Cork BHAA Cross Country Race - Sun 13th Feb 2011

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 116 runners which is well down on the usual numbers. 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. The numbers are likely to be well down on a usual Cork BHAA race so queues shouldn't be a problem. As per usual, there will be 2 entry desks.....non-registered (€8) and registered (€5).

Cork Con.....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 across 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 across 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.