She won’t be there today. While her husband Rob powers it out this morning around the southern Slovakian spa town of Dudince in a time that should qualify him for next year’s Rio Olympics, Marian Heffernan will be at home in Douglas with the kids and expecting another one.

Ireland’s world champion walker credits his success to hard work and the support of his wife and family, says Jonathan deBurca Butler.

As the runners taking part in the Cork City Marathon begin to cross the finish line, here’s a selection of images and videos from the day’s events.

I don’t think people can function without goals. I certainly couldn’t.

Retirement. Or, as Brian O’Driscoll described it earlier this month, the afterlife.

Ireland’s World Champion walker Rob Heffernan had another reason to celebrate yesterday when his wife, Marian, gave birth to a baby girl.

The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport confirmed €2 million of the monies cut from the sports budget earlier this year has been returned to the sector for use at grass roots and elite levels.

Utterly dedicated to one another and to the pursuit of each other’s athletic goals, Rob and Marian Heffernan have long been described as “Team Heffernan”.

Derval O’Rourke is the standout name of the athletes pre-selected for the European first league team championships at the end of the month.

An impressive double by 18-year-old Clonmel athlete Sean Tobin was the highlight of the 13th annual Leevale T&F meeting which took place at the Cork IT track in dry but windy conditions on Saturday.

Ciara Everard turned mishap into magic at the Athlone Institute of Technology indoor arena yesterday as she sped to a new national indoor 800m record of 2:02.54 and a European Indoor qualifying time (2:03.5) in a incredible weekend for Irish athletics.

THIS will be Marian Heffernan’s first Christmas at home in three years — and she intends to make the most of it.

RTÉ star Ryan Tubridy last night joined forces with Olympic, GAA, and rugby stars as part of a charity drive to honour motorbike champion Sean Hurley.

A 32-year-old IT worker won her second consecutive Evening Echo Women’s Mini Marathon in Cork yesterday, just one week after she added the Killarney Mini Marathon to her belt.

The Lord Mayor of Cork has announced a major review of the city’s sporting facilities to see what can be done to help the next generation of Irish Olympic athletes.

After all that controversy, all those appeals, all that furore, Ireland’s 4x400m were well off the pace in their heat yesterday.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will be the star attraction for Cork in tonight’s 61st annual Cork City Sports with the Macroom native a strong contender in the iconic mile distance, writes Conor George of the Evening Echo.

Ciarán Ó Lionáird will turn to his home track and the support of the home crowd at the CIT Stadium in Bishopstown this evening (6.30pm) to launch the final phase of his Olympic build-up in the featured Cork City Sports Cork Airport Mile.

With several Olympians expected to take to the track, the women’s 400m race is shaping up to be the main attraction at the 61st Cork City International Sports at Cork Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening.

Joanne Cuddihy cast aside the pain of the elimination of younger sister Catriona’s from the women’s Olympic 4x400m squad to win the Athlete of the Meet award at the Woodies DIY national track and field championships at Morton Stadium yesterday.

Jason Smyth’s attempts to become the first individual athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic games came to an end in Santry Stadium today, but it was the extent of a possible injury to Derval O'Rourke that occupied Team Ireland's minds.

The Woodie’s DIY National Championships take place at the Morton Stadium, Santry this weekend.

Ireland’s 4x400m relay women were officially confirmed as London 2012 Olympians by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday.

Ireland's representation at the Olympic Games will now be 63 after the Irish women's 4x400m relay team were named among the 16 competing at London 2012.

It was pain in the rain for Ireland on the penultimate night of the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki - both 4x400m relay squads were disqualified, while eighth place was the best return from the four Irish finalists.

The Irish women’s 4x400m relay team got a timely boost on the eve of the European championships when they dominated the women’s 400m in Nivelles, Belgium, at the weekend.

Cork City Sports chairman Tony O’Connell yesterday described the entry list for next month’s event as “shaping up to be the best” in the event’s history.

The Woodies DIY Irish indoor championships will be a vital element of Derval O’Rourke’s build-up to next month’s world indoors according to her coach, Seán Cahill.

REGARDLESS of the outcome of today’s 1,500m final at the World Championships in Daegu, Ciarán Ó Lionaird’s coach is convinced the 23 year-old Cork man has huge medal potential.

Derval O’Rourke cruised through the heats of the 100 metres hurdles at the World Championships in Daegu today.

JOANNE CUDDIHY was in distinguished company at the world championships in Daegu yesterday when she false-started in her semi-final of the women’s 400m less than an hour before reigning Olympic and world champion, Usain Bolt, made a similar exit from the men’s 100m final.

IRISH race walker Robert Heffernan (Togher A.C) was yesterday on a flight home from the World Championships in Dageu following the sudden death of his mother, Maureen, at her Cork home.

PAUL HESSION returned to the scene of his fastest run to claim his place in the 200m at next year’s Olympic Games in London.

OLIVE LOUGHNANE expressed satisfaction with preparations for the World Championships in South Korea after covering the 3,000m walk in 12:52.85 — 15 seconds faster than last year.

Francisco ‘Paco’ Javier Fernandez, a multi-medallist at Olympic, World and European level, led home the field in the 3km walk at today's Cork City Sports meeting.

JUST when Irish spirits needed a lift at the European championships in Paris yesterday, young Darren McBrearty stepped up with one of the most courageous performances of the afternoon to claim his place in today’s semi-finals of the men’s 800m.

Ireland's 400 metres hopefuls, Brian Gregan and Marian Heffernan, both had disappointing runs on the opening day of action in the European Indoor Championships.

IN anticipation of a long day at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, where the European athletics championships get under way this morning, a room has been booked for Derval O’Rourke at a nearby hotel.

MARIAN HEFFERNAN has been added to the Irish team for next week’s European indoor championships in Paris.

Mary Cullen broke away from the field in the final 400 metres to win gold in the 1500 metres final at the Woodie's DIY Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast.