Preview of races in Cork next Sunday 14th Feb....Bantry 10 Mile & Cork BHAA Cross Country...

Next weekend is a busy weekend for races with no less than 4 events in the Munster region. On Saturday, there is a 5k in Killarney while at the opposite side of the province, there is a 5 mile race in Waterford.

On Sunday, there are 2 events to choose from...a 10 mile road race in Bantry and a Cross Country race organised by the Cork BHAA in Cork City. Despite the clash of dates, not everyone is interested in running 10 miles or in running cross country so hopefully each event will appeal to a different type of runner.

Bantry 10 (11am).......This 10 mile road race will take place in the Mealagh Valley to the North-East of Bantry town. The route goes up one side of the Mealagh Valley and back down the other side. It is in the countryside all of the time and goes nowhere near Bantry town. The roads are very quiet and if the weather co-operates then it should be a very scenic spot for a 10 mile road race. Another big plus for this race is that the entry fee is only €10 which is very cheap when compared to other events in this area. This is a brand new race and it will be interesting to see how many runners it attracts.

Please note the start line is about 800 metres from the regsitration point and the last entries will be taken at 10:30am. If you are travelling from Cork City then you should plan on leaving at 8:30 to 8:45am at the latest.

For the latest info on this race, you should visit the website for the race and look out for updates.

Cork BHAA Cross Country Race (11am)....This 5 km race takes place in Beaumont Park in Blackrock, Cork City. It is the only cross country race on the BHAA calendar and last year, it attracted just over 100 runners. For anyone new to the running scene, you might think that this cross country race will be a race with mud and dirt everywhere. The reality is that this is just a race on grass rather than on tarmac. If it's wet, it might be a bit slippy but otherwise, it's just like a normal race. As the ground is soft, you'll need to work a bit harder during the race so don't expect your time to be close to your 5 km time on the road.

Registration.....The sign on for this race is at the Cork Constitution Rugby grounds. If you are not sure where that is, click on this link and zoom in and out to get your bearings. As you can see from the map below, Beaumont Park is just accross the road. The Yellow dots show how to get there.

Course......Basically, it is roughly 3 loops around the same course. See the map above. See A...the start and finish point are near here. For the very first lap, you head accross towards E and then back towards B. Other than that, you basically follow the dots above.
A-B....slightly uphill & the ground is just short grass.
B-C...here you are running under trees on a rough path and grass. It is slightly downhill all the way so it's the most likely place you might trip if you are not careful. It can be a bit boggy half ways down.
C-D...this is mostly uphill running and it's slow going. The closer you get to D, the steeper it gets. In fact just before D, a lot of people will walk this. It's steep and you'd be forgiven for going down on all fours trying to get up it! As the ground gets cut up, it gets more difficult the 2nd and 3rd time around. The only thing though is that it's short...just watch your footing!
D-E...initially flat and then gradually downhill.
E-A...more or less flat.

Shoes...the obvious choice are proper cross country shoes but a lot of people won't have these. If the day is dry, you could probably get away with a pair of old runners. You would however have to watch the downhill sections and the sharp corners.