St Michael’s athlete Heather Murphy delighted with big victory in Cork

ST Michael’s Athletic Club’s Heather Murphy turned in a superb performance to emerge the first female at the 2026 Cork Half Marathon.

The 22-year-old Portarlington woman executed a near perfect tactical race to take this year’s title in a time of 1:15.11, fending off Leevale’s Hannah Steeds, who emerged runner-up in 1:16.46, with Fionnuala Ross of Armagh AC taking third in 1:17.02.

Murphy, who is currently on scholarship in the US with Montreat College in North Carolina, has enjoyed a hugely successful period of late, with victories in both the NAIA National Championship 10,000m and 5000m providing her with the perfect lead-in to Cork.

Yet, even with those victories under her belt, the St. Michael’s athlete, whose previous half-marathon experience was in Tullamore back in 2024, was unsure of how her body would hold up over that distance in the wake of her NAIA exploits.

“I was still a bit hesitant [going into Cork] as to how my legs would feel, because it was only a week after that [the NAIA Championships], and I hadn’t really prepared much to do the half marathon,” admitted Murphy.

“I was just jogging for the week before I did the race, so I wasn't expecting too much. But then I thought to myself, maybe it was better that I eased up into the race and then just went for it. It just all worked out.

“I felt I was on target to get a good PB and I just went in with the mentality that I wanted to win. I felt very calm going into it, and, once the gun went off, I just told myself to stay calm and don't panic with the pace. Just target someone who was around the pace I wanted to do and see if I could keep to that.

“It was probably when I got to, maybe, Mile Six that I felt I was on the pace and I was feeling pretty good. I was consistent with each mile.

“I heard the crowd telling me, ‘you're the first female’ and it was then that I thought to myself, okay, maybe I have a good lead. That was a good confidence boost.

“Crossing the line felt so good. I just felt relieved. I was so happy it was done because my legs were really tired.

“But even the crowd was really supportive. And even though I didn't know any of them, it was just so nice to have that atmosphere coming in.

“I was really pleased with my time, because in my last half marathon that I did in Tullamore in 2024, I did 1.18:56, so to do 1.15:11, that was good. I was really happy” she told he *****Laois Nationalist*****.

Murphy, who moved to Montreat College last August and will remain there until this coming December, was delighted to be back home and competing for her club.

Certainly the experience of competing in the US under coach, Rylan Hincher has only fuelled her development as an athlete, the Portarlington woman becoming the first competitor to land an individual track and field national championship title for Montreat when she lined out in the NAIA 10,000m in Asheville NC.

She crossed the line in a time of 34.49 before continuing on to make it a distance double when she came home first in the 5000m.

“I was just so happy, and Rylan, who coaches me, was just over the moon,” recalled Murphy.

“He couldn't believe I did it and he was just so proud of me. Everything that we had put into it, just paid off,” she said.

Murphy certainly feels she has found her perfect distance between the 10,000m and half- marathon, a remarkable journey for an athlete who started out as a sprinter with St. Michael’s at the age of seven.

“I do really enjoy the longer stuff and particularly the half marathon and the 10k. I think I kind of do better at distance,” she remarked.

“When I did start out running, I actually started off doing 200m and 400m, so it has been a big jump, going from that to what I'm doing now. I was a good runner, but what I'm doing now suits me far better,” she said.