Preview of the Belgooly 4 mile road race - Wed 26th Dec 2007 (12 noon)
There is always a big turn out at this race every year. As well as the usual faces, there are plenty of people from other sports as well who do this race as a traditional run and may not do another race all year. Last year, they got about 370 runners and if the weather is ok this year, I'd expect them to easily exceed the 400 mark.

Directions and Sign-On...Belgooly is pretty easy to get to. From Cork, take the airport road South and head for Kinsale. Belgooly is on the way. Once you enter the village, you need to go past the church and then take the right at the only crossroads. Down about 200 metres on the left, you will see the GAA grounds and the sign-on is in there (see X on the map above).

Course description...The start is just on the Kinsale side of the crossroads in the middle of Belgooly. You run back towards Cork, through the village and up the hill past the church. For the first 2 miles, you are on the main road. It's a road you would never do normally as it is way too busy but with so many runners on the road, the cars have no option but to slow down.
Just after the 2 mile mark, you take a sharp left and you are now onto quiet country roads. There are some drags along this section though. Nothing too serious but some hills are steep enough to put you into oxygen debt if you push too hard. At about 3.6 miles, you rejoin the main road again and you have a straight run into the finish just outside the church.

Results...There will probably be a delay with the results. I hope to have them up here on this blog sometime around Monday, the 31st of December.

So, overall...it's not the fastest of course's so don't expect any fantastic times. But this race is one that most people seem to use as their traditional Christmas run, with most of the regular runners in Cork taking part. The entry fee is €10 but €5 of this goes to charity. See the details from the flyer below for more details...

***********************************************

The Dick Copithorne Memorial Run

Belgooly Annual 4 Mile Road Race

St. Stephens’s Day – 12 noon – 2007

Belgooly Athletic Club Promotion

Entry Fee €10.00

€5.00 of entry fee will be donated to the Bowel Cancer Treatment Support Fund at Cork University Hospital

Accurate Course
Open to all Athletes
Joggers, Fun-Runners and Walkers welcome.
Special Category Permit
Start and Finish in Belgooly Village
Entries and Changing Facilities in Belgooly GAA Grounds
Entries on the Day will be taken until 11.45 a.m.

Prizes

First 6 Men, First 3 Men O/40, O/45, O/50, O/55, O/60, First 2 Junior Men, First 2 Mens Team (3 to score)
First 6 Ladies, First Lady O/35, O/40, O/45, O/50, O/55, O/60, First 2 Junior Ladies, First 2 Ladies Team (3 to score)

First Wheelchair Athlete

Team Prizes outside all prize winners,
One prize per athlete

Enquires to John Copithorne, Belgooly, Co. Cork 086-1713500
Rose Copithorne, Belgooly, Co. Cork. 086-8411193