Results of the Cork BHAA 'ESB' 5 km race - 10th Feb 2008 (Updated Tues 12th...9pm)
There was a fine turnout of over 300 runners for this race in Mahon. This is a big jump up from last year's figure of 239 so it seems as if it was another record entry for a local race. Conditions were ideal...dry, cool with a light South-Easterly wind, exactly as predicted. The course was slightly changed from last years one. By using the entrance to the new car park by Blackrock Castle, the BHAA were able to eliminate the corner at the start and that very sharp dangerous bend by the start of the walkway. A nice improvement!! This year, the race was started by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Donal Counihan and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin TD.

In fairness to the Cork BHAA, you would easily know that they have been at this for years...a fine big hall, clearly marked registered and non-registered queue's, loads of stewards, a nice long chute at the end to seperate the finishers from the finishing runners and loads of refreshments. They're like a well oiled machine!
So overall, another very well organised race by the Cork BHAA.

Anyone who entered this race will have noticed that they had a special emergency number stamped on their bib. At first, you'd think..."but, none of us have phones when we're running!!" ...(Well, most of us anyway ;o) . But of course, there are plenty of spectators out along any course and having an emergency number to contact is an excellent idea.
At many races, the first aid facilites are near the start or finish of the race. There was an incident last year, in Limerick I believe, where someone collapsed and died out along the course. There are an increasing number of race officials doing CPR and Defibrillator courses and it makes sense that they should be on hand as soon as possible in case something happens. Perhaps the organisers of other local races could take note of this excellent idea.

Anyway, waffle over, here are the category results...

Men :
1 S McGrath (McGrath Landscaping) 15:45; 2 W Sosnowski (temp-reg) 15:49; 3 J Grufferty (Bio-Pharma) 16:15; 4 R Fahy (Bio-Pharma) 16:16; 5 C O’Donovan (O’Donovan) 16:21; 6 G Murray (Murray Coaches) 16:30; 7 O LeGaul (temp-reg) 16:54; 8 M Dunne (Garda) 16:57; 9 S Simcox (Workout Express) 17:01.
M40: 1 N O’Regan (Army) 17:33; 2 J Desmond (Hormann Elec) 17:46; 3 L Cotter (Kerry Foods) 17:58.
M45: 1 S By (Dairypower) 18:03; 2 D Carroll (Blarney Woolen Mills) 18:23; 3 S Cahill (IPS) 19:53.
M50: 1 M Murphy (Novartis) 17:27; 2 J Collins (Team adidas) 17:30; 3 W O’Riordan (Army) 19:21.
M55: 1 T Huff (Team adidas) 18:55; 2 D Cotter (Cork Painters) 20:32; 3 P Gyves (ITW Hi-Cone) 20:43.
M60: 1 J Murray (HSE) 23:21; 2 S Cotter (ESB) 23:21.
M65: 1 J O’Leary (Bookdeal) 23:04; 2 G Webb (Plant Hire) 23:24.
Team:
(Grade A) 1 Joyce Wolfe 55; 2 EMC 150; 3 Pfizer-Little Island 150.
(Grade B) 1 Army 73; 2 Proscon 81; 3 Phoenix Clinic 91.
(Grade C) 1 Cork Co Co 131; 2 An Post/Eircom 154; 3 RPS 173.
Women:
1 A Cooke (UCC) 18:35; 2 M Sheehan (Carraig Court, F50) 19:32; 3 J Vonhatten (temp-reg) 19:47; 4 F Kirwan (Sensory Labs, F40) 19:51; 5 M Nolan (Midleton News, F35) 20:01; 6 G O’Shea (Cork Co Co, F35) 20:34.
F40: 2 H Keleher (HSE) 20:51.
F45: 1 A Murphy (UCC) 22:04; 2 R Kelly (BoI).
F50: 1 M Lyons (Flextronics-Core) 25:00.
F55: 1 M Barry (Midleton News).
Team:
(Grade A) 1 Sensory Labs 12; 2 UCC 15; 3 Midleton News 18.
(Grade B) 1 Cork Co Co 22; 2 BoI 24; 3 Midleton News 35.
(....with thanks to John Walshe of Ballycotton Running Promotions for providing these)

Click on this link for the full results.

Photos...

Pat O'Driscoll of Eagle AC was out and about with his camera at the race and took some fine shots near the finish line. They are now up on the Eagle AC website.

The Cork BHAA have a few shots up on their website as well. The link is HERE.

