Video clips of the 2009 Dublin City Marathon...
Now that almost a week has passed since the Dublin City Marathon, a number of video clips have appeared.


The first video clip above was taken a few hundred metres after the start (...and I even managed to make an appearance in this one ;o)
When I arrived at the start of the race, it was obvious that the crowd was big but it was difficult to judge how big it was. By the time I had passed the point where the camera was (....~1:53 in the video), from my point of view, the road seemed to be packed with runners. It's only when the video clip gets to around 3:25 that you get to see the true scale of the Dublin Marathon. It's pretty amazing to that many people running together.


This 2nd short clip above shows a section which was just after O'Connell street I think?



This short clip above is near the 21 mile mark (~2h 31m mark).


...and again, another short clip at the 21 mile mark but this time around 2h 40m.

County Junior & Senior Cross Country Championships...Sun 1st Nov

As well as the Cork BHAA 4 mile road race, the Cork AAI are holding the county junior and senior cross country championships in Clonakilty, west Cork. It seems a pity that there is a clash of events as the road race is bound to attract a lot of runners locally.

I think entries may have closed last Wednesday but any club runner interested should contact their club secretary for exact details.

The race will be held in the Showgrounds which I think are on the opposite side of Clonakilty if you are coming in from the Cork City/Bandon side. Start times for the various races is around 1pm (12 noon-2pm??).

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 mile Road Race - Sun 1st Nov (11:00am)
After a busy summer of road races, local events seem a bit thin on the ground at the moment by comparison. With the days getting shorter and colder, next Sunday see's the first road race of Winter with the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 mile rod race. The registration is at the Lee Rowing Club clubhouse which is located just next to the Pairc Ui Chaoimh GAA stadium....€5 for registered runners and €7 for non-registered. There are plenty of parking spaces available here at the stadium, outside the rowing club and down along the cul-de-sac by the waterfront (Just where the 4 is marked on the map).
They got 284 at this last year so I would expect something similiar if not closer to 300 this year. The race starts at 11am so it is worth getting there a bit early to avoid the backlog at the sign-on. The current weather forecast for Sunday morning is poor with heavy showers.

Course...They hold a number of 5km and 4m races in this area using different routes. The route shown above is the usual one for the HSE race. You can get a better look at the course at this LINK

So, on to the description. The course is almost dead flat and there are no climbs. The race basically starts on the Marina near the clubhouse, takes in 2 laps of the Centre Park Road and Monaghan Road, and then finishes near the Marina again. You can expect your times to be pretty fast on this course. They only thing that you have to be careful about is the road surface. There are a lot of heavy goods vehicles using these roads and the road surface can be uneven in spots. It is not a big issue but just keep it in mind if you are running close behind someone and your view forward is obstructed.

Overall, this is a nice fast course. The roads are quiet at this time on a Sunday morning and it is one of the few places where you can hold a road race in Cork City without traffic being an issue. There are refreshments available after the race in the clubhouse.

You can find a flyer for the race HERE.

Pacemakers in the Dublin Marathon...

One of the new features in the Dublin Marathon this year was the use of pace makers for the following times....Sub 3, Sub 3:30, Sub 3:45, Sub 4:00, Sub 4:15 and Sub 4:30. As you can see from the photo above, each pace maker ran with a coloured balloon and as expected, each one attracted a large number of runners as they ran in a group to achieve their target time.

Question....would the use of pace makers in other Marathons like in Cork be a good idea??

For the Cork and Dublin Marathons this year, the one big difference between them was the number of runners involved. If you take out the Relay runners in the Cork Marathon, there were only about 1,500 people running as opposed to something like 13,000 in Dublin. Having run in both of them, I noticed that in Cork, I was often running on my own with large gaps between Marathon runners while there was always someone to run with in Dublin. The sub 3 pace maker might not make much sense but what about the other target times? Would there be enough people running at these various target times to justify it?

Results and Photos of the 2009 Dublin City Marathon...26th Oct 2009 (Updated 1st Nov)

Conditions were ideal in Dublin for the Marathon.....dry, bright, not too warm and very little wind. The field for the Marathon was huge with in excess of 10,000 runners taking part with loads of support from the public out along the route. Looking around, it was obvious that a large number of runners from Cork travelled up for the event.

