Ballycotton 10 road race video clips on YouTube...
Here are a few video clips to remind you what the Ballycotton 10 is like...
Just click on the PLAY button.

No.1) This clip is 7 seconds long. The quality isn't great but it shows the runners getting ready for the start of the Ballycotton 10 mile road race.



No.2) This clip is 76 seconds long and was taken about 500 metres from the start. It shows front half of the field as they pass. Note they are running slightly downhill.


No.3) This clip is 18 seconds long and shows some runners running slightly uphill with about 500 metres to go.


No.4) This clip is 2 minutes and 34 seconds long and shows some scenes from the Ballycotton 10

Help required for the Ballycotton 10 race on Sunday...
They are still looking for people to help out at the race next Sunday. It is a massive voluntary effort and the more bodies that they can get, the better and safer it is for everyone.
Maybe you are injured or you missd out on this years entries? Could you spare a few hours on Sunday? All you will be required to do are easy tasks like crowd control and maybe to direct people.

So, if you can, why not send Tom Harnett of Ballycotton Running Promotions an e-mail and see if you can help out. He can be contacted at ballycottonrunning@eircom.net

Weather forecast for the 2009 Ballycotton 10...

A series of cold fronts are crossing the country on Sunday and it is likely that for the race, we will be in between 2 of them. That means that we are not likely to get persistent rain but there could be a lot of short showers. Whether we get rain for the race is really hit or miss. It's likely that it will be bright with even maybe some sunshine but the weather could change in 10 minutes. It will probably be one of those days where the sun is shining in one spot and 10 miles away, it's lashing out of the heavens. The one thing you can be absolutely sure about is that it is going to be windy! There will be a strong airflow that will be coming down from the Artic so it is going to be very cold as well.

So, what does that mean for the race?

Start...The start may not actually be too bad as we will have the protection of the hill to the west. Even still, it's going to be cold with the temperature down around 6 deg C. In the open, it will feel even colder.

0-5 Miles...Basically, we are running into the wind for the first 5 miles. Once you leave the village, the countryside is a lot more open and the wind may feel pretty raw here as you warm up. You can expect to lose time here with the strong wind.

5-10 Miles...The opposite applies. We have the wind to our backs for the last 5 or so miles. You won't however make up for the time you lost in the first half.

Once you finish, you are likely to get very cold very fast. Keep this in mind when you are deciding what to bring to the baggage area near the start/finish.

With luck, we might avoid the showers. If we do get some showers with that cold wind, then it will feel awful. If your pace is likely to be slow then consider wearing an extra layer or maybe a hat/gloves.

Fingers crossed we'll miss the showers...

Race strategies for the Ballycotton 10...mainly for 1st timers

The target strategy...If you expect to be doing a sub 70 minute race on Sunday, then you'll already probably know what pace you are likely to be doing. For anyone expecting to run 70 minutes or more, here is the target pace for 10 miles based on your 5 mile race speed.

Your 5 mile race pace // Your target pace in Ballycotton

7 mins per mile //.....7 min 20 sec per mile

8 mins per mile //.....8 min 25 sec per mile

9 mins per mile //.....9 mins 30 sec per mile

10 mins per mile //...10 mins 40 sec per mile

If your pace is in between, then adjust accordingly. The 10 mile pace should give you some idea as to how fast you should be running. Your first mile should be slower due to the crowd but after that, you should stay close to this pace. Don't try to compensate for your slow 1st mile by running a lot faster in the 2nd mile, you'll only get into trouble. Keep at the correct pace and you'll run your fastest time.

The Get Around strategy...This is for the runner who just wants to get around and doesn't care about their time. Every year, there are hundreds of runners like this and most run like this.....They start in the middle of the crowd, they run along with everyone else for the first 2 miles, not really aware that they are actually running way faster than they do normally. They get to about 4 or 5 miles and they find can't keep up this pace and they begin to slow down. From here until the finish line, other runners are constantly passing them. They feel like they are unable to keep up, feel weak and feel awful as a result.The other strategy which is the one that I would suggest is to start near the back of the field. The first 2 miles are slow but that is fine as it gives you a chance to warm up. Once you get to the 4 or 5 mile mark, you'll start passing out all those runners who started way too fast. From here until the finish, you'll be constantly passing people and because you'll feel like you are running strongly, your overall experience will be positive.

Terms & Conditions apply......all of this is based on the condition that you have done enough training to be able to run 10 miles!!

Ballycotton 10 Start and Finish area...

This time, I'll look at the area around the community hall and the start / finish area. First of all, if you want to have a closer look at the map above, just click on it.

So, working from left to right or West to East...

1) The road junction where the old church is. There is a road block here and no traffic is allowed beyond this point. At this spot, you are about 1,000 metres from the start line.

2) About 200 metres after the road block, you will see the school on the right. This is the headquarters for the race and is the hub of all activity. In here, you have the school, community hall and squash courts. In this area, you have....

Parking area for bicycles.....Marquee for mens changing area....Toilets.....Squash courts for womens changing area. In the main building, you have the community hall. This will be the area where the prizegiving and some refreshments (tea & biscuits) will be after the race. Also in the hall, you will have...a help desk if you have any issues with your number or timing chip.....some traders selling Sports gear....and Ballycotton Running Promotion's own shop! In this shop, they will be selling the special Ballycotton 10 t-shirts along with some polo shirts as well. By the way, you don't have to go into the hall. You got your race number for your singlet and the timing chip for your shoe in the post and that is all you need for the race. There is no requirement to go in and register or anything like that.

3) So, back out, turn right and continue for about 700 metres until you can see the start / finish area. Here, the road is blocked and they are only letting elite runners past so that can start at the front of the race. The rest of us mere mortals ;o) must go up the road to the right (see the arrows on the map) and go around to the rear.

4) Up here, just before you drop back down, is the baggage area. They will supply you with a plastic bag and a name tag and you can leave all of your gear here in a supervised area.

5) Down the steps here and you are back out onto the road, now behind the start line.

6) Note that if you turn right and go downhill, there are toilets down on the quayside if you need to avail of them.

7) When you finish the race, you will go back the same route. Back up the steps to collect your gear and just as you leave the baggage area, they will be giving out bananas and Mars bars here. You now return towards the Community Hall staying well in on the left so that you don't impede the slower runners coming in.
So, lets have a closer look at the start...

This is the start of the Ballycotton 10...narrow and packed! Once you get to the start area, you will see that they have it split up into the various estimated finishing times. You should go to your zone early and stay there. If everyone did this, it would be ideal as the faster runners would get away first leaving plenty of space for the runners behind. In reality however, some slow runners go up near the front and it creates havoc as faster runners are trying to get past. The big worry here is that some slow runners will get tripped as people try and pass them out. Imagine tripping and having that lot in the photo above behind you!
All you have to decide next is what time do you get to your start time zone? Get there too late and you could be way back and unable to move forward. Get there too early and you'll be cold and stiff by the time the race starts.
By the way, if your objective is just to finish the race and you don't care about your time, my advice is to start at the very back and let them all run off. This is an excellent place to start for first timers.

In the next post, I'll look at some race strategies......

Preview of the Ballycotton 10 route...
This time, we are going to look at the Ballycotton 10 route. The race starts about 800 metres from the Race HQ, right inside in the heart of the village itself. The first mile and a half are slightly downhill with a slight pull back up to the 2 mile mark. The next mile is pretty flat with a water station at the 3 mile mark. The next 4 miles have a few slight drags but these are really short and when you get back to the 7 mile mark, you can avail of the water station again. The next mile is flat and there is another water station at the 8 mile mark . Now, this is where it starts getting interesting! There is no getting away from the fact that the Ballycotton 10 has a tough finish. It is tough and hilly and you are going to lose time on it. If you don't care about what time you will do, then that's fine but if you have a specific target, you will need to have a cushion built up before the 8.5 mile mark. For example, say your target is 80 minutes, you are doing 8 minute miles and your splits are 1m=8m, 2m=16, 3m=24, etc up to hitting the 8 mile mark at 64 minutes. Once you hit the hill at 8.5 miles and start to slow down, you likely to lose about 1 minute by the time you get to the 9 mile mark. The last mile has some drags as well and you could lose another 30 seconds here. So, in the space of 1.5 miles, you will go from a target of 80 minutes to an actual time of 81 minutes 30 seconds.
Hence, the reason why you need a cushion.

The last 1.5 miles in some detail...The red numbers above shown the height above sea level. Around the 8.5 mile mark, the road drops down to almost sea level and then there is a sharp left and a sharp short climb until you have gained about 10 metres in height. The next few hundred metres are a slight drag, gaining height all of the time. After that, the incline eases off until you reach the 20 metre contour just before the 9 mile mark. At that stage, the worst section of the race is over as you will have climbed about 20 metres or 60-70 feet in the space of half a mile.The next few hundred metres are reasonably flat as you pass the old church on the corner and the race HQ and school. There is however still one last drag as you reach the Garda station in the middle of the village, near the 18 m contour above. The next hill is about 300 metres long and you gain about 7 metres in altitude. It peaks just after the main church. Then it's around the last corner and run of about 150 metres into the finish.

In conclusion...Really, the hill is not that bad but it's just that it comes at a stage in the race when you are likely to be most tired and if you are on schedule, it will eat up those valuable seconds. So, if you have a target, think about building up that cushion before you get to the 8.5 mile mark.

If anyone would like to look at the route, I have also put it up on the MapMyRun website.

In the next post, I'll look at the start in more detail.

Cork City Marathon & Relay gets major sponsor...

A short article appeared in the Irish Examiner today stating that Bord Gáis Energy will be sponsoring this years Cork City Marathon. It also mentions that between the full marathon and relay event, they expect to get 10,000 entries!!

"It is expected to attract a record 10,000 entries and the Irish Cancer Society has been nominated as the charity of choice for the event. Bord Gáis chief executive John Mullins said his company is delighted to back an event which "energises and motivates people to get out there and make a difference as a healthy lifestyle choice and in supporting the numerous charities that are involved". "The option of entering a relay team is a great incentive for people at all levels of fitness and experience to get involved and we’re delighted to be associated with an event of this calibre," he said. Last year’s marathon attracted more than 7,000 entries and Lord Mayor Brian Bermingham said the company’s involvement this year would help promote the "marathon for everyone" nationally. People are invited to get involved — from first timers to professional athletes — with the option of running the marathon as an individual or as part of a relay team. Teams of up to five people can run the marathon. Last year 1,000 relay teams took part...........Irish Examiner"

Ballycotton 10 - Car Parks...As you can see from the map above, they will be using 3 car parks for this year's event (6 in 2008). Click on the map to enlarge it. The distances shown are from the car park to the start line. Subtract half a mile for the distance to the race HQ.
Most of the car parks are in fields. Two years ago, the ground was so wet that some (..if not all?) of the fields could not be used. For the last few weeks, the rainfall has actually been very light so there is a good chance that they should be ok for next weekend.

Some basic facts and info....

• They will have shuttle buses taking runners from the car parks to a road block near the old church, about 300 metres from the school and Race HQ. After the race, the shuttle buses will take the runners back to the car parks. Please note that these car parks are numbered so you could remember which nmber car park you are in so you can catch the correct bus.
• Note for Ballycotton 10 first timers!! You really need to turn up early for the race. This is not an ordinary race where you can just turn up 30 minutes beforehand. You really have to see it to appreciate the difficulty of getting 2000+ runners into what is basically a Cul-de-Sac. You need to allow time for traffic jams, bus transfers, getting changed, getting warmed up and getting to the start line early enough to get a good position. You should try and get there by say 11:30am and give yourself plenty of time. Note that you cannot drive into Ballycotton! You are not going to get near the place without being stopped by a steward and be directed to the nearest car park. If you miss the last shuttle bus, you're out of the race :o( I remember 3 years ago, I went down early and I still got stuck in a half mile tailback going into Cloyne and that was 8 miles from Ballycotton!! I think if I had been later, I'd have missed the race. You have been warned...Get there early
• Just in case you arrive really early and you did not read the FAQ section..." There will be no parking within one mile of the village and a tow-away truck will be in operation from 10am onwards. " So, use the designated car parks.
• There will be a one way system in operation in the general area again this year. This really speeds up the traffic when you are leaving the area. Just follow the stewards instructions.
• If you are one of those people who are going to cycle in from the car parks then you probably have the best option. You don't have to arrive so early and as you'll be one of the first back to the outer car parks, you can beat all the traffic out of the area.
  

