O'Donoghue and Lee claim top honours at Cork City Marathon

Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) Ladies winner of the Cork City Marathon on Patrick’s Street, Cork with Dept Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald and Marathon’s Race Director, Adrienne Rodgers

Tim O’Donoghue of East Cork and Rio Olympian Lizzie Lee reigned supreme at the Cork City Marathon on Sunday, a race that welcomed runners from 100 countries, with 12,000 taking to the streets across the various events.

O’Donoghue set a course record of 2:18:37 in the men’s marathon and Lee clocked 2:44:54 to win the women’s. Pawel Kosek and Alan O’Shea were next best in the men’s race with 2:22:39 and 2:24:45 respectively, with previous champion Gary O’Hanlon fourth in 2:25:28. In the women’s race Sorcha Loughnane and Aoife O’Leary followed Lee home in 2:45:12 and 2:56:40 respectively.

The men’s half marathon title went to Jake O’Regan, who clocked 1:04:04, with Clonmel’s Courtney McGuire taking the women’s in 1:19:22. The team relay was won by Brighton AB Training Group in 2:14:03, with Leevale second in 2:22:57.

The event was the first in-person marathon in almost three years. Last year’s virtual event saw over 4,000 people taking part from 70 different countries.

“We are delighted with the success of this year’s marathon,” said race director Adrienne Rodgers. “This event has been our most impressive by far, a testament to the city’s ability to bounce back from a particularly tough two years. The support from our volunteers, partners, and the Cork people for this event was incredible.”