Results of the Cork BHAA 'Grandons' 5 Mile road race - Wed 11th June 2008
Just to keep things in sequence, I am putting up this post for the results now. The full results probably won't be ready until maybe Friday at the earliest, maybe next early next week.

This was one race that I missed out on as I'm still resting up after the Marathon. Would anyone like to comment on or do a review of this race? Course? Hard or Easy? Overall? Click on that comment link below...

Results...
The Category Results...
GRANDON MOTORS 5-Mile Road Race (Cork BHAA), Glanmire, Co Cork
1 S Urea (temp-reg) 25:11; 2 D O’Callaghan (HSE) 26:31; 3 T O’Connor (temp-reg) 27:01; 4 D Smith (Team adidas) 27:02; 5 J Grufferty (Bio Pharma) 27:19; 6 J McCarthy (Richard McCarthy) 27:24; 7 P Gibbons (temp-reg) 27:42; 8 S Simcox (Workout Express) 27:51; 9 T Woods (UCC) 27:57; 10 V Turcan (temp-reg) 27:58.
M40: 1 V Neumerzhitskiy (ATBP) 28:38; 2 N Curtin (Quality Hotel) 28:47; 3 L Cotter (Kerry Foods) 29:38.
M45: 1 S Byczek (Dairypower) 29:31; 2 D Carroll (Blarney Woolen Mills) 30:57; 3 T O’Flynn (Cork Garda) 31:39.
M50: 1 T Cody (Midleton UDC) 30:49; 2 L Donovan (Janssen) 34:51; 3 T Linehan (Plant Hire) 35:51.
M55: 1 P Twomey (UCC) 32:18; 2 D Kennedy (DPS) 32:50; 3 D Cotter (Cork Painters) 35:05.
M60: 1 P Gyves (ITW-Hi Cone) 34:41; 2 J Cotter (ESB) 37:27.
M65: 1 J O’Leary (Bookdeal) 38:30.
Team: (Grade A) 1 Midleton UDC 100; 2 UCC 105; 3 Midleton News 136. (Grade B) 1 EMC; 2 CSO. (Grade C) 1 Kearney & Cavanagh 116; 2 Pilz 116; 3 IPS 118.
Women: 1 R Lynch (GE Healthcare) 29:45; 2 J Vonhatten (Glanmire Pharmacy) 31:09; 3 H Kelleher (CSO, F40) 32:53; 4 D Twohig (HSE) 32:59; 5 M Sheehan (Carrig Court, F50) 33:06; 6 F Kirwan (Sensory Labs, F40) 33:17; 7 A Murphy (UCC) 33:20; 8 L Geary (BoI) 33:30.
F35: 1 G Mullaney (Musgrave) 33:59; 2 A Barry (BoI) 35:53; 3 G Murphy (BoI) 38:34.
F40: 2 S Drennan (Midleton News) 35:30.
F45: 1 A Stavrou (Private Hospitals) 39:37.
F55: 1 M Barry (Midleton News) 40:35.
Team: (Grade A) 1 HSE 7; 2 Musgrave 19. (Grade B) 1 Cope 49; 2 EMC 56.

Full Results...
Thurs 3rd July...The full results have now been put up on the Cork BHAA website. The link is HERE.

Review of Grandon 5 Mile Race............by Simon Long
"While it looked like threatening to rain before during and after the race the rain held off. Other parts of the city weren't as lucky. We seemed to just escape in Glanmire. On arrival it was obvious that this was going to be a big turnout. I believe they ended up with just under 400 in the end which presumably is due to the increased numbers giving the local running scene a go after the marathon, especially first timers and relay runners. Great to see and there was a great buzz around the place last night.
The race started a couple of minutes late but considering the numbers this was to be expected. There was quite a comical moment at the start just before the off. Grandon's had one of their small cars (New Fiat 600 I think) beside the start line. It was full of balloons which were released just before the start. However they were not Helium filled and ended up strewn across the road in front of the start. As the race started people were wading through, kicking and nearly tripping over ballons. There was one guy near me who nearly fell. Thankfully everyone got through unscathed!
The course itself was enjoyable and fair. The only really tough bit was the hill at around 2.5. While it was steep it was quite short and there was a nice gradual downhill for about half a mile once we turned left off the top of the incline so this was a good chance for the lungs to recover a bit. The course doubled back on itself with approximately the first 2 miles and last two miles being the same with a loop at the end. There was more downhill on the way back which was nice. Quite a fast course overall I'd imagine. The stewarding as always was excellent considering there was quite a bit of traffic around. I think it's races like this that the headphone ban really makes sense.
Another nice thing to see was the amount of support out. I suppose this is due to the fact that we passed by quite a few housing estates. However it was nice to see people out making the effort. A few people even had their kids handing out cups of water.
All in all an enjoyable evening and a very good course. Testing and varied but fair."

(Thanks Simon for the review.......John Desmond)

Comments...
"As the car with the balloons at the start line drove off, it hit one of the balloons and we thought it was the start gun! This was greeted with ripples of laughter at the startline.
I found the race tougher that the Midleton 5 as there were more drags but it was very enjoyable and the locals gave great support. I and a few others made the mistake of going off too fast as the first mile was slightly downhill - this made the last 2 miles very tough and I lost a few places (will know better next year). Very well run with parking in a nearby field and loads of stewards on the road.....Anonymous"
"400 is a large entry for that race. That's 100 more than last year. Going by that increase in numbers, there could be well over 500 for the John Buckley 5K next week. (400 there last year)........Derek"
"One thing that always annoys me at theses races is how fast people run the first mile. I thought I was running 8 min miles off the start as there were so many people ahead of me. Got to the first mile marker in 5:45. How many people went through the first mile sub 6 minute mile pace and then died a death? If these people went off a bit slower, they'd pr for sure.
Here's an idea, how about getting paced runners wearing a T-shirt with pace on the back. You could have a 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00 etc groups. Don't know who would volunteer but it would improve times no end.........Anonymous"
"John, I do this at a lot of races, however I only do it for my two sisters to help them achieve their goal time, they find it very benifical. Very good idea for offical time runners in the race.....Anonymous"
"I know they use paced runners in some of the big Marathons but I've never heard of it in a shorter race. I doubt if there would be much of a demand for it though. I could see some problems with it...
1) The person setting the pace running at the correct speed. It's a lot easier to do in a long slow run but in a 5 miler??
2) No big demand for it. For anyone new to running, it's so easy to go way too fast at the start. But after a few races, you begin to recognise some of the names and the faces of the people finishing around you. After a while, these are the people in 'your' group. Once you start a race, you look for these people and they will help you run at your correct pace. That's one of the best things about the road races, the very people you are competing against in a friendly competition are also helping you to get the best out of yourself.......John Desmond"
"Maybe if they just gave the normal list of results as soon as possible and give the category and team results and a later date,as this takes more time, it would make more sense as I think most people are simply interested in their times and position. A week is a long time to wait for that particular piece of information.........Anonymous"
"Thurs 19th 2008, and still no sign of results????????????? ................Anonymous"
"Fri 27th.....Results are now out. See link above.........John Desmond"