So, if there is one thing that I tried to impress on you here is that getting there early really pays off. Give yourself plenty of time, have a look around the race HQ and maybe buy one of those famous Ballycotton 10 t-thirts, get changed, jog up to the start and get a good position for the start.

In the next post, I'll look at the course and do a preview of it.

Counting down to the 2009 Ballycotton 10...

Needless to say, the next big race is the Ballycotton 10 next Sunday and over the next few days, all of the posts here will be about this race.

Disclaimer...!!

Needless to say, this is NOT the official Ballycotton 10 website ;o)

I may have plenty of info about the race but you should always check the official website for the most up to date information. The Ballycotton website can be found at http://www.ballycottonrunning.com/

Event Programme...

Everyone who is doing the Ballycotton 10 should have recieved their race pack in a large brown envelope with the following items....

• Race number for the front of your singlet/t-shirt
• A timing chip in a small white envelope
• The Event Programme booklet.

If you have any questions about the race, you should read the Frequently Asked Questions section on page 4 first.

Statistics...

First of all, a breakdown of all the entrants by category...

Women

Senior Female-604, F35-215, F40-168, F45-96, F50-50, F55-12, F60-7, F65-4, FJ-6, Total Female-1162 35.1% of total. This is slightly up on the figure of 33.4% for 2008.

Men

Senior Male-1310, M40-364, M45-211, M50-119, M55-81, M60-34, M65-14, M70-3, M75-2, M80-1, MJ-14, Total Male-2153 64.9% of total. This is slightly down on the figure of 66.6% for last year.

Total number of entrants = 3315 (2008=3087)
Thanks to Denis Sheehan of Mallow AC for the above information

Entries by club...

Midleton AC=79 (2008=63)

West Waterford=75 (2008=87)

Eagle AC=73 (2008=73)

Waterford AC=66 (2008=46)

St. Finbarrs AC=47 (2008=46)

Slaney Olympic=47

Mallow AC=36

Kilkenny City=30

Bandon AC=25

Donore Harriers=25

Limerick County=25

Grange-Fermoy AC=24

East Cork AC=23

Mullingar Harriers=22

Limerick AC=21

Athenry AC=20

Clonmel AC=20

Raheny Shamrock=20

Sportsworld RC=19

Thurles Crokes=18

West Limerick=15

Donoughmore AC=14

Galway City=14

Crusaders AC=13

Gneeveguilla AC=13

Leevale AC=13

Rathfarnham-WSAF AC=13

Rising Sun=12

Carraig na bhFear=11

Carrick-on-Suir AC=11

Loughrea AC=11

Sli Cualann=11

Tralee Harriers=10

UCC AC=10

Clonliffe Harriers=8

Ballincollig AC=7

Kilnaboy AC=5

So it looks like Midleton AC have the largest number of entries this year (Danny McCarthy take a bow ;o) . There is a bit of a drop in the West Waterford AC numbers so perhaps many of them are now using their local Dungarvan 10 race as their main race during the spring?

Thanks to John Quigley of Eagle AC for the above information.

Training....

For those of you doing the Ballycotton 10 for the first time, now is the time to wind down your training. The worst thing you can do now is to do a long /hard run between now and Sunday. Whatever your fitness level is at now, that's it. You can't improve it but you can make yourself too tired. Take it easy for the next few days and save your energy for Sunday.

Car Parking and Pooling...

The thing about Ballycotton is that it is a bit of a cul-de-sac and it can a real headache getting all the runners and spectators into this small area and back out again. This year, they have 3 car parks and they will use a 'Park & Ride' system with buses to take people into the village. The fewer cars that turn up, the easier it will be. Perhaps you might consider car pooling? Do you know someone you could share a car with? Consider it...

Don't forget that they also have an area for bicycles next to the marquee in the village. If you want to get away early, just cycle from the car park into the village and back out again after the finish. Almost certainly the fastest way to get away on the day.

By the way, is there anyone stuck for a lift down to Ballycotton on Sunday? Maybe you would like to carpool with someone? Send me an e-mail with your details or leave a comment and I'll put the request up here.

Over the next few posts, I'll look at the car parking, details about the course and the weather forecast.

