Preview of the 'Run for Mark in the Dark' charity run - Wed 16th Nov 2011

The ‘Run for Mark in the Dark’ is coming up on Wednesday, November 16th at 7.30pm. It is being run simultaneously in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Belfast. The proceeds of this event will go to the Mark Pollock trust to help Mark with his rehabilitation.

The Cork event takes place on the Monahan Road/Centre Park Road circuit and there are entries on the night too. Option of 5k or 10k distance.

This link is a video about Mark - Please vote for it on the site, the winning charity gets €10K…… http://www.bettertogether.ie/content/mark-pollock

Some information on Mark:
Mark Pollock is a truly inspiring individual. Having lost his sight at the age of 22 Mark has never let that hold him back. He took hold of his life and never looked back competing in the world’s harshest environments across desert,mountain, ocean and polar regions including 6 marathons in 7 days in the Gobi Desert, a race to the South Pole, and the Round Ireland yacht race; all this despite being completely blind. He made his living as a motivational speaker around the globe and inspired many people to think about how to face challenges and make decisions.

Having overcome his blindness tragedy struck again on the 2nd July 2010 when Mark fell from a second story window and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury which has left Mark paralysed from the waist down. The following clip is of an interview with Mark conducted by the BBC six months after Mark's accident. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12314687

The past year has been incredibly difficult for Mark and while he has dealt with every emotion he is determined not to rest on his laurels. You can check out Mark's blog at www.markpollock.com/blog/blog.asp

He has done a lot of research to find out what he could do and was in hospital for 15 months. He has just been released and is now following a programme of aggressive physical therapy in an attempt to regain any feeling or movement that he can.

The Mark Pollock Trust was set up by Mark's friends and supporters in order to raise funds for this rehabilitation programme, which will involve a daily aggressive physical therapy programme of up to 3 hours per session, input from physical trainers and physiotherapists and repeat visits to a spinal injuries recovery facility in America called, Project Walk. ‘Run for Mark in the Dark’ is the Trust's first official event, although many friends, old and new, have been hosting running and cycling races, events in their homes and donating directly to the Trust, allowing Mark start to rebuild his life and to start training.

The four fundraising runs will take place in Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway simultaneously and range between 4 km and 10km (distances vary depending on the location). Each location has a walking option, so everyone can participate. The cost of the event is €25 per person for this very wothwhile cause. Log onto www.run4mark.com to enter.

On the night....You can also enter on the night at the Clarion hotel. There is plenty of on street parking along Victoria Road. If you are not sure of where the Clarion hotel is then see the map above. It is 530 metres from the hotel to the start line.

Course.......The route used is the Monahan Road / Centre Park Road circuit. The race starts and finishes next to Kennedy Park. The loop is 2.5 kms and you have a choice of doing 2 loops.....5 kms......or 4 loops........10 kms. The course is dead flat and very fast.

In general, the course is well lit with plenty of street lights. The photo below shows the first corner which at the south-east  of the loop. Lots of light here, no issues...

On the north-east corner...shown below....there are plenty of trees. While the leaves are mostly gone at this time of year, it will most likely be the darkest part of the course so watch your footing here...

At the western end of the loop, you are back onto a well lit junction at the roundabout and garage...

Please note that the course will be plenty of race stewards and hi-vis vest are not required on the night.
Post Race.......Runners can use the health club facilities in the Clarion hotel for a shower etc.
A goody bag can be collected be at the Clarion afterwards and they will be selling tee shirts before and after.

Draw for prizes (Top Draw Prize valued at €500 - 2 nights bed and breakfast, one evening meal with a bottle of wine in Kudos bar and approx €50 of pre/post dinner drinks for two people in the Clarion Hotel Cork) in the Clarion after the race also.