Last day for volunteers for the European Athletics Team Championships 1st League...

Just a reminder that today is the last day that people can volunteer for the European Athletics Team Championships First League which will be held in June in Dublin.

More details in an earlier post.

Contestants sue organisers in US extreme mud race...

Over the last few years, there have been a rise in the number of 'mud races' in the UK and Ireland. These basically mean that contestants have to run, walk and crawl through various obstacles along a course. Some however are not without their problems.

In an extreme mud race in Washington in late 2012, several people suffered broken bones during the event and are now suing the organisers saying the course was too extreme and unsafe. One particular obstacle of concern was a slope lined with watered-down plastic that turned into a 15-foot fall into a ravine.

One experienced 'mud runner' broke multiple bones in her ankle which required 11 screws to be fitted. Wendy Davis who is a police officier said..."I looked at my ankle and there was a large protrusion from the front where the bone dislocated from the femur. When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous. It's not something a reasonable person would do."

A court will now decide when an extreme mud run becomes too extreme. Could the same happen here?

Ballycotton 10 Start and Finish area...

In an earlier post, we had a look at where the parking was and how the buses would drop off runners at the barricade near the old church. This time, we have a look at how things are organised beyond the barrier and at the start / finish area.

Starting from left to right...You walk beyond the barrier at the old church and you will see Ballycotton National School on your right after about 300 metres.

There will be a large Marquee here which can be used for changing or for leaving your gear if you so wish. There will also be toilets located here. Womens changing is usually in the squash courts. Up in the school, there is a hall which will have...
1) A help desk in case you forgot your number / chip or have some other issue
2) Ballycotton '10' merchandise for sale
3) Refreshments after the race...usually tea and biscuits
4) Prizegiving

By the way, you don't have to go into the hall. You got your race number for your singlet in the post and that is all you need for the race. There is no requirement to go in and register or anything like that.

From here, it is about 800 metres to the start line. As you approach it, there will be a barricade across the road.
Only elite runners are allowed beyond the barrier and they will use that area for warming up prior to the race. The majority of runners will take the small road right and up the hill....orange arrows on map above.

You will pass through a small housing estate and at the end, there is a small field where you can leave your gear. There should be someone there handing out plastic bags with labels.

This is probably the best area to leave your tracksuit tops / warm gear. Remember, you will want to wear something warm for after the race as you walk back towards the school / buses.
From here, it's down a small hill and join the field for the start of the race. You should try and be here for about 1:15pm.

This is the start of the Ballycotton 10...narrow and packed! Once you get to the start area, you will see that they have it split up into the various estimated finishing times. You should go to your zone early and stay there. If everyone did this, it would be ideal as the faster runners would get away first leaving plenty of space for the runners behind.

Once you finish the race, you will be handed a bag with your race mug and you will be directed back up the hill to the small field. Just as you leave the baggage area, they will be giving out water, bananas and Mars bars as you walk through the small housing estate. You now return towards the National School / Buses, staying well in on the left so that you don't impede the slower runners coming in.

Survey finds that 1 in 3 who go to the gym don't even sweat...

Results of a recent survey of 2000 people that go to gyms in the UK show that about a third don't even break a sweat.

Some of the main reasons found were.....
1) Spend more time relaxing in the sauna than exercising
2) Spend the time talking or reading
3) Not sure about how to use the equipment properly
4) Self conscious and embarrassed if they do sweat
...and for women...
5) Ruining their make-up and/or hair

If you are in this category then follow some basic advice. Gyms and cross training can play a valuable role in improving a runners times, especially in the strengthening of the core muscles and overall stability. If you are a member of a gym then know exactly what you are trying to achieve and  ask one of the instructors for advice. If the staff aren't trained properly then find someplace else.

Popular points for spectators for the Ballycotton 10...

The map above shows some of the popular spots on the course for people who may want to watch the Ballycotton 10 Mile Road Race.

Note that you will not be able to drive anywhere near the village of Ballycotton itself. You will be stopped a long way out and be directed to one of the car parks.

Ballycotton 10 organisers appeal for volunteers...

The organisers of the Ballycotton '10' race are appealing for volunteers to help out at the race next Sunday. With a race of that size with so many runners and spectators, it takes a lot of help to make sure everything goes ok on the day.

If you are interested in stewarding then contact Tommy at ballycottonrunning@eircom.net or 086-2386390

Directions and Parking for the 2013 Ballycotton 10 mile road race...

The big race coming up next weekend is of course the Ballycotton 10 in East Cork. With roughly 2,300+ runners expected to take part, the little fishing village will be packed to the gills (...excuse the pun ;o)

If you are running in this years Ballycotton '10' race for the first time then please note....this race is NOT like other races. You cannot turn up 20 mins before the start, park and just wander over to the start line.

The fishing village of Ballycotton is basically at the end of a cul-de-sac and the approach roads are part of the race course. As a result, the local roads are closed off well before the start of the race and most people have to park in designated car parks.

Getting there.....For anyone not familar with the area, Ballycotton is in East Cork. If you are coming from the direction of Cork City then turn off at the roundabout on the Midleton by-pass and follow the directions for Cloyne. If you are coming from Waterford / Youghal then take the left at the crossroads in Castlemartyr and head south for Ladysbridge / Garryvoe. Expect traffic delays as you get closer to the parking area.

Here are the instructions from the race organisers.......
Directions are very similar to last year, except we will be sending all traffic from the Cork city side to the Churchtown South area.
From Cork city, turn off at Midleton roundabout & take road signposted to Cloyne. From Cloyne all race traffic will be directed to Churchtown South & from there to car park no1 & no2 just outside Ballycotton. Car park no1 & 2 are just walking distance from changing marquee & information centre.
Traffic coming from east side, such as Youghal will take left turn at Castlemartyr and travel to Garryvoe. A shuttle bus service will transfer runners to Ballycotton from here. Last buses leaving car parks at 12 noon.

Please follow Garda & stewards instructions. Our aim is to get all runners to start line in a comfortable & safe manner before the 1.30 start. We also endeavour to get all runners & spectators on the road home in a timely & safe manner too

 

Parking....There will be 3 car parks in use...In all circumstances, please follow the stewards / Gardai directions on the day.

Car Parks 1 and 2....These are located on the hill above the old church on the way into Ballycotton. This is by far the largest car park and all of the traffic from the west (incl. Cloyne) will be directed here. Car Park 1 is approx 1.2 miles from the start line so it's only a 25 minute walk. Car Park 2 is just around the corner, an extra 5 mins.

Note that it only takes 10 minutes to walk from Car Park 1 to the local primary school (Marquee/Changing/Trouble Desk/Prizegiving, etc).

Car Park 3....This is located at Garryvoe which is 4 miles from the start. This is the one for people coming from the east.

The shuttle buses will take you as far as the road junction by the old church on the way into Ballycotton. There will be barricades here to stop all traffic entering the village. From here, it is about 0.8 miles or a 20 min walk to the start. The local primary school is only 3 mins from here.

Times....If you have read the piece above then it's obvious that it's going to take some time to get to the start line. The race starts at 1:30pm. If you get there at 1:28 then you are going to have over 2,000 runners in front of you packed in tight on a narrow road.

I would recommend that you should try and get to the car parks by 11am to 11:30am. Allow time for traffic congestion on the approach roads. Allow time at the car park to wait for the bus and for the bus to travel in. Allow time for the final walk. You should aim to be at the start line roughly 15-20 minutes before the race starts....about 1:10pm.

Car Pooling.....Consider car pooling with your friends and colleagues to reduce the number of cars traveling to the area.


Course Preview...A full preview of the 10 mile course can be seen HERE

11 Irish athletes selected for the European Indoor Championships next weekend...

Athletics Ireland have selected eleven athletes for the European Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden due to take place from the Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd of March 2013.

They are...
Brian Gregan (Clonliffe Harriers AC)...400m
Ciaran O’Lionaird (Leevale AC)...3000m
John Travers (Donore Harriers AC)...3000m
Stephen Scullion (North Belfast Harriers AC)...3000m
Fionnuala Britton (Kilcoole AC)...3000m
Claire Tarplee (Dundrum South Dublin AC)...1500m
Derval O’Rourke (Leevale AC)...60m hurdles
Ciara Everard (UCD AC)...800m
Amy Foster (City of Lisburn AC)...60m
Tori Pena (Finn Valley AC)...Pole Vault
Rose Anne Galligan (Newbridge AC)...800m

David McCarthy (West Waterford AC) who had the qualifying times in both the 1500m and 3,000m events had to withdraw due to illness.
Mark English (Letterkenny AC) also dipped under the qualification standard of 1:48.50 in the 800m when setting a personal best of 1:48.44 at the national championships recently. However the World Junior Finalist has made the decision to focus on training and preparation for the European U23 Championships in Finland in July.