Running in Ireland – An Amateur Appreciation....by Paul Tucker

(The following article was just a little bit too late to be included in the Ballycotton 10 race program so John Walshe kindly sent it on to me for inclusion on this website. We all know that we have a pretty good race scene here in Cork and indeed, next door as well in Waterford. Perhaps we all take it a little bit too much for granted and it takes the perspective of someone from distant shores to remind us of what we have........John Desmond)

This is the running I was used to in Australia: post-school, post-college and in a town of 40,000 people, four hours north of Brisbane.
I had a running pal and we would often run together and when we couldn’t I would run alone or with my wife. There were no races in the region. No league or series, no cross-country, no road races. (I remember running in a club-like cross-country race when I was 11 and I was one of three competitors, one of which was a girl). There was an athletics club for kids up to 16 and in theory for adults, but there was little to no track racing for those over 13. Anything like that was 400km away and if you’re not quicker than 6 minute miles there, you’re a nuisance.

I was running to keep fit. I decided to enter the Gold Coast Half Marathon (500km away) as a means of setting and reaching a goal. It was too far for my then-injured friend so I trained by myself and was glad to finish as I did. I had an idea of what to do because I was from a strong sporting school in a capital city that did well in running. Others would have to learn off the internet.

Something like this is typical of an Australian provincial town: there are little to no races around you, with little competition if any, and any big races on are quite a journey away, and you could well be on your own in getting ready for them. The big races are very big, which is great craic (I was one of 6,000 at the GCHM), but there are so many obstacles in getting to them and performing in them.
Compare this with what’s on offer in Ireland.

I was running in Phoenix Park in Dublin when I caught up with some lads. Jimmy told Alice and I to come running with them at Liffey Valley AC. Sure enough we were welcomed into the club for the two months we were there. Then we hit Cork.

When I first started running in Cork I felt welcome. I was admitted to a fantastic club (St. Finbarr’s) who gave me training, races and friends. My first race was the Ballycotton ‘5’ mile series dash in Ballyandreen. I was one of 278 people of a Thursday evening. I then discovered ‘BHAA’ races of similar numbers. I ran community races in Killorglin and Crookhaven, track and cross-country races were on offer with the club too. Prizes, showers, facilities, tea, coffee, competition and company were huge bonuses for me, not the standard fare.
The mad Finbarr’s had a marathon pack that Alice and I couldn’t resist. We had runners around us to help us through some tough sessions which was great. We couldn’t have got through they way we did without the club.
This is the running scene in Ireland which is absolutely fantastic. I found myself wondering why the Cork running experience isn’t available everywhere. After thinking it through I found the answer.

Not everywhere has raw Irish talent that gives competitive racing. I’ve heard that the standard of competition has slipped since the 1970s in Ireland which may be so, but the sheer numbers of amateurs competing today at a sub-elite level is impressive, no question.

Recently I ran the 2009 Gridiron Classic – the big 4-mile race in Central Park, New York City and I was one of 5,000. I finished 10th in the men’s. My last race was the BHAA 4-miler at Little Island – I ran 30 seconds quicker at Little Island and I finished sixth. The amateur standard in Ireland is (still) good.

Every runner who comes to a Cork race will almost always have runners near them at their pace and runners ahead of them at the pace they want. Runners here have the opportunity to reach a personal or team achievement in a social, supportive atmosphere. Not everywhere has such a social scene in a sport.

Not everywhere has a supportive atmosphere at a race or in training. A session with the club starts with a handshake of how you went on the weekend and finishes with a pat on the back for getting through it! There is a continued culture of appreciation here and it can be seen clearly.

It can be seen when athletes have their achievements recognised and celebrated at the presentation. It can be seen when contributors are thanked at the end of every race. It can be seen when one of its passed members are remembered with a minute’s silence before the runners set out once more or when Jerry gets applause as he takes on another course in his wheelchair. The craic is there from start to finish.

Not everywhere has John Desmond, who tirelessly works on the Cork Runners Website to make running accessible for the masses, from race information to photos to blog Q&A. All in quick time too. Coupled with the club websites (especially Eagle AC), running becomes readily available to the newcomer, rather than just by word of mouth.

