Some stats on the 2014 Ballycotton 10...

Just a quick look back at some of the numbers for this years Ballycotton 10 race.

1) Number of finishers...In 2012, a total of 2617 people ran the race. That dropped to 2601 in 2013 and 2571 in 2014. In most normal races, a drop might be considered a reflection on the popularity of a race but that can't be said for the Ballycotton 10 as the online entries had sold out in 90 minutes last December and they could have taken many more entries if they were able to.

The slight drop is most likely due to the change in the entry process and just the number of people not turning up on the day. The most remarkable thing about it is probably just how consistent it is year after year. The difference between 2012 and 2014 was only 1.8% despite the fact that there was an extended window for club runners and potentially lots more could have entered. It seems that the club entry level is pretty constant as well and the organisers can be reasonably sure that if they keep the same entry criteria then 2,500 to 2,600 people will turn up in March of 2015.

2) The number of no-shows...This was an issue that came up in the comments section for the results of the race. The graph below shows the change in the last two years...

It was 26.9% in 2012, 26.2% in 2013 and 28.5% in 2014. The slight rise this year may be due to the fact that there were a lot more places available online and there may have been more 'impulse' entries as opposed to previous years when people had to print out forms, get a postal order or cheque and post them off. Again, the most remarkable thing really is just how consistent the levels are. The organisers can say that roughly 1,000 people are almost certain not to turn up on race day.

Some might ask then why can't they defer their entry to the following year because they are injured, sick , etc. It is fine from an individual point of view but it would be a nightmare trying to administer hundreds of people trying to defer their entry. At the end of the day, this is a race run on a non-profit basis by volunteers and it's up to individuals in December where they want to enter or not. It's not the organisers fault if someone can't make it to the start line.

Just on a further point, I did a quick check to see if club runners were more likely to turn up on race day. I took the numbers for the ten largest clubs and checked them. There was quite of bit of variation between the clubs as they ranged from 20% to 40% no shows. However, when I took the numbers for the ten clubs as a whole and worked out the no shows then the average level is at 28.5%, exactly the same as the overall figure.

Conclusion....club runners are no more or no less likely to turn up on the day as compared to a non-club runner.

3) Percentage of women....Back in late January, I had a post up which showed the percentage of women in the Dungarvan 10 mile road race had grown from 28.5% to almost 41% in the last five years.

With the Ballycotton 10, it has stayed pretty consistent for at least the last three years. In 2012, it was 36%. In 2013, it was 39% and in 2014, it dropped slightly to 38.4%.

One possible answer to this might come from the fact that athletic clubs tend to have a higher percentage of men compared to women. As there was an extended window for club runners to enter then it might offer one reason as to why the number of women is steady at about 39%.