Entries for the 2010 Ballycotton '10' are out on Monday!

It's that time of year again with the mad rush to get into next year's Ballycotton '10' road race in March. I think it's safe to say that this will be the busiest year ever with several thousand people trying to get one of the first 2,500 places.

A quick recap...

Any AAI club member OR anyone who ran in all 4 of the Ballycotton Summer Series races OR anyone who couldn't run in the 2009 race but returned the timing chip can avail of a 2 week window to get their entries in (closing date Dec 15th).

Anyone living overseas can avail of a 6 week window (closing date 8th Jan)

If you do NOT qualify for one of the above conditions then you have to try and be one of the first 2,500 entries.

This is what happens next.....

1) Anyone who sent off a SAE for an entry form should be getting them back in the post on Monday. If you are one of these, you should fill out the form and post it on Monday afternoon before your local post is collected. If you do this, you should almost certainly get in.

2) If you did not send off for an entry form then you can pick one up in the following retail outlets on Monday evening...

John Buckley Sports (Cork), Ger Wyley Sports (Dungarvan) and local shops in Ballycotton and Shanagarry that same afternoon.

Or you can download it off the Ballycotton Running Promotions website on Monday evening and print it out.

You can now download the ENTRY FORM

If you do it this way then you'll need to post the entry as soon as possible i.e. Tuesday morning / afternoon.

Make sure you post it early enough so that it is collected on Tuesday evening. If you do this then you will PROBABLY get in ok but maybe not! Every year, the closing date for entries gets earlier and earlier. Last year, the 2500 limit was reached on Thursday evening and it will probably be earlier this year.

Whatever you do, don't delay in sending off the form. If you take the approach of 'Ahh sure.....I'll post it next weekend'..........that's fine except the entries will be well closed at that stage!!

Get the form as soon as you can and post it as soon as you can.

Please note that you can only enter by post. There is no online entry and you cannot drop your entry in to someones house. By having postal entries only, everyone has the same chance of getting in.

Note also that the entry fee is €15.

The form.........when you get it, cut off the section for entries only. DO NOT RETURN THE WHOLE FORM! I think the organisers have a pretty good idea of what the entry conditions are at this stage and they don't need you sending them the whole form to remind them ;o)

Read the advice given by Ballycotton Running Promotions below on what to do with the entry form. Read it CAREFULLY.....it would be a shame to go to all that trouble in sending off a form early only to be disqualified because you filled out the form incorrectly.

BEFORE YOU FILL OUT THE FORM…...Instructions from Ballycotton Running Promotions
Read all of it carefully – all the information you need is there.
Each person should fill out their own individual form – when people fill a form for someone else, it invariably leads to mistakes in spelling, date of birth, etc which causes problems to the information already on the data base.

Fill out the form in sequence (surname, first name, age on day of race, date of birth, male/female, etc.) Please write in BLOCK CAPITALS

Remember the club is AAI club – Athletics Association of Ireland (not BHAA, soccer club, GAA club).
Telephone/email contact is convenient for checking mistakes!

If you ran in ALL FOUR of this year’s Ballycotton Summer Series 5-mile races, tick the box.

If you were unable to run in the 2009 Ballycotton ‘10’ AND returned the ChampionChip, tick the box.

Sign your name on the bottom… by doing this you also agree NOT to transfer your number to another runner in the event of being unable to run.

Please detach (tear, or cut off if form is downloaded) the section of the form with your details and only send this along with the entry fee of €15 to: Ballycotton Running Promotions, Ballycotton, Co. Cork.
Entry fee is €15. Cheques or postal orders should be made payable to Ballycotton Running Promotions. Don’t staple cheque to form. Cash is sent at your own risk.
Do not send a stamped addressed envelope - you can also send more than one form in the same envelope if required.

Using registered post won’t make any difference – it either gets there in time or not.

The first 2,500 postal entries opened are automatically accepted. After that, any AAI club member or any runner who ran in all four of the 2009 Ballycotton Summer Series or those who were unable to run last year’s race AND returned the ChampionChip will be accepted up and including Tuesday December 15th. Anyone living overseas will be accepted up to and including Friday January 8th.

As soon as the first 2,500 entries have been received, a notice will be posted on this website and on local radio. Unless you qualify under the above headings, please do not continue to send in entries. It only causes extra work and expense to send them back.

Remember, not everyone will get in. If rejected, don’t take it too bad – there is now no shortage of races at a variety of distances in Cork and throughout and country! ...........but there's only one Ballycotton '10' ! ;o)