Not everywhere has John Walshe, who can cross a county to get to a race, enter all the entrants of that race, run the race and print off the results of the same race within two hours! Week to (mid) week! His contributions to running are exceptional, from the record keeping of it to its promotion in the papers. John, Good luck for the Ballycotton ‘10’!

Everywhere has the numbers to run these races and to organise them, but nobody has the inclination to do it. Not everywhere has motivated people to organise, participate or volunteer. Cork has all three. I write this from Dayton, Ohio at the minute: a USA town of 177,000 without a shadow of the running scene compared with your average Irish town.

All of the above, together, simply isn’t anywhere else. It’s the sense of a real running community that gives Cork all this. So much is done for this community on a near voluntary basis, and so much of it is appreciated by the runners. All of the above will remain while your community remains.
So the Cork experience isn’t everywhere. Any outsider can see how good it is. Hopefully in reading this article the average Irish countrymen or regular Cork rebel can see it too. It is unique and it is a model for runners all over the world. And it’s a bloody good reason for two Australians to return to Cork one day: to be part of an excellent, talented, welcoming running community.
Regards and Thanks......Paul Tucker & Alice Venables.

Donate Old Runners to Africa....

I received the following e-mail from Liam O'Brien of East Cork AC...

Mick Rice from Athenry AC is collecting old trainers will some life left for Africa. See attached pdf for the information. He will be in Ballycotton for the 10 miler or people can drop the shoes in to the Edge sports shop, 79 North Main Street in Cork....Liam O'Brien

It seems like a good idea to give those half worn shoes a new lease of life. Click on the image above for a closer look.

Press Release.....'A Meeting with Ron'...Mon 9th of March

Text of Press Release...

'A MEETING WITH RON'
One of the greatest distance runners of all time, Ron Hill is to visit John Buckley Sports.
A former world record holder and winner of the Boston and European marathon championship.
Ron Hill now aged 70 is equally famous for having run every single day since1964.
There will be a special 'MEET RON' opportunity at John Buckley Sports, Mulgrave Road, Cork on Monday March 9th from 1pm -2pm approx.
All are cordially invited to come along for this once in a life time opportunity to meet a true running legend. Dont miss it.
enquiries 021-4508830 or johnbuckleysports@eircom.net

For those not able to make the event above on Monday, Ballycotton Running Promotions have their own 'Evening with Ron' on Sat 7th of March at 8pm in the Bayview Hotel in Ballycotton.

Results of the Cork BHAA 'ESB' 5 km road race (Mahon) - Sun 1st March 2009

Roughly 290 runners turned out for this race along the walkway in Mahon, about 20-30 down on last years figure. I presume some people are holding off for the big one next Sunday, the Ballycotton 10 mile road race.

Results...The full results are HERE.

Here are the category results...

ESB 5KM Road Race (Cork BHAA), Mahon, Cork
1 C Murphy (temp-reg) 15:41; 2 W Sosnowski (Dairypower) 15:55; 3 C O’Connell (UCC, M45) 16:07; 4 C Marshall (HSE) 16:14; 5 S Simcox (Leisure World) 16:16; 6 E O’Sullivan (temp-reg) 16:18; 7 E Heffernan (D&T) 16:22; 8 G O’Sullivan (Avondhu Motors) 16:32; 9 M O’Sullivan (temp-reg) 16:47; 10 T O’Connor (temp-reg) 16:51; 11 E Meade (temp-reg) 16:53; 12 R Duggan (temp-reg) 16:54.

M40: 1 M O’Keeffe (Quality Hotel) 17:51; 2 K Devine (UCC) 18:12; 3 K Fraher (De-Care) 18:30.

M45: 1 N Curtin (Quality Hotel) 17:01; 2 M Bickerdike (Blarney School of Motoring) 17:59; 3 T Shanahan (Erin Foods) 18:14.

M50: 1 M Murphy (Novartis) 17:36; 2 J Collins (Team adidas) 17:40; 3 P Murphy (UCC) 19:31.

M55: 1 D Kennedy (DMP Enterprises) 20:06; 2 F Linehan (Plant Hire) 22:24; 3 J Quigley (Statsol) 22:37.

M60: 1 P Gyves (ITW-Hi Cone) 21:41; 2 D Cotter (Cork Painters) 21:57; 3 J Murray (HSE) 22:27.