Results.......the results can be found HERE. Just one note...they seem to have got the clock time and chip time mixed. Obviously, the faster time is the chip time which is your actual time...i.e. the time it took you to cross the start mat and finish line.

Photos.....here are a few for the moment...

1) A large gallery of 500 photos HERE.

2) Another 500 HERE.

3) Another 500 HERE.

4) Another 500 HERE.

5) Another 500 HERE.

6) Another 500 HERE.

7) Another 500 HERE.

8) There is a large database of photos at RacePix365. Just enter your bib number.

9) John Quigley of Eagle AC took loads of photos.........173 near the 1 mile mark at College Green, 170 at the 10.5 mile mark near Kilmainham and 203 at 24.5 miles at Beggars Bush.

10) A small selection of colourful photos HERE.

11) 50 photos by Kieran Connolly HERE.

12) 28 photos by Helen Mulvey HERE.

13) 71 photos mainly of the front runners HERE.

14) 34 photos HERE.

15) Around 1500 photos! at Chapelizod.

16) 175 photos HERE.

17) 500 photos here between 10 and 11 miles.

18) Almost 1,800 photos HERE.

19) A small gallery of 27 photos HERE.

20) Waterford AC have a small gallery mainly of their own runners HERE.

21) A small gallery of 29 photos near the start.

22) A small gallery showing some of 1st 62 men and 6 women finishing.

23) A very small gallery of 21 photos showing some of the runners between 2:43 and 3:04 finishing.

Weather forecast for the Dublin City Marathon....Mon 26th Oct 2009
No doubt, many runners from Cork and Munster will be heading to Dublin today and tomorrow for the Dublin City Marathon on Monday. The weather forecast is looking pretty good at the moment with low pressure systems passing over the country on Sunday and late on Monday but it looks likely that we will miss the worst of it on Monday.

Met Eireann forcast the following........."Dry for part at least of the day - dry throughout in many or all areas, but rain approaching from the Atlantic may reach the south and west before the end of the day. Variable cloud cover, sunshine at times. Lighter winds as well, variable or southeast in direction. Highs 12 to 15 C."

So overall, it looks as if it might be clear on Sunday night/early Monday morning so it may well be cold (7-8 deg?) before the Marathon starts. It looks likely that there will be hardly any wind so that shouldn't be a factor during the event. It may well be a sunny day so if the sun comes out, it might actually be too warm!...especially from 11am onwards. It seems that rain is unlikely. Fingers crossed, it looks pretty good for Monday :o)

Entry conditions for the 2010 Ballycotton 10 race...

Ballycotton Running Promotions have just announced the entry conditions for the 2010 Ballycotton 10 mile road race on the 21st of March next year. It looks like there are no major suprises with similiar entry conditions to last year. I guess the biggest change has been the fact that non-club runners will have to have run all 4 of the 5 mile races in the Ballycotton Summer Series to avail of the 2 week entry window. In previous years, they only had to do one of the 4. This change however was mentioned before back in May before the Summers Series started.

What the entry conditions mean........If you qualify for the 2 week window as outlined in 5 a)b) and c) below, then you have no probem. Just get your form and make sure you post it within the 2 week window.

If however, you do NOT qualify for the 2 week window (...and are not overseas or elite), then it basically means that you must get your hands on an entry form on Monday evening, the 30th of November or on Tuesday morning, the 1st of December. You MUST post it by Tuesday evening at the latest. If you go for the SAE option and you can post it on Monday evening then your chances of getting in are a lot higher. If you wait until Wednesday to post your entry then it's probably too late. And if you are thinking.....'Sure, I'll do it next weekend'.........Yeah, right!........See you in 2011 ;o)

BALLYCOTTON ‘10’ 2010 ENTRY PROCEDURE
The entry procedure for the 2010 race (to take place on Sunday March 21st) is as follows:
1) People can apply for forms anytime during November (up to Friday 27th) by sending a SAE to: Ballycotton Running Promotions, Ballycotton, Co Cork (see note below).
2) All forms will then be posted out on the weekend of Friday Nov 27th/Sunday Nov 29th - ideally to arrive with applicants by the following Monday or Tuesday.
3) The entry form will be put up on the website www.ballycottonrunning.com on Monday evening (Nov 30th), also in John Buckley Sports (Cork), Ger Wyley Sports (Dungarvan) and local shops in Ballycotton and Shanagarry that same afternoon.
4) The first 2,500 postal entries opened will be automatically accepted – regardless of who they are.
5) Entries for the following will be accepted by post up to and including Tuesday December 15th:
(a) All bona fide AAI (Athletics Ireland) registered club members.
(b) All runners who completed the 2009 Ballycotton Summer Road Race Series (all four 5-mile events).
(c) All those who were entered but were unable to run the 2009 race AND returned their ChampionChip.
6) All bona fide overseas entrants accepted by post up and including Friday January 8th.
7) As usual, a limited number of elite athletes will be accepted up to near race day.
REMEMBER - When applying for forms, please enclose a large (A4) SAE with the correct postage, stating the number of forms required. If more than one form is going to the same address (two or three members of the same family, etc) one envelope is sufficient.
If the correct postage is not on the envelope we cannot be held responsible for postal delays. Also, we prefer people to enter on the official form, so ask for enough of forms – there is no need to photo-copy.

Team Hoyt......a very special kind of team...
Now that the Dublin Marathon is only a few days away on the Bank Holiday Monday, I'm sure many of the regular readers of this blog have been training for the last few months getting ready fot it. Perhaps, it might be no harm to put all that hard work into perspective and be amazed at the level of training required to be a part of 'Team Hoyt'.

Results of the East Cork AC '3k Winter Series'...No.1 of 7...Tues 20th Oct 2009
It look as if the same number of runners as last year turned out for this 3k road race in Midleton, the first of the 7 in the series. Race comment below by Donal O'Donoghue...

132 ran, the same as race #1 last year. But numbers may actually be down, due to the proximity to the Dublin City Marathon next Monday ?
Temp: 9C, but somewhat damp.
No Seiko big clock, but otherwise an excellent race.
East Cork AC made a clean-sweep, taking 11 of the top 14 places, with a large turnout from Midleton AC. Especially the Midleton AC Ladies!
Next race :- Tuesday November 10th 2009

