steady stream of Tralee visitors to Oranmore over the last few months, both 5k and junior parkruns. Hopefully we will have a reciprocal visit from the team up there soon! This week Oranmore was the nearest to the wedding venue for John and Pauline! John wasn't holding back... only seconds slower than his Tralee P.B. And there's a few tough hills in Oranmore, including an uphill finish! I wonder would he be able to repeat that time tomorrow morning? "We made Oranmore parkrun as planned. Lovely morning for it. We were made welcome by run director Padraig Garrihy. Tough bloody hill caught me second time round but glad we made the effort. Now off to see James become an honest man... as if!!" |
Athlone parkrun
Malachy Kelly There's just something about Malachy that the cameras like! No matter where he goes, a photo of him will pop up on Facebook! He was back close to home this weekend for another crack at Athlone parkrun. This was his fourth time running in Athlone, no PB this week so I suppose he'll be back again! |
Listowel
Tralee parkrunners on tour With half the field of 90 runners hailing from Tralee, this was by far the biggest contingent of Tralee parkrunners on tour. And no, we haven't really bought a big black bus, but the trips away to our neighbours are great fun and we always get a great welcome. You can read all about our trip in Siobhán's great report, and remember Listowel is only half an hour away and Tralee can manage without you once in a while if you'd like to experience their legendary hospitality and lovely course. |
We had more tourists at our parkrun this week, but not so many away from home!
Balbriggan junior parkrun The Lynch's (who else?!) I don't think any junior parkrunner has done all of Ireland's ten junior parkuns yet, but it won't be long now before one of these guys hits that target! But it's a moving target, of course, there's plenty more on the horizon! This week it was all into the car after the Saturday 5k to head up to Balbriggan, Co. Dublin (again) for a 2k run! There's dedication to the cause. Caroline and Colm were volunteering of course. "Great trip to Balbriggan juniors this morning. We were warmly welcomed by everyone, especially the lovely Andrea Wilson, Event Director & RD Lisa. Ruth was 2nd girl home & 10th overall. (Not sure yet if it was a PB!) We were assured that we will have visitors from Balbriggan juniors at Tralee juniors in the future!" (Oh and by the way, it WAS a PB for Ruth!) |
Oranmore parkrun
Bairbre Hickey - our most-travelled tourist! Of course she's not going to stop touring, but at least now Bairbre has achieved the first stage of super-touristdom! Bairbre becomes the first Tralee runner to join the Irish "Most Events List" with her trip to meet Maureen Devaney, Event Director of Oranmore parkrun. This is the third week in a row that Tralee has visited Oranmore! With a time of just over 26 minutes on a fairly hilly course Bairbre was 28th of 89 finishers (and second in her new Age Category!). |
Brueton parkrun, Solihull, UK
Pauline Walshe parkrun doesn't stop because there's a family wedding, of course, and certainly if any of the Walshe's are involved! Pauline was over for a wedding but found her nearest parkrun was in Brueton, where she was one of the record 586 runners today! She was welcomed by Run Director Pete Makepeace. The Brueton parkrun course looks a bit complicated, but Pauline didn't get lost - far from it, she completed her 5K in a time just seconds outside her Tralee best, and comfortably in the first third of the field! |
Letterkenny
Siobhan Kearney, Oisin, Liam and Ronan Murray Siobhan was back to her Donegal roots again with another trip to Letterkenny, where she ran with her sister Joanne, one of the core volunteer group. The boys were running welll too, with Oisin the fastest junior on the day! Siobhan's other sister Liz is the Event Director for Buncrana parkrun which will hold its first run on Saturday 9th September! Where would parkrun Ireland be without the Kearney family? This week Letterkenny had another celebrity visitor as well as Siobhan, with the local Bishop of Raphoe joining the flock (!) of 58 runners. I wonder will he make a habit of it? You can read more here. Siobhan and Joanne also met up with Margaret O'Donnell and Letterkenny parkrun legend Geraldine Rabbitte who recently did her 50th parkrun and has volunteered almost as often as she has run! |
Poolbeg (Saturday) and Albert College juniors (Sunday)
The Lynch's Well, the only consolation for this gang is that they have a free Sunday in September for Tralee junior parkrun! The Lynch family at least had one thing to smile about after their trip to Croke Park, as they had time to do Poolbeg's inaugural run, just under 100 were there for the latest of Ireland's parkruns. Like their counterparts in Tralee this morning, they wore their Kerry jerseys! And like any good Kerry team, they picked themselves up after the disappointment of Croke Park and joined Event Director Bronagh Taylor and Saoirse O'Connor for Sunday's Albert College junior parkrun. |
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Donabate (Saturday) and Balbriggan junior (Sunday)
