In the Intermediate Women's race, there were only 13 runners taking part and that was actually an increase of 2 on the 11 in 2014. After the first third of the race, those taking part were mostly running on their own for the rest of the race. There were only two teams present, the same as last year.
Intermediate Women
1 Niamh Moore Cork Varsity
2 Carly Cooke Cork Varsity
3 Aoife Carroll Mallow
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| L-R...Carly Cooke, Niamh Moore & Aoife Carroll |
Intermediate Womens Teams
1 Cork Varsity 1, 2, 10, 12 25
2 St. Finbarr's 7, 8, 9, 13 37
In the Intermediate Men's race, there were 19 taking part...down from 30 last year. There were 3 teams compared to 4 in 2014.
Intermediate Men
Pos Name Team Name
1 Lothar Wyrwoll Cork Varsity
2 Donal Coakley Leevale
3 Chris Mintern Leevale
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| L-R...Donal Coakley, Lothar Wyroll & Chris Mintern |
Intermediate Mens Teams
1 Leevale 2, 3, 6, 10 21
2 Mallow 8, 11, 12, 14 45
3 St. Finbarr's 5, 13, 17, 18 53
In the Women's Novice B race, there were 16 taking part compared to 24 last year. The number of teams was the same...three.
Novice 'B' Women
Pos Name Team Name
1 Jessica Bruton Leevale
2 Joanne McCann Mallow
3 Debbie Mc Carthy Riverstick Kinsale
1 St. Finbarr's 4, 6, 8, 14 ...32
2 Midleton 7, 9, 10, 12 ...38
3 Mallow 2, 11, 13, 15...41
The Men's Novice B race had the largest field of the day with 52 taking part (66 in 2014). There was also a modest representation from the clubs with 7 teams taking part (9 in 2015).
1 Alan O'Brien Eagle
2 Mark Walsh Leevale
3 Liam Tracey Watergrasshill
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| L-R...Liam Tracey, Alan O'Brien & Mark Walsh |
Novice 'B' Mens Teams
Pos Club Positions Points
1 Leevale 2, 5, 11, 12 30
2 Eagle 1, 15, 19, 26 61
3 Watergrasshill 3, 4, 27, 31 65
4 Midleton 9, 13, 22, 29 73
5 St. Catherine's 10, 17, 21, 30 78
6 St. Finbarr's 7, 14, 20, 43 84
7 West Muskerry 18, 32, 35, 36 121
The full results of all 4 races can be found HERE.
As for why the numbers were so low? Perhaps it was the Ireland-Argentina Rugby Game in the Quarter Final of the World Cup? Maybe the face there were no Juvenile events meant the parents stayed away? In terms of conditions, it couldn't have got much better as it was overcast and dry.
Photos.....
1) There are 200+ photos on the Running in Cork Facebook page HERE
Why were the numbers so low?
ReplyDeleteI think that a part of it probably has to do with the fact that you must be a member of a club before you can even enter these races. Quite a number of runners entering races are not members of any club.
I also think though that a part of the reason is that runners are too easy on themselves. Most are afraid to really, honestly test themselves and leave that comfort zone of predictable road jogging/running. No doubt there were plenty of men and women out plodding the pavements on Saturday and Sunday grinding out the miles on their long runs in preparation for their next road race where they will start slow and maintain an even pace to finish within a couple of minutes of their predicted time.
Yawn!!!
Where's the fun in that? Where's the testing of limits that is so much a part of cross country racing? Finishing a cross country race in good style, having given it everything is tough but is in the end a very rewarding experience. Every time. The time taken to complete a race is less important than the effort put in and how you accounted for yourself against the other runners from start to finish. There is nowhere to hide, racing with regular injections of pace necessary just to maintain position that is not for the faint hearted. Those who have no desire to experience the thrill of testing races, those who back down from tough challenges in other words the majority of Cork runners (sorry!) will unfortunately continue to refrain from running cross country.
And it is a pity because they are really missing out on a type of running that returns strength of character, determination and resilience to those who practice it in a way that other types of running do not.