East Cork AC 3Km Winter Series Race 1 20/10/09
1 James McCarthy East Cork AC 9.00
2 Sean McGrath East Cork AC 9.06
3 Frank O'Carroll East Cork AC 9.37
4 Kevin Wilmot Bandon AC 9.52
5 Tim O'Mahony East Cork AC 9.56
6 Alan O'Reilly East Cork AC 10.00
7 Joe Fitzgerald East Cork AC 10.02
8 Eoin Casey Midleton AC 10.04
9 Eric Meade East Cork AC 10.10
10 Frank Hayes East Cork AC 10.15
11 Cathal Kelly St Finbarrs AC 10.22
12 David O'Dwyer East Cork AC 10.27
13 Shane Maher East Cork AC 10.29
14 Conor Tierney East Cork AC 10.38
15 Brian O'Connor Grange Fermoy AC 10.53
16 Josh O'S-Hourihan Midleton College 10.53
17 Denis McCarthy East Cork AC 10.59
18 Tony Lilley Carrigtwohill 11.00
19 Donal Broderick Midleton AC 11.05
20 Owen O'Connell Midleton 11.07
21 Conor O'Brien Eagle AC 11.07
22 Denis Dunne Cork 11.13
23 Gary Prendergast Rathcormac 11.18
24 Tom Cody Midleton AC 11.19
25 Pat Fogarty Cork 11.34
26 Trevor Mahoney Midleton AC 11.44
27 Barry McDermott Dromahane 11.45
28 Niamh Walsh Youghal AC 11.45
29 Maurice Tobin Grange Fermoy AC 11.49
30 Dan Horgan Midleton AC 11.50
31 Olan Barrett Grange Fermoy AC 11.52
32 Sean O'Keeffe East Cork AC 11.54
33 Pearse O'Neill Aghada 12.01
34 Simon Thompson Midleton AC 12.01
35 Pat Murphy Aghada 12.02
36 Tom O'Neill Aghada 12.06
37 Ken O'Keeffe Aghada 12.07
38 Billy O'Sullivan Midleton 12.12
39 Leo O'Donovan Midleton 12.14
40 David Murphy Midleton CBS 12.15
41 Kevin O'Reilly Midleton AC 12.17
42 Ted O'Leary St Catherines AC 12.20
43 Conor McGrath Ballyandreen 12.24
44 John O'Riordan Rising Sun AC 12.26
45 Vincent O'Neill Midleton AC 12.29
46 John Griffin Grange Fermoy AC 12.30
47 Trevor Collins Naas 12.31
48 Kevin Cooney Midleton AC 12.33
49 Hugh O'Donnell Midleton CBS 12.37
50 Enda Heery Cork 12.41
51 Declan O'Connell Cloyne 12.43
52 Noel O'Connor Carrigaline 12.45
53 Paul O'S-Hourihan East Cork AC 12.52
54 Eibhlin Cleary East Cork AC 12.57
55 David Creedon East Cork AC 13.01
56 Bob McNamara Cork 13.03
57 Finbarr Lyons Midleton 13.11
58 Caroline Geary Midleton AC 13.19
59 Mary Histon de Barra Rising Sun AC 13.20
60 Pat Walsh Midleton GAA 13.27
61 Philip O'Mahony Midleton 13.28
62 Emmet Foley Whitegate 13.32
63 Dave Barry ??? 13.34
64 Elaine Guinane Eagle AC 13.37
65 John Fennell West Waterford AC 13.38
66 Deirdre Aherne Midleton AC 13.40
67 A.J. Murphy Midleton 13.44
68 Matt Geraghty Cloyne 13.45
69 Paul Kierans Carrigtwohill 13.45
70 Martin Carr Midleton 13.49
71 Marian Ahern Midleton AC 13.51
72 Brian Kenneally Midleton AC 13.52
73 Jimmy Murray Rising Sun AC 13.53
74 Sam O'Keeffe East Cork AC 13.55
75 Niall O'Keeffe Ballycotton 13.56
76 Donal O'Donoghue Little Island 14.01
77 Yvonne Kennedy Midleton AC 14.02
78 Maura Burke Carrigtwohill 14.04
79 John Murphy Carrigaline 14.06
80 Donie O'Connell Midleton AC 14.08
81 Camilla O'Connor Midleton AC 14.11
82 Caroline Fletcher Midleton 14.12
83 Danny McCarthy Midleton AC 14.15
84 Karen O'Flynn Eagle AC 14.17
85 Michael McCarthy West Waterford AC 14.19
86 Con Warren Carrigtwohill 14.21
87 Christine Murphy Midleton AC 14.24
88 Eadaoin O'Neill East Cork AC 14.26
89 Frances O'Connor Eagle AC 14.34
90 Austin Murphy St Finbarrs AC 14.37
91 Mary O'Keeffe Midleton AC 14.46
92 Claire O'Brien East Cork AC 14.51
93 Angela Nagle Cork 15.00
94 Conor Cusack Midleton 15.08
95 Karen O'Brien Cobh 15.09
96 Tara Murphy Midleton 15.14
97 Trish Murphy Midleton AC 15.20
98 Che Magurn Cork 15.26
99 Darren Cusack Midleton 15.28
100 Colm Jordan Midleton AC 15.31
101 Eoin Cashman Midleton AC 15.33
102 John Cashman Midleton AC 15.34
103 Tom Cusack Midleton 15.36
104 Maura O'Doherty Midleton AC 15.38
105 Ciara Fitzgerald Carrigtwohill GNS 15.43
106 Norah O'Brien Carrigtwohill GNS 15.43
107 Philip Mullane Ballycotton 16.02
108 Linda Hegarty Midleton 16.15
109 Geraldine O'Donovan Cork 16.32
110 Margaret Beausang Midleton AC 16.32
111 Margaret Mulcahy Midleton AC 16.37
112 Louise Barry Midleton 16.43
113 Margaret Sinclair Midleton AC 16.51
114 Clare O'Leary Midleton AC 17.40
115 Eimear Hallahan Leevale AC 17.50
116 Taylor Murphy Leevale AC 17.51
117 Olive Hallahan Midleton AC 17.52
118 Grainne Murphy Cork 17.54
119 Pauline Casey Midleton 18.04
120 Tom Casey Midleton 18.05
121 Fionan O'hAodain Lisgoold 18.09
122 Joy Sexton Aghada 18.55
123 Hubert Crowe Tipperary 18.58
124 Aideen Murphy Midleton 19.00
125 Dermot Murphy Midleton 19.05
126 Barbara O'Connor Midleton AC 19.34
127 Kathleen O'Connell Midleton AC 19.35
128 Sile Kierans Carrigtwohill 20.33
129 Mary Toher Midleton AC 21.07
130 Jim McMurtry Midleton AC 22.32
131 Aine O'Keeffe Ballycotton 22.49
132 Sophie O'Keeffe Ballycotton 22.50

Start of the East Cork 3 km series in Midleton...Tues 20th Oct (7:30pm)

East Cork AC kick off their winter series of 3 km road races on Tuesday evening, the 20th of October at 7:30pm. If you are coming from Cork, take the bypass and at the main roundabout, take the 3rd exit and the road south towards Whitegate. After the Topaz garage, take the 2nd right. Entries are taken at one of the parked cars.

