Results of the Cork BHAA Stride by the Tide race - Sun 22nd Apr 2012

A total of 141 runners turned out for this beach race over approximately 4 miles last Sunday, the 22nd of April 2012 in Redbarn near Youghal in East Cork.

     Athlete     Business     Cat.     Time                   
1     Michael Morgan     Temp.         23.29   
2     John Malone     Quality Hotels     0/40     23.41   
3     Martin O'Keeffe     Quality Hotels     0/40     23.53

    Athlete     Business     Cat.     Time                     
1     Margaret Murphy     H.S.E.         26.06     
2     Mary Sweeney     Fit 4 Life     0/50     26.17     
3     Valerie Vaughan     Pilates Physio         26.59

The results can now be seen HERE

Photos by Doug Minihane HERE

Results of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4m...Tues 19th Apr 2011

A total of 173 turned out for this unique 4 mile beach race near Youghal in East Cork on what was a lovely sunny evening. This figure is about 60 down on last year's record number of 232 and is lower than the 2009 figure of 186 and 2008 figure of 185.

The full results can be found HERE

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile Beach Race - Tues 26th Apr (8pm)

Just a reminder that the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile beach race in on Tuesday evening the 26th of April at 8pm.

This is as far as I know one of the few beach races in the country.

Directions...

Take the main road for Youghal from Cork. As you approach Youghal, do not go on the Youghal bypass but take the left just before it, go under the bypass and head towards the town. After a few hundred metres, look out for and take the turn off right. It should be signposted as the R633 for Ballymacoda. After 1.5 kms on this road, you come to a crossroads. Turn left here. You should see the signposts for the Quality Hotel anyway. See the map above.

Entry...
As per normal at Cork BHAA events, it is €5 for registered runners and €8 for non-registered. Try to arrive early (7pm) and avoid the peak at 7:30.

Course...
From what I remember, it is basically two and a half laps of a course that is marked out on the beach. It is a very unusual race in that as you take the sharp turn at the end of each loop, you are watching everyone else who is ahead and behind you. It's a bit like running a race and spectating at the same time. The race is run on a part of the beach which is between the low tide and high tide mark. As a result, you are not running on soft sand although you might hit the od patch. You should have no problem doing it in your normal runners.

Overall...
The fact you can watch a race at the same time as running in it makes this a special and unusual event. The softer surface, while ok for running on, definetly means that your time for this 4 mile race will be slower than usual. The sand seems to absorb most of the energy when you foot hits the surface and you need to put more effort in than you would on the road.

Last year, they got over 200 runners for this race and they should get a similar number again this year.

If you want to see where the race is, have a look at this link...

http://pininthemap.com/27c8f39995f0d9723

Results of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile beach race - Mon 26th Apr 2010...
There was a great turnout for this 4 mile beach race in East Cork with 232 runners taking part. That compares with 186 in 2009 and 185 in 2008. That's a 25% increase on last year which might suggest that the growth or peak in numbers may not be behind us quite yet.

The full results can be seen HERE

Results of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile beach race...Tues 21st April 2009

Just to keep things in order, I'll put this post up now even though the results are not out yet. Most likely, they will be ready for Friday afternoon.

Just over 180 runners turned out for this race near Youghal in east Cork, one of only 2 beach races in the country. The numbers were probably a bit down on what would normally be expected for a Cork BHAA race. Most likely this is due to the fact it's a good 45 minute drive from Cork City.

Conditions for the race were pretty ok with a dry bright evening although it was a little bit cool with the south-westerly breeze. The beach this year seemed to be in better condition than last year. Perhaps it was just down to the tides but there were no big pools to avoid or soft pockets of dry sand to fight through.

As expected, times on the beach were slower than what you would expect to get on the road. It is however a unique event and it makes a novel change from the usual road races.

Results.......the results are now available HERE.

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile Road Race - Tues 22nd Apr (8pm)
This race which is sponsored by Quality Hotels takes place on Redbarn beach near Youghal in East Cork. It is the only race during the year which is run on a beach.

Directions...
Take the main road for Youghal from Cork. As you approach Youghal, do not go on the Youghal bypass but take the left just before it, go under the bypass and head towards the town. After a few hundred metres, look out for and take the turn off right. It should be signposted as the R633 for Ballymacoda. After 1.5 kms on this road, you come to a crossroads. Turn left here. You should see the signposts for the Quality Hotel anyway. See the map above.

Entry...
As per normal at Cork BHAA events, it is €5 for registered runners and €7 for non-registered.

Course...

From what I remember, it is basically two and a half laps of a course that is marked out on the beach. It is a very unusual race in that as you take the sharp turn at the end of each loop, you are watching everyone else who is ahead and behind you. It's a bit like running a race and spectating at the same time. The race is run on a part of the beach which is between the low tide and high tide mark. As a result, you are not running on soft sand although you might hit the od patch. You should have no problem doing it in your normal runners.

Overall...

The fact you can watch a race at the same time as running in it makes this a special and unusual event. The softer surface, while ok for running on, definetly means that your time for this 4 mile race will be slower than usual. The sand seems to absorb most of the energy when you foot hits the surface and you need to put more effort in than you would on the road. If you want to see where the race is, have a look at this link...

http://pininthemap.com/27c8f39995f0d9723

Results of the Cork BHAA 'Stride by the Tide' 4 mile beach race - Tues 29th April 2008

From what I hear, there were about 190 runners in this 4 mile race on the beach in Redbarn near Youghal in East Cork. It certainly was'nt an easy race with a stiff North-Easterly breeze making the going tough at times and the odd patch of soft sand making it difficult to run. All of this though was outweighed by the fact that a race on a beach is still a novel event and makes a nice change from all of the road races. It's also a great way of keeping an eye on your team mates and making sure they're not slacking off !! ;o)

Results... (Updated Wed 30th Apr)

The results for this race can be found HERE.

Comments...

Anyone like to comment on the race...??? How did you think it compared to the usual road races? Like or dislike running on sand?

"It was a good race, not as cold and wet as last year. Jogging on sand is not easy, and I prefer the road. But it's nice to support all the BHAA races.........Maggie"