Cycling to a 5k parkrun : A Duathlon of Sorts - Clonakilty - 18th May 2024

Now that the days are getting longer, I'm trying to see what 5k parkruns on a Saturday morning can be reached by bicycle. It's a bit like 'parkrun tourism' but in this case, it's about cycling to an event rather than driving.

On the 11th of May, two of us cycled to the Mallow 5k parkrun... post HERE

On the 18th of May, we decided to give the Clonakilty 5k parkrun a try. I set off at 5:50am from my house, met up with my travelling companion Grellan McGrath in Ballincollig at 6:55am and then we were off.

The challenge of cycling from Cork City to Clonakilty is not so much the distance but selecting a safe route where the N71 road can be avoided as much as possible. Our route down was pretty direct but this also meant it was very hilly. 

After leaving a overcast and cloudy Cork City, the sun was trying to break though the clouds by the time we arrived at the Clonakilty Showgrounds at about 8:55am. The gates were closed with not a soul to be seen.

And so we waited. 9:00am, nobody about. 9:05am, no change. At this stage, it was a case of getting out the smartphone and checking Facebook... was it cancelled? No notice of a cancellation there. We checked the national parkrun website... no cancellation there. 9:10am... still no movement. Was it on or was it off? 

We were thinking then that maybe it was a 'West Cork thing' and they're a bit more relaxed about the time 😂

At 9:15am, someone finally arrived to unlock the gate, we were good to go! Lesson for the future, check beforehand to see if the event is cancelled. It's one thing driving there, a 2-3 hour cycle is another thing.

The course... The Clonakilty 5k parkrun course is simple enough and it's shown above. It's basically four laps of a 1.25km loop. There is a slight rise in the south-west corner of the course but other than that, it's essentially flat.

The photo below shows what the route surface looks like. It's a compact gravel surface which seemed to be fine for running on. 

To be honest, the course in the Showgrounds is not going to win any awards in terms of scenery or charm. It could be best described as 'functional' and it's a safe 5km loop for a parkrun on a Saturday morning.

The Clonakilty parkrun is a reasonably small event and the start line with most of the 37 participants on the 18th of May 2024 is shown above. I think it's safe to say that we were the only two that had cycled there.

After the parkrun, we had a chat with Jim Moloney (8th) pictured below on the left with Grellan McGrath (4th) on the right.

After the parkrun, we headed off to SuperValu for a coffee and pastry and then the start of the long journey home.

Instead of going back the same route, we first had a look at the 'new' Greenway to the Technology Park. This has been here for some time but it was my first time on it. It's quite short at just about 1km in length but it's also nice and wide in places. Hopefully it will be part of the new proposed Greenway from Cork City to Clonakilty although it might be quite a while before that project comes to fruition.

More information about the Clonakilty 5k parkrun can be found here... https://www.parkrun.ie/clonakilty/

Where to next??

Cycling to a 5k parkrun : A Duathlon of Sorts - Mallow Castle - 11th May 2024

It's been a while since I had a post about one of these. Some runners are 'parkrun tourists' who drive by car to complete various 5k parkruns around the country. My duathlon concept is parkrun tourism with a twist... i.e. cycle to the parkrun, run the 5k and then cycle home.

It's probably fair to say that a lot of runners are involved in other physical activities like walking, swimming and cycling and I'm sure there are quite a few cyclists do some running as well. There are plenty of people who do Triathlons (swim, cycle & run) and some do Duathlons (cycle & run).

With this in mind, I set off by bicycle to do the Mallow Castle 5k parkrun last Saturday morning in the fog with a visibility of about 200m.

After leaving my house at 6:20am and meeting someone else, we left Cork City at about 6:50am and headed up the Old Mallow Road. The cycle up took about two hours from Cork City and was 47kms from my door. We arrived in Mallow to be greeted by blue skies and sunshine. 

At 8:50am, the parkrun team were setting things so we did a walking recce of part of the course, back to do a short warm up and then the start of the parkrun at 9:30am.

The 5k route starts at Mallow Castle and then runs downhill for just over 200m to the parkland next to the River Blackwater. The 5k course is shown below and the downhill section is shown in orange.

The route then heads east and participants need to complete the looped section twice. After the second lap, the runners return to the finish line which is where the 5k started.

The 200m hill needless to say comes at the end of the parkrun but it's not too bad. As 5k parkrun courses go, this one seems to be pretty fast.

The paths in the parkland are concrete and they weave their way in amongst the trees next to the river. In the Summer & Autumn months, the route is shaded by the many trees in the park and it's a really nice course. I presume in the Winter and Spring, the course probably feels a bit different as the trees are bare.

Despite the fact that the parkrun is in the middle of Mallow, the only sounds that you can hear are the birds singing and the patter of runners feet.

All parkruns courses are slightly different and have their own 'feel', Some courses are pretty much 'functional' i.e. you can do a 5k run safely but it doesn't mean it's a particularly nice course. The Mallow Castle parkrun for me seems to one of the better parkruns out there. Location is good, it's quiet and the course feels pleasant. It's certainly one that I would like to do again rather than just ticking it off the list.

On the 11th of May, there was a field of 50 runners and walkers and the results can be found here... https://www.parkrun.ie/mallowcastle/results/133/

Post run refreshments... After the parkrun, we went for coffee and cakes at Food Capers in the centre of Mallow before the trip home. I'm sure there are other establishments that this one seems to be a nice spot.

Distances... In the end, I ended up doing 104kms in terms of cycling. If anyone would like to do it then Mallow Castle is 37kms from the Opera House in Cork City which makes it a 74km round trip.

Where to next???

Cycling to a 5k parkrun : A Duathlon of Sorts - Tramore Valley Park

It's probably fair to say that a lot of runners are involved in other physically activities like walking, swimming and cycling. And I'm sure there are quite a few cyclists do some running as well.

There are plenty of people who do Triathlons (Swim, cycle & run) and some do Duathlons (cycle & run).

I've noticed at a few 5k parkruns that there are nearly always a few bicycles parked up and it got me thinking... How many different 5k parkruns is it possible to cycle to?

I know that there are those who are called 'parkrun tourists' who drive around the country to various 5k parkruns and I remember seeing a post somewhere about a Kerry woman who had recently completed all the 5k parkruns in Ireland.

But what about cycling? Set off from home... cycle to the parkrun venue... run the 5k parkrun... and cycle home. How many are possible? The 'local' ones should be easy enough but it obviously gets harder as the events gets further away.

Start of the Tramore Valley Park 5k parkrun - 30th July 2022

With that in mind, I did my own 'official' first one today. I cycled 10.2kms to the closest 5k parkrun in Tramore Valley Park in Cork City, ran the 5k parkrun in 21:57 and cycled 11.4kms home (21.6kms of cycling in total).

I'm not sure if doing these kind of 'parkrun duathlons' are of any real advantage but it does add an additional level of training and it's a challenge in its own right.

I wonder if anyone else has tried cycling around to various 5k parkruns? How many can be reached by bicycle?

Finish of the Tramore Valley Park 5k parkrun with my trusty steed - 30th July 2022