Non-club entries for the 2010 Ballycotton 10...Yes, it's not a misprint......this post is about entries for the 2010 Ballycotton 10 Mile road race! Ballycotton Running Promotions have made a change to the entry conditions for the race next year. Before, if you are a non-club runner you could do just one of the Ballycotton Summer Series races and avail of the 2 week window in December in which to get your entry in for the Ballycotton 10. For next year, that will be changed. For non-club runners to avail of this 2 week window, they will have to complete all 4 races in the Ballycotton Summer Series.....Ballyandreen, Shanagarry, Churchtown South and Ballycotton.
Note that anyone who had entered for the 2009 race, didn't run it and handed back their timing chip to Ballycotton Running Promotions will be able to avail of the 2 week window also.
The final entry conditions for the 2010 event still have to be finalised so we'll have to wait and see what the other numbers and limits will be like.
What happened to the 'if you return your timing chip you are guaranteed entry for the 2010 race'?
ReplyDeleteOpps! You're right Richard, I forgot that one! Now edited.
ReplyDeleteDissapointing decision by Ballycotton running, i have been running regularly all season in Cork and find than the running scene here including this blog are outstanding but not everybody is a club runner. My intention is to run as many as the 5 mile series but unfortunately i will not be able to run in the last one, while i understand Ballycotton may want to stop people running 1 race to get an entry, surely if you run 3 the exemption should still apply.
ReplyDeleteI think 4 out of 4 could is a rather steep requirement. e.g. I'm in Dublin right now, and am only reading this now, on the morning of the race??? I try to do every short road race in Co Cork, but sometimes ones personal circumstances, business commitments, illness, or injury keeps one away. Obviously, I "just need to get post my entry as soon as the forms are available in December". Or join a Club.
ReplyDeleteHow many races are there between Clubs, BHAA, and charity races, the Marathon and/or Relay?
I would suggest a more realistic requirement, of having completed any ten competitive road races in Calendar Year 2009. They'll all be in John Quigley's excellent CARD system on EagleAC.net. Any thoughts ???
Or how about basing entry in 2010, on having completed several of the four 2009 Spring Series, the John Treacy 10, Ballynonty 10, the Mizuno Cork Half-Marathon, or Cork-Cobh 15 ???
It was noticable at Ballycotton 10 2009, that many people had the administrative skills to get a prompt entry in the post, the day the entry-form went online, but had little ability to run, and clearly hadn't done any of the previous Summer's 5-mile races ???
Ithink that having to run the 4 of these races to qualify for late entry is a bit unfair.With summer holidays and other unplanned events on i think that it would be much fairer to leave it at 2 or 3 races to qualify for late entries.Keep up the good work with the blog John it is fantastic and my first read every morning,well done.
ReplyDeleteBit unfair considering the marathon is on Monday and folks won't want to race on the Thursday prior
ReplyDeleteDon't want to run tonight as I am doing the full marathon but have run the Ballycotton 10 and most of the 5 series races for the last number of years. When you say club runners does this include BHAA clubs as that is the only club I am in and would hate not to be eligible for the 2010 race.
ReplyDeleteOn the question of BHAA teams, the answer is no. When they refer to club entries, it's the likes of Eagle AC, Midleton AC, St.Finbarrs AC, etc who are all affillated to the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI)
ReplyDeleteAs stated by others. 4 out of 4 is unfair. I was lookng forward to another hassle free 10 mile spring series but now it's seems not.I can't run tonight as I'm running the full marathon on Monday.I'm not in a running club because I have a young family and cannot make the commitment...So , do I enter the lottery for Ballycotton in December and then run Mallow & Dungarvan in the hope that I 'may' get a place..which would put a question mark over ..We had our accommodation booked in January for Kilnboy in April....Lots of questions from this runner...And what a bombshell just before the marathon...
