The Eagle AC Cheetah Run Returns To Fota Wildlife Park.

Eagle AC together with Fota Wildlife Park and with the co-operation of the OPW, are delighted to announce the return of the Eagle AC Cheetah Run 5km race for 2022.
We are very grateful to our sponsors John Buckley Sports & Brooks for helping to make this possible.

During the Covid pandemic, last year’s Cheetah run was held as a virtual event. This was hugely successful. So many of you took to the roads and raised much needed funds for Fota Wildlife Park, who had to close their doors to the public during that time. As 100% of the funds raised through the virtual event were donated directly to FOTA we were delighted to raise total of €4,540. Thank you for your unbelievable support.

However, nothing will make us happier than seeing you all back in Fota Wildlife Park to run the 2022 Eagle AC Cheetah Run on the evening of May 19th.

Race Details.

Online entries will open on the 8th of April 2022.

There will be NO entries available on the night, indeed entries usually sell out well in advance of the night.
Options will be available either for number postage or number collection on the night.

There will be 2 events running on the evening of May 19th.
The juvenile 1-mile race is open to 11-15 year olds. Prizes are not awarded in this race, but medals will be presented to all participants. Start time for this race is 7:15pm

The 5k race is open to everyone aged 16 years & older (as per Athletics Ireland permit recommendations). Start time for this race is 8pm. In this event there will be prizes for the first 5 men and women as well as the usual age categories prizes.

The entry fee for the 5k event will be €15 (+ processing fee), entry fee for the 1-mile junior race will be €8 (+ processing fee) places for the 1-mile race are limited to 100. Each runner can bring a maximum of four visitors along with them free of charge to watch the race. Access will be controlled on the night and gates open at 6:30pm

Both the 5K & 1 Mile course are accurately measured by John Quigley AIMS/IAAF Grade ‘A’ Measurer. This event is run under an Athletics Ireland permit.

Both events will be chip timed, and we are happy to once again be working with myrunresults.ie as our chip timing company.

This is always a hugely popular event that sells out quickly, save the date & be ready to click your entry into one of the most unique races in Cork!

Important reminders.

A few important reminders, for your safety & the safety of the animals in the park.

• No children’s bikes or scooters are permitted in the park
• Participants cannot run with buggies or strollers
• No pets are permitted
• No drones or balloons permitted in the park
• No race flyers to be circulated during the race or placed on cars in the carpark.
• No headphones/ air pods etc are permitted, please listen to the stewards.
• Number transfers are not permitted.

Save the date: Entry Link goes live on April 8th, 2022, at 10am!

Entry Link: https://www.myrunresults.com/events/fota_cheetah_run_2022/4368/details

In Partnership with:

Fota Wildlife Park has been listed as one of Ireland’s Top Ten visitor attractions (CSO 2010) and is the most popular tourist destination in Cork. Hundreds of thousands visit the park every year. Fota is a non-profit organisation and is also a registered charity. It is completely self-financing, relying entirely on gate receipts and membership fees for its income, and any financial surpluses generated are reinvested in order improve infrastructure and promote the company’s core objectives of conservation, education, and research. Their website is http://www.fotawildlife.ie/

The club would also like to acknowledge the continuing sponsorship of John Buckley Sports for this year’s race. John Buckley has been a great supporter of road races and athletics in the Cork region over the years and is one of the main shops in Cork for running gear.
Their website can be found at http://johnbuckleysports.com/

The club welcome the continued support of Brooks Running as a sponsor. Brooks Running are one of the major brands for running gear worldwide and have a wide selection of running shoes and apparel for men and women.
Their website for the UK and Ireland is http://brooksrunning.co.uk/

European Masters Indoors Championships, Braga, Portugal 20th-27th February 2022.

Report by Ken Higgs.

Last week I spent several days competing in the European Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Braga , northern Portugal. I went out there with a mix of excitement and trepidation, as this was my first time on the European stage and a huge step up (well out of my comfort zone). Thankfully, I was in the company of clubmate Hugh McSweeney who had been and done it before. All week, Hugh was great company, quietly composed but with a steely determination. His calmness and focus (not to mention his dry sense of humour) kept me on track.

National Record, Sliver & Gold Medals.

Despite a major disruption to his training (Hugh had Covid in January), he had an incredibly successful week. A silver medal in the M75 400m, 4th place in the 200m with a Irish national record and then the icing on the cake.. a gold medal in the M70+ 4 x 200m relay. It was great to see the very high regard the other Irish team athletes have for Hugh. There is no stopping him now and I suspect he has his eye on the World Masters indoor championships in Canada next year!

Pipped to the post by a Football Legend.

An interesting side story to Hugh’s 400m final is that he was pipped to the gold medal by a Romero, apparently a Spanish football legend who played for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the 60’s and 70’s.

A Wonderful Experience.

From a personal point of view I was truly delighted to make the M70 400m final, where I came 5th with a PB. I am so glad I went to Braga to test myself and to learn more about what is needed to compete at this level. It was a real blast. Finally, I believe there are many runners in the club who could have success at both national and International masters track events. So I say …just give it a go!

EXTRACTS FROM THE IRISH MASTERS ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION BRAGA 2022 REPORT

The Irish Masters Team Ireland returned from the European Masters Track & Field Championships in Braga 2022 with a massive total of 59 medals. Ireland finished 7th overall in the medals table out of the 43 participating countries
It is very hard to single out any Individual performances without acknowledging the triple Gold won by Anne Gilshinan over 800, 1500 and 300ms. Double Gold for Denise Toner, 3000m and 1500m plus Annette Quaid (Leevale AC) 400m & 800m. Double Gold also for Sean McMullin over 5km Road Race Walk and 3000m RW. Perennial winner, Joe Gough overturned the tables on 800m winner Paul Forbes when capturing the 1500m title. What made this all the more remarkable is that Joe is just a few months shy of his 70th birthday and Paul had broken Joes 1500m WR just a few weeks beforehand.
A special mention to the 2 oldest team members, Michael Kiely (Rising Sun AC) & Hugh Mc Sweeney (Eagle AC), both 77 returning to the European arena, having last competed in Budapest in the early 90s. Each medalled individually and then dropped down to the M70’s 4 x 200m relay to capture Gold in a very competitive race holding off the Portuguese team by 0.5 of a second. Indeed of the 7 relay Teams, 4 captured gold, 1 silver & 1 bronze, which was a testament to all those who put in the hard work and squad training prior to travelling out to Braga.

Finally in relation to Braga, we would like to acknowledge the generosity of all the athletes from Team Ireland who made a special collection and presented over €2000 plus additional gear & clothing to their Ukrainian compatriots who are still currently stuck out in Portugal, as they are unable to return home due to the Russian invasion. In a very emotional and poignant presentation, the athletes from Ukraine expressed their gratitude to those still present. We can only hope and pray that they can return safely to their families as quickly as possible.