A quick look ahead to the rest of April 2010.....
Well, a quick look back first!

Ballycotton '10' 2010........Most if you will have got the Ballycotton results in the post by now. One little chart on the last page shows the number of finishers over the last few years....
2007 = 1941
2008 = 2203
2009 = 2402
2010 = 2364
For the 2 previous years, the numbers turning up on the day have been increasing by about roughly 200 each year. This year they are down. When you consider that the numbers at some of the other local race numbers are down this year compared to last year, then is it because we are coming back down off a peak in running numbers or is it just by chance?

Now the look ahead!.....

Coming up this weekend we have the Cork BHAA 'UCC' 10 km road race on the Lee Rd / Straight Rd circuit on Sunday. This is sure to attract a big turnout and I'll have some information here soon with regards to parking, previews, race route, etc.

On the same day, there is the Kilnaboy 10 mile road race in Co.Clare which is the 4th and final race in the Munster Ten-Mile Spring Classics Series. This might be of interest to anyone who did the first 3 races in the series. The overall standings after the first 3 races (which were complied by Denis Sheehan of Mallow AC) and the results of each each can be accessed via links on the series website.

On the 18th of April, we can a brand new 10 mile road race in Cobh. This is in support of a cancer charity and the entry fee is very reasonable at €15. I ran the race route last week and I'll have a preview here next week.

On the 22nd, the first local evening road race kicks off with the Castlemartyr 4 mile over a new route in the village of Ballintotis. You can see some info on this on this in the previous post.

After that, things start getting really busy as the evenings get longer and there is a large selection of races to attend especially if you are prepared to travel.

Looking a bit further ahead, the big one is of course is the Cork City Marathon on the 7th of June. If you were thinking of doing the full Marathon then you should have been in training since about February. If you had trained for the Ballycotton '10' then you have 2 months to up the mileage and get ready for this Marathon. If you are training for one of the legs in the relay event then you need to be training away now. More details about the Cork City Marathon can be found on their website.