The O'Shea's Another of the great Tralee parkrun dynasties paid a visit to a couple of Dublin's many parkruns for the weekend. Stella, Sean and Doireann all ran on Saturday. "Very flat course... Lovely people... And we even ran past a llama!" And Sunday was Kerry's best sporting result from the weekend, with Doireann O'Shea finishing first of all 64 runners at Balbriggan junior parkrun making her parents very proud of her! We look forward to seeing them all back in Tralee next weekend when Stella will be hitting a parkrun milestone that will make US very proud of HER! |
Oranmore parkrun
Tony & Maeve Higgins Oranmore is certainly one of Ireland's most picturesque parkruns, held in Renville Park just outside Oranmore town on the southern shores of Galway Bay. It's well worth a visit if you're in the West of Ireland and you can read Tony's report on today's parkrun here. |
Vicarstown juniors parkrun
Kevin and Aaron Horgan, Anna Lynch The team in Vicarstown are getting to know the Lynch's, they were back again this week. As Caroline has pointed out, it's an ideal stop-off on the way to Dublin for any reason, not just an All-Ireland Semi-Final. The junior parkrun starts there at 11:00 am, so it doesn't mean too early a start. (The Saturday run starts at the usual 9:30 time, but it's well worth a stop off too!) This week, Aaron was the star of the show with a fantastic run pushing Oisin Jago all the way - Oisin has been their first finisher every week so far! Not only that, but Aaron currently tops the age-grade league for Vicarstown with a score of over 75%! Kevin was close on his heels too. With well over 100 runs between them, the three Tralee visitors had done nearly as many parkruns as the rest of the 49 runers! Anna remains on course to be one of the first "ultra-marathon" parkrunners in Tralee. |
Valentine's parkrun
Mark Walshe In London for a Chelsea match (some people have no sense!), Mark couldn't miss his weekly parkrun, so he took his nephew to Valentine's parkrun (not the first Tralee visitors there). Mark had a good run, finishing 16th of the 200+ runners in a time of 21:27, and his nephew Sean was hot on his heels on his parkrun debut with a time of just over 22 minutes, also in the top-20 finishers! Hopefully he'll be bitten by the bug and be back soon! |
Bere Island
Garry Moriarty's 100th! OK, he's officially a Bere Island parkrunner, but he's done twice as many with us, so we can't let this momentous occasion pass without comment. Garry reached his 100 parkrun milestone this weekend and was suitably celebrated as Bere Island had their second biggest ever entry of 168! You would do well to read Natalie's great report on their Facebook page. OK Bere Island! We want our Moriartys back. You've got two weeks. If they're not back by then, we're coming to get them. |
Stevenage junior parkrun
Caitriona Doyle-O'Brien Junior parkruns have been on the go for a long time in the UK, and there are over 150 to choose from. Caroline Doyle found this relatively new one in Stevenage (just their 11th this week) where the "tail-runner" actually has a tail! Any volunteers to wear a costume like this in Tralee? "Stevenage has a weekly Tiger as tail runner that keeps all moving! Apparently small kids use to think he might eat them! See you next week!" Caitriona did her 14th junior parkrun while Bríd was spectator this week. |
Marlay parkrun
Bairbre & Bertie Hickey, John Mulvihill So where was she this week? A trip to the biggest of Ireland's parkruns, Marlay Park - with attendances down all around the country for the Bank Holiday weekend, Marlay's numbers were a bit down from their usual 4-500 (with a lot of new parkruns nearby they might never regain their huge numbers), and Bairbre, John & Bertie got a great welcome today. Bairbre's quest is getting famous! And you're never far from a fellow Tralee parkrunner, John Mulvihill was there too, he does Marlay once a year and was very close to his best time this week! While John was there for the run, it seems Bertie was just there for the cake... (and reported the hospitality was fantastic!) |
Listowel parkrun
Jason Gavin Sometimes he sneaks away to one of our neighbours and thinks we won't notice. But of course we do! It's just not the same in Tralee without Jason, no wonder he tries to hide from the camera in case we spot him! At least he usually drives back to Tralee to join us for coffee in The Brandon! |
Rush junior parkrun
Aaron & Kevin Horgan (and Moira!) Numbers were down in Tralee this morning, the weather kept some away and a lot more were doing the 5k and 10k runs in aid of St. Brendan;s Athletic Club, but some of the St. Brendan's faithful were farther afield! Aaron and Kevin went to Rush for the junior parkrun - Aaron's time this morning was not only the fastest today, but the fastest recorded in his age group in Rush juniors which has been going since December 2015. Kevin did pretty well too, finishing fourth of the 68 runners. |
Castle Demesne (Macroom)
Bairbre Hickey For the second week in a row there was a Tralee visitor in Macroom. Wandering Bairbre ticked off the last of the "local" parkruns, her quest gets more difficult from now on! And for the seond week in a row, our traveller reported back about the FANTASTIC welcome in Macroom. Now we'd like to think it's just because Bairbre is so special (which of course she is), but in truth it's because Vincent and his team are so welcoming and enthusiastic that everyone enjoys a trip! Check it out, it's only an hour away. Scroll down to see what all our other visitors to Macroom had to say. |
Lough Key parkrun and Longford junior parkrun