What is it???...........Basically, the race itself is 3 loops of a 1km circuit just to the South of Midleton in East Cork. No prizes, no refreshments or anything like that. It's just a 3k run. Entry fee is about €3. The start time for each race is 7:30pm. There will probably be around 100-120 runners taking part.

Note of Caution....If you are doing this race, remember it is in a residental area. The organisers depend on the goodwill of the local residents so that this race can continue. Please keep this in mind when parking, warming up and so on.

Reflective vest........Part of this race is on the hard shoulder of the Midleton to Whitegate road. The organisers request that you wear a reflective bib or vest for the race.

If you want more info, you will find the information below....

East Cork Athletics Club PRESENT THE 12th YEAR OF THE
EAST CORK AC ‘3K’ WINTER SERIES

Total of 7 runs over 3km (just short of 2 miles) in Midleton between
October and February – Run ANY FIVE and receive
a classy printed long-sleeve T-shirt!

The Series takes in three laps of a 1km circuit around Bailick and Ballinacurra. Entries, along with the start and finish, are at the bottom of the Dark Road.

ALL COMPETITORS ARE REQUESTED TO WEAR A REFLECTIVE BIB

DATES:
Tuesday October 20th 2009
Tuesday November 10th 2009
Tuesday December 1st 2009
Tuesday December 22nd 2009
Tuesday January 12th 2010
Tuesday February 2nd 2010
Tuesday February 23rd 2010

Entry fee: €3.00 per race (East Cork AC members and all Juveniles - €1.00). Time: 7.30pm each night.

iPods and headphones in the news again...

Some of you may have noticed that in the recent Cork BHAA 'Cork to Cobh' race, there were 17 people omitted from the final results as they were wearing headphones. Out of a total field of 802 runners, it might seem like a small problem but it goes to show that it is still an issue for the organisers of road races. In a previous poll, those for and against such a ban were pretty evenly split. However, it's not really up to runners to decide whether they should wear headphones or not. The Cork BHAA have banned them for insurance reasons and if people don't like that then nobody is forcing them to run in the race.

In the USA, there was a recent story about one of the top runners in a Marathon who was disqualified for wearing an iPod. Part of the story is below...

Second Lakefront Marathon winner disqualified for iPod use..........By Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel ..Oct. 7, 2009

Lakefront Marathon officials have disqualified a second women's winner because the runner from Lombard, Ill., tuned into her iPod in the late stages of the run to Veterans Park, Race Director Kristine Hinrichs confirmed Wednesday morning. The unprecedented action appears to elevate Corina Canitz of Brookfield into the top spot, although two other women beat her to the finish line on Sunday.The fastest woman, Cassie Peller, a 23-year-old student at Marquette University, was disqualified shortly after the race for accepting aid - a water bottle - from a friend outside of the official water stations. That made Jennifer Goebel, 27, the winner, but only for a couple days. Race photos showed Goebel with an iPod tucked into the waistband of her shorts and she admitted using the device in violation of a USA Track and Field rule that applied only to elite runners in the Lakefront Marathon. Runners competing for USATF championships and or cash prizes are not allowed to use electronic devices. A USATF official said the disqualification of Goebel may be a first in the country, although the rule banning iPods has long been a source of great debate and consternation among runners. The USATF relaxed the rule late last year, allowing race directors to decide whether to ban the devices at races.The change essentially allowed most mid-pack runners to use a musical boost, but kept in place the ban for elites. Goebel, a massage therapist from Lombard, Ill., said she believes she should not be disqualified and her time of 3:02:50 and her ranking should remain in the official results."If they're going to disqualify me for having an iPod they should disqualify everyone who had one," she said. "It's just a little ridiculous. I went there to have a fun race with my friends."Goebel said she is willing to give up the prize money, which would be a $500 penalty for tuning into a mix of classic rock, techno and alternative between miles 19 and 21."I wasn't listening to it earlier in the race," she said. "I wasn't going to put the music on unless I thought I needed it."If you're bored, it pumps you up a little bit. Sometimes, on a long training run, I'll bring it along for the last half hour. When I run marathons sometimes I carry it and never put it on."The 3:02:50 she ran on Sunday is Goebel's second-fastest marathon time, well off the 2:52 she scored in her debut in the Chicago Marathon in 2005. Goebel's infraction was detected in a picture shared online and pointed out by posters debating Peller's disqualification on the Badgerland Striders web forum. A number of runners complained that Peller had been unfairly singled out by race officials, and that Goebel also deserved to be disqualified. If Goebel's disqualification stands, the victory would fall to Canitz, a 42-year-old mother of four who won the Lakefront in 2007 and 2008. On Sunday, she trailed Peller by nearly two minutes and finished more than a minute behind Goebel. Her 3:04:20 was good enough for third place, then second...and now, maybe first.