Results of the Matehy 4 mile race...Sun 24th Feb 2013

Results of the Matehy 4 mile race near Inniscarra on Sunday, the 24th of Feb 2013

Men
Alan O'Shea Bantry AC 20:53
John Meade St Finbarrs AC 21:32
Wieslaw Sosnowski Eagle AC 23:15
Ladies
Rhona Lynch Eagle AC 25:30
Michelle Kenny Midleton AC 25:32
Mary Sweeney St Finbarrs AC 26:20

The full results can be seen HERE

"Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep"

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a slideshow of photos HERE

Mallow 10 entries and the 'Buff'!

As of this weekend, there are now less than 300 places left for the Mallow 10 mile road race on Monday, the 18th of March. The overall limit is 1200 places so it's likely to sell out. If you are interested in running then enter asap....entry fee €15. Details in an earlier post.

Over the last few years, the organisers Mallow AC have given out various things at this race from hats to tech tops. This year, it's the turn of the 'Buff'...

To get a good idea on it's many uses, you'll find instructions in this video...

World's oldest Marathon runner hangs up his shoes...

Over the weekend, 101 year old Fauja Singh, from Ilford, east London, who is 101 years old, finished the Hong Kong 10 km in a time of 1:32:28. This was his last race in a career which only started when he was 89!

Back in 2000, he ran his first Marathon in London. Since then he has run another eight Marathons with his best time of 5:40 being set in Toronto in 2003.

In 2011, he shot to fame when he became the oldest Marathon runner ever at the age of 100.

Fauja Singh was originally a farmer from the Punjab in India and moved to Britain in the 1960s, and started running when he was 89 after he lost his wife and his fifth son. "From a tragedy has come a lot of success and happiness," Mr Singh said, before the race.

Big turnout for the Operation Transformation 5k run in Cork...

Somewhere between 500 and 1000 people turned out on Saturday morning in Tramore Valley Park in Cork City for the Operation Transformation 5k run. Conditions were actually almost perfect for it...cold and dry. Perhaps the only thing missing was a bit of sunshine.

Roughly 90% of the field was made up of women, many no doubt avid followers of the TV show. There were a few club singlets present but it's probably safe to say that the vast majority were non-club. It's probably a safe guess as well that many of those running would look at the usual 5k race locally as being 'too serious' whereas the truth is that most of them are well capable of taking part in other races as well.

Former Cork GAA players Kevin Hennessey and Thomas Mulcahy

There are also plans to hold another 5k run here on Saturday, the 27th of April. Instead of it being an Operation Transformation event, it will be organised by the Cork City Marathon and it should be a great way for those training for the Marathon Relay event to see how their training is progressing. More details as they become available.

Cork City Lord Mayor John Buttimer and former Irish international racewalker Olive Loughnane got proceedings under way. In the background is former GAA player Teddy McCarthy, only man to win an All Ireland hurling and football winning medal in the one year, 1990

Photos....
1) There is a small gallery of photos by Mick Dooley HERE

Fionnuala Britton sets new PB time over 3000m, Claire Tarplee runs qualifying standard

At the XL Galan meet in Stockholm last night, Fionnuala Britton ran a new personal best time of 8:54.37 in the 3,000m indoors. Her previous best of 8:55.22 achieved at the start of February.

Women 3000 m
1 Genzebe Dibaba ETH 8:26.57 MR PB WL
2 Eilish McColgan GBR 8:49.31
3 Almaz Ayana ETH 8:50.10
4 Siham Hilali MAR 8:53.12
5 Fionnuala Britton IRL 8:54.37
6 Polina Jelizarova LAT 8:56.06
7 Gete Dima (pace) ETH 9:00.88

This only comes days after running a PB and winning the Irish senior indoor title in the 1,500m in Athlone last weekend.

Also at the same event, Claire Tarplee of Dundrum South Dublin AC finished sixth in the 1,500m in a time of 4:13.16, a new PB for her and also inside the European standard of 4:14.00. Her previous best was 4:14.53 set in Vienna at the end of January. At the British championships the weekend before last, she won the 800m 2:03.66, just outside the 2:03.00 European standard.

XL Galan Stockholm, SWE
Women 1500 m
1 Abeba Aregawi SWE, Hammarby IF 3:58.40
2 Axumawit Embaye ETH 4:09.11
3 Rabab Arrafi MAR 4:09.36
4 Treniere Moser USA 4:12.09
5 Mimi Belete BRN 4:12.16
6 Clarie Tarplee IRL 4:13.16
7 Katarzyna Broniatowska POL 4:14.15
8 Charlotte Schönbeck SWE, IFK Lidingö 4:16.12
9 Kristine Eikrem Engeset NOR 4:17.99
10 Alem Gebremariam ETH 4:19.46

Athletics Ireland Juvenile Star Award...Feb 2012

The Athletics Ireland Tipperary Crystal Juvenile Star Awards 2012 were held recently at the Tullamore Court Hotel...

