Michael Herlihy from Co. Cork won the June Bank Holiday Monday Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon in a time of 2:30:36. The ‘marathon for everyone’ took place in Cork city in sweltering heat, attracting up to 10,000 participants running as individual entries or as part of a relay team.

Winners - Michael Herlihy and Lucy Brennan

Michael, a 28 year old native of Charleville, runs with North Cork AC. The Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon was his first-ever marathon and he led the race from the halfway stage. “I am really thrilled,” said Michael, “to win a marathon at the first time of asking is unbelievable and even more so in the conditions that were out there today.   It’s a great honour, especially here at home in Cork.”

The first female over the finish line was last year’s winner, 50 year-old Lucy Brennan from Sligo in a time of 02:51:25. The winning relay team was Iveragh, a five-man team from Kerry led across the line by Cian Murphy of Caherciveen, in a time of 02:19:44.

Jim O’Donovan, Race Director, Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon, said: “It has been a fantastic day for all of the participants, volunteers and the community of Cork.”

John Mullins, CEO Bord Gáis said, “Bord Gáis Energy is delighted to be a partner of the Cork City Marathon and I am personally privileged to have taken part in this great event.  The race has brought a huge boost to Cork in many different ways and we’re already looking forward to a bigger and better marathon for 2010.  My congratulations to all those who participated and special congratulations to the winners.”

The marathon kicked off on Patrick Street at 9am. The route took the participants along the four points of Cork from north to south, east to west to include Blackpool, Blackrock, Bishopstown and The Lough. Runners had the option of running the full 26.2km marathon distance individually or as part of a relay team.

There were five legs to the relay race for teams of two to five runners. The first runner from each team started the race at Patrick Street and completed their leg, or legs, before handing over to a team-mate at fixed change-over points, the distance between each ranging from just over three and a half miles to just over six and a half miles.

The organisers used the ChampionChip to correctly gather the exact times each runner crossed the start and finish line of the race. The ChampionChip is attached to the runner’s shoelace so that when a runner crosses the finish line their time for the race is electronically recorded.

The ‘marathon for everyone’ encouraged individuals of all levels to get involved – from first-timers to professional athletes, with the option of running the marathon as an individual or as part of a relay team. It was supported by Cork City Council which is committed to growing the event to become one of the major events in the Irish sporting calendar. The Irish Cancer Society was nominated as the charity of choice for the event.

Michael Herlihy on route to victory