Hooraay......the Running in Cork blog is 2 today!!

So here we are 270 posts later and it is the 2nd anniversary of my very first post back on the 23rd of October 2006. It's strange how it has got so big so fast. At first, I started the website just to mess about with blogs without any real purpose for starting one. I put up a few posts, the questions came in and a few more posts went up. Pretty soon, it was up to around 200 to 300 hits per month.....a pretty typical figure for most blogs.

This time last year, it had grown to around 2,000 hits per month. Wow....surely that was it, that was saturation point. 2,000 hits per month is a pretty decent figure for any website. However since then, it has taken off again and now gets around 8,000 hits per month. That's an average of almost 100,000 hits per year!! In fact, the site usually gets more hits now in 1 day as it got in a whole month 2 years ago.

Why so many? I reckon that it is a reflection on the power of the Internet. The hype of the Dot Com bubble may have come and gone back in the late 90's but the Internet has just kept growing. With more and more people getting broadband, the possibilties have opened up and now an awful lot of people source information online rather than through the traditional sources like newspapers, TV and radio.

In effect, the Running in Cork website has almost become like an online magazine. The beauty of a website though is that it is fluid, it can change depending on what's happening. If new photos become available, the links go up.....if a new race appears, the info goes up....people want to comment, they go up.....and of course, it's FREE!! Traditional sources like newspapers and magazines cannot do this. That's not to say that they don't have their place but I think as time goes on, the importance of traditional print media will diminish. Really, this whole Internet thing is only just beginning.

Over the last 2 years, a number of new runners have mentioned to me that they had no idea that there were so many races locally. They had heard of the Cork Marathon, the Mini-Marathon.....some had heard about some race down in Ballycotton and that was it. We really do have a very good local running scene and we really need to keep promoting it and keep getting the message out there that it exists. Remember, if we don't get the numbers, the races will just die away like they did back in the late 80's, early 90's.

So on that thought, I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who has contributed to this website in any way over the last 2 years. Be it your comments, your photos, your video clips or just passing on information. Thanks........John Desmond.

Roll on year 3...

Comments...

"Happy Birthday Corkrunning Blog - Congrats and thank you John. I am a guy who started running less than 12 months ago just to get fit and before I knew it I was visiting and using your blog to plan and prepare for my next race (run/jog in my case!). I wouldn't have taken part in half the events without the information you provide and for that - Thank You. It is a big factor in the very successful Cork Running scene that currently exists. Keep up the good work!.....Anonymous"

"Hi John, Congratulations on such a successful website. I read it twice a day at work so I’m one of the addicted ones. I’ve been participating in road races for over a year now but still don’t know what you look like? Often see your name on result lists etc, how about a big smiley pic of yourself on the next bog :-) ...........Anonymous"

"Photo??....Not a hope in hell!! :o))........As you will know by now, the website is about the races, not about me.........John Desmond"

"Well done John, its a fab site, only discovered it this year but use it all the time now, like the fact you also look up old results in the archive section. Thanks John and all the best for another great year.....Brigid"

"Congratulations John on a successful 2 years - I too am an addicted one, checking the blog daily at the start of my working day. While having my morning coffee, I catch up on the latest from the running scene. I enjoy the preview and review of races - the previews sets the scene (course, weather etc) and the reviews tells the story. The photographs are great as post the event, one can see what was going on in front and behind them in a race and how bad or good they looked at the various stages!! Keep up the great work......Rhona "