L to R...John Sheehan who received the Drifter Cup on behalf of Leevale AC for Best Track & Field Club..........Robert and Marian Heffernan, special guests and Olympians...........Mary Maher, who received McAuliffe Trophy on behalf of Cork for Best Track & Field County..........and David Cussen, who received the Tipperary Crystal Star Award for Cork and the Eamonn Gilbert Award for Best Juvenile High Jumper in 2012. Pic......Dan McGrath/Editorial Images.

David Cussen was also the winner of the Cork City Sports Athletic Person of the Month for January...

From Cork City Sports...David Cussen (Old Abbey AC) is the January winner of the Cork City Sports Athletic Person of the Month. In January David won the Munster Junior high jump championship at Nenagh with a superb jump of 2.02m to once again clear the magical 2 metre barrier. Last July just before his 17th birthday David took part in the Cork City Sports at CIT clearing a height of 1.95m. A few days before the City Sports David won both the long jump and high jump at the Under 17 Irish Championships in Tullamore. David subsequently won the high jump at the Home Countries Schools International in England and was second in the Celtic International in Scotland to round off a successful 2012. To show that David’s high jumping is really on the way up he won the the Irish Junior indoor title last weekend in Athlone with a new personal best of 2.06m. The bar is set high for the for the career of this talented young athlete.

Jerry Kiernan critical of grants to GAA

In the middle of last week, the Irish Sports Council announced a €900k support scheme for GAA  Inter-County Players for the next two years. In reaction to this news, some international Irish athletes had commented that limited funds should have been spent on those representing Ireland internationally rather than on GAA players playing for counties.

Newstalk radio interviewed Irish athletics commentator Jerry Kiernan for his reaction. In it, he doesn't exactly mince his words.....

“I wouldn’t (give GAA players a grant), I think the GAA is the richest sporting association in the country, and they should be well able to look after themselves. I don’t particularly like the GAA, I don’t like football in particular, there’s not much to it….but I watched bits of the games over the weekend and what struck me was how unfit the players were.”

“My one abiding memory of the championship last year was when Donegal beat Kerry (in the All-Ireland quarter-final). In the Irish Times the following day you had (a photograph of) four Kerry players trooping off the field…and I looked at it and I said to myself ‘well these are four people who didn’t invest too much time in training.’ I don’t have a high opinion of their fitness; I don’t have a high opinion of their commitment to fitness.”

“…there’s absolutely no comparison (between athletes’ training regime and that of inter-county players). I believe that the GAA people live in a cloistered world and they don’t think beyond what they do themselves, and they tell themselves that they are training hard.”

“I often notice when they (GAA players) are commenting on things, they’re always talking about the sacrifices they make. You’ll never hear that among athletes, boxers, swimmers or people who do international running. But always with the GAA it’s always, always a sacrifice. Now maybe I’m extra sensitive to this…but they all talk about the sacrifice they’re making.”

“When you talk to them (the coaches) after, they’ll tell you how poor they (the players) are fitness-wise.”

“I would only give money to people who are competing internationally.”

The full interview can be heard below. It starts at 7:00 and runs until 22:40......



The grant scheme works out at €400 per GAA player per annum. Some will argue that the GAA should be funded as it's a sport unique to Ireland but should the inter county players be getting grants? Should sports grants be reserved for international athletes?

Red FM interview with race walker Olive Loughnane...

A week ago, Irish international race walker Olive Loughnane announced her retirement from athletics.

Recently, the Cork radio station Red FM caught up with her for an interview. In it, she reflects back on her international career which covered four Olympic Games...from Sydney to London...and a silver medal at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.

The interview can be heard HERE

Operation Transformation 5k...Cork...Sat 23rd Feb 2013

No doubt many of you will have seen the Operation Transformation programme on RTE television over the last few months. As part of the current series, they are holding a 5k fun run in Cork next Saturday morning, the 23rd of February at 11am. Entries for this opened weeks ago and sold out in a few days which just goes to show how popular the show is and how popular events aimed at the general public can be.

Here is a map outlining some of the key areas...

Parking.....
a) There is limited parking available in the Tramore Vally Park on a first come, first served basis. Note that you cannot turn right into the park if you are driving north on the South Link Road from the Kinsale Road roundabout.
b) There is plenty of parking across the way at the Park n Ride. There will be a shuttle bus there to take people across to the park and back afterwards. Pedestrians are not allowed to cross the South Link Road.