Comments recieved...

"Hi John, Just out of curiosity, can you explain how the points system works for men's and ladies' teams in the BHAA races? What do the different grades mean and how are the points calculated? Great site by the way! Super source of info!...Anonymous"

"I had to laugh when I saw your question because I tried myself to work it out before and I gave up after trying loads of combinations! As far as I know, once you do a race, you are given a handicap or grade depending on what your time was...a bit like Golf ;o) The faster you are, the lower your handicap. They add up the handicaps of the 3 people in say the mens team and that determines what group you are in..A, B or C. I have no idea though as to exactly how they calculate the scores after each race. I'll try to get a better description...I'm sure others would be curious as well...John Desmond"

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'ESB' 5 km race in Mahon - Sun 10th Feb 2008 (11am)

This is the 2nd road race of the year in the Cork BHAA calendar. There is a 2 month gap until the next BHAA race in early April so if you are a regular at the BHAA events, this is one to do. So, lets have a look at it in more detail.

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 on a sharp corner...in other words, you start, run about 20 metres and then you need to take a sharp left with everyone else. It can be a bit chaotic here but once you're around, you have about 500 metres of straight running as the field begins to thin out. Then 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. I saw one person nearly going down here last year as he tried to take a short cut on the wet grass and found it hard to stop.

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!

Weather Forecast...

(Fri 8am) The current forecast is that it will be dry and settled. Temp will be about 10 deg C. A light South-Easterly is forecast which might be an issue around the 1 mile mark where the path is exposed to the harbour but it probably won't be too strong.

Extra...

I have added a link to some more photos from the Little Island race on the BHAA website. Look back a few posts and you'll see the Results for the Little Island race.

Ballycotton 10 entries for 2008...
Up to now, the first 2,400 entries for this years Ballycotton 10 have been up on the Ballycotton website. Well, I have just heard on the grapevine that the complete list of entries will be published in a few days time, possibly over next weekend. This list will contain the original 2,400 runners as well as all of the eligible club, summer series and overseas runners who got their entries in on time.

The Ballycotton 10 is on the 9th of March, only 4 weeks from next Sunday. The entry pack with the numbers will be posted out in about 2 weeks time.

For any new people looking at this post, this 10 mile road race is pre-entry only and the entry quota was filled back in early December last year.

New Poll on the Dungarvan 10 mile road race...
Considering that I ran a poll on the blog for the Mallow race, I asked the guy's in West Waterford AC if there was any question that they would like to ask in a poll for their race. The question that they wanted an answer to was whether people thought the race was value for money. So, here is the question that I put together...

" This year for the Dungarvan 10, they gave a goody bag, special T-shirt and a very nice glass momento out at the race. Do you think the entry fee was worth it? "

You can select Yes, it was worth it ...OR... No, it was not worth it

The poll is over on the right hand side of this page so give them some feedback and get clicking!

Results of the Mallow 10 poll...
Thanks to everyone who took time to vote in this poll. With 113 votes, it was the largest poll so far on this blog.
The question asked was whether people would prefer a T-shirt for doing the race or be entered in a draw for 2 widescreen TV's. Approx 57% chose the T-shirt option with the balance of 43% choosing the TV draw option. Not a huge majority but a slight preference all the same.

I assume that some may have selected the T-shirt for a number of reasons. Maybe they had a widescreen TV already? Maybe they preferred to have got something instead of a 1:250 chance of getting a prize? If there were more prizes of a smaller value, would the result have changed? Anyway, I have passed on the poll results to Mallow AC and they can use it to plan next year's race.

Results of the Dungarvan 10 Mile Road Race - Sun 3rd Feb 2008
Looks like the weather forecast was spot on for this one with an awful wet morning followed by some dry clear cold weather. The race started in dry conditions and the weather was probably ideal for a 10 mile race.
Things were a bit chaotic at the registration with a queue going way out the door and some runners not getting their goody bags and t-shirt. Perhaps they would have been better off giving out these at the finish line as they had advertised on the entry form. It seems a pity considering they were charging €20 to enter on the day. (It was only €10 for the Mallow 10 race).
Just 2 shy of 700 runners turned out for this race, about 35% up on last years figure of 516. Yet again, another record crowd at a race. It would make you wonder what kind of crowd would the Ballycotton 10 race get if they didn't have to restrict the numbers due to safety reasons. As for todays race, the West Waterford guys had plenty of stewards out along the course so it was very safe at all of the road junctions. Due to the wet morning, there was a lot of suface water but nothing too serious. I did however hear of 1 runner who came a cropper after standing on some loose stones out along the course. Maybe that is something that could be checked for the day before next year?
Anyway, enough waffle! ...onto the results.

