CORK CITY MARATHON:A KENYAN athlete was first over the finish line at the Cork City Marathon yesterday following on from his impressive first-place finishes at recent events in Buncrana and Laois.
A course record was set by Freddie Keron, who completed the race in 2:22:11, beating the existing record by more than three minutes. Second place went to Moldovan native Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers, who had won the race for the previous two years.
Angela McCann of Clonmel AC was the first female over the finish line for the second year in a row with a time of 2:53:03. The first relay team to complete the race was West Waterford AC in a time of 2:21:30.
Keron said he was pleased to have broken the course record as he was “still tired” from having competed in the recent Belfast marathon.
“I am thrilled. The weather was good. It was my first time [in Cork]. It was a very nice course.”
The race got under way at 9am with Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley joking that he had sought divine intervention to guarantee the favourable weather conditions. The route wound around the city from north to south, east to west to include Blackpool, the Jack Lynch Tunnel, Blackrock, Bishopstown and the Lough before looping back to the finish line on St Patrick’s Street.
Bishop Buckley paid tribute to the participants, who were running on behalf of some 170 charities in the city and county.
“Society needs people like them who are dedicated to helping others. They are doing it with great unselfishness and without accolades, and I hope they have a most enjoyable trip around our beautiful city this morning.”
Up to €3 million was raised by the 8,000 participants, who were cheered on by thousands lining the route.