Pedestrian Access.....The park can be accessed on foot via Half-Moon Lane on the South Douglas Road.

RACE DAY TIMETABLE
9.30am Information Desk, Toilets and Baggage Area Open
9.30am Parking in Tramore Valley Park (first come/first served) Park n Ride and Mick Barry Rd.
10.00am Individual WarmWup
10.30am Assemble in allocated Assembly Zones
10.30am Vehicle Access to Tramore Valley Park CLOSED. Black Ash Park n Ride will remain open
10.50am Mass Warm up
11.00am First Wave Start
11.05am Second Wave Start

SPECTATORS...The entire Tramore Valley Park will be open if anyone wants to watch. The park will officially open to the public in late 2014 so this is a chance to see what it will be like.

Overall....If the run follows the route of previous events then it is basically two laps as shown on the map in green. No doubt many of those taking part will be just walking but others will be in the process of running 5 kms for the first time. As some of those runners improve, many will appear at other races over the next few months. If you are one of those new runners then have a look at the current race calendar. Many are those events are suitable for anyone who has completed a Couch to 5k training programme.

The current forecast for the day is that it will be cold but dry.

Coverage of the Irish Indoor Athletic Championships...

The Irish Indoor Athletic Championships were held last weekend at the new facility in Athlone. Over the two days, some great times were posted on the new indoor track.

In the womens 1500m, European Cross Country Champion Fionnuala Britton put in a great burst of speed 300m from the end of the race to win comfortably in a time of 4:13.96, a new personal best time and almost eight seconds faster than her previous best of 4:21.85. It was also under the qualifying time for the European Indoor Championships in Sweden (4:15) although she is likely to concentrate on the 3000m there.


In the womens 3000m, Lizzie Lee from Leevale AC in Cork took an early lead and held it to the end to win a national title...



In the mens 1500m, John Coghlan who is coached by his father Eamonn took the title...

There is a 55 minute programme now available from the RTE Player service HERE

Athletics Ireland has a gallery of photos HERE

The full results can be seen HERE

Ciarán Ó Lionáird runs 3:52 mile in New York...

Catching up on news from last weekend, Ciarán Ó Lionáird from Cork set a new personal best time of 3:52.20 in the Wannamaker mile last Saturday (16th Feb) at the Millrose Games in New York.

 Place    Athlete Name   Affiliation    Time                                  
 1    Lopez Lomong   Nike Oregon TC    3:51.21
 2    Matthew Centrowitz   Nike    3:51.34
 3    Ciaran O'Lionaird   Nike Oregon TC    3:52.10 
 4    Chris O'Hare   University of Tulsa    3:52.98
 5    Lawi Lalang   Arizona    3:54.56
 6    Ryan Hill   NC State    3:54.89
 7    Garrett Heath   Saucony    3:55.55       
 8    Ryan Gregson   Nike    3:55.97
 9    Donn Cabral   Nike    4:00.21
 10    Liam Boylan-Pett   NJ/NY TC    4:05.49

Not only was this over two seconds faster than the his previous best of 3:54.76 which he ran in February 2012 but he also becomes the 4th fastest Irish man over the distance on the Irish alltime indoor list.

Irish Alltime indoor list...Mile sub 4.02.00
1 3.49.78 Eamonn Coghlan 27.02.83
2 3.50.94 Marcus O'Sullivan 13.02.88
3 3.51.20 Ray Flynn 27.02.83
4 3.52.10 Ciaran O'Lionaird 16.02.13 (Old PB 3.54.76 11.02.12)
5 3.52.30 Frank O'Mara 25.01.86
6 3.54.50 Mark Carroll 18.02.01
7 3.55.04 Alistair Cragg 21.01.06
8 3.55.40 Niall O'Shaughnessy 28.01.77
9 3.55.75 David McCarthy 28.01.12
10 3.56.39 Paul Donovan 25.01.86

In the race video below, Ciarán is in the black and green strip and is safely at the back of the pack in about 7th place for the initial few laps...

Post race interview...

Results of the Clonakilty Back to Back Marathon...Sat 16th and Sun 17th Feb 2013

When this event was announced a few months ago, it sounded like a novel idea but somewhat crazy! ;o) The thought of doing a full Marathon on a Saturday followed by another full Marathon on a Sunday might appeal to some people but would enough people do it to make the whole venture worthwhile?

Websites appeared, Facebook pages were updated and expressions of interest flowed in. But how many would actually do the two?