The link for the results is HERE.

The Category Results are shown below... (Note. Prizes were for the 1st 6 men, 1st two O40, O45, O50, O55, 1st O60 & O65) (1st 4 women, 1st two O35, O40, O45, O50, 1st O55 & O60)

DUNPHY INSURANCES VIVAS HEALTH/DUNGARVAN 10-mile Road Race, Dungarvan, Co Waterford
MEN
1 Sergiu Turea (Clonliffe Harriers) 50:18; 2 Ryan Montgomery (Raheny Shamrocks) 54:22; 3 Donal O’Callaghan (Riocht) 54:23; 4 Gerard Guina (West Limerick) 54:25; 5 Con Marshall (St Finbarrs) 55:14; 6 Martin Doody (Limerick) 55:16; 7 Cathal O’Connell (St Finbars, 1st M40) 55:23; 8 S Mullaney (Moycarley-Coolcroo) 55:27; 9 C Conroy (Sli Culainn) 56:01; 10 P Cody (KCH) 56:05.
M40: 2 P O’Sullivan (Carrick) 57:54; 3 Noel O’Regan (Midleton) 59:10.
M45: 1 M McCarthy (West Waterford) 58:57; 2 Joe O’Sullivan (Bandon) 60:14; 3 L Kennedy (Waterford) 60:42. M50: 1 L Lacey (St Josephs) 59:00; 2 G Cantwell (West Waterford) 61:39; 3 PJ Dwyer (St Senans) 62:33.
M55: 1 Pat Twomey (Eagle) 63:04; 2 Maurice Tobin (Grange-Fermoy) 64:38; 3
M60: 1 P O’Brien (unatt) 76:24.
M65: 1 P Doran (Limerick) 79:59.
Mens Teams
1st - West Waterford AC (Raivis Zakis 13, Sean Stilwell 16, Padraig Healy 20) 49 pts
2nd - Eagle AC (Declan O'Shea 33, Ciaran Dunne 38, John Desmond 62) 133 pts
3rd - West Waterford AC (Philip Harty 34, Trevor Mason 50, Pat O'Riordan 52) 136 pts

Women
1 M-M Meade (North Belfast) 58:59; 2 P Curley (Tullamore, F35) 59:02; 3 M Dorney (Thurles Crokes) 62:35; 4 Mary Sweeney (St Finbarrs, F45) 63:46; 5 T Roche (Dooneen) 63:55; 6 L O’Connor (Eagle) 64:28; 7 T Guilfoyle (Kilnaboy, 1st F40) 65:20; 8 A McCann (Clonmel) 65:26; 9 A Walsh (St Senans) 65:29.
F35: 1 D Behan (West Waterford) 65:09; 2 K O’Callaghan (Sportsworld) 66:27.
F40: 2 Angela McEcoy (St Finbarrs) 69:14.
F50: 1 Mary Sheehan (Grange-Fermoy) 68:05; 2 A Fitzgerald (Waterford) 69:57.
F55: 1 M Barry (Midleton) 86:05.
F60: 1 Maggie Dunne (Grange-Fermoy) 84:52.
Womens Team
1st - West Waterford AC (Brea Cooke 153, Mary Burke 179, Sylvia Malone 226) 558 pts.
And they're off...all 698 of them!!

Comments on the race...
"All comments welcome good or bad. We had 700 goodie bags and t shirts with two goodie bags and two t shirt left over after regristration, John don't know what happened but you seem to be the only runner who got no T shirt or goodie bag. You also forgot to mention the glass gift to all participants who finished the race. I would have considered the runners got very good value in Dungarvan for their 15 euro, especially those who pre regristered.We gave out the goodie bags and t shirts before the race due to the bad weather conditions,which as you said later thankfully cleared up....James Veale, West Waterford AC "

"James...I hope I didn't sound too critical of the race but I was told by some of the race officials by the finish after the race that anyone who arrived late didn't get anything. €15 is fine but in my own personal opinion, €20 on the day is a bit much when you consider that the entry fee for the very successful 'Mallow 10' was only €10 and only €12.50 for the Ballycotton 10. Overall though, I thought it was a very good race, nice course, well organised (with a few blips!!) and I'm sure we'll all be back to help you break that 700 mark next year.....John Desmond"

