Counting down to the 2010 Ballycotton '10'...

Needless to say, the next big race is the Ballycotton '10' next Sunday and over the next 2 days, all of the posts here will be about this race.

Disclaimer...!!

Needless to say, this is NOT the official Ballycotton 10 website ;o)

I may have plenty of info about the race but you should always check the official website for the most up to date information. The Ballycotton website can be found at http://www.ballycottonrunning.com/

Event Programme...

Everyone who is doing the Ballycotton 10 should have received their race pack in a large brown envelope with the following items....

• Race number for the front of your singlet/t-shirt. Yes, the front. Not on your back, not on your shorts, not on your forehead......on the FRONT of your singlet so that the nice organisers can see your number when you are finishing.
• A timing chip in a small white envelope. No chip, no time! Tie it onto your shoelaces. If you are running correctly, your shoes should be the closest part of your anatomy to the timing mat on the road. Again, don't put the timing chip in our pocket or anywhere else. Timing chip on your shoes, race number on the front of your vest....not the other way around.
• The Event Programme booklet. If you have any questions about the race, you should read the Frequently Asked Questions section on page 4 first.

Statistics...

Ballycotton '10' wouldn't be Ballycotton '10' without John Quigley of Eagle AC digging up a few Gigabytes of 'interesting' statistics ;o)

Entries by club....(10 or more)

Club Entries
Midleton AC 104 (2008 = 63, 2009 = 79)
Eagle AC 93 (2008 = 73, 2009 = 73)
Waterford AC 79 (2008 = 46, 2009 = 66)
St. Finbarrs AC 77 (2008 = 47, 2009 = 46)
West Waterford AC 71 (2008 = 87, 2009 = 75)
Kilkenny City Harriers 46 (2009 = 30)
Slaney Olympic AC 41
Mallow AC 38
Gneeveguilla AC 32 (2009 = 13)
Limerick Country Club AC 32
Mullingar Harriers 28
Raheny Shamrock AC 27
West Limerick AC 25 (2009 = 15)
Youghal AC 25
Donore Harriers 24
Athenry AC 21
East Cork AC 21
Bandon AC 20
Thurles Crokes AC 20
Donoughmore AC 17
Rathfarnham-WSAF AC 16
Clonliffe Harriers 15
Grange-Fermoy AC 15
Carrick-on-Suir AC 14
Crusaders AC 13
Leevale AC 13
Rising Sun AC 13
Clonmel AC 12
Ennis Track Club 12
Limerick AC 12
Galtee Runners AC 11
Ballincollig AC 10
Bilboa AC 10
Dundrum AC 10
Sportsworld RC 10


So pride of place goes yet again to Midleton AC! It says a lot about the club when you see how the number of entries have gone from just 63 to 104 in a space of just 2 years.


The other 2 Cork clubs, Eagle AC and St.Finbarrs AC also showed a marked increase in numbers.


From the East, the numbers from West Waterford AC have dropped again which is probably a reflection of the increasing popularity of their own Dungarvan 10 race and no doubt many of those club members see their race as the main event in the Spring. From the East of the Deise, Waterford AC have increased from just 46 to 79 in a space of just 2 years and overtaking their western neighbours for possibly the first time ever.


From the West, Gneeveguilla AC in Kerry have increased their numbers from 13 in 2009 to 32 this year and is a sign that the club is becoming one of the biggest in the Kingdom.


Breakdown by category....
Ignoring the places reserved for elite runners, there is a total entry of 3305 runners. That compares to 3315 in 2009 and 3087 in 2008.


Women
F Senior 586, F35 251, F40 181, F45 103, F50 54, F55 13, F60 5, F65 5, F70 1
That gives a total of 1199 women which is 36.3% of the total. This is an increase on the previous year again. It was 35.1% in 2009 and 33.4% in 2008. 3% in 2 years....Is it showing an increase in the number of women taking up running or is it just a statistical margin of error?


Men
MJ 15, M Senior 1252, M40 368, M45 203, M50 125, M55 84, M60 29, M65 19, M70 7, M75 3, M80 1
That gives a total of 2106 men which is 63.7% of the total. 2009 was 64.9% while 2008 was 66.6%.


Club V Non-Club...
Aprox 61.3% of the entries are from non-club runners while 38.7% are members of AAI registered clubs. I don't have any information from last year regarding this so I don't know if it's up or down. 


Breakdown of non-club by area...
unatt/Cork Count- 489
unatt/Dublin Count - 118
unatt/Midleton Count - 84
unatt/Glanmire Count - 82
unatt/Carrigaline Count - 69
unatt/Limerick Count - 55
unatt/Ballincollig Count - 47
unatt/Carrigtwohill Count - 39
unatt/Kilkenny Count - 34
unatt/Cobh Count - 32


As you expect, the bulk of non-club runners are from Cork. However, two interesting stats pop up here....
1) 118 non-club runners are prepared to travel down from Dublin for a 10 mile road race which shows how popular the event is and...
2) Midleton AC had more club entries than the non-club entries from Midleton! Again, this is a sign that the club is doing a good job of signing up the locals in the area. No doubt, the club chairman Danny McCarthy is busy trying to track down those 84 individuals who slipped through the net this year ;o)


........Thanks to John Quigley of Eagle AC and Paudie Birmingham of Mallow AC for all the work in compiling those statistics.

Training....

For those of you doing the Ballycotton 10 for the first time, now is the time to take it easy. The worst thing you can do now is to do a long /hard run between now and Sunday. Whatever your fitness level is at now, that's it. You can't improve it but you can make yourself too tired. Take it easy for the next few days and save your energy for Sunday.

Car Parking and Pooling...

The thing about Ballycotton is that it is a bit of a cul-de-sac and it can a real headache getting all the runners and spectators into this small area and back out again. This year, they have 3 car parks and they will use a 'Park & Ride' system with buses to take people into the village. The fewer cars that turn up, the easier it will be. Perhaps you might consider car pooling? Do you know someone you could share a car with? Consider it...

Don't forget that they also have an area for bicycles next to the marquee in the village. If you want to get away early, just cycle from the car park into the village and back out again after the finish. Almost certainly the fastest way to get away on the day.

By the way, is there anyone stuck for a lift down to Ballycotton on Sunday? Maybe you would like to carpool with someone? Send me an e-mail with your details or leave a comment and I'll put the request up here.

Accommodation...

For anyone coming down from Dublin or from further afield, you may have booked into a local B&B, hotel or guest house already. If you can't get something close to Ballycotton or want something a bit closer to Cork City, there is plenty of accommodation in Midleton which is about 20 mins from Ballycotton and Cork City by car. The B&B Oatencake Lodge currently has vacancies so you can visit their website if you need someplace to stay.

Over the next few posts, I'll look at the car parking, details about the course and the weather forecast.