At the start of the month on the 2nd and 3rd of February, there was a dry run (excuse the pun ;o) with the race directors invitational back to back Marathon. On the Saturday, the sun shone in the clearest skies you could ever hope for making it a spectacular day. The following Sunday was overcast but dry. In total, nine people ran the two Marathons.

Fast forward two weeks later and it was time for the main event. On the Saturday (16th Feb), a total of 149 people took part. In contrast to the main Marathon over the same course back in December, it was a much easier race to get to and get away from. There was loads of parking nearby, no delays and the smaller numbers just made it a much easier event to handle. The day itself was overcast but mild. The results are HERE

On the Sunday, the wind really picked up which meant it was going to be more of a challenge out on the exposed parts of the course. Despite the weather forecast for showers, it stayed dry throughout. A total of 121 people took part. The results are HERE

So how many did the two days? Looking around at the singlets and faces at the start line on both days, it was obvious that people had traveled from all corners of the country to do this event. Overall, an amazing 112 people actually completed the two Marathons. Results HERE.

Looking forward, the Clonakilty Back to Back Marathon is sure to attract another large crowd next year. Whatever about  the main event in December, this one got a very favourable response and the challenge of doing a Marathon one day after another will appeal to some people. Add in the fact that it is just a stunning course to run on...especially in nice weather...then it's an added bonus. If it's a challenge that interests you then this is the one to do.

Strength and Conditioning Workshop at CIT in Cork City...Wed 20th Feb 2013

A Strength & Conditioning workshop will take place at Cork IT on Wednesday 20th Feb from 7pm - 9pm. It takes place upstairs in the brick building next to the track stand and is open to all athletes & coaches aged 11+. Cost is €5 payable on the night between 6.40pm-7pm.

Functional Screening for Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention...Gordon Brett Strength & Conditioning Coach, Munster Rugby

"The workshop will cover how we can improve performance by ensuring that each major joint's ability to produce power and complete technical movement's are not being restricted through poor mobility/stability of the muscles that effect joint range of movement and power production. We will also cover how to assess athletes movements and discover compensations or limiting factors in their movement that may decrease performance or increase their risk of injury. The workshop will be both theory and practical based and is aimed at athletes and coaches of all levels. At the end the participants will have an understanding of how to screen and apply practical strategies to improve the performance of athletes and reduce their risk of injury."

For further information please contact RDO Steven Macklin at 0876335565 or e-mail steven@athleticsireland.ie.

Results of the Carrigaline 5 mile road race - Sun 17th Feb 2013

There was a big turnout of 433 runners for this years Carrigaline 5 mile road race organised by Eagle Athletic Club. The winner of the mens race was Sean McGrath of East Cork AC who has won the Carrigaline 5 for the last 6 years running. The womens race was won by Sinead Paley in a time of 31:03.

Pat Ryan, brother of the late Tommy Ryan presenting the winners trophy to Sean McGrath

1    MCGRATH, Sean    East Cork AC    25:52
2    SHEEHAN, Colm    Leevale AC    26:21
3    MURPHY, Brian    Iveragh AC   26:26
35    PALEY, Sinead    Eagle AC    F40   31:03
38    REGAN, Maura    Eagle AC   31:19
39    DORIS, Anna    Midleton AC    F40  31:19

Results.......The full results can be seen HERE

Category Results...HERE

Winner of the womens race Sinead Paley receiving her prize fromVanessa Clarke, General Manager of the Pepsico plant in  Carrigaline

St.Finbarr's AC receiving the mens team trophy from Rob Patterson of The Edge Sports, co-sponsor of the Carrigaline 5 mile road race.

Photos...(Updated 8pm 18th Feb)
1) John Quigley of Eagle AC has a slideshow HERE
2) Pat O'Driscoll of Eagle AC has a slideshow HERE
3) Joe Murphy has a large slideshow HERE
4) Derek Costello has a gallery of 187 photos HERE

Video...
1) Ruairi O'Mahony has two video clips...

Start of the race...


About 200m from the finish line...


Voucher........If you ran in Carrigaline then you should have got discount voucher for The Edge Sports store. If you go to this old post, you will see the location of their Superstore near the Kinsale Road roundabout. They also have a smaller shop in the North Main Street in Cork City. Note that the voucher expires on the 30th of April. Make sure you use it in time.

Free talk on sports injury and fitness training...Tues 19th Feb 2013

Joyce Wolfe (current Irish Ironman record holder) and colleague Mark Evans will give a presentation and talk on all aspects of sport injury and fitness training.  Joyce and Mark are both chartered physiotherapists, the clinic is Joyce Wolfe physiotherapy and sports injury clinic at Nemo Rangers, Trabeg Sports Centre, South Douglas Road, Cork (021 4899251).