"Great race. I made the trip down from Dublin on the day and was not disappointed. I thought that the organisation was superb, the marshalling on the course was faultless. Granted, I had pre-registered, so avoided having to queue up to collect number and goodie-bag. €15 entry fee was good value in my opinion, and I will likely return next year. Well done to the organising team at West Waterford!...anonymous "

"I thought it was a great event really well organised and the glass gift is a lovely reminder of the day. The atmosphere and comraderie was great in spite of the bitter cold. The marshalls support en route was much appreciated. Had to elbow my way through supporters and some runners on their cool down jog to get to the finishing line which was a bit frustrating, but apart from that, was really impressed. Thanks to all involved for the obvious effort that went into the day...anonymous"

"The race was excellent, really enjoyed it and will be back again. Excellent web site .... Victor"

"It would be hard to find fault with this race. My experience of West Waterford AC is that they are a club that do their best to ensure their events go as well as possible. Runners also have a responsibility to ensure they arrive in plenty of time before races, given the increasing numbers races are now attracting. As runners, we should recognise that in a way we have the easier task. We arrive, run the race, drink tea and head home...HB"

"John, firstly - well done on the blog, it has become my first point of reference for running news around Cork! Second - I think that the race organisation on Sunday was fantastic when you take account of the dramatic increase in numbers participating. There was a late arrival of runners and yet we were off withun five minutes of the published start time. I know of no-one who had a bad word to say on the event, the hot drink after and the weather management, well done West Waterford! ....Eamonn"

"Thanks to all at West Waterford AC. Great day out, fantastic turn out. I struggled to cross the finishing line with so many people in the way, but fair play to the stewards, they were shouting their heads off to get people out of the way. It was understandable as I almost finished last. People probably thought it was all over before I came around the bend. Bring on Ballycotton, looking forward to this one...John Dunphy, Rising Sun AC"

"I thought the race was very well organised. I didn't have a problem with queues or lack of goodie bags bags, having pre-registered. Anybody who has been running long enough, should know well enough at this stage to turn up early for events!! The course marshalling was excellent with sufficient water stops. The gift at the end was a very nice suprise! The run in to the finish line could have been managed a little better, maybe by actually taping off the last 100 meters, after you round the corner. I'm not sure if this is possible but it would have made it a little easier for runners and spectators alike. All in all, a great day and well worth €15....anonymous"

"In response to this last comment, the problems that I saw happened 30 minutes before the start of the race and the person who was last to enter should be treated the exact same as the first person through the door...John Desmond"

"As one of the people to turn up on the day having not pre-registered, I must say that I thought the whole day was very well organised. The queue was quickly dealt with and I thought the €20 was good value for money. The glass momento was a very nice touch. All in all, a great day. The one suggestion I would have is taping off the finishing area more. I stayed on to cheer others to the finish after I was done but I noticed a lot of people walking across the finishing area. As someone said previously, we should respect those who come in last as much as those in first. Otherwise great day and thanks to West Waterford AC for the hospitality....Terry H."

"Lovely run. They said it was a fast course and I have to agree. Blessed with the weather considering the weekend that had preceded it. The only problem I saw was the parking which in fairness wasn't that bad. Did they make the numbers out of old bullet proof vests?.....Dave H."

Anymore comments on the race...???

Other Reviews...
There is another review of this race up on the Eagle AC website.

Preview of the Dungarvan 10 Mile Race - Sun 3rd Feb 2008 (1pm) (Updated Sun 3rd Feb 10am)

The 2nd race of the 4 part Munster 10 mile Classic series takes place next Sunday, the 3rd of February in Dungarvan, West Waterford. With over 500 runners taking part in the 1st race in Mallow in early January, the 2nd race in Dungarvan has the potential of attracting an even bigger entry. Last year, they got 516 entries and if the weather co-operates, I see no reason why they won't break the 600 mark.

Registration...
The registration point for this race is the Crystal Sports Centre which is just off the main N25 road in Dungarvan. The race starts at 1pm so considering the big numbers, you would really need to be there by 12 noon to make sure you're not rushing. Entries on the day cost €20. If you want to have a look at the entry form, here is the LINK. If you are not sure where the Sports centre is, then read on.

Course...