The Lynch Family (will they ever come home!) Well, if Bairbre is our chief wanderer, the Lynch's will surely take the family title. And because some of them are a bit younger than Bairbre, they can do two in one weekend! Lough Key parkrun is set on the shore of the beautiful lake, worth a visit even if you're not parkrunning (what's that all about, of course you'll be parkrunning!) And they know how to make their visitors feel welcome too. Deirdre Parnell made such a fuss of the Lynch's they are thinking of defecting (joke!) They even made the local paper - check out this week's Roscommon Herald! I wonder where their allegiance will lie in a couple of weeks when Roscommon meet Kerry in Croke Park (wishful thinking on my part, c'mon the Rossies!) I suppose the jerseys give the game away. And the following day was a chance to check out the nearby junior parkrun. Longford parkrun (5k) has been a huge success story under the stewardship of Kevin Kane, and it looks very much like the junior partner will be equally popular! |
Lough Key parkrun and Longford junior parkrun
The Higgins's (and the O'Riordan's) (Garry doesn't count as a tourist down there, he's really one of them!) Of the 15 members of the extended Higgins family, about half are proper Tralee parkrunnes on tour, as they are registered with us! All but one were running, one was injured and volunteered! We've said it before, and we'll say it again, if you haven't done Bere Island parkrun, you haven't lived! It's just about doable as a day trip, but for the real experience check in to Lawrence Cove B&B where Edel will look after you, enjoy the amazing parkrun (free!), and head back to the Bakehouse with everyone else for delicious scones and Full Irish Breakfasts (that's Edel again!) |
Castle Demesne (Macroom)
The Lynch Family While we entertained a couple of Macroom's regulars, a few of our more-than-regulars visited Castle Demesne for the first time. Caroline had this to say: "Macroom parkrun ticked ✅ Tough but we got a lovely welcome from RD Vincent Cronin. A real community event & definitely one to recommend." Anyone who has made the trip to this lovely parkrun will vouch for the very special welcome from their Run Director and core team. |
Bere Island parkrun
Mags Hussey and Christina Curtin It seems like hardly a week goes by without a visit to Bere Island by some of our runners. And so it should be - just have a read of their latest Run Report to see why it's a "bucket list parkrun". Everyone gets a great welcome there, and they have lots of tourists every week, but we like to think that Dominic (their perennial Run Director) saves an extra special Céad Míle Fáilte for tourists when he learns they come from Tralee! And there will be more Tralee tourists there next week too... watch this space! |
Edinburgh parkrun
Daniel Pierse Scotland's parkruns start at 9:30, just like ours (in England and Wales they're up half an hour early - it's caught many a tourist from Ireland to the UK when they've turned up an hour late!) The story goes that the late start was because in Glasgow, where Scotland's first parkrun was started, the local cafe only opened at 10 AM and so the early finishers had nowhere for their bacon buttie! Anyway, their huge numbers were swelled by Daniel's first parkrun abroad (Ballincollig doesn't count, you don't need a passport to go to Cork - yet!), he was just one of over 500 runners, a big change from Tralee. "I ventured over to Edinburgh last Saturday 22nd July! A wonderful atmosphere and a lovely flat course! I didn't break any PB, but rather I took in the course and chatted with runners I was pacing. The weather was mild and rain engulfed much of the run! This parkrun was my 1st international and 20th overall park run to date! I managed a time of 27:26. I'll be back on Saturday 29th for my 21st parkrun in Tralee!" |
Bushy Park Dublin
Sharon Condon, Ian, Deirdre and Erin Moss, Emer Lycnh Back from International Duty (Footballers' Wives style!), Sharon was in Bushy Park Dublin this weekend and met up with a whole gang of Tralee parkrunners! With nearby Marlay Park out of commission for the Longitude Festival, Bushy had near record numbers - double their usual and just five short of the inaugural run! Sharon was in flying form, taking two minutes off her Tralee PB with a time just over 27 minutes. The others were all running at a more leisurely pace this week (can we blame Longitude for that?) |
Gorleston Cliffs parkrun and Gorleston junior parkrun, UK
Siobhan Kearney and the rest of the Murrays. It was a case of back to their roots for the younger Murray boys, Oisin and Liam were born in Gorleston and they all took on the intriguingly-described course on a visit to friends there: Siobhan received a great welcome from the Run Director and Volunteer team, as befits travelling parkrun royalty. Kevin was flying along the top of the cliffs, hitting 20:00 exactly! Siobhan is almost as well-travelled as Bairbre, just one behind on 16, but she too has promised to return next week so we remember what she looks like. We miss her smile just as much as Bairbre's! |
Letterkenny parkrun
Siobhán Kearney, Oisin and Liam Murray OK, that's enough now. We want our Siobhán back and will pay any ransom demanded for her safe return. Two whole weeks without her, even Bertie can't take it and more and left this week as well. We wouldn't mind if she just went up for a quick tourist parkrun, but she's even joining their volunteer team! And they look like they're having so much fun! And the most worrying sign is, she seem to be scouting out other possible parkrun venues up there... they look so lovely! But at least she did send us the obligatory "Siobhán Selfie" - this week's one is captioned: "How to embarrass teenagers at parkrun!" |