ReplyDeleteWhat in the name of God has having a young family got to do with joining a running club ? Most people in clubs have families .If you are serious about your running as you appear to be any club would be delighted to have you as a member.Go on Go For It !
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeletethe timing isn't great, I'm not running tonight as I hope to run the marathon on Monday and hadn't included this race for obvious reasons (and I can't change my plans at this late stage). I had intended running the next 3, thinking that would be good support/participation for the series, [as Meatloaf could have said 3 out of 4 ain't bad].
I echo the earlier comment that the completion of this years 4 spring 10 milers might be brought into consideration. However I suspect that the paperwork etc would prove very difficult, and the entry process is already though enough on the volunteers without adding another layer of complexity to their job. (I don't envy them their task next November.)
The easiest thing to do is join a club,
BTW Is this an east cork conspiracy, first you soften us up with David O Dwyers piece on slow times and casual runners etc, then you land this bombshell on us ???
Fergus
Agree with general sentiment being expressed here. Ran all 4 in 07, 3 in 08, ran tonite but will be on hols for the next one. will do last 2 as well but that will be 3 out of 4 leaving the annual postal lottery as my only choice.
ReplyDeleteI cannot see what the major issue is.
ReplyDeleteThey are offering you a guaranteed entry to the race (within a two week window)if you meet certain criteria:
Being a member of a club, or
Complete 4 of 4 Ballycotton 5 mile series over the summer.
If you do not meet any of these, then all you have to do is check the website near the end of November and once the form is published, print it and send it off. If you send it on the day it is published you will get in.
Its not a lottery -its a first come first served policy. As this website re-iterates, you need to send your forms in ASAP. If the forms come out on a Monday, and you send yours in on the Thursday or Friday then you will NOT get in.
Ballycotton are well within their rights to enforce whatever entry procedure they wish.
Is it me or is it easier to get the form on the day it is published, rather than getting to 4 races over the summer, so that you may be allowed a few weeks grace to enter the race.
If you want to run the Ballycotton 10, then just be organised. Don't go moaning at the organisers.
Qualifying times would be better than having run 4 out of 4. Say sub 32.30 in any of the series guarantees entry or sub 35 minutes in two races. Will encourage people to train and improve the quality of the races. There needs to be some competitive element introduced. Too many people are just running at road races and not for the rest of the week. Quality not quantity is the key.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the last comment, a qualifying time would be a much more fairer system than being a club runner.
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me on the post why club runners should have a greater right to entry than someone not affiliated to a club, I honestly don't get it.
All i and most other people will do is end up joining a club but with work and family commitments i for one will not be able to attend unless they are out running at 5:30 AM.
Can someone explain to me on the post why club runners should have a greater right to entry than someone not affiliated to a club, I honestly don't get it.If you examine the results of the smaller road races throughout the year, you'll find that the bulk of the field is made up of club runners. I guess it's only fair that people who have been attending races all year should not be squeezed out by non-club runners when a very popular race like the Ballycotton 10 comes along.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, most of the road races throughout the year are organised by athletic clubs. It would hardly be fair to those clubs after all of their hard work to have their members refused entry.
The problem however is when there are non-club runners who attend a lot of the smaller races and then they find themselves lumped in with the mass entry when the forms come out.
Considering how popular the Ballycotton 10 race is and that the numbers have to be limited, I'd guess that no matter what they do, some group will be unhappy about it.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI used to do the Ballycotton 10 regularly until about 10 years ago. Things happened, I more or less stopped running, and now am hoping to be back in form for next year. What is the procedure for getting in? Am I right to assume that you have to watch the ballycotonrunning.com website and print off their form in December if you're not in a running club and haven't done the B'c summer series? Please explain! Thanks!
Nothing has been decided yet regarding the entry procedure for the 2009 Ballycotton 10. Keep checking the Ballycotton website or this blog and as soon as there is any update, I'll post it here.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me if the club entry requiremet only relates to Irish clubs or if being a member of an english club would suffice?
ReplyDeleteThanks