The race starts just a few hundred metres West of the Sports centre. You run back towards the Sports centre, then out and left onto the N25 for a short distance. Soon, you leave the N25 again, do a loop around to the West and you end up back near where the race started. Here, you are just following the stewards directions until you get onto the nice quiet roads around the 2 mile mark. The next 4.5 miles for me, are the best part of the course. Nice quiet roads with nothing much except trees and fields on either side.

Just before the 7 mile mark, you re-join the N25 main road again. Now, you are running inside the hard shoulder and you begin a long but gentle climb after the 7 mile mark. After the 8 mile mark, the hard shoulder gets a bit narrow so you need to be careful here. From then on, just follow the stewards instructions as you get closer to the finish. Just a quick word about the finish...last year, it was in the Sports centre where you registered. That is, it is about 40 metres in off the main road. Check it out when you register so you know exactly where the finish of the race is.

There are 2 maps available of the course....

I have put the course up on the MapMyRun website (as shown up top). Here is the LINK and just zoom IN and OUT to get your bearings.

West Waterford AC have an ordnance surveymap up on their website with the course. You can't zoom in or out but you might find it a little clearer. The Crytsal Sports centre is also shown there. Here is the LINK.

Weather Forecast...(Updated Sun 3rd Feb 10am)
The current forecast looks like Sunday will be hit or miss when it comes to the rain. It now looks like a cold front will arrive very early on Sunday morning and there will be a few hours with a lot of rain and high winds. I think that it will probably be ok for the race. I reckon you could look out the window tomorrow morning around 9am and see heavy rain with strong Southerly winds. According to the map above, they expect the worst of the weather to have cleared by mid-day. Once this front has cleared, there might be the odd shower with a light Westerly breeze. Honestly, I think if you put off going to Dungarvan because it looks wet tomorrow morning, you'll be making a mistake. The only thing you can really be sure of tomorrow is that the day will improve as it goes on. By the way, they are predicting that the temperature might only be around 6 deg C around the time of the race. It might be no harm to bring a thermal vest and gloves just in case.
See the rainfall radar map below...it is now clearing from the West and the start of the race should be ok.
So, keep those fingers crossed ;o)
Last year...
By the way, if you did last year, you can find your time HERE.

Results of the East Cork 3km race (No 6 of 7) - Tues 29th Jan 2008

A fine crowd of 113 entrants turned out for this race, the 6th of 7 in the East Cork AC Winter 3km series. The weather forecast turned out to be spot on, rain in the morning and dry in the evening time. The temperature for the race was about 6 deg and there was hardly any wind...ideal conditions. Looking through the results, you might notice that we have a bit of an international field with runners from Poland, France and the USA taking part..!! Anyway, here are the results up on the blog, just 2.5 hours after the race thanks to some speedy typing by Liam O'Brien ;o)