BBC........and only last week, there was a report in a BBC podcast asking whether listening to music while running makes any difference. This is a seperate issue as to whether they should be banned or not.You can find the podcast HERE......fast forward and listen to the section between 7:30 and 14:30 minutes.

Info on the 2010 Ballycotton 10 mile road race...

It's that time of year again when it's time to start thinking about the Ballycotton 10! The final date has just been announced........Sunday, the 21st of March 2010. For those of you used to the race, it's usually on early in March. However, because of a national cross country race on the 7th and a point to point meeting in Cloyne on the 14th, they had to opt for the later date. Now, you might ask.....what has a 'point to point' meeting in Cloyne got to do with a road race in Ballycotton??? Traffic management is a big part of the race as several thousand people descend on Ballycotton for the day. Having that many cars travelling through Cloyne on the main road into Ballycotton from Cork City would result in chaos. So, the 21st of March it is......... Still though, it will feel kind of strange doing the race so late in the month ;o)

Ballycotton 10........for those of you new to the local running scene.......the Ballycotton 10 mile road race is one of the biggest races locally and attracts runners from all over Ireland and the UK. Due to safety concerns, the numbers have to be limited to about 3,000 entries. Entries usually are taken in December and the demand is huge. About 2,300 actually take part on the day.

Entries........the 'terms and conditions' for entries to the 2010 race will be announced at the end of next week. I hope to have them here on Friday evening, the 23rd of October.

In previous years, they allowed a special 2 week window for club runners or anyone who had done one of the Ballycotton Summer series races (overseas entrants got around 4 weeks). For the rest, there was a quota of 2,500 entries. If the organisers were to follow the same format as before, then non-club/non-summer race entrants would have about 24 hours to get their entries in and even at that, it's starting to become a bit of a lottery.....i.e. Get the form on the Monday, post it on the Tuesday and hope it arrives by the Wednesday when the entries would probably close.

This year, we'll have to wait and see what they have decided.

Previous popular debates on this website...

To follow up on the post about the results previous polls, new visitors might be interested to look through some of the previous debates on this website.

1) Should there be an Over 35 Mens section in all road races???...LINK

2) Should headphones and MP3 players be banned??...LINK

3) Cross Country....what's the problem?...LINK

4) Cork Marathon...Will the Relay event replace the Marathon itself?...LINK

5) Downhill Courses...When is a PB not a PB?...LINK

6) Thought for Food / Food for Thought...debate on the refreshments after the local road races...LINK

Results of previous polls on this blog...

Since about 2007, there have been polls on various subjects on this website. Over time however, the results get forgotten about as they disappear into the archives. This particular post has the following purpose...

1) Put all the links to the results of the previous polls in one spot.

2) Enable new visitors to the website to see those polls easily.

3) To remind myself what I asked before!

If you can think of a question that you think might be suitable for a poll then send me an e-mail (address shown near the bottom of the right hand column) or leave a comment here.

Previous Polls....

