Preview of the Mallow 10 Mile Road Race...Sun 11th of Jan, 2009 (12:30pm)
The Munster Ten-Mile Spring Classics Series kicks off next Sunday with the Mallow 10 mile road race in North Cork. This is one of the major road races in the Cork Road race calendar.

Note that the registration point, the start and the finish are in 3 different parts of the town. This can and does catch out people who have never done this race before. See map above.....
A...this is where the Mallow Youth Centre is. You should park near here and register before 11:30am.. Prizes and refreshments are available here after the race as well.
B...this is the start point for the race. It's just under a mile from the Youth Centre. Just jog along with the other runners to the start and use it as part of your warm-up.
C...this is the finish point of the race. It's just a short walk back to the Youth centre from here.

How to get there...If you look at the map above, I have put in a series of RED dots showing a possible route. Just remember 2 things......
1) If you are coming from Cork, use the roundabout on the main Cork-Limerick road to enter the town centre. Don't follow the road to the right.
2) If you get lost, remember that the Mallow Youth Centre is on the North side of the Blackwater river. Stay on this side of the river and you'll find it ok.

Course...See map below for the course. While there are a few small hills and drags, there is nothing really bad. To be honest, I'd be more concerned about the wind. In general, for the first half of the race, you are running West and in the 2nd half, you are running East. A strong wind will probably impact you more than any of the hills. As for course itself, it starts in a residential area and heads out of town. Around the 1.5 mile mark, there is a slight uphill before you join the main N20 road. From here until the roundabout, you are running inside a pretty wide hard shoulder so you are not near the passing traffic. The only spot where you have to be careful is near the roundabout where the hard shoulder gets a bit narrow. After that, you turn left onto the main Killarney road. It's not the nicest of roads but the sheer number of runners makes the traffic slow down. Out around the 6 mile mark, you start the nicest part of the course with mostly quiet rural roads until you re-enter the town around the 9 mile mark. From here, you run as far as the bridge, cross over the Blackwater river and then run the half mile or so to the finish.If you want to have a closer look at the course, Mallow AC have put up the course on the MapMyRun website.

Registration...You will need to fill out an entry form at the registration point in the hall. If you want to save some time and just speed up the entry process, why not print out the form and fill it in before you go there? The link to the entry form is HERE.

Please note...and this in important!! Due to the increased numbers, Mallow AC ask all runners to try and register before 11:30am. This will help them get things ready so that the race can start on time.

Entry Fee...First of all, the entry fee for the Mallow 10 is €10. The guy's from West Waterford AC will be taking entries for the Dungarvan 10 on the day of the Mallow 10 at the Youth Centre. Remember that the Dungarvan 10 is the 2nd race in the Munster series and takes place on Sunday, the 1st of February. If you enter the Dungarvan race next Sunday, it will cost you €15 which is €5 less than if you enter on the race day in Dungarvan. So, if you are doing both races, bring €25.

New Runners...For any of you who have never done a 10 mile race before, my only advice for Sunday is to take it easy! You can't run it hard like a 5 mile race. Pace yourself, run about 30 to 40 seconds slower per mile than you would in a 5 mile race. You will probably have to work a lot harder to do the 2nd half of the race in the same time as the 1st half, so keep something in reserve.

Some stats on entries......
2002 = 190, 2003 = 215, 2004 = 285, 2005 = 303, 2006 = 199, 2007 = 386 and 2008 = 521.

Headphones / MP3 players / iPods....

Someone asked about these. Strictly speaking, they are not banned but you will be running on the main road for sections. You are only putting yourself at risk if you wear them.

And finally...They will probably get over 500 runners for this year's event. So, get there early and avoid the rush to the start.

See below for some additional information provided by Mallow AC...
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A) Registration is at Mallow Youth Centre. Directions to youth centre are as follows.....From Cork, Kerry, Limerick – when you come to main roundabout, follow directions for town centre, take the second left after the church. (O’Brien Street) and proceed up the hill past the shopping centre.From Dublin, Waterford take the first right after the Spa House, which will be on your left as you enter the town. Turn right at top of the hill.
Parking is not available at the Race HQ. This is for swimming pool users only.There are 4 other car parks within a 2-3 minute walk of the race HQ, these will be signposted.

B) Please come early, last entries are at 11:30. this is to help get all entries processed on a timely basis and enable us get the results out as soon as possible

C) There is a 10k walk starting at the main roundabout (4 mile mark) beginning at 12:00, entry €5

D) There are showers available at the youth centre, though we can't guarantee hot water for all runners …

E) Also if any spectators would like to help with marshalling and so forth, just contact any of the Mallow Athletic Club members on the day or drop an email to one of those listed on the Mallow AC website.

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Mallow AC have a special page on their website for the Mallow 10, here is the LINK.