As can be seen from the map above, there are quite a number of 5k parkruns in Munster and soon, there will be two more.
On Saturday the 22nd of April 2017, a new 5k parkrun will be starting in Listowel in Co.Kerry. It will be held in Listowel Town Park and it will be on a tarmac surface.
Listowel has a population of about 5,000 people so there are probably enough runners locally to support a parkrun here. The numbers will probably be pretty small though. Newcastle West in Co.Limerick is about 20 miles away and has a similar population. The parkrun there gets an average of 19 runners per week.
On Saturday the 20th of May 2017, there is a new 5k parkrun starting in Clonmel, Co.Tipperary. This one will be at Powerstown Racecourse which is at the northern edge of the town.
This one is different from Listowel in that the population of Clonmel is close to 16,000 people so numbers won't be an issue. The big question here is what impact it will have on the local road races? Clonmel Athletic Club have been organising local road races for years and host a very successful 4k and 6k series. While the entry fee is usually only €5, a free local 5k parkrun every Saturday morning could be an issue.
Both parkruns will have start times of 9:30am and are of course free.
Slowly but surely, new parkruns are popping up every year. In Cork, there is still no sign of Tramore Valley Park in Cork City opening up. As for other locations in Cork, Doneraile Park in North Cork is an obvious venue but this is being used by many clubs, schools and charities at present for fundraising. A free 5k parkrun there would have a big impact.
As most of you know, there is no shortage of events on the calendar at the moment and at times, it seems as if there are too many. As more of these free 5k parkruns start up, they are bound to have an impact on existing races.
If you are interested in any parkrun then go to their website... http://www.parkrun.ie
Just in case there's any confusion, parkrun (the organisation) doesn't start parkruns in a place, they are set up by a local group getting together & deciding that having one locally would be a good idea. The local group then involve parkrun Ireland who provide the logistical support etc on how to do that - http://www.parkrun.com/about/start-your-own-event/
ReplyDeletelooking at the map there seems to be a serious lack of park runs in east/north cork and west Waterford areas.its a pity really because they are great for everyone,even the serious runner who can do them for training/tempo running
ReplyDeleteYeah totally agree Balincollig isn't really great for anybody living in the east or north cork areas. The new park in Fermoy would be an excellent location and fermoy would be accessible to a huge running population.
Deletei was running in tramore valley park yesterday at lunchtime and there is a distance marked on the loop every 500 metres,so if you run 2 loops starting near the admin building and running away from the south link side of the park it would be very close to a 5KM(on the left hand side for the first loop are marked in spray paint on the ground from 0.5 to 2.5)(on the right hand side they are marked from 3.0 to 5.0),they have also erected permanent poles at the distance markers but no distance signage on them as yet!they have also partioned off some of the water holding area near the under-road access via the park and ride.... could it be a sign that something is happening?
ReplyDeleteGreat inititave but very few in the East Cork area.I know were not spoiled with great parks here but Glenbower and Walshtown have nice 5k loops.Fota in Carrigtwohill and i would even consider Tramore Valley Park as this area because I must travel a minimum of 40 mins to the nearest parkrun at 9:00 from Castlemartyr
ReplyDeleteAs John Kissane said the success of park runs are due to a core group of volunteers putting in the effort to get it up and running. There is no reason why east/north cork could not set up a park run. As stated there are lots of facilities to hold them. Maybe with the large amount of Athletic clubs and Running clubs in east cork most people already have training runs lined up. I use glenbower woods frequently on a Saturday morning and would normally see a group or two of runners..
ReplyDeleteIf would be athletes care to educate themselves of the existence of athletic clubs in an area and offer assistance to organise events for the benefit of local communities, the world would be a better place. Sometimes google allows some people to live in a bubble.
ReplyDeleteThere are 5km Races in Doneraile Park almost every Saturday morning. Loads of other races organised by local running clubs including The Ballyhoura Series etc. Let's support these - fundraising money locally rather than a U.K. Charity -Park Run
ReplyDeleteJust for your info Barry, Parkrun is free run by volunteers and gets communities into non pressure fun running. The best things in life are free, it is very successful regardless of where it was created.
ReplyDelete