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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Stian Alexander

Cork claims 'fittest place' crown across UK and Ireland

The Irish city of Cork is home to the fittest folk across the UK and Ireland.

People living in the city, home to around 220,000 folk - the birthplace of Man Utd legend Roy Keane and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy - were found to take the most exercise of all.

A study of the fitness habits of 2,300 people by Flora ahead of the London Marathon this Sunday found that people living in Cork took an average of 58 minutes exercise every day.

Read More: Lonely Planet warns tourists about horrors of visiting Dublin

Over the week, that works out at 6hrs 46mins of exercise every week, a whopping 350 hours-a-year and around 15 full days a year.

Folk in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh weren't far behind, doing an average of 53 minutes of exercise a day, be it jogging, walking, swimming or any other sport.

The 'laziest' Brits were found to be from the seaside city of Brighton & Hove, where locals managed just 39 minutes-a-day.

The top 10 fittest places in the UK and Ireland, with the number or minutes exercised each day, were as follows:

1 - Cork - 58m
2 - Edinburgh - 53m
3 - London - 52m
4 - Glasgow - 51m
5 - Newcastle - 51m
6 - Plymouth - 51m
7 - Southampton - 50m
8 - Leeds - 49m
9 - Birmingham - 48m
10 - Dublin - 48m

And those who did the least exercise were as follows:

1 - Brighton - 39m
2 - Nottingham - 44m
3 - Norwich - 44m
4 - Sheffield - 46m
5 - Liverpool - 46m

Chris Entwistle, 54, of Brighton, said he was a 'self-confessed layabout'.

He said: "I'm just not a fan of sport or even walking.

"I don't see the point of walking when you can get a bus, train or taxi - it just wastes time."

Paula Radcliffe, 48, an ambassador for Floras's Get Towns Active campaign, said: "I've seen first-hand the difference that exercising with others can have on performance and I've relied on that collective power to spur me at many points throughout my career."

The three-times winner of the London Marathon added: "Flora's Get Towns Active campaign is all about encouraging people across the UK & Ireland to take steps towards a healthier and more active lifestyle."

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