Preview of the Cork BHAA 'UCC' 10 km road race - Sun 6th of April (11am)

After a lull of nearly 2 months, the Cork Business Houses Athletic Association races are starting again in earnest. The next race in their busy calendar is the UCC 10 km race next Sunday. This race takes in the Lee Road and Straight Road and must be one of the oldest races on the local scene...I can even remember doing this race back in 1988!! Indeed, someone has just reminded me that this race started way back in 1983 and the race this year is the 25th anniversary.

Registration...

This year due to some building work, they are unable to use the Lee Maltings for registration, changing and showers. So to register, you need to go to the old red brick pavillion in the Mardkye sports grounds. Please note that it is very expensive to park inside the Sports grounds. Note that the refreshments and prizegiving is in a seperate building about 1 km away. It might be an idea to park somewhere halfway between the two.

For a better idea of where the old pavillion is, use this link...http://pininthemap.com/d33af461acd75dd12

Course...

After you register, just follow the other runners accross the 'Shaky Bridge' to get to the start.

The first 200 metres or so is all downhill but soon you are on to the Lee road and it's pretty flat. Around the 2.5 mile mark, there is a good uphill section followed by a steep downhill bit around 3 miles. After that, it's more or less dead flat. You re-join the main road, go past The Anglers Rest pub and then join the Carrigrohane straight.

This last section is about 2 miles long and dead straight. Some people hate it as you can see the County Hall way off in the distance and it feels like it isn't getting any closer. To be honest, I can't see what difference it makes...you are at the 4 mile mark in a 10 km race and that's it.

(By the way, if you are thinking about doing the Marathon in June, the 4 mile mark here is about the 22 mile mark in the Marathon. You will have to run from here, in the Straight Road, Western Road and finish in Patrick's Street. Anyway...back to the UUC race...)

The finish of the 10 km race is just beyond the County Hall. Keep it in mind as you run in the Straight Road....once you pass that building, you're almost there. The finish is just outside the Kingsley Hotel.

Please note that when you finish, you will be given a ticket for a draw....hang onto it!

Water...

Please note that there are no water stations out along the course. Once you finish, they will have bottled water available.

Apres Race...

After the race, the refreshments and the prizegiving will be in the restaurant in the Lee Maltings. See map up top.

To see exactly where the Lee Maltings is, click on this link...http://pininthemap.com/67404b694e24f13bb

Now for the interesting part!! The following message was issued by the Cork BHAA...
" NEWSFLASH: A Laptop kindly sponsored by Dell Computers will be raffled amongst all race finishers. ALL FINISHERS will receive a ticket at the end of the race and the raffle will take place about 12.30pm in the Lee Maltings at the Prizegiving. THE WINNER MUST BE PRESENT to collect the prize in person (otherwise the ticket will be re-drawn!).....Cork BHAA "

If you would like to have a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website. Click on the link below...