Daniel had a Listowel PListowel parkrun Tim & Alice O'Connell, Daniel & Catherine Burke, Clodagh & Mary Donnelly, Garry O'Sullivan. And as if it wasn't bad enough having no Kearneys or Murrays at our parkrun this weekend, we had to try and manage without the O'Connells, the Burkes and the Donnellys and Garry O'Sullivan too! No wonder we were all gloomy in Tralee. That's well over 400 parkruns between them. Alice and Daniel both got Listowel-PBs today. We know Listowel is lovely lads, but ye'd better be back in Tralee in two week's time (especially Clodagh and Alice who will be hitting a couple of major milestones!) Daniel and Alice both had Listowel PB's today, although neither bettered their Tralee time... yet! |
Austria parkrun? (There's no parkruns in Austria!)
Sharon Condon and Alan Mulgrew Well, Sharon definitely deserves an honourable mention this week. The lack of any parkruns in Austria didn't deter her from wearing her Tralee parkrun shirt and enjoying her customary Saturday morning 5k run! Alan is representing Ireland in the Medical World Cup Soccer tournament! (He's not Tralee parkrun's first international athlete, of course, remember Stephen Byrne's trip to the European Transplant Games last year!) |
Tullow parkrun
Bairbre Hickey Bairbre's wanderings took her to Tullow parkrun this week, where she met Padraig Sweeney, a Griffeen parkrunner who was timekeeper in Tullow this week, Padraig joined us in Tralee last summer (you can read about the Sweeney Joggers here!) and might well be back sometime. Bairbre was the eighth finisher and third lady home! |
Limerick parkrun
Sharon Cahill & Siobhán Kearney Sharon continues to break records all over the place, this week breaking her own age-grade record for the lovely parkrun in the University of Limerick grounds. Highbury fields parkrunSharon was, as usual, first lady home but also in the top three finishers overall. Siobhan Kearney, Queen of the Selfie, was also enjoying a day away from the stress of running Tralee parkrun, and was the fourth lady home today! They got a great welcome from today's Run Director, Carmela Doyle, who just loves to see tourists at their parkrun. |
Athlone parkrun
Malachy Kelly & Triona Daly Triona is our Run Director in Tralee next week, but this week she joined Malachy for Athlone's second anniversary parkrun. "We were tourists at Athlone parkrun this morning... they had cake for their 2nd birthday... it would have been rude not to help them eat it 😂 Now it's time for the traditional post parkrun pancakes..." — Malachy |
Highbury Fields parkrun
Mary Ross & Pa Daly Well, it was almost a perfect parkrun in Tralee today, but if there was one thing not quite right as well as the obvious shortage of Daly's, it was a distinct lack of poetry. And here's why. Our other resident poet Pa Daly was doing his 50th parkrun away from the madding crowd! Don't worry Pa, we know what you're at and we will get you next week! From Mary: "Highbury Fields parkrun this morning. Can you tell if this was before or after the run? (Hint: how red is my face?!)" They were having a celebration in Highbury Fields today to mark their 300th event. |
Clonmel
Micheal & Geraldine Reidy Clonmel is one of the recent additions to the parkrun stable. Stallion Micheal and Mare Geraldine Reidy trotted over for the seventh instalment of their 25-furlong run. (You'll have guessed by now that Clonmel parkrun takes place on the racecourse!) "It's a tough run, I hope you'll enjoy it", says Micheal, "it's one long hill!" But the volunteer team are welcoming and enthusiastic, so that makes up for the pain of the hills! |
Killarney
Alice & Mary O'Connell Spotted in the sunshine in Muckross this morning were Tralee regulars Mary and Alice O'Connell. Despite the competition of the Ring of Kerry Cycle and the traffic restrictions, there was a good turnout and lots of tourists as usual. (Photos from Killarney parkrun's Facebook page) |
Ballincollig parkrun
Bairbre Hickey Bairbre continued her Odyssey with a visit to Ballincollig parkrun, she's now up to 14! She met Suzi Quirke, the energetic and enthusiastic Run Director who gave her a warm welcome. Ballincollig is a lovely two lap course in Ballincollig Regional park and well worth a visit. As the closest parkrun to Cork City the numbers are big, averaging over 250and not likely to fall until another parkrun caters for the ever-increasing demand in the city. Bairbre didn't have the courage to reprise her flowerpot costume from last week, and this week she is modelling her more usual tourist apricot outfit! |
Castle Demesne parkrun, Macroom
James Stack, Maeve & Tony Higgins You'll often meet a fellow tourist when you're out and about doing a parkrun, and for a second time James and Tony found themselves doing the same parkrun. Castle Demesne was the third parkrun in Ireland, and they recently celebrated four years in existence! There were more celebrations this week with one runner doing her 100th and another UK tourist doing her 200th! Read all about it here - this week's run report was written by one of the Tralee tourists! |
Spain - no parkrun!
