The weather gods were not shining upon the organisers of the Jerry Kiernan Tralee 10k run on Saturday morning with runners enjoying showers a-plenty over the course of the morning.
Thankfully though, the over-250 runners that did take part on the day are made of tough stuff and they didn’t let a bit of rain bother them too much as they set off from Tralee Town Park bright and early at 9am.
The run was dedicated to late Listowel man, Jerry Kiernan, who who passed away in January of 2021 at the age of 67.
Considered one of Ireland’s greatest ever runners, Jerry won Irish titles from 1500m to the marathon and set an Irish record over 3000 metres in 1977. He is perhaps best known for his exploits as a road runner, where he was arguably the best 10-mile racer in the world in the 1980s.
He won two Dublin marathons, and competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he finished an outstanding ninth place in the men’s marathon.
It is the second run in recent months that has honoured Jerry and his exploits, with a run in his native Listowel back in August also remembering him.
And so, with a Jerry-inspired medal on offer for finishers, runners set off on a route that saw them traverse the River Lee Walk, Caherweesheen and Blennerville before crossing the finish line at the FBD House near The Rose Hotel.
Results wise, Tadhg O’Sullivan was the first man home on the day and the overall winner in a time of 31:58. He was followed shortly afterwards by Brendan Joy in 33:19 and Niall O’Callaghan in 33:22.
On the women’s side, Mairéad Walsh was first runner back in a time of 39:50 and she was followed by Carla Hanafin in 41:59 and Annelise Hutch in 43:47.
There’s hardly time to relax though for organisers of the run as all attention now turns to the final event in the 2026 Tralee Marathon series: the Tralee Half Marathon which is set to take place on Sunday, October 25.
For a set of the full results from the day, head over to the Tralee Marathon Facebook page and scroll down until you see the link.