The presentation will take place in Trabeg Sports Centre in Douglas on Tuesday February 19th at 8:00pm.

Mark will give a presentation on the following
•main aspects of injury prevention
•indicators of injury
•swim, bike, run common injuries, symptoms, rehab and pre-hab for these
•injury basics, rubbishing myths, optimizing recovery
•off season work, screening
•realistic injury healing times for certain injuries
•importance of flexibility and strength
•postural problems related to intensive exercise

Joyce will then do a short presentation on her top 10 tips to a successful ironman and then open it up to the floor re triathlon related questions and can speak about ironman preparation or any other aspect of being fit for life.

This might be of interest to anyone trying to improve their triathlon, swimming or running times.

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Carrigaline 5 mile road race this weekend...Sun 17th Feb 2013

The big race this weekend in Cork is of course the Carrigaline 5 mile road race on Sunday, 17th of Feb at 11am. Located just to the south of Cork City, it should be within easy reach for a lot of people. Coming just 2 weeks before the Ballycotton '10' on the 3rd of March, it is ideally placed to test your fitness level to see what it's like. The race is organised by Eagle AC...my own club...HINT HINT ;o)

The town of Carrigaline is only five miles south of the South Ring Road.

Getting there.....As you approach Carrigaline, take the relief road going left towards Crosshaven. Stay on this until you come to the next major junction. The Community Centre is about 100 metres to the left / East of this junction. However, there is very limited or no parking there. There is plenty of parking if you drive straight ahead. Go through the junction and after 200 metres, there is a large car park on the right. If that gets full, there is another large car park at a local Lidl store just ahead.

Both car parks are a very short walk from the Community Centre. Follow the race stewards instructions on the day.

Entries......The entry fee for 2013 is €10. Two Euro of this will be donated to local charities.

Changing and showers for ladies upstairs, changing only for gents in main hall.

Details of prizes, etc on the race flyer shown in an earlier post.

Race Sponsor......One of the main sponsors for the race is The Edge Sports Shop. They will be giving out 20% discount vouchers to all race entrants. Obviously the amount saved at the time of purchase may well exceed the cost of the race entry so it makes sense to get your hands on one. For example, if you spend €50 with the discount voucher, you save €10...the race entry fee.

From the sponsor.....The Edge Sports shop Specialises in Running, Cycling, Swimming and Triathlon. All sales staff participate in at least one but generally two or more of the sports and are able to give excellent advise to customers. The new Superstore boasts a large Running Department and Swimming Department on the 1st floor; with stacks of bikes, clothing, accessories and electronics on the ground floor. Keen runners for the respective clubs - Robert Patterson (St. Finbarr's AC), Dave Lyons (Mallow AC) and Barry Donovan (Leevale AC) rotate between the two shops depending on the day of the week. Video Running Gait Analysis is available on demand at both shops to help customers select the best shoe for their running needs.

They have two shops in Cork City. One on the North Main Street in the city centre and a much larger superstore out by the Kinsale Road Roundabout. If you look at the preview for the Tramore Vally 5k race back in 2011, you'll find a map showing the exact location.

The Course...It's not the flattest of races with a few drags out along the course but nothing too serious. You start about 500 metres east of the Community Centre in a housing estate. When you come out of the community centre, turn right and follow everyone else.

A full preview of the full course with photos is available at http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/01/cork001.html

David McCarthy of West Waterford AC runs qualifying time for the European indoors

At an indoor 3000m track race in Boston on Thursday evening (14th Feb 13), David McCarthy ran almost a solo race to win in a time of 7:51.24...

2013 Makeup BU Valentine Invitational...Boston University | Boston, Massachusetts
Men 3000 Meter Run
================================================================================
    Name                    Year Team                    Seed     Finals  Points
================================================================================
  1 McCarthy, David              Unattached                      7:51.24 
  2 Sollowin, Stephen            Northeastern         8:10.31    8:11.66 
  3 Paulson, Matt                Boston U.            8:11.00    8:15.47 
  4 Bush, Jeff                   Brown                8:18.00    8:16.61 
  5 Gibson, Robert               Boston U.            8:08.00    8:17.78 
  6 Doyle, Brian                 Northeastern         8:09.23    8:19.48 
  7 Burke, Chris                 Stotan               8:10.00    8:20.95 
  8 King, Curtis                 Dartmouth            8:20.00    8:21.33 
  9 McGurrin, Mark               Brown                8:28.00    8:27.96 
 10 Gorman, Tim                  Dartmouth            8:20.00    8:34.42 
 11 McKeon, John                 Boston U.            8:50.00    8:46.66 
 12 Caputo, Michael              Boston U.            8:43.00    8:47.74 
 13 Gennaro, Paul                Boston U.            8:48.00    8:49.10 
 14 Galasso, BU                  Boston U.                       8:57.93 
 15 Mentas, Chris                Northeastern         8:45.00    9:06.86 

This is almost a full nine seconds inside the 8:00 minutes needed to qualify for the Irish team for the European Indoor Championships in Gothenborg in March.