John and Ann Conway "There's no place like home" Soon to be our first senior "100 Club" member, John Conway was missing his parkrun this weekend (and last Saturday too - allowing another junior runner to catch up for a double century celebration this weekend!) This is what he said: "Having withdrawal symptoms this Saturday as it is the second one without a parkrun. Ran 5km at 8.oo Irish time this morning with Andrew and Julie, not the same as parkrun. This is the view from our balcony as the parkrun proceeded. Regards John & Ann" But I think this is what he meant: "If only I had Pat to throw up a few cones on the beach, Bridget to Direct me, Michael to Marshal me, Kevin to Tail-run me, Mohamed and Dorothy to Timekeep me, Stephanie and Deirdre to Finish Token me, Jaison and Dara to Scan me, Ian to Communicate with me Denis to sort my token, Siobhan to process my result, we could have a lovely parkrun here in Spain!" Well John, your dreams will come true as all of those are lined up for your big run this week! |
Marlay parkrun
Emer Lynch and Andy Ryan Emer and Andy are new recruits to our parkrun (along with Emer's mother Ellen), but already they have been bitten by the bug! They were in Dublin this weekend and went along to Ireland's busiest parkrun, where they joined almost 450 others in the lovely Marlay Park. The big crowd didn't slow them down, however, and Emer continued her progress with her first sub-33 minute run! They loved Marlay, as everyone does, but I am reliably informed that they love Tralee even more! |
Burnage parkrun (Manchester)
Dawn and Michael O'Brien "Hi all. We are in Manchester for a few days to catch the last football game of the season, and we did the Burnage parkrun this morning, very nice route and friendly runners . There was a junior football tournament on at the same time behind the run route so it was quite busy! The weather was fab, just like our home parkrun. See you next weekend." (Hopefully they weren't grabbing Budweisers at 10 AM as the picture suggests...) |
Vandeleur parkrun
Siobhán Kearney (ringleader), Emer Lardner and Caroline Lynch At the end of last year we had three reports from Vandeleur, all highly complimentary, and so a trio set off across the ferry early on Saturday morning to do this lovely parkrun, a lovely single-lap course in Vandeleur Walled Garden just outside the town of Kilrush. The route is a little complicated, so they have a lead bike to keep everyone on track! They claim to have all been top-10 finishers, but a compuyter glitch means that the results weren't officially recorded, so I suppose you can choose to believe them or not, as you like. (For the only official Top-10 finisher among this week's tourists, see below!) All three runners loved the course, enthused about the welcome, and of course the coffee was delicious! • Update 23/05/17 • Alas, the computer glitch was corrected and the records updated, so I must congratulate the trio on their great running and relinquish my record as the only Top-10-tourist of the week! |
Clonakilty parkrun
Tony Higgins Well, you can't help but be impressed by a Top-10 Finish*. Especially when it's from someone who usually struggles to get a Top-100 FInish! But this week it happened, and here's the proof. Undeniable, in black-and-white. Unlike the Vandeleurians above. Clonakilty parkrun dates back to 2014 when Ireland was just getting used to the idea, and a huge amount of work was done to make the Showgrounds in Clonakilty suitable for parkrun and athletics training. It was great to meet Brian O'Donnell, Event Director, with his kids Alahna and Ryan, and Tim O'Donovan who were the team of volunteers on a day when the nearby Rosscarbery Surf Turf 'n Tar Half-Marathon and 10K enticed away lots of their regular runners and volunteers. * For an explanation of how the incredible Top-10 Finish was achieved, see below! |
Listowel
Several Tralee regulars (some now defected!) spotted in this week's photos taken by Maggie Large. You can read Tim's great report here. |
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Newcastle West parkrun
The Travelling Lynch's Well, they weren't the first Tralee parkrunners to run in the lovely Newcastle Demesne (just scroll down to see a few more), but I think Jane Lynch is probably the first Tralee parkrunner to volunteer there! She had the responsibility of being their sole timekeeper this weekend, while the rest of the family ran! Well done Jane, good preparation for your debut as Co-Run Director at the junior parkrun tomorrow! Newcastle West is only up the road, and well worth a trip for people wanting to broaden their parkrun horizons beyond Tralee (why would you want to leave Tralee, I know, but maybe just for a change). All of our runners who have gone come home with glowing reports, and there's always a great welcome for new faces there! |
Castlerea parkrun
