Preview of the Cork BHAA 'UCC' 10 km road race - Sun 11th of April (11am)...
After a bit of a lull in the Cork BHAA calendar, they are starting off again with the UCC 10 km next Sunday. This is one of the oldest races in Cork and always attracts a large crowd.

Registration...
This year will be the same as last year. So to register, you need to go to the old red brick pavillion in the Mardkye sports grounds. Note that the refreshments and prizegiving is in a seperate building about 1 km away.

Here are the instructions from the race organisers regarding parking...

NO PARKING INSIDE THE ARENA GROUNDS,
however,
FREE parking in the new IT building (former Greyhound track) on Western Road
FREE parking on the Main UCC Campus
FREE parking in Castlewhite Apartments Car Park by Gaol Cross
FREE parking in Distillery Fields on the North Mall - across from the Maltings
also available parking in and around the Mardyke grounds, i.e. Lee Road and PAID parking in the Sacred Heart Church grounds.
Ideally for the more experienced runner, park in Distillery Fields, jog to registration, RACE, jog back to car (omitting shower in Mardyke) and walk across for the prizegiving (all weather dependent).

For a better idea of where the old pavillion is, use this link...http://pininthemap.com/d33af461acd75dd12


A flyer for the race can be found HERE

Course...
After you register, just follow the other runners accross the 'Shaky Bridge' to get to the start.
The first 200 metres or so is all downhill but soon you are on to the Lee road and it's pretty flat. Around the 2.5 mile mark, there is a good uphill section followed by a steep downhill bit around 3 miles. After that, it's more or less dead flat. You re-join the main road, go past The Anglers Rest pub and then join the Carrigrohane straight.
This last section is about 2 miles long and dead straight. Some people hate it as you can see the County Hall way off in the distance and it feels like it isn't getting any closer. To be honest, I can't see what difference it makes...you are at the 4 mile mark in a 10 km race and that's it.

The finish of the 10 km race is just beyond the County Hall. Keep it in mind as you run in the Straight Road....once you pass that building, you're almost there. The finish is just outside the Kingsley Hotel.

Water...
Please note that there are no water stations out along the course. Once you finish, they will have bottled water available.
Apres Race...
After the race, the refreshments and the prizegiving will be in the restaurant in the Lee Maltings. See map above. To see exactly where the Lee Maltings is, click on this link...http://pininthemap.com/67404b694e24f13bb

If you would like to have a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website. Click on the link below...http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/cork/527572334

Beginners....!!!

Considering that this race is just 3 weeks after Ballycotton, some of the newer runners might be wondering about doing this race? Sometimes I think that people starting off get the impression that the local road races are only for fast runners.......a bit like the Cork City Sports once a week! The UCC 10k race along with many of the other local races is just a scaled down version of the Ballycotton '10' race. Instead of 2,300 people running, you have around 200-300. The standard is the same...from the fast runners at the front racing to the not so fast at the rear who are just trying to finish. If you can run 10 kms / 6.25 miles at any kind of pace then you'll be fine.