More details on the Mallow 10 Mile Road Race - Sun 9th Jan 2011

Entries continue to pour in for the Mallow 10 mile road race with almost 400 runners pre-entered. At this stage, if you haven't entered already then you can still enter the race on the day for €20. All entries and number collection will be in the Youth Centre.

The race starts at 12:30pm. The organisers are saying that the last entries to be taken will be at 11:30am so that they have enough time to get all of the entries into the computer so that they can be processed.

The thing to remember with the Mallow race is that there are 3 main points in the town that you will be using...

A.....This is the location of the Youth Centre. Entries, race number collection, prizes, refreshments, etc will be here.

B......This is the START. It's about 1 mile from the Youth Centre so allow yourself time to get there.

C.....This is the FINISH. It's a short walk back to the Youth Centre.

Getting to the Youth Centre..........If you are coming from Cork City, then turn right at the main roundabout on the main N20 road and drive into the town. Keep going STRAIGHT.....shown above as Davis Street. You need to look out for the statue on the left....see pic below...

Turn left here and head up the hill. As it flattens out, you'll see a shopping centre on your right and then the road takes a sharp left. After this, the Youth Centre is just down there on the right. Park in this vicinity or just follow the race stewards directions.

Race numbers....please note that they will be collecting these at the end of the race for recycling.

Dungarvan 10......Just a reminder that West Waterford AC will also have a desk in the Youth Centre and will be taking entries for the Dungarvan 10 Mile Road Race on Sunday, the 30th of January. Entries for that race are pre-entry only.....you cannot enter on the day of the race! The closing date for entries is the 17th of Jan. The entry fee is €20.

Headphones / MP3 Players / iPods / or if you're really eager iPads.....As per usual, all of these devices are banned!

Beanie Caps.....This year we have a change of colour. Instead of the handsome Red & White Cork colours, Mallow AC have opted for Blue & White to keep the folks from the Deise happy...

 At least they're not Blue & Yellow ;o)

Pacers....This is a new and novel feature for a 10 mile road race. While pacers are now a regular feature in many Marathons, I have never heard of them being used in a 10 mile event.

There will be 2 pacers at each pace band and the idea is that they will run at a steady pace and finish in 60 mins, 70 mins, 80 mins and 90 mins. All pacers will be wearing a special bib...

....as well as a helium balloon (...with the exception of the 60 min pacers).

Pacers serve a number of functions during a race. Some people will run with them from start to finish to try and achieve their target time. Some will use them to make sure they don't start too fast  and then go and do their own thing. Some will see a pacer way off in the distance and will try and keep them in sight. Others will just want to stay ahead of certain pacers and not be caught. The biggest impact I have seen of pacers is near the end of the race when they catch up with tired runners and you'll find people making that extra effort to try and keep up. Lots of other people may have passed them but the sight of that balloon seems to get people going.

Weather....more info in a separate post...