Addison, Cameron and Ethan Quirke - more "voluntourists" Wasn't it lovely to see this nice post on the Castlerea parkrun Facebook page, three of Tralee junior parkrun's regulars volunteering as marshals and high-fivers at Castlerea parkrun! Well done to all the junior Quirke's and we are very proud of you here in Tralee. There's a strong link between Tralee and Castlerea parkruns, with our February parkrunner of the month Dara Quirke's sister being the Event Director up there! |
Listowel parkrun (again)
Jennifer and Danielle Shanahan and Jason Gavin And there's still plenty of us who haven't yet made the short hop to sample the delightful Listowel parkrun, this week it was the turn of Danielle and Jennifer Shanahan. We look forward to their return to Tralee of course, but I'm sure the temptation to return to Listowel will be very strong - they missed out on a sub-30 minute parkrun by just a couple of seconds so they will have to go back for a PB, and this time don't stop to smell the lovely flowers! Certainly not stopping to admire the scenery was another Tralee park runner, Jason Gavin was the third finisher this week, we were delighted that he rushed back too Tralee in time to join us for coffee in The Brandon - some of us had early finished our run by the time he got back! Listowel had a great turnout again this week, 126 runners! And you can read this week's Run Report here. |
Clarisford parkrun
Bairbre Hickey And of course the week's report wouldn't be complete without a mention of the exploits of our favourite tourist, Bairbre Hickey. She followed in Niamh Feely's footsteps (see last week) by doing her 5k in Killaloe, Co. Clare this morning. You can read their run report here. We have to say, they have a very snazzy sign! Bairbre will need a re-entry Visa if she ever decides to come back to us - eleven diffrent parkruns now in two countries! |
Clarisford parkrun
Niamh Feely Also on the move this week was Niamh Feely, who visited Clarisford parkrun in Killaloe, Co. Clare, a four-lap woodland course. There can't be too many corners of Munster left for the Tralee diaspora to explore at this stage. We don't have any hidden cameras in Clarisford (yet) so we just have the one selfie from Niamh before she set off into the woods! |
Gorey parkrun
Bairbre and Bertie Hickey Bairbre is becoming Tralee parkrun's most famous export with yet another away trip, this time to Gorey, they have been up and running there for nearly six months now. It's a five lap course in Gorey Park and Showgrounds. WIth a trip to Listowel on the cards for next weekend, Bairbre is well on her way to having ten different parkruns on her CV! Bertie has promised a return to home where, despite his long absence, he will be welcomed with open arms! Bertie knows well what is expected of the Trale parkrun tourist, he took the opportunity to do a bit of "parkrun espionage", getting us these photos of some of their clever ideas! Who knows, some of them might appear at a parkrun near you! |
But volunteering alone wasn't enough for Stella and Sean, of course, and with Doireann and Niamh they had done the lovely Ardgillan parkrun the day before! (Doireann was the fastest junior girl!) Here's what Stella had to say about their visit (take special note of the last paragraph!): "Hi... Just another addition to Tralee's parkrun tourist page....we also did the Ardgillian parkrun on Saturday....OMG THAT FINAL HILL! We got fantastic encouragement along the route from the runners and a rousing cheer as each of us crossed the line... Seany also did the run but isn't in the picture. All four kids were able to manage the Balbriggan Junior parkrun on Sunday as well.....a great way to spend early morning bank holiday mornings! We are all looking forward to being back at base next weekend...there's no place like home!" The Fieries O Sheas! |
Falcarragh parkrun, Donegal
Siobhan, Mary, Frances, Maeve, Majella and Bertie Another busy weekend of touring, with six Tralee parkrunners visiting the beautiful Falcarragh parkrun in Donegal. No less authority than Her Majesty, Queen Siobhán of Tralee parkrun herself reported: "Sounds like a great weekend but glad I stayed in Donegal. Falcarragh parkrun treated us like royalty and the trip to Tory was very special. Falcarragh parkrun is a proper jewel." The team in Falcarragh were equally kind in their words about our tourists: "Well done all you parkrunners and walkers who came out this morning. It was great to welcome our parkrun friends from Tralee and Letterkenny.We said a big Falcarragh welcome also to visitors from Belfast and Dublin via New Zealand .We hope you enjoyed your visit and will be back 👍" Well, from the reports from our gang, there's little doubt that we will be back sometime, but it's a long way to go for a parkrun! |
"We had a lovely morning at Ardgillan parkrun in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin this morning.
