Sun smiles on Cork City Marathon as winner makes it two-in-a-row
Pawel Kosek crosses the line and wins the Cork City Marathon on a warm sunny bank holiday Sunday. Picture: David Creedon
Battling the heat and a strong field of competitors was "like a war" one contestant said after competing Cork City Marathon which was won for a second consecutive year by Pawel Kosek.
But despite the heat, Mr Kosek, who is a newlywed, beat last year’s time by 5 minutes at 2:23:54.
“It was really difficult for me this year,” he said in Polish, translated by his friend, Monika Gierit, immediately after the race.
“There were five very strong men. He was really worried.”Â
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Mr Kosek, who is from Tychy in Poland, has now competed five times in Cork City Marathon, coming fifth in 2018, fourth in 2019, second in 2022 and first in 2023 and 2024, Ms Gierit said.
“The organisation here is perfect, I would be very happy to be back next year,” he said.
Mr Kosek married his wife Vera just days ago on May 25 in Poland.
Vera travelled to Cork with Pawel and competed for the first time in a race in the 10k today.
David Mansfield, from Clonmel, who was recovering from a hip injury, came in second on 2:24:33.
“It’s a bonus to be standing and finishing and being competitive [after the injury],” he said.
“It was really tough. The guy that won just had that extra gear for the last few miles.”Â
But the crowd really encouraged him on, and despite being a Tipperary man he felt hugely supported by the Cork crowds, he said.
His sons Harry, 7, and Ollie, 5, and wife Eilish were at the finish line to greet him.
“It was like a war,” Tadar Mircia said after coming in third for a second year in a row at Cork City Marathon.
“It was absolutely cruel. It was a very strong field with a very strong pace. I ran four minutes faster than last year [at a time of 2:25:21].
“But Pavel [the winner] is a machine. The winners of first and second place run under 2.20 PBs.
“They are serious athletes, of a professional level.”Â
He hoisted his 10-month old son Avery onto the winning podium with him, holding a VIP pass in his tiny hands.
His wife Melanie who is his “best coach, my hero” was also there to support Mr Mircia, a dog groomer who is from Romania but now lives in Dublin.
Smiling, sweaty faces paced through the city streets in sports gear and blue Cork City Marathon tops on Sunday afternoon.
The city streets were zig-zagged by lanes of runners in colourful vests, bright bunting flags looped overhead between buildings.
Winners crossed the finish line flanked by screaming crowds and encouragement on a deafening PA system.
Some 10,000 people participated throughout the day in three events - the gruelling full marathon, the half marathon and a 10k race.
Ice baths and water bottles waited for hot, dehydrated runners at the finish line.
Aoife Cooke from Tower in Cork was the first woman to finish in Cork City Marathon with a time of 2:56:33.
“It’s amazing,” Ms Cooke said on finishing the race first.Â
“The atmosphere coming into the finish line is incredible.”Â
Although she also competed in the Tokyo Olympics she said that the “home crowd is incredible” in Cork and she would put Cork City Marathon up there with the best in the world.
“The last few miles were tough,” she said. “They’re quite hilly.”Â
The winner only decided to enter “at the last minute” after a friend “bullied” her into it, she said laughing.
Yulia Tarasova who fled the war in Ukraine with her children two years ago came in second place with a time of 3:00:57.
Yulia also won the Tralee and Limerick marathons, she said, along with a marathon in Ukraine in 2018 and in other eastern European countries.
“When the war started we needed to move. It wasn’t safe for my boys,” she said.
Windows in her apartment in Odessa were shattered and many buildings around her were destroyed by bombs.
“Every day there were attacks,” she said. "Every day there were drones.
“I was feeling really depressed for the first year and half, it takes time to get used to it.
“Now every day starts with checking the news to see what happened in Ukraine at night.
“A lot of my friends have died,” she said tearfully. “I just hope the war ends soon.”Â
Her husband remained behind in Ukraine. Sometimes it’s difficult to contact him, she said.
Becoming a refugee and suffering through war has been very difficult and it took time to adjust to their horrible new reality.
But she loves Tralee and the beautiful nature in the area which gives her solace, she said.
She works part-time in a hotel and her sons Yaroslav, now 6, and Dimitro, 10, have settled into school in Tralee, she said.
“I am so grateful for Ireland and the Irish people for the way they have helped us,” she said.
Andrea Aza Villamor was the third woman to cross the line on 3:05:15.
Andrea, who is from Spain but lives in Ballincollig in Cork, said that it was a long, hot race.
More than €100,000 has been raised for various local and national charities in association with the marathon. Some of those fundraising were the O’Brien family.
Dermot and Alison O’Brien lost their 19 month old son Killian to meningitis 30 years ago.
“It was his 30th anniversary in February so all the family started training for the marathon. We’d never trained before,” Dermot said.
Four family members entered the half marathon and five entered the 10k.
They have raised some €3,000 for Act for Meningitis on the page Run for Killian on iDonate.
“When it happened to is, there was no support,” Dermot said.Â
“So we wanted to raise a few bob to help others.”Â
Alison said: “Nothing was available 30 years ago in terms of counselling and support and there’s still very little. We wanted to help.”
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