1) What is your preferred distance for a road race?...LINK

2) How many full Marathons have you done?...LINK

3) In road races, should headphones be banned?...LINK

4) Should there be an over 35 section for men in all road races?...LINK

5) Would you link to see an evening winter league in or near Cork city?...LINK

6) What was your longest race in 2008?...LINK

7) Question about the Relay event in the Cork City Marathon...LINK

8) Would you count a personal best time over a downhill course?...LINK

Results of the County Novice Cross Country...Sun 11th Oct 2009
This cross country race took place in Killeagh in East Cork on Sunday, the 11th of October.

Results......The full results are now available HERE.

Photos.......Here are some photos from the ladies event. The is another set of photos HERE.

Elsewhere, a large contingent made the trip from Cork to the 5 km race in Killarney. See the Running in Munster website.

Races this weekend...Sun 11th Oct...Just a reminder for anyone not doing the cross country race in Killeagh on Sunday, there are 2 other events on Sunday. In Dungarvan, West Waterford, there is a cross country race which is open to club and non-club runners alike. In Kerry, there is a 5 km road race in Killarney. More details on the Running in Munster website.

County Novice & Under 23 Cross Country, Killeagh, 12pm...

The cross country season kicks off next weekend with the county Novice and U23 race next Sunday at 12 noon in Killeagh. If you are coming from the direction of Midleton then take the first right just as you cross over the old railway bridge as you enter Killeagh and the event is about a mile or so up a narrow road. Anyone interested in doing these events should contact their club officials.

Results of the Cork BHAA 'Cork to Cobh' 15 Mile Road Race...Sun 4th Oct 2009

Conditions for this race was almost ideal.....nice and cool for the start, bright but not sunny with a very gentle breeze. It was only after the 2 hour mark that the clouds began to part and the slower runners got some warm sunshine to contend with. As for numbers in the race, I hear that it was somewhere around the 800 mark which if true, is a jump up from last year's 673 finishers. How long before they break the 1,000 mark?? In 2 or 3 years time??? Looking back to 2002, they got just 242 finishers. That's a big difference in just 7 years.

Results......the results can be found HERE.

Here are the top 10...

1 S Ciobanu (AIBP) 76:43; 2 S Bralitis (West Waterford) 76:58; 3 B MacMahon (Clonliffe) 77:43; 4 D O’Callaghan (HSE) 82:34; 5 R Zakis (West Waterford) 83:18; 6 D Kerins (West Limerick) 84:01; 7 C O’Connell (UCC, M45) 84:28; 8 M Boyle (unatt) 85:49; 9 D O’Leary (St Finbarrs) 86:46; 10 V Neumerzhitskiy (AIBP, M40) 87:49.

Photos.......(Updated Mon 5th)...there are several people out along the course taking photos so there should be a few galleries available over the next few days.

1) Paudie Birmingham has a gallery of 300 photos of the finishing strait in Cobh.

2) Marc Dalton of Mideton AC has a set of 132 photos at the 8 mile mark near Carrigtwohill.

3) There is another set of 259 photos HERE.

4) On the commercial front, finishline photographs have a set of photos at........well, the finish line!!

5) On the website RacePix365.com, you can search for your photo by bib number (...note...some of these photos are already covered in the albums above)

Weather forecast for the Cork to Cobh race...

It looks like it's going to be pretty good for the race....temperature in the low teens and a very light westerly wind. It would seem as if there will be a weak weather front to the south of the country so it might be a bit hit or miss whether it is cloudy or not. There is a chance of some rain but it would seem to be unlikely......I hope! So fingers crossed, it looks like it's going to be an ideal day :o)

Update Sun 7:00am....the weak front that was supposed to pass to the south is currently crossing the southern half of the country. Probably more cloudly than expected. There is a bit of light rain to the north-west of Cork at present.

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'Cork to Cobh' 15 mile Road Race - Sunday 4th Oct (9:30am)

As far as I know, outside of the Marathon, this is one of the longest road races in the country. At 15 miles (24 kms), this is a tough race and a good challenge for many runners. It is often used by people in Cork and Munster as preparation for the Dublin City Marathon at the end of October.