We got a really big warm welcome from Run Director, Andrea Wilson and Event Director, Paul Bissett. Our 3 girls volunteered, while Colm & myself tackled the hills around the beautiful castle & grounds. With idyllic views of Dublin Bay all around the course, and perfect weather conditions for our parkrun, we throughly enjoyed it, not to mention the banter of friendly rivalry between Dublin & Kerry!! Andrea Wilson is the Event Director, of the soon to be launched, Balbriggan junior parkrun and I enjoyed having big chats with her about all things positive from junior parkrun. I'm so delighted that Ireland is soon to have a 7th junior event in the parkrun family and I look forward to returning to this part of the world again to visit them in the future & I would highly recommend Ardgillan parkrun to all parkrunners to visit." - Caroline, Colm, Anna, Jane, Ruth & Ryan |
"On Easter Sunday we made St Anne's junior parkrun & met ED & RD Gillian Kenny & team.
We got another fabulously warm welcome. Volunteers were very festive in their Easter hats & all juniors got a little chocolate egg at the finish. We enjoyed comparing notes about junior parkruns & hopefully in the future we will welcome lots of St Anne's juniors to Tralee. I would recommend our Tralee juniors to pay St Anne's junior parkrun a visit if ever in the Dublin area, it's well worth a visit." - Caroline (The Mad Hatter) Lynch Balbriggan will be starting their junior parkrun on 23rd April 2017! |
One of several guests of honour at this week's inaugural Castlerea parkrun in Co. Roscommon was our February parkrunner of the month, Dara Quirke.
Indeed, in her sister Patricia's nomination of Dara for that very prestigious award (the quivalent of the Nobel Prize for parkrunners), you can read how Dara's enthusiasm for our parkrun started Patricia off on her quest to bring parkrun to Castlerea, and their first event was a huge success, with 93 runners and LOTS of Easter Eggs. Dara was back to Tralee on Sunday for our junior parkrun with glowing reports of the new venture, "almost as good as Tralee". (OK, I admit it, they're my words, not hers). Dara went on to write the Run Report for this very first run! |
This one might be stretching the Tralee connection a bit thinly, but since Máiréad Twomey discovered parkrun while she was visiting us in Tralee and is still officially a Tralee parkrunner, we'll give her a mention too on this record-breaking weekend. Máiréad lives in Calgary, Canada, and volunteers regularly at her local parkrun, Nose Hill parkrun. But she runs it sometimes too, and this week took a minute and a half off her PB, and was over ten minutes faster than her Tralee PB... until her next visit here in the near future! Máiréad has long ago earned her "25" volunteer T-shirt, but it will be a while before she gets to wear it, as you can see from the photos of their lovely parkrun - sometimes it's -30 degrees! |
Last, but of course not least, of this week's tourists was Tralee parkrun's First Family, with Siobhán, Kevin and Oisín all running Derry City parkrun. Does it still count as tourism when you've run there four times? It's a lovely waterfront course, check out these fantastic photos from their Facebook page (click to enlarge). PBs today for both Oisín and Kevin, Siobhán was enjoying the views and soaking up the atmosphere! And Kevin went on to do the Ballyliffin 10-miler later in the afternoon! Doesn't he know that parkrunners are only supposed to do 5k? He's making us normal parkrunners look bad! |
Poppintree parkrun, Dublin
April 1, 2017 Niamh Feely Lots of tourists this week. Avoiding a family trip to IKEA ws Niamh Feely who took the opportunity to run a nearby Poppintree parkrun, and run it well. Niamh has run at a good few different venues now, including a previous mention in these pages when she travelled to San Francisco, but this was her all-time parkrun PB! Her time of 28:26 is a full minute faster than her Tralee PB, so we can expect that to fall soon now that she is returning to her best. |
Ballincollig parkrun
April 1, 2017 Malachy Kelly Well, if he couldn't be bothered to bring his barcode, do we really care? Malachy claims to have gone to Ballincollig today, but was he really there, or is it (he) just an April Fool's joke? "For the day that's in it, missed the pre-run briefing and forgot my barcode!" |
Killarney parkrun
April 1, 2017 Bairbre Hickey In her quest to conquer all the parkruns in the world, Bairbre travelled all the way to Killarney this morning, where she joined 43 others in the beautiful setting of Killarney National Park near Muckross House. Next week, Bere Island... and after that, the world's her parkrun oyster! |
Bray junior parkrun
March 19, 2017 Ruth, Anna and Jane Lynch We all noticed there was just something missing at this morning's junior parkrun in Tralee - well, here's why! After volunteering yesterday at Kilkenny parkrun (scroll down to see more), the Lynch sisters went all the way to Bray just for a 2k junior parkun! "Tralee junior parkrunners Anna, Jane & Ruth being junior parkrun tourists at Bray junior parkrun this morning. We have 6 junior parkruns in Ireland, so if you're away & there's a junior parkrun near you...why not be a tourist & get your fix!" - Caroline |
Ballincollig parkrun
March 18, 2017 Garry & Claire Moriarty Reports are coming in thick and fast from the "parkrun diaspora" who were away from home this weekend. Garry and Claire Moriarty were in Ballincollig again and met up with another Tralee regular, Kerry Constant. As Garry said, they "went to Cork to find Kerry!" Garry's sub-21 minute time was a PB for him on the Ballincollig two-lap course, and was quick enough for him to be 16th of over 200 runners! |
Livonia parkrun, U.S.A.