Launch of book on history of Cork Athletics...Fri 22nd Feb 2013

This might be of interest to those involved in athletics in Cork. On Friday, the 22nd of February at the Munster Arms Hotel in Bandon, a new book titled “Champions Past and Present” (A brief sporting and political history of Cork Athletics) will be launched. The book was written by Liam Fleming of Bandon AC and top Irish race walker Rob Heffernan will be on hand to do the official launch.

Endurance Workshop...CIT Cork - Thurs 14th Feb 2013

Just a reminder that there is an endurance workshop in CIT in Bishopstown on Thursday evening at 7pm. Details below from Steve Macklin of Athletics Ireland....

Calling all Endurance Athletes & Coaches.

Thursday 14th February there will be a Road Running/XC/Track/Endurance Workshop at Cork IT 7-9pm.

It takes place upstairs in the red brick building next to the track stand at Cork IT Track. This will be an open forum to discuss all things related to endurance running. It will cover both track, cross-country and road running and will be a chance to interact with other coaches in the room and discover new ideas etc.

Just come along on the night at 6.45pm and bring €5. For further information please contact RDO Steven Macklin at 0876335565 or e-mail steven@athleticsireland.ie.

Estimate your 10 mile time from your 5 mile performance

With just over two weeks to go to the Ballycotton '10', the 5 mile race in Carrigaline next Sunday (17th Feb) is an ideal opportunity to gauge what your Ballycotton time might be like. Both the Ballycotton '10' and the Carrigaline '5' races are reasonably similar courses in that they both have small pulls to contend with. Whatever your current level of fitness is like now, you are not going to really improve by any amount in the next two weeks. Essentially, you can use the Carrigaline race as a test of your fitness levels and then have a full two weeks to recover before the big day.

So what do you expect your Ballycotton time to be? The biggest mistake that most people make is that they start too fast and then get into trouble in the second half of the race. If you know exactly what your likely finishing time might be then you can run at the correct pace. It's not just a case of getting your 5 mile time and doubling it. As you would expect, you are going to run a 10 mile race at a slower pace.

I have a list of suggested 10 mile times HERE based on your time in Carrigaline. It is of course based on the assumption that you have done the training for a 10 mile race!

More details on the Carrigaline 5 mile road race in an earlier post.

Remember, if you are going then you can pre-enter and skip the entry queue on the day. Anyone taking part will also get a 20% discount voucher from the Edge Sports.

Entries for the Mallow 10 race pass the 800 mark...

The Mallow 10 mile road race is coming up on Monday, the 18th of March 2013. There is a limit of 1200 entries with a closing date of the 10th of March.

Please note that as of today, the number of entries has just passed through the 800 mark! Considering that there is still over a month to go the race, it shouldn't take too long for those last 400 to go. The message is very simple...if you are interested in running this race then you should enter as soon as possible. If you decide to wait until after the Ballycotton 10 race then it may well be too late.

The Mallow 10 costs €15 to enter. More details in this earlier post.

Results of the Cork BHAA Janssen 4 mile road race - Sun 10th Feb 2013

Men
1 James McCarthy
2 Sean McGrath
3 Tim O'Donoghue
Women
1 Sinead Paley
2 Carmel Parnell
3 Michelle Kenny

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos...
1) Joe Murphy has a slideshow of photos HERE

Results of the poll for the best 5 mile race in Cork in 2012

The poll for the best 5 mile road race in Cork in 2012 was up on the site for the month of January. There was a total of 579 votes and these are the results...

The Midleton 5 mile road race organised by Midleton AC came out on top with 203 votes. The Carrigaline 5 mile road race organised by Eagle AC came in second with 173 votes. In third spot, the GR8KM in Mitchelstown organised by Galtee Runners AC had 101 votes.

As with previous polls, it's important to point out that just because a race got a low number of votes, it doesn't mean that there was something wrong with it. The poll just shows the most popular.

The 2012 Midleton 5 mile road race got a total of 508 entries which just goes to show how popular it was. It will be coming up again this year at the start of May.