Course...The start is next to York Hill on Summerhill North. We will run down the hill and then left past Patrick's church and then past the railway station and towards the Dunkettle roundabout. We stay on the N25, we run over the Jack Lynch roundabout underneath. (Please note that we will have to run in front of 2 slip roads here....one going down to the roundabout and the other one when it comes back up. Watch the traffic). Then we carry on and run on the hard shoulder for about another mile until we take the turn off left for Glounthaune, just before the bridge. (It was here last year where the nutter in the car was causing a bit of hassle!) Down towwards the main roundabout before Carrigtwohill and then take the bridge over the main road and head towards Fota, Belvelly bridge and on into Cobh. The finish is close to the main square in the centre of Cobh. Overall, there are a few small hills but nothing major. A big factor on this course can be the wind. You are basically running East for 8 miles and then South for another 6 miles before turning East again for the last mile. I remember running this many years ago when it was wet and there was a very strong Southerly wind. Miles 1 to 8 were fine but as soon as we turned South, the very wet t-shirt that I was wearing was pressed against my chest and I could really begin to feel the body temperature dropping (...by the way, you should never wear a cotton t-shirt in a race! Wear a singlet and/or a thermal vest). So, watch the weather forecast closer to next weekend and keep an eye on the wind direction.

Entries.......You can still enter this race on the day at the Montenotte Hotel. Cost is €25 and there is a free t-shirt included in this price. Note the start time is 9:30am so get there early! They will take entries up until 9:00am sharp. Last year, they got 673 for this event after getting 600 the previous year. If the weather is fine, surely they will break the 700 mark this year? That's a lot of runners....give yourself plenty of time if you are entering on the day. Note that you can still enter beforehand by phone and then pay on the day. See the previous post.

For directions on how to get to the Hotel, follow this LINK.

No MP3 players allowed!!!.........Now this is important. This is one busy road and it will NOT be closed for the race. It's not so bad for the first few miles when we are all bunched together and there is a hard shoulder to run in. But, it's a different story when you are passing Fota and get onto Great Island itself. There is no hard shoulder, the road is narrow enough and the field will have thinned out by then. You really need to be able to hear what's going on around you for this race. If you are thinking about wearing them, do everyone a favour....leave them at home.

Gear.......They will have a van/truck AT THE HOTEL to take all of the bags to Cobh. You can re-collect your bag in Cobh in the scout hall which is up behind the car park behind St.Coleman's Catheral. This is also where the refreshments and prizegiving will be.

Transport......Options - You probably have a few options in terms of transport...

1) Two cars...take 2 cars to Cobh, leave one in Cobh and drive up to Cork

2) Train...The train will leave the train station in Cobh for Cork City at 12:25, 1:35, 2:50, 4:25 and 5:30pm depending on long you want to stay around after the race. The fee is approx €5. Note that the first train in the morning from Cobh back up to Cork is at 9:15am so this is not an option if you were thinking of leaving your car in Cobh.

Distance...If this is your first time trying 15 miles, then be careful to pace it properly. It's very easy to go off too fast and get to the 10 mile mark near Belvelly bridge / Fota and find that you have run out of steam. Keep something in reserve until you hit the bridge. If you feel fine, then push on. If you are tired, then at least you have kept something to get you through the last 5 miles.

Race Options...For those of you doing the Dublin Marathon, your choice is...do you treat Cork to Cobh as a training run or do you race it like you would a half marathon??? Some have told me that it is too close to the Marathon to race (3 weeks)....other have said it's not. What to do??? My opinion is that the Cork to Cobh race is an ideal opportunity to test out your Marathon pace. If you have a target in the Marathon, you should have a pace in mind. Say your target is 3:30 in the Marathon. That's 8 minute miling. Maybe you would like a little bit of cushion to fall back on so say 7:50 per mile...that's your Marathon pace. Do a 2 mile warm up on Sunday and then run to Cobh at your Marathon pace. If you get to Cobh exhausted, then you need to revise your Marathon pace. If you can run the 15 miles to Cobh and you feel like you could carry on ok, then surely that's a good sign for the Marathon. Only another 11 miles to go!! ;o)

Water Stations....They will have a number of water stations spaced out along the course.

Weather....Met Eireann say..."Sunday will be largely dry with bright or sunny spells, though a few showers are possible."...so it is looking good for Sunday.

...and finally - If you want to have a closer look at the course, click on this LINK

There is a flyer for the race HERE.

If you are not running on Sunday, perhaps you might consider helping out?? See this message from the Cork BHAA...

Appeal for Stewards: Cork BHAA urgently require volunteers to assist with stewarding the race. If you or your family (over 18s) are available to help out on Sunday nextplease contact Chief Steward Timmy Murray at 086 1091782 as soon aspossible.