March 18, 2017 Padraig O'Connor Enda Kenny wasn't the only Irish celebrity who travelled across the Atlantic for St. Patrick's Day, we got these great photos back from Padraig O'Connor who ran Livonia parkrun (the first to be established in the States) in conditions that could be described as "challenging" - Padraig's first experience of running in snow! Padraig's time of 23:26 was pretty impressive, considering the climate! The growth of parkrun in the U.S. has been slow, despite being in its fifth year Livonia attracts an average of less than 30 runners, they just haven't cottoned on to it... yet! |
Hagley parkrun
March 11, 2017 Liz and Jason LeMasurier Rise and Shine everyone it's parkrun day and it is shaping up to be a beautiful morning in Tralee. While our parkrun hasn't started yet some parkruns are already done and dusted for the day.. like Hagley parkrun in Christchurch New Zealand. Pictured here are parkrun tourists, my sister Liz Le Masurier and her husband Jason Le Masurier. Liz and Jason live in Donegal but as they are registered with Tralee parkrun we can claim them as ours.. for now. Happy parkrun day wherever you are and if you are in Tralee see you all soon! Yoga warm up is at 9.15am. |
Bexley parkrun
25th February, 2017 Tim & Alice O'Connell We knew there were fewer O'Connell's than usual in Tralee Town Park this morning - here's why! On a trip to London Tim and Alice visited one of the many London venues... "This morning Alice & Tim O'Connell had an earlier parkrun start. We ran the Danson parkrun in Bexley just outside London starting at 9 o'clock. The two lap course is set in the beautiful Danson park where the route goes around the lake then becomes a bit hilly , levels off & then climbs after Danson house returning to the start/finish straight via a woodland trail. A marshal at the finish point rings the bell for the last lap. They had 350 runners including 2 partially sighted runners running with their guides. We hadn't seen this before. The guides wore special hi-vis bibs with "Sighted guide" on the back. A really good idea. Met some really nice volunteers here & would recommend the run for any Tralee parkrun tourists". - Tim O'Connell Also on tour this morning were Geraldine and Michael Reidy, who visited Athlone parkrun... Unfortunately Michael reported that it was too wet to take the phone out for a selfie! Athlone's course is mainly on gradd, and can be mucky at the best of times, so today it must nave been pretty bad! |
Westport parkrun
Mohamed Eldahab & Tony Higgins 25th January 2017 Mohamed and Tony were back in Westport and took the opportunity to reprise their visit from April last year. Although there was very heavy rain overnight, it stopped just before 9 AM (they have the same weather fairies as Tralee!) and the run went ahead with just a bit of surface water on the course. We were welcomed back by Run Director Tia Crowley and her team, and because Tony was so slow last year he saw this as a chance to get an all-too-rare PB... still slow but two minutes ahead of last year's time! Westport's course is an out-and-back on a small section of the lovely Greenway, a gentle slope from the start down to the turn, it doesn't seem quite so gentle on the return, but the last 300 m are downhill which makes for an easy finish. |
Glengarriff parkrun
4th January 2017 We haven't had any parkrunners on tour for a while (well, no-one that wants to tell us about it), so we have to have a bit of "Fake News" this time. Well, the story is true, Bairbre Hickey and Mary O'Driscoll did go to Glengarriff (they were doing a recce for a walk the following week), it's just the photo that's false! It is Glengarriff, and it is Bairbre, but the photo of Bairbre was taken on a much sunnier day in Tralee! There was no photographer-in-residence to document the event, so a bit of Photoshop was called for (with Bairbre's permission of course!) They did of course get a great welcome from the team in Glengarriff, and were particularly taken by the coffee stop at the finish... In fact about 100m BEFORE the finish, and runners have actually been known to stop for sustenance before collecting their finish token! Mary and Bairbre had only good things to say about Glengarriff, well worth a trip and don't forget to stop at Lorge's chocolatier in Bonane on the way back! |