M65: 1 J Cotter (ESB) 22:29; 2 J O’Mahony (UCC) 23:20.M70: 1 J O’Leary (Bookdeal) 23:13.

Team: (Grade A) 1 D&T 46; 2 UCC 91; 3 Quality Hotel 100. (Grade B) 1 An Post/Eircom 185; 2 EMC 590. (Grade C) 1 Naval Service 180; 2 Midleton News 286; 3 UCC 386.

Women: 1 R Lynch (GE Healthcare) 18:19; 2 J Vonhatten (C Harrington Construction) 18:34; 3 N Hunter (C Harrington Construction) 19:07; 4 A-M Healy (HSE, F35) 19:18; 5 M Sweeney (Private Hospitals, F45) 19:26; 6 H Leonard (Shournagh Childcare, F35) 19:37; 7 M Nolan Midleton News, F35) 19:41; 8 S O’Connor (C Harrington Construction) 20:23; 9 A Bickerdike (C Harrington Construction) 20:27; 10 H Kelleher (HSE, F40) 20:56.

F45: 2 M O’Keeffe (Quality Hotel) 20:59.

F50: 1 A Hayes (HSE) 26:58.

F55: 1 M Barry (Midleton News) 25:11.

(...with thanks to John Walshe of Ballycotton Running Promotions for the above results)

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'ESB' 5 km race in Mahon - Sun 1st March (11am)
This is the 2nd road race of the year in the Cork BHAA calendar. Considering it is only 5 kms long, a lot of people will run this even though the Ballycotton 10 is only a week later.

Registration...This is in the Mahon Community centre, shown as a X on the map. It's very easy to find. If you are travelling down into Mahon on the Skehard road, just turn left at the church and the Community centre is in about 300 metres on the left. To get your bearings, click on this LINK. Use the + and - to zoom IN and OUT and try MAP and SATELLITE to get a clearer view.
Course...It's a short run of few hundred metres down to the start. See the map above. The race starts along the road on the way down to Blackrock Castle. After a few hundred metres, you need to follow the stewards instructions and veer off right into the car park and accross it. Now you need to be careful. Just as you get onto the walkway, you need to take a very sharp right. It's not so easy when the runners are still bunched, running fast and then have to brake and change direction. Once you get onto the walkway, you are on the nicest part of the route. You are running on a smooth tarmac surface along the water's edge with scenic views over the inner harbour. It's pretty straight and dead flat for the next 1.5 miles. Just one word of caution here. This walkway is not closed off for the race. It is a very popular amenity with plenty of people out walking with their kid's and dog's. Just keep it in mind. After the 2 mile mark, you are heading back past the large radio mast on your right. You run accross the weir, up a small ramp and then out and right onto another walkway. Here's the tough part. You need to run up and over the pedistrian bridge that goes over the South link road. It's probably a good 50 metres of uphill running and more than enough to leave you panting. The bridge is wide enough for about 2 people so if there are walkers there, runners will need to run in single file. Once you run down the other side of the bridge, you have a flat and dead straight run into the finish. The thing to remember here is that the finish is just beyond the tunnel under the main road. Once you see it, you know you're almost there.

Apres Race...That tunnel you just ran through was in fact under the Skehard road. To get back to the Community centre, just follow the road down and turn left at the church, a jog of about 1 km.If you want a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website. I plotted the course in the SATELLITE view so it should be the more accurate option to look at.

Overall...A flat and fast course with one blip. The sections by the water are scenic and the path surface is good. Just watch out for those walkers!

News items and bits & pieces...Thurs 26th Feb

1) Ballycotton 10.......All of the Ballycotton entry packs have now been posted out. Inside you should find the event programme, your race number and a small white envelope which contains the chip for your shoe. If you are missing the race number or the chip, you should contact the organisers asap.

2) Races.....Next Sunday the 1st of March is a busy day for road races in Munster. Here in Cork, we have a Cork BHAA 5km race in Mahon. Elsewhere, there is a 10km race in Adare in Co.Limerick and another 10k race in Dungarvan, West Waterford. More details on these on the Running in Munster website.

3) Dungarvan 10 Mile....For anyone who did this race, there is now a video clip up on the Running in Munster website.