The graph below shows the growth in numbers since the very first race in 1980.
Some points to take from it...
1) You can see the running boom back in the early 80's and early 90's as well as the huge surge in numbers currently.
2) There was a higher percentage of faster runners up until around the year 2000.
3) Notice how the number of those running under 40 minutes has been steady since 2009. The growth since then has been those running 40 mins plus. This might well be accounted for by more women now taking part in road races and making up a higher percentage of the field.
As for the race itself, there was a closely contested finish to the mens event with only one second between the top two.
Place Time Name Team Race Age Category min/mile
1 25:50 MCGRATH, Sean East Cork AC M 05:09.9
2 25:51 HARTY, Michael East Cork AC M 05:10.1
3 26:13 BERKELEY, Noel Dundrum South Dublin AC M45 05:14.5
34 29:30 MURPHY, Emma St. Finbarrs AC F 05:53.9
49 30:20 MCCANN, Angela Clonmel AC F40 06:03.9
61 31:09 HOLLAND, Ann-Marie St. Finbarrs AC F35 06:13.7
The full results can be found HERE
Overall positions after 3 races...These have been compiled by John Robinson of Mallow AC and can be seen HERE
Great race.Lovely weather. Very well organised as usual. Many thanks to all the stewards and to those responsible for tea etc afterwards.
ReplyDeleteFirst time doing this and despite my poor time it was as usual a very well run event. It's a tough course and probably as tough as any of the other 3. Will be back next year. Great value for a fiver
ReplyDeleteGiven that 125 women (versus 222 men) have competed all three races; perhaps consideration should be given to the number of top finisher shirts? 20 versus 50 seems a bit biased.
ReplyDeleteYes, agree with all above comments. The only gripe is that the road surface is awful, I'm be surprised if it didn't causes a few injuries.
ReplyDeleteJust to tease out the point about the number of t-shirts in the series.
ReplyDeleteAfter 3 races, there are 222 men left. There are 50 t-shirts for the top 50 men in the series. So 222:50 = 4.44:1
On that basis, if there are 125 women and 4:44:1 is applied then there should be 28 t-shirts rather than the current 20.
It's obviously up to the organisers and it would probably be best to look at the final standings after the last race and compare it to previous years but there is probably as a case for increasing the number of top t-shirts for women. Maybe 25 or 30?
Great evening for a run. Organisation was excellent, quick to register and results up the next day, fantastic stuff. I have to agree though, the road surface on that narrow stretch was dangerous, many potholes circled with paint but impossible to see them when you are running in a bunch as it's so narrow. Saw a few stumbles and heard lots of expletives.
ReplyDeleteThe road surface was a big problem alright and injuries are always a concern. I did hear Ballycotton Running Promotions stating last night that they had contacted the council regarding this earlier in the week. It's a pity that the council can't see fit to fix this problem before the race but I suppose this is an ongoing problem all over the country.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - but contacting the council should have happened way before this week surely?
DeleteGreat experience: fantastic location, perfect weather, great organization! Well done everybody
ReplyDeleteLuigi
road surface was a big problem fairly new to running in tatters today,was much tougher than the previous two.
ReplyDeleteGood race, organisation excellent - with results out very quickly - top 200 listed on the night
ReplyDeleteCourse was tough enough the pulls would take it out of you
To my knowledge, the local community council have been in contact with the local authorities regarding the road surface for the past number of months, and nothing has been done for that particular stretch of road. Also, Ballycotton Running Promotions did contact Cork County Council regarding the matter well over a week before the race.
ReplyDeletewrt, those comments relating to the road surface and contacting the council; Earlier today, I was speaking to one of the race organisers and mentioned, in passing, the potholes. He told me that the council had been notified, at a high level, but that nothing had happened in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteApparently the locals had been hoping that the presence of the race might bring some pressure to bear on the Council, as local pressure had failed.
I think, unfortunately, that this is going to become an even more critical issue. Virtually every road is in bits. The coming winter, with frost, rain and floods, is going to make them even worse. Little or no maintenance is being carried out on them.
We have some chance in Cork city, however the quiet country roads, on which many races are run, are way down the pecking order, on the priority list for road repairs.
there was a few injuries but dont think it was potholes ....start was a bit cramped and ruined a few times but apart from that was well organized
ReplyDeleteI love these races and have been doing them for a few years. Bad stretch of road was a problem but i am an optimistic and discovered after first loop that its a quick mile because u are busy looking down trying to dodge the bumps... :-) on a serious note though i would like to appeal to the cyclists who "think" its a good idea to cycle down the narrow roads of bc on a race nite to possibly think again. So dangerous for drivers and cyclists. I nearly crashed my car trying to overtake a bike. Still shook and still raging over it...
ReplyDelete