East Cork AC 3Km Winter Series Race 6 29/01/08
1 Sean McGrath East Cork AC 9.16
2 Alan O'Shea Bantry AC 9.24
3 Roy Fahy East Cork AC 9.35
4 Frank Hayes East Cork AC 9.53
5 Eric Meade East Cork AC 10.04
6 Tadgh Murphy Bandon AC 10.05
7 Denis McCarthy East Cork AC 10.07
8 Shane Maher Grange Fermoy AC 10.09
9 Noel O'Regan Midleton AC 10.23
10 John Desmond Eagle AC 10.29
11 Marty O'Keeffe Youghal AC 10.31
12 John Lynch Cork 10.33
13 James O'Driscoll Skibbereen 10.38
14 Ian O'Sullivan East Cork AC 10.41
15 Eoin Casey Glenbower AC 10.44
16 Tom Cody Midleton AC 10.48
17 Denis Carroll Eagle AC 11.00
18 Frank Cashman East Cork AC 11.06
19 Denis Collins Mount Uniacke 11.10
20 Alan Lane Glenbower AC 11.17
21 Edmond O'Sullivan Midleton AC 11.18
22 Nick Parkinson East Cork AC 11.19
23 Sean O'Sullivan Midleton AC 11.20
24 John O'Callaghan Rising Sun AC 11.20
25 Pat Moloney USA 11.21
26 James Cleary Whitegate 11.23
27 Paul Cleary Whitegate 11.26
28 Paudie O'Keeffe Midleton GAA 11.33
29 Ned Ramsell Midleton AC 11.37
30 James Power Whitegate 11.38
31 Patrick Dunlea Midleton GAA 11.39
32 Maurice Tobin Grange Fermoy AC 11.41
33 Sean O'Keeffe East Cork AC 11.44
34 John Dunphy Rising Sun AC 11.44
35 Pat Fogarty ESB 11.45
36 Matthew Boenart Cork 11.46
37 Cathal McCarthy Midleton AC 11.48
38 Coran Swayne Midleton CBS 11.51
39 Daniel Walsh Glenbower AC 11.53
40 Mick Walsh Midleton AC 11.53
41 Brian Healy Dunboyne AC 11.54
42 Paul Cotter Eagle AC 11.55
43 Liam Callanan Whitechurch 11.55
44 David O'Leary Midleton 11.58
45 John Lynch Cork 11.59
46 Kevin McSweeney Midleton GAA 12.00
47 Tony Lilley Togher AC 12.01
48 Ken Owens Togher AC 12.02
49 Trevor MahoneyMidleton 12.02
50 Eoghan Cotter Whitegate 12.05
51 Tim Collins Mount Uniacke 12.06
52 Colin McGregor Cloyne 12.11
53 Niamh Walsh Youghal AC 12.13
54 Leslie Coughlan Midleton CBS 12.15
55 Don O'Hanlon Cork 12.17
56 Anthony Barry Glanmire 12.25
57 Kieran Rohan Midleton AC 12.31
58 Pat Walsh Midleton GAA 12.33
59 Sally Drennan Midleton AC 12.35
60 Colman Quirke Midleton GAA 12.41
61 Matt Chojan Poland 12.45
62 Batt Kearney Leevale AC 12.47
63 Mary O'Keeffe Youghal AC 12.48
64 Trevor Collins Naas AC12.49
65 John O'Halloran Glounthaune 12.49
66 Vince Hurley Cork 13.01
67 Stephen Murphy Bandon AC 13.01
68 Liam Walsh Midleton GAA 13.02
69 John Walshe East Cork AC 13.06
70 Joseph McCarthy Midleton AC 13.07
71 Vincent Connolly Midleton AC 13.10
72 Mark O'Keeffe Youghal AC 13.12
73 Elga Ryan Midleton AC 13.14
74 John Cotter Cobh 13.26
75 Maggie Chojan Poland 13.27
76 Jerry Rush Cobh 13.33
77 Cian McParland Cobh 13.33
78 Kevin Cronin UCC 13.34
79 Tom O'Neill Midleton 13.36
80 Mick McCarthy West Waterford AC 13.38
81 Niamh Savage East Cork AC 13.46
82 Donal O'Donoghue Little Island 13.48
83 Grainne Lynch Cork 13.49
84 Ann Geary Lisgoold 13.50
85 Maura O'Doherty Midleton AC 13.56
86 Máire Murphy Youghal 13.57
87 Danny McCarthy Midleton AC 13.58
88 Donie O'Connell Midleton AC 13.59
89 Tim Geary Lisgoold 14.06
90 Jimmy Murray Rising Sun AC 14.11
91 Padraig O'Regan Midleton 14.17
92 Finbarr Lyons Midleton 14.18
93 Willie O'Mahony Youghal AC 14.20
94 Tony Mulcahy Midleton 14.28
95 Diane Lilley Togher AC 14.29
96 Vincent O'Neill Midleton AC 14.30
97 Carrie Higgins Carrigtwohill AC 14.31
98 Sam O'Keeffe East Cork AC 14.36
99 Kate Crawford USA 14.37
100 Mary O'Keeffe Midleton AC 14.57
101 Keith O'Mahony Cork 15.12
102 Vincent Murray Midleton 15.17
103 Olive Hallihan Cloyne 15.23
104 Margaret Beausang Midleton AC 15.28
105 Lillian Grandfield Cloyne 16.14
106 Kevin Cummins Cork BHAA 17.27
107 Jim McMurtry Midleton AC 17.33
108 Mary Toher Midleton AC 17.37
109 Daire Healy Ballycotton 17.38
110 Orla Kelleher Dungourney 17.39
111 Eoin Cashman Midleton AC 17.44
112 John Cashman Midleton AC
17.45 Wheelchair Jerry Forde BIAC 18.10

(...with thanks to Liam O'Brien of East Cork AC for these results)

Preview of the East Cork 3km Road Race (No. 6 of 7) - Tues 29th Jan (7:30pm)
The 6th race in the series takes place in Midleton on Tuesday, the 29th of January at 7:30 pm. The current weather forecast is that a cold front will cross the country on Tuesday. So, the morning may well start off very wet with heavy rain but hopefully, the front will have cleared by the evening time.
Going on previous races, I'd expect that they will break the 100 mark again if the weather is ok.

