Meet Cork City Marathon Pacers – Sub 5 Hour Pacing Group 2022

Name: John Healy

Hi there

I’m John Healy, 5hr pacer in Cork this year, along with my glamourous assistant Michelle, who is always good for a song around mile 22. It has been known to give people a bit of motivation to push on a bit too.

Long-distance is what I’ve always done, it’s been 38 years since my first half marathon, and 31 since my first marathon. I’ve completed 245 since. The longest distance in one outing has been 201k.

This year is my 10th anniversary of first pacing Cork, so I might retire after this one. If you plan on completing this year in under 5 hours, it’s important to be careful of your pacing early in the race, you don’t want us trundling by at 25 miles! (Trust us, it happens all the time!) 

As everyone knows, it’s no fun up the front, so see you out there!

Michelle Burke

Michelle has paced the sub-5-hour slot in the Cork City Marathon for many years now. Michelle and John are a superb pacing team and we get great feedback from runners in this group. Michelle brings great experience, humour and dedication as a pacer and is top of our list to call back every year. The 5-hour pacing group is our last group of pacers but we save the best for last!