The Emer Casey 10K – 2009

Youghal Comes Alive for Emer-Yesterday (Sunday, May 24th) saw the town of Youghal come alive with hundreds of people, young and old, arriving for the Emer Casey Foundation 10k Road Race/Walk.   An unexpected, and most welcome entry on the day was Sonia O’Sullivan, Olympic Silver Medallist and winner of many major events world wide.

Ballycotton man John Walsh passes Youghal Lighthouse at the Emer Casey 10K

Sonia was greeted warmly by all, and returned the warmth a hundredfold, standing in for photographs, meeting with runners she knew and those she met for the first time, and she certainly made an impact on all. Her reason for running? Her commitment to the Emer Casey Foundation, what it stands for, what it does, what it intends to do and mostly in honour of Emer Casey herself whose life ended so young and who left such an impression behind her. Denise FitzGerald Reports-Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Sunday dawned brightly with the sun shining in the sky and not a breeze to be felt. The Race was scheduled to commence at 1.30pm at Pobalscoil na Tríonóide and, to ensure a good parking position, East Cork Journal arrived at 12.30 with plenty of time before the off. However, even at that early time, the roads all around the area werecrowded with people, cars, bikes, children, runners, walkers, dogs on leads etc., all willing and anxious to get going.   Entry was at the school and the race was scheduled to commence at the Water Tower. The entire proceedings were extraordinary for many reasons – firstly, the amount of work put into the safety and security was second to none with all personnel on hand to deal with any problem;  secondly, the organisation of the event was amazing with upwards of a hundred people on hand to give directions, show parking places, direct the traffic, keep the roads free, instruct those who needed help and generally do whatever was needed to keep everything running smoothly; thirdly, the crowded area was a hive of excitement and anticipation with the “real” runners mixing with those who wanted to do the walk to support the Emer Casey Foundation, and whose running ability might be very much in question. Participants included, among others,  Moms with babies in buggies, some elderly ladies and gents who put many of the younger non-participants to shame, people with their pet dogs on leads for the walk, and one very brave, energetic man with a baby in a papoose on his back!  Music blared, children played, runners gave sporadic energetic bursts of about 20 metres, stopping to stoop over and draw deep breaths, and conversation was high and excited.

At 1.30pm Con McCarthy, Chairman of East Cork Athletics Board for the last 30 years, raised the gun, started the count…….3, 2, 1 GO!   What a spectacle.   One thousand runners/walkers surging forward in all differently coloured gear, all intent on their performance, all keen and anxious to pay tribute to a young Youghal girl, Emer Casey who, though not there on the morning of Sunday, May 24th, was most certainly there with the runners in spirit.   This was also a keen competitive run with the cream of Munster participating.   The route took the runners firstly past the school and down Piper’s Bog, into town, out to the roundabout on Tallow side, and back again – a distance of 10K.   Standing in Piper’s Bog, East Cork Journal noted the time it took to complete the race/walk from the top of the hill right down to the main road.   It is not an exaggeration to say that, so vast were the number of entrants, that there were participants covering the long distance of Piper’s Bog for a consecutive period of twenty five minutes.   Spectators gathered at the end of the road to cheer all participants on, and one could see the delight of the runners at the applause.

Winner of the Emer Casey 10K 2009 Sergie Ciobaneau with Sonia O'Sullivan

The race was won by C. Ciobamu of Clonliffe Harriers in a fantastic time of 30.13, followed in 2nd place by S. Bralitis from West Waterford Athletic Club.  The first lady home was Rhona Lynch of Eagle Athletic Club in a time of 36.52 with, in second place – wait for it – Sonia O’Sullivan, Ballymore, Cobh in a time of 38.32.  Congratulations to all.

Rhona Lynch winner of the Women's 10K with Sonia O'Sullivan

Sunday, May 24th was a day to remember in Youghal, not just for the enjoyment of the event, the good weather, the fresh air and the exercise, but also what it stood for.   The commitment of the participants for such a marvellous cause was passionate and genuine, and all took the greatest amount of pleasure in their participation.   The length of time they took to complete the race/run was irrelevant to them – their reasons for being there were to help fund the Emer Casey Foundation which is a registered charity with aims to raise awareness of uterine and ovarian cancer, and provide research to develop a test for the early detection of the disease.   This is a disease which has affected most people, their families or friends at some time or another, and has caused such sadness to thousands.   It is time for this to end, and the Emer Casey Foundation aims to do this through their research and testing.

The fact that Emer Casey lived to give her name to this Foundation is probably the biggest reason of all why one thousand people from Youghal, East Cork/West Waterford and many parts of Munster, came out and ran on Sunday, May 24th. They ran for Emer.
Click on image to see the runners and walkers who took part in the Emer Casey 10K 2009 and if you participated or were a spectator at the event please consider leaving a comment in the box below!