Park Runs to start in Clonakilty on the 1st of February 2014

For the last three years, I have been covering news about Park Runs on the site. Back in August 2011, I had an initial post which explained what Park Runs were and asked if they could come to Ireland? They eventually arrived in Dublin after which I asked in January 2013 if there was a potential for them to come to Cork? In May, I had a post about the new weekly 5k Park Run which had just started in started in Macroom.

The latest news now is that a new Park Run is starting in Clonakilty in West Cork. As with all Park Runs, the distance is 5 kms, it's on at 9:30am every Saturday morning, entry is free and you should pre-register online before you take part. 

The weekly runs will be at the Showgrounds which is on the N71 main road that runs south around the town.

Last November, the Macroom Park Run had been running for six months and I had a post which looked back at the numbers. On average, it was getting about 40-50 participants every week.

To get some idea of how well the Clonakilty event might do, it might be handy to have a look at some stats. It's probably likely that for Park Runs, most of those taking part are likely to live reasonably nearby.

The town of Macroom has a population of about 3,900. Other population centres in the general vicinity are Millstreet (pop of 1k5, 13 miles), Ballincollig (pop 17k, 19 miles) and Cork City (pop 100k+, 22 miles). As can be seen, the population in the general Macroom area is relatively small while there is a large of potential pool of participants to the east but they are about 20 miles away.

Clonakilty by comparison has a population of about 4,800. Population centres in the vicinity are...Bandon (pop 6k6, 13 miles), Dunmanway (pop 2k4, 13 miles) and Skibbereen (pop 2k, 18 miles). Cork City with it's large population is 28 miles away.

Going on the above stats, if the organisers in Clonakilty can get the same participation levels as Macroom then the numbers should be good. Going on a very simple ratio basis of comparing the two towns then the average should be about 55 per week.

The one caveat is whether the Macroom numbers are in fact largely boosted every week by people traveling out from Ballincollig and the city? In that case, the Clonakilty numbers may well be smaller. Only time will tell.

The next question is will there be a third Park Run in Cork???