If you want more information about this race, check out this LINK. If you click on the items in the menu bar there, you can also check back through any of the previous times for last year or for the first 5 events in the current series. Note that if you are not using broadband, they may take a small while to appear.

Results of the Cork BHAA Little Island 'FMC' 4 Mile Road Race - Sun 27th Jan 2008 (Updated Wed 30th)

When I arrived in the hall for this race at 10:30 am, I found myself at the end of a very long queue. So, I kind of guessed then that the numbers were going to be very big. And they were, with just over 400 runners taking part. Last year, they got 313 so this is a huge increase. The conditions for the race were ideal..blue skies, sun shining, a little bit cool with a very gentle wind.

Photos...
John Quigley of Eagle AC was out and about during the race with his camera and he took about 280 photos. These are now up on the Eagle AC website. The link is HERE.

A 2nd set of photos has now gone up on the Eagle website. These 66 photos were taken by Pat O'Driscoll of Eagle AC. Looking through them, Pat obviously has a flair for this kind of thing as some of the shots are really good. Here is the main link to the main album index. They may add these photos to the other earlier set have have a look around.

The Cork BHAA have their own set of photos up HERE.

Results...
The category prize winners are shown below. The full results are now available at this LINK

FMC 4-Mile Road Race (Cork BHAA), Little Island, Co Cork
1 B Keane (temp-reg) 20:40; 2 S McGrath (temp-reg) 20:41; 3 R Creech (Jannsen) 20:47; 4 C O'Donovan (O'Donovan) 21:02; 5 R Fahy (temp-reg) 21:13; 6 J Grufferty (Bio-Pharma) 21:37; 7 N Curtin (Quality Hotel, M40) 21:39; 8 S Wilkinson (Cork Simon) 21:41; 9 G Murray (temp-reg) 21:43; 10 K O'Sullivan (temp-reg) 21:49.
M40: 2 L Cotter (Kerry Foods) 23:13; 3 D Broderick (Munster Beverages) 23:15.
M45: 1 D Sheehan (UCC) 25:14; 2 P Dineen (Eli Lilly) 26:19; 3 J Leahy (Naval Service) 26:31.
M50: 1 E McEvoy (Cork Teachers) 22:18; 2 J Collins (Team adidas) 22:47; 3 P Collins (Team Herbal Life) 22:58.
M55: 1 T Huff (Team adidas) 24:25; 2 D Cotter (Cork Painters) 26:45.
M60: 1 M Dunne (UCC) 25:43; 2 L O'Leary (Cork City Co) 26:13.
M65: 1 G Webb (Plant Hire).Team:
(Grade A) 1 Workout Express 51; 2 Carraig Court 73; 3 Jannsen 113.
(Grade B) 1 Naval Service 80; 2 UCC 98; 3 Pfizer-Ringaskiddy 106.
(Grade C) 1 Proscon 111; 2 Quality Hotel 133; 3 Naval Service 153.

Women: 1 A Cooke (temp-reg) 24:09; 2 A MacPhail (temp-reg) 24:13; 3 N Roe (temp-reg) 24:16; 4 A-M Healy (HSE, F35) 24:20; 5 M Sweeney (Cork Shops, F45) 24:26; 6 M Crowley (HSE) 24:51.
F35: 1 M Walsh (Pfizer-Ringaskiddy).F40: 1 F Kirwan (Sensory Labs).
F45: 1 M Mulcahy (Bank of Ireland).
F50: 1 M Beausang (Midleton Shops).
Team: (Grade A) 1 HSE; 2 Quality Hotel. (Grade B) 1 Citco; 2 Bank of Ireland.

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

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'FMC' 4 Mile Road Race - Sun 27th Jan 2008 (11:00am) (Updated Sat 26th)

The first road race in the Cork BHAA calendar takes place in Little Island next Sunday, the 27th of January at 11am. The registration point is the community centre which on the map above, is more or less exactly at the 1 mile mark.

Directions...
If you are coming out of the city, take the N25 East and turn off for Little Island. You then take the road into Little Island...going through the roundabout, past the garage and follow the road around to the right. The road now heads West again and follow it until you see the 1 mile sign on the road on the right. The community centre is here.

Alternative directions...
I recieved the following text in an e-mail from Donal O'Donoghue who lives in the area. He wrote...
"Given that Little Island has two entrances, and the Sports Complex is on the West side of the island, it would be better to enter Little Island, from the Tunnel roundabout. It's two miles shorter, for people coming from the City, and there's fewer turns, and less chance of getting lost.
Directions from the Tunnel Roundabout: Tunnel Management road is just to the left of the tunnel entrance, so one needs to be in the left-most lane, when approaching the tunnel. At the top of this short road there is a small roundabout.Take the exit marked "Little Island Ind Estate". Keep going for about one mile.You will pass Pfizer's, Henkel/Cognis, and Punch Industries (all on the left). You will see a small ruined castle and a mobile phone mast on the left. The Little Island Sports Complex is next.
The advantage of this route is that one will pass over both the Start and Finish lines, and one should have less difficulty finding that Start line, after registering.

Parking.....There is ample parking in front of, and behind the Sport Complex, so there is no need to park on the main road."

Thanks Donal

Course...
First a word of caution for new runners...you will need to run/jog 1 mile from the community centre back to the start line which is not too far from the Jack Lynch tunnel. The course is reasonably flat with no real hills. There are a few slight inclines but nothing worth talking about. As you can see from the map above, it really is a case of running along the main road in Little Island, a loop around an industrial estate and back the same way. One unique feature of the race is that near where the race loops around, you can see others in the race going the opposite direction...it's a bit like running a race and spectating at the same time!!

Overall...
It's not exactly the most scenic of routes but this race always seems to get a good turn out. It's almost as if most people use it as their first race of the year. Last year, they got 313 entrants and I'd guess that they will easily break the 300 mark again this year. The current weather forecast shows high pressure building for the weekend so the weather should be dry and settled.

Extra notes...
A lot of people probably won't be registered for this race so it might be very busy in the hall with people entering the race and getting registered for the year as well. Considering the numbers that will be there, it might be no harm to arrive early, join the correct queue and beat the rush.
If you want to have a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website.
If you zoom in there and press the SATELLITE button, you will see an aerial photo of the course and you can see the Community hall with it's car park.

Dungarvan 10 entries...
The 2nd race of the Munster '10 mile Classic' series takes place on Sunday, the 3rd of February at 1pm. If you enter this race on the day, the cost is €20. If however, you enter before the 1st of February, the cost is €15. Hence, the notice now so that you have plenty of time to get those entries off.

You will find the official entry form at this LINK.

CPR Course, Inniscarra - Fri Feb 1st 2008 (7pm)
There is another CPR course coming up again at the start of February. The last one was held in the Pfizer Sports Hall in Ringaskiddy late last year and was very good (...and paid for by Pfizers!!). The course coming up in Inniscarra is a CPR course and I think there will be a fee for doing it. Interested??
Then read the following info from John Quigley of Eagle AC...

The County Board are holding a CPR course in Inniscarra Community Hall (familiar as the check-in point for the BHAA Inniscarra 4M). Many people had to be turned down for the last Course, which was very generously sponsored by Pfizer Heart Foundation, so the next phase involves a CPR course, followed by a defibrillator course (date/venue to be set).
Interested persons should give their names to County Board Chairperson, Noreen Murphy, 085-7157810 or John Quigley, 087-6261178 (please leave a message - I can't answer during office hours!),
If demand for the courses is strong, the Board will organise more courses.

First come to fill 20 places. Please pass this on as widely as you can (until I say stop!). Note: This course doesn't include Defibrillator training - that will follow but if you haven't done the CPR, you probably won't be able to get certification.

Remember, if trained, you don't HAVE TO perform CPR/Defibrillation, however if you don't learn, then you CANNOT do it. In all probability it is for your loved ones; family and friends that you will be called on to aid. Seconds count! Don't look on helplessly if haven't learnt. Get in and learn!

See also http://www.corkathletics.org/

Cork BHAA website down at the moment (Fri 18th Jan 08)...

It's look like the Cork BHAA website might be down for a few days until some hosting issues get sorted out. In the meantime, if you want to get a BHAA registration form for 2008, I have put up a tempory one at this LINK.

The Cork BHAA website is now back online (Mon 21st Jan 08)

Belgooly 4 mile race pictures (26th Dec 2007) -
A set of 120 photos have been added recently to the photo gallery on the Eagle AC website. They were taken by Roy Cummins of St.Finbarr's AC and show shots of the Belgooly 4 mile road race near the start and around the 3.5 mile mark.

You can see the index of the photo gallery at this LINK.