Cork City Marathon: Pawel Kosek and Aoife Cooke win the big prizes
Winner of the Cork City Marathon Pawel Kosek crossing the finish line. Picture: Darragh Kane
MORE than 10,000 people took to the streets on Sunday morning for the 2024 edition of the Cork City Marathon, with Aoife Cooke and Pawel Kosek claiming victories in the showpiece events in 2:56:33 and 2:23:54 respectively.
The women’s marathon saw Cooke, who grew up in Ballincollig and Youghal, run a patient race.
The 37-year-old passed 10km in third in 41:40, 35 seconds adrift of race leader Sarah Diamond.
But the Tokyo Olympian cranked up the pace from there, hitting halfway in 1:27:24, 58 seconds clear of Yuliya Tarasova.
Cooke’s lead only grew over the latter half as she hit 30km with an advantage of 2:24 and reached the finish over four minutes clear, with Tarasova second in 3:00:57 and Andrea Aza Villamor rounding out the podium with 3:05:15.
“My favourite mile was definitely that last mile, coming into the finish,” said Cooke who has a best of 2:28:36.
“I found the last two miles before that really tough but when you get on to Patrick Street, the crowd carries you in – you can’t help but feel ecstatic.”
In the men’s race, former champion Kosek was part of a group of five that hit halfway in just outside 1:11, with David Mansfield of Clonmel leading at that point alongside Chris Jeuken, Sean Doyle and Tudor Mircea.
Mansfield also led through 30km, with Kosek three seconds back and Mircea a further 11 seconds behind, but the Pole made his move soon after, hitting 40km with a 12-second lead and reaching the finish in 2:23:54.
Mansfield was runner-up in 2:24:33 while Mircea was third in 2:25:21.
Clonmel’s William Maunsell was first home in the half marathon, clocking 1:08:13 ahead of Ratoath’s Peter Somba (1:09:12), with Togher’s Gavin Sweeney third in 1:11:57.
Leevale’s Niamh Moore was a class apart in the women’s race, clocking 1:21:21 to win ahead of Caroline Lambert (1:22:05) and Sally Forristal (1:23:32).
The 10km saw Michal Wojcik take victory in the men’s race in 31:22 ahead of Paul Moloney of Mallow (32:10) and John Durcan of Togher (32:13).
Niamh O’Mahony of An Ríocht took the women’s title in 35:25 ahead of Leevale duo Sinéad O’Connor (36:16) and Claire McCarthy (37:06).
The event was a huge logistical operation, with 80,000 bottles of water and energy drinks consumed along with 15,000 bananas and 120,000 jellybeans.
There were 550 international participants travelling from 26 countries. Robin Foley flew in from Pensacola, Florida along with his son and daughter.
Foley is a Cork native who moved to the US in 1983 and was running the race to celebrate his 80th birthday. Marie Kehoe O’Sullivan from Kerry, meanwhile, celebrated her 60th birthday on the day and she was also celebrating five years of recovery from breast cancer.
Christopher O’Connor, aged 20, ran the marathon in honour of his father, James O’Connor, who died from altitude sickness while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on December 5 – both his and Christopher's birthday.
The O’Connor family also donated two cups which were presented to the first male and first female finishers in the 10km. Trevor Casserly from Galway was taking part in the third of seven marathons he’ll run across seven months to honour his late friend Cathal Hynes.
Race Director Eamon Hayes was thrilled with the event. “What a year,” he said. “We filled all our races, the fundraising far exceeded our targets and it was a success overall. I’d like to say a huge thanks to everyone who helped to make that happen – our organising team, pacers, volunteers and sponsors. And a special thanks to all the supporters who lined our route to cheer on our participants.”
1. Pawel Kosek 2:23:54 2. David Mansfield (Clonmel AC) 2:24:33 3. Tudor Mircea (Clonliffe Harriers AC) 2:25:21
1. Aoife Cooke (Eagle AC) 2:56:33 2. Yuliya Tarasova 3:00:57 3. Andrea Aza Villamor 3:05:15
1. William Maunsell (Clonmel AC) 1:08:13 2. Peter Somba (Ratoath AC) 1:09:12 3. Gavin Sweeney (Togher AC) 1:11:57
1. Niamh Moore (Leevale AC) 1:21:21 2. Caroline Lambert 1:22:05 3. Sally Forristal 1:23:32
1. Michal Wojcik 31:22 2. Paul Moloney (Mallow AC) 32:10 3. John Durcan (Togher AC) 32:13
1. Niamh O’Mahony (An Ríocht AC) 35:25 2. Sinéad O’Connor (Leevale AC) 36:16 3. Claire McCarthy (Leevale AC) 37:06
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