You know Summer is on the way when we start looking at evening road races and they don't get much bigger than the Ballintotis 4-mile near Castlemartyr in East Cork. It's coming up this year on Thursday 18th of April 2024 at 8pm.
Entries HERE
Info from the organisers... Ballintotis 4 Mile 2024
Update: 10th April... Course Record Bonus Announced For Ballintotis 4 Mile Race - With just over a week to go to the Ballintotis 4 Mile Road Race, the organisers have confirmed that there will be a course record bonus of 250 euro for the first man and lady to break the existing respective records.
These are 19.11 set by Ryan Creech last year and 21.21 set by his Leevale colleague Lizzy Lee in 2016. Don't forget there are great individual prizes for the first six male and female runners across the line, first to third prizes in all age categories and team prizes (outside of first 6).
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The 13th running of the Ballintotis 4 mile road race, hosted by Ballintotis Area Community Council and held in association with East Cork AC, will take place this year on Thursday April 18th (starting time 8pm.)
In 2010, the first staging of the race took place and attracted 425 runners, a figure which at that time well exceeded the organisers' expectations. Our 10th anniversary race in 2019 saw a record breaking 1240 finishers.
The event formerly took place in Castlemartyr, but East Cork AC moved the race to Ballintotis, which has proved a hugely popular location, with the venue boasting in excess of 1,000 participants on a number of occasions. The scenic 4 mile loop includes a lap of road bordering Loughaderra Lake in the closing stages.
Again this year's race offers great value for money with a very attractive prize structure overall and a full list of category prizes in all age groups (1st 2nd and 3rd) as well as the opportunity to win one of the many spot prizes on offer. As always all participants will receive the famous Ballintotis running Buff.
Registration is limited to participants over 15 years of age.
Registration costs 15 euro including service charge, with the option of availing of your race number being posted out for an additional cost... https://eventmaster.ie/event/wkWRIPySRQ
In the inaugural race 12 years ago James McCarthy took top spot with a time of 19:54. McCarthy went onto win the race a remarkable eight times in a row, his best time being 19:23 set in 2016. Then in 2018 ... a new man was on the podium as another East Cork A.C competitor Michael Harty won in style and in the process set a new course record of 19:15, with the previous record also being broken by Sergiu Ciobanu who was runner up. Our 2019 race saw a new name on the roll of honour - as yet another East Cork Man - Kevin O'Brien broke the tape in a time of 20.13.
The entry was a remarkable 1,170 runners in 2015. Irish Olympian Sonia O Sullivan was among those taking part that year following up on her previous visit in 2013.
Fellow Olympian Lizzy Lee from Leevale is the ladies course record holder (21:22), with her Irish International colleague Claire McCarthy posting the second fastest time around the course. Fiona Santry of East Cork A.C made it back to back wins in the ladies race in 2019 to complete a fine double.
Then last year Leevale man Ryan Creech produced a superb front running performance and went on to cross the line in a time of 19:11 to knock four seconds off of Michael Harty's previous best set in 2018.
Jake O'Regan from St John's in Clare took second in 19:32 with Kilkenny-man Ger Forde winning a great battle for third ahead of Tim O'Donoghue (East Cork) and Niall Shanahan (An Bru).
Lizzy Lee continued her rich vein of form when winning the ladies race in 2023.
Anybody requiring further information on this year's race can e-mail their query to ballintotisrace AT gmail DOT com or call 086 8778182.
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Location... Ballintotis is located just west of Castlemartyr in East Cork.
Preview......You can see a preview of the course HERE
Please arrive early as very large entry expected.
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| Where it all began - the start of the very first Ballintotis 4 Mile Road Race in 2010. |
The success of the Ballintotis event which was brought to the picturesque venue by East Cork A.C in 2010, is due to a number of factors. It's fair to say that the generous sponsorship and backing from the local business community has been a key component in it's rise and with this in mind, the local Ballintotis Race Committee wish to acknowledge again the wonderful backing of the their sponsors.
Here are some updates and advice for those taking part this year in the race or walk or indeed coming to watch the action.
Car Parks
There will be a number of main Car Parks for runners and walkers and these will be located in close proximity to the Race HQ at Ballintotis Community Centre. At various times, different Car Parks may be prioritised to cater for traffic flow - so the advise is to please follow the instructions of gardai and stewards who will be on duty. In relation to the Car Parks on race route – cars will not be allowed exit until all runners have passed.
Race Start/Finish
The race begins at 8pm sharp – the Start Line is approx 200 meters from the Church on way to the main Road. The Finish Line is in front of the Church. ALL RUNNERS ARE ASKED TO BEGIN THE RACE IN THE TIME ZONE, WHICH REFLECTS THEIR EXPECTED FINISHING TIME. The year’s race is again chipped timed by Ronan Wogan and the team at myrunresults and as always there will be with timing mats at the start and finish line.
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All Race Enquiries to 086-8778182
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