Athletics

About Us

UCC Athletics is back for another year of training and racing in 2024/25! Club coaches Donie and John will put students through their paces on the MTU track every Tuesday and Thursday at 5pm. In addition to these sessions, the club offers weekday run clubs, weekend long runs, and social events.

UCC Athletics welcomes all students, regardless of their ability or experience with athletics. Don’t be deterred from coming along to training, whether you’re a seasoned runner or just starting out. Long-distance sessions with former Olympian turned coach Donie Walsh typically include interval training between 400m and 1 mile, tempo runs, or the infamous hill sprints. Whether you’re a 15-minute 5km runner or have never run for more than 15 minutes, there’s always a group for you to join.

Sprinters will be in the capable hands of John Sheehan, who will fine-tune athletes throughout the winter for a summer of racing. Club Captains for 24/25, Holly Carroll and Ben Leen Smith, have big plans for the year ahead, so be sure to keep an eye on our Instagram (@uccathletics) and your email inbox to keep up to date with everything going on. 

As in previous years, the club will travel to all IUAA Intervarsity events to compete against other universities across Ireland. The first event this year is the Cross-Country Championships, taking place on home soil at the UCC farm this October, open to all athletes registered with the club. With both teams just missing out on medals last year, there’s no doubt everyone will be hungry for success on home turf.

This will be followed by the Road Relays in November will give everyone a chance to run a 1-mile, 2-mile, or 3-mile leg. The second semester is packed with indoor and outdoor track and field championships, leading up to the end of the semester in May. These are all great opportunities to represent your university and get to know other students competing.

The 24/25 committee is made up of Ben Leen Smith, Holly Carroll, John Spelman, Ben O’Connor, Emma Murray, Shane Langley, Alex Cashman, Emily Wall, and Gearoid Long. They have a tough act to follow to make this year as successful as 23/24. Whether you’re a track star or don’t know how many lanes are on a track, we can’t wait to see you at training on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm!