Race in new park in Cork City at the end of November...

In an earlier post, I covered the development of the Kinsale Road landfill site into a new grassland park for Cork City and how it might be used for running or races in the future.

While the new park is not supposed to be open to the public until 2012 at the earliest, it looks as if runners will be able to get a sneak preview at the end of November.

The name of the new park will be the Tramore Valley Park based on the fact that the local river/stream is the Tramore river which begins in the hills south of Togher and passes the new park before joining the harbour in Douglas.

The race will be 5 kms in lenght and it is basically 2 laps around the perimeter of the park. All proceeds from the race will be going to Marymount Hopsice.

Once this park is open next year, it should be a great place to go for a short run without having to worry about traffic and the like. It may also become a regular venue for 5k races in the heart of Cork City and maybe even the development of Park Races as covered in an earlier post in August.

So the date for your diaries is Saturday the 26th of November at 11am.

More details closer to the event...

Dealing with Dogs...

Here are a few tips from Runners World on how to deal with dogs if you are out running...

The main thing is that you need to convey a sense of calm. Here's how to do it right.

VOICE
DON'T: A high-pitched, shrieking voice broadcasts fear and may activate the dog's fight instinct.
DO: Use a deep, firm voice to convey a sense of calm.

POSITION
DON'T: Turn your back and run—that'll make you look like prey, which may encourage a chase.
DO: Stand tall, facing the dog and slowly, calmly back away.

EYES
DON'T: Direct eye contact can seem aggressive to a dog, further encouraging a physical encounter.
DO: Watch the dog out of the corner of your eye without making direct eye contact.

BODY LANGUAGE
DON'T: Cowering may activate a prey response, while a combative position may instigate a fight.
DO: Stay relaxed, and use an upright posture to give a sense of authority.

TIP: LAST SHOT
If a scary dog really comes at you, spray it with water if you have a bottle.

How safe is it to run a Marathon?

A quick video clip from the Discovery Channel looks at Marathons and related health issues...

Runners get lost in Korean Marathon...

This story appeared recently about a Marathon in South Korea that went wrong. It kind of shows the hazards of organising a race and what can happen especially if it isn't planned properly. It also underlines the value of having experienced people on hand for the race and out along the course.

Marathon Runners get lost......Poor organisation during an international marathon in Gyeongju, South Korea caused marathoners to veer off course midrace, resulting in confusion and chaos for spectators and racers alike.

During the 2011 Dong-A Ilbo Gyeongju International Marathon Race held on Sunday (16th Oct 2011), the 40-kilometre (24-mile) post was left without a guide. The staffer assigned to help racers navigate the three-way intersection had left his post before his replacement arrived, and the staffer assigned to replace him had gone to another post by mistake. Without the guide, runners were left to dodge cars and public buses for a few hundred metres.

Before the race, the event organiser had announced that the course would include trafficked streets at the 40-kilometre point, but the racers seemed reliant on the guides and went off course when they did not see any. Upon seeing this, a coach on the sidelines of the race stepped in and pointed subsequent racers in the right direction. One sports promotion foundation representative expressed his sympathy for those who “raced and only looked forward” and said, “Though it’s called an international race, I have never seen a race organized so carelessly.”  A representative from the race organisers said that it was dismayed to learn that the guide who was supposed to monitor the 40-kilometre post did not appear. He also said that race operations staff were not trained properly.

Runner in vest 'mistaken for suicide bomber'

Iranian student Goudarz Karimi out running with his padded weight vest was mistaken for a suicide bomber by police in Oxford, England. He was ordered to stop running, put his hands in the air and drop everything in his hands as sub-machine guns were trained on his body. The officers carefully took off the heavily padded vest and searched it, looking for explosives and a detonator.
However, they found the Oxford University PhD student was wearing a training vest loaded with weights for added resistance when running. Mr Karimi said: "They told me 'Stop! Stop! Put your hands in the air. Drop everything you have.' "The police removed my weight vest and examined it. They started asking questions: 'What are you doing?' "They said they had a report of someone walking in a bomb suit. There were police cars and the street was blocked."

The 25-year-old was then made to remove the 30kg vest so officers could check it for explosives.
He said that when they realised it was an exercise vest they advised him to remove it to prevent any another call from a terrified member of the public.

Superintendent Amanda Pearson, of Thames Valley Police, said: "Police received a call from a member of the public who was concerned about a man walking in Southfield Road, with what he thought was a vest which may have contained explosives. " "While I appreciate that in this case being stopped and checked by the officers may have been unsettling to the gentlemen concerned, the officers were responding to a call from a member of the public who had a genuine concern and police are duty bound to investigate any calls of this nature to ensure public safety.

Paula Radcliffe campaigns against new IAAF ruling

In an earlier post, I had a look at the new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rule which said that womens records could not be set in mixed races. This rule then in effect made Paula Radcliffe's 2:15 Marathon record invalid. Well, it seems as if there is now a growing campaign to get the IAAF ruling changed.

Paula Radcliffe has now hit back saying that that the new ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations discriminates against women. Radcliffe met the IAAF's president, Lamine Diack, in Monaco last week to lobby him to reverse the ruling. "He seemed to really take on board what I was saying, so now we just have to see what they do about it. The ball is back in his court."

According to Radcliffe there is a good chance that the old records – including her marathon time of 2hr 15min 25sec, set in London in 2003 – will at least be included in the record books as a footnote. Although happy that her time may not be struck off altogether, Radcliffe is still irritated by the rule itself. The IAAF will not be able to consider changing it until its next congress in 2013. "I do think that the rule is unfair," Radcliffe said. "It penalises women. It limits the amount of chances we have to set records because the majority of road races are mixed.

"They won't be able to do anything about changing the rule now. But they may be able to take away the retroactive aspect. That was really harsh. It was not just my world record but a lot of people's national records, area records, they were just suddenly wiped out. It seemed like your efforts were devalued." She pointed out that when the IAAF redesigned javelins, in 1986 and 1999, the previous records were included in the books as footnotes, and she has suggested to Diack that a similar thing is done with women's long-distance records.

Radcliffe's sponsors, Nike, organised a canny marketing campaign on Radcliffe's behalf, with the slogan "History Stands", and she said she was overwhelmed by the amount of public support she had received. "At the end of the day women are out there running on their own two feet and through their own effort. It was a really big step that London made in 2003 to put the men in with the women's race so I was really conscious that I never ran behind them. I was racing them. You won't find one image of me running behind them. I was always alongside them, I didn't talk to them beforehand and we didn't set a pace. I was racing the guy and I was really annoyed that he actually beat me."

Info from the Guardian Newspaper and the Telegraph

100 Year old sets new Marathon record...

This story has been doing the rounds in the mainstream media. 100 year old Fauja Singh has become the oldest person to run a full Marathon. Fauja Singh, from Ilford, east London, ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday (16th Oct 2011) in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds (avg 19:16 per mile). The record-holder "hit the wall" at 22 miles but soldiered on for another two hours and finished in 3,850th place, ahead of five other competitors. Video clip HERE

Singh took up running about 20 years ago at the age of 80. He runs about 16 kilometres each day and this was his eighth marathon. In the same marathon in 2003, he set a record in the 90-plus category of five hours, 40 minutes and one second (12:58 per mile).

His coach and translator Harmander Singh said Mr Singh was "absolutely overjoyed, he's achieved his lifelong wish."

Born in India in 1911, Mr Singh was a farmer in the Punjab but moved to Britain in the 1960s. He puts his stamina down to ginger curry, tea and "being happy". Mr Singh said: "The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free. Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are negative, stay smiling and keep running."

Last Thursday he broke another eight records for 100-year-old men by completing all eight distances ranging from 100m to 5,000m.
World age-group records pending for 100-year-old runner, after runs by Fauja Singh, Oct. 13, 2011:
100 metres -- 23.40 seconds (previous 29.83); 200 metres -- 52.23 seconds (previous 77.59 seconds); 400 metres -- 2:13.48 (previous 3:41.00); 800 metres -- 5:32.18 (no previous record); 1,500 metres -- 11:27.00 (previous 16:46.00); mile 11:53.45 (no previous record); 3,000 metres -- 24:52.47 (no previous record); 5,000 metres -- 49:57.39 (no previous).

Last year, the 99-year-old runner underwent a bone density test in Britain where he now lives. Doctors said his left leg was found to have a density of a 35-year-old, while his right leg had that of a 25-year-old.

Back in 2005, he set several records in the UK M90 age group. Report below...
As part of their contribution to the Back the Bid campaign, the Sikh Community hosted a record-breaking event at Mile End Park Stadium, East London, on Saturday 2 July 2005. Star performer was the indefatigable 94 year old Fauja Singh. His aim was to run 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, the mile and 1500m, and a 3000m continuing on to finish the 5000m.
Fauja clocked 19.97 (hand timed) for the 100. In the 200m he obliterated the UK M90 age group 200m clocking an amazing 45.13sec. The 400m he covered in 1.49.28sec, to become the first in Britain ever to contest this distance. The UK 800m time he beat by 18.02 sec, running 4.20.97sec. The magic mile he ran in 9.40.13, timed at 9.03.37 for 1500m in the process. The last event, the 5000m, 12½ times round the track, seemed a daunting target. Cheered on by the Mayor, local Press and supporters, he reeled off consistent laps, setting a new UK M90 3000m in 18.38.48 and continuing to complete 5000m in 31.31.12, just 5.67sec off the current UK record. With five records, or six, if you allow for the fact that all races plus recovery time were completed within the 94 minutes, Fauja still had enough puff to conduct media interviews!

Irish runner Mark Kenneally runs 2:13 in Amsterdam Marathon to qualify for 2012 Olympics

Mark Kenneally of Clonliffe Harriers AC ran 2:13:55 to finish 18th in the Amsterdam Marathon last Sunday (16th Nov 2011). As a result, he has qualified for the 2012 Olympic games in London as it was faster than the 'A' qualification standard of 2:15.

From Athletics Ireland.........
The Kildare man said: “I am delighted to have achieved the time, I knew I was in shape but it is another thing to actually produce the result” . The Mark Carroll coached athlete had some difficulties on the course with drink stations due to the organisers decision to have over 90 bottles on one small table at each station. This resulted in Kenneally having no drinks past the first 5km mark which lead to cramping and a few stops to stretch these out in the latter stages and he commented: “I feel like I had more in me I was up with the 2:12 finishers until the cramps set in”.

Kenneally improved on the 2:17.22 time he set at the Vienna Marathon back in April when he last attempted to achieve the standard.
Here are the stats with overall 5k splits...
Bib number 28
Name Mark Kenneally
Country IRL
Distance Marathon
Category Msen
Overall place 18th out of 9638
Category place 18
Speed 18,910 Km/Hour
Gross time 2:13:55
Net time 2:13:53
Net split times (difference)
5 Km 16:06 (16:06)
10 Km 31:31 (15:25)
15 Km 47:18 (15:47)
20 Km 1:03:07 (15:49)
Half marathon 1:06:33
25 Km 1:18:50 (15:43)
30 Km 1:34:37 (15:47)
35 Km 1:50:29 (15:52)
40 Km 2:06:35 (16:06)

Other Irish Marathon runners....Martin Fagan came very close in Chicago last week (he was on 2:11 pace when dropping out with a mile a go) and will try again in the new year
Seán Connolly is targeting sub-2:15 in Dublin at the end of the month
In December, Alistair Cragg runs the Fukuoka marathon in Japan.

American runner Aaron Shatzman maintains 30 year running streak

There was a story on the Internet during the week about 65 year old Aaron Shatzman in Pennsylvania who has maintained a 30 year running streak. Starting on Oct. 9, 1981, he has run approx 53,700 miles since then and currently runs 3 miles every day. When asked how he managed to keep the streak going, he said..."It has to do with perseverance, persistence, hard work, and accomplishing a goal. It would be easy to take a day off and more fun to watch TV. Not giving in is the important thing."

Another person with another notable running streak is Ron Hill in the UK who has run every day since December 1964.

In Ireland, the person with the longest running streak is most likely Denis McCarthy of East Cork AC. Starting in June 1985, he has run every day since.

Preview of the Gortroe 10k Fun Run in aid of Autism Assist Dogs of Ireland - Sun 16th Oct 2011

This 10km Charity Fun Run is coming up on Sunday, the 16th of October at 12 noon. Organised by  Banteer Macra na Feírme, all proceeds are going to Autism Assist Dogs of Ireland (AADI). The race itself is in Gortroe which is approx 10 kms west of Mallow, just off the N72 Killarney road.

AADI provides a valuable service that can have life changing effects for children with autism and their families. Their assistance dogs are provided free of charge. Many children with autism have a tendency to "bolt". They have no sense of danger and do not always want to hold an adults hand. In public the child is attached to their assistance dog, which is under the control of an adult at all times. This makes outings possible and pleasant for all the family.

The AADI are based in Quarterstown Mills in Mallow. You can get more information about Autism Assist Dogs of Ireland in this PDF document HERE and by visiting their website...... http://www.autismassistancedogsireland.ie/index.html

Race Flyer....

Entries.........You can enter on the day with a donation of €10

Getting there.....If you are coming from say the Mallow direction on the N72 Killarney road, then you need to take the turn off for Lombardstown. Note that this is just over 9 kms from the railway bridge near the roundabout in Mallow.

From there, you cross the bridge over the River Blackwater, up the road past the railway crossing and into the village of Lombardstown. Just on the far side of the village, there is a turn off right.

Take this and Gortroe is approx 700 metres up this road. You will find the Gortroe Inn located next to the crossroads....

Course.......Please note that this is a charity event rather than a road race with exact measurements. The course goes in a clockwise direction and is approx 9.4 kms in lenght. The race starts at the crossroads just outside the Gortroe Inn. The finish is next to the telephone pole at the rear of the pub.

There is no getting away from the fact that this race has a tough uphill start. As you get close to the 1 mile mark, the hill eases off slightly...

...before getting tougher again until you turn off right at approx 1.2 miles...

Even though it's a tough start, there are some great views as you are well above the local countryside and you gain height on the slopes of Mount Hillary.

After the turn off, the road gets even narrower as it begins to flatten out. There are some stunning views to the right along this stretch of road...

From roughly the 2 mile mark, the next mile is all downhill so you can expect to make up some lost time here. Eventually you go through a crossroads at around 2.8 miles and you reach the railway level crossing near the 3 mile mark....

At this stage, you are on the valley floor and the roads are mostly flat. At the next junction around 3.4 miles, you turn right and head back towards Gortroe....

From here, the road heads south-east, through the 4 mile mark and around 4.5 miles, it runs parallel to the Blackwater River for a while.

At around the 5 mile mark near where you get to the outskirts of Lombardstown, the road forks......

...and you take the right and run under the railway bridge. From here, there is a pull uphill to the finish line near the rear of the Gortroe Inn.

Overall........It's a charity race in aid of worthwhile cause. Forget about times as the course is not measured and is not supposed to be 10k. While the course is hilly, it is on quiet narrow country roads. On a sunny day, a lovely spot.

There will be some token prizes and refreshments after the run.

End of the East Cork Winter 3k series...

East Cork AC have announced that their popular 3k winter series in Midleton will not go ahead this year. The 7 races used to take place every 3rd Tuesday evening over a well lit 1 km circuit during the winter months and were very popular with runners in the east Cork area. Each race attracted approx 120 runners and it would be fair to say that each one was filled to capacity. The 3k series which started back in the late 1990's has been going non-stop for about 15 years so it's sad to see it come to an end.

The following from East Cork AC..............
"At our club AGM recently we reluctantly decided not to go ahead with the traditional 3k series this winter. The build up in traffic, apartments on the route and numbers taking part over the years has resulted in an unsustainable amount of logistic work to keep the series going. We've looked high and low to find an alternative course in the area. But to no avail. So we're saying for health and safety reasons the series will not go ahead this year."

East Cork AC are currently looking into the possibility of holding some races on a Saturday morning in the east Cork area but nothing has been decided yet.

James Curran from Cork wins Marathon in Canada...

Sunday 9th October 2011....Cork runner James Curran, a former member of St.Finbarrs AC and Cork Tri Club won the Okanagan Marathon in Kelowna, British Columbia in western Canada. Having moved to Canada just a few months ago, James won the race in 2:44:54, some 3 minutes or so ahead of his nearest rival.

A total of 373 runners took part in this race.

Full results... http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=6329&eventId=20273&vrindex=4

Cheating to win a Marathon...

Following on from the last news item with Rob Sloan cheating to finish 3rd in the Kielder Marathon in England, here is a piece about a more infamous runner...Rosie Ruiz.

Back in 1980, Rosie Ruiz 'won' the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:31:56 setting a new course record in the process. This was a 25 minute improvement on her time in the New York Marathon when she 'finished' in 2:56:29.

After her victory, she was asked by a reporter why she didn't seem fatigued after the grueling race? She replied "I got up with a lot of energy this morning."

Here is a video clip of her running in Boston...


However after the race, cracks began to appear in her story. No one could recall seeing her out along the course. The other leading women didn't see her. Jacqueline Gareau was told that she was leading the race with 18 miles to go, while Patti Lyons was told she was second at the 17-mile mark; Ruiz couldn't have passed either of them without being seen. Several spotters at checkpoints throughout the course didn't remember seeing her in the first group of women. She also didn't appear in any pictures or video footage. She was also spotted joining the race from a crowd of supporters about 800 metres from the finish.

After the race and with all of the subsequent publicity, a photographer came forward to say she had met Rosie Ruiz on the subway during the New York Marathon and had walked with her from the subway to the race. She lost touch with Ruiz after that, but came forward when the news of Ruiz's dubious Boston win broke. New York Marathon officials then launched an investigation of their own, and couldn't find any sign of Ruiz near the finish line. Based on this and other evidence, New York Marathon director Fred Lebow disqualified Ruiz from the 1979 race, saying she could not possibly have run the entire course.

Later that week, the Boston Athletic Association disqualified Ruiz. Jacqueline Gareau was declared the women's winner, with a time of 2:34:28--at the time, the fastest ever recorded by a woman in the event.

As a result of the scandal, the Boston Marathon and several other races instituted a number of safeguards against cheating that are still used today. These include extensive video surveillance and chips that monitor electronically when runners arrive at various checkpoints on the course.

Round up of news items from last weekend...Sun 9th Oct 2011

Here are a few news international news items from last weekend...

1) Woman gives birth hours after Chicago Marathon.......This was a story that was picked up by a lot of the mainstream media. This report from the Chicago Tribune......27 year old Amber Miller was nearly 39 weeks pregnant -- expecting her second child any day -- when she set off from the starting line of the Chicago Marathon Sunday. She ran and walked even as contractions started kicking in toward the end of the race. But she managed to cross the finish line -- and grab a bite to eat -- before giving birth to baby girl June Sunday night.

She finished the marathon in 6 hours, 25 minutes and 50 seconds. Not her personal best, but she did beat her husband. “Without training for it, he actually got a little bit behind,” Miller said. “But he was out there with me.”

Miller said the contractions started out "just randomly” during the race. “But I think just from running throughout the pregnancy, I’d usually get a contraction here or there anyway,” she said. “But then, a few minutes after I finished, I started feeling the contractions and they were coming every five minutes. So I think we waited an hour or so just to kind of make sure it was real labor. They were pretty consistent at that point.”

After grabbing a sandwich, she headed for the hospital and June was born at 10:29 p.m. Seven pounds, 13 ounces. Asked if she was going back to work today, Miller laughed and said, "No, I will not. I'm taking it easy today."

Article debating the merits of it HERE

Video clip HERE

2) Soccer Manager runs Half-Marathon by mistake..........this is one for the soccer buffs. Former West Ham player and current manager of Swindon Town Paolo di Canio unwittingly completed the town's half marathon after losing his bearings on the fun run course.
The 43-year-old Di Canio was supposed to sound the horn to start Sunday's main race before completing the two-mile short course. But the Italian took a wrong turn and ended up finishing the full 13.1 miles in one hour 49 minutes - 36 minutes behind race winner Dave Roper. "There were three options, I thought I should start with the fun [run] marathon but unfortunately we changed direction, kept going and followed the first group. Unfortunately I ended up doing a full half marathon plus 800 metres. Audio interview HERE

3) Runner hops on bus to finish 3rd in Marathon.......In the Kielder Marathon in Northumberland, England, Rob Sloan of Sunderland Hariers hopped onto a spectator bus at the 20 mile mark and was driven the six miles to the race’s closing stages. Then he jumped off, hid behind a tree until other competitors came into view and rejoined the race, crossing the finishing line in two hours, 51 minutes and one second to secure third place. He went on to tell a TV crew that he had given the race everything he could.

Except for a few small details.........like the guy coming 4th complaining about Sloan not passing him, the people that saw him on the bus and the people that saw him hiding in the trees! Eventually, he was disqualified. The Daily Mail have the full story with pictures and maps HERE

Update....The BBC have a piece on it HERE

4) .........and finally back to the Chicago Marathon again. The winner of the 2011 Chicago Marthon was Moses Mosop in a time of 2:05:37. Not only did he break the course record and claim the $50,000 course-record bonus, he also got the $100,000 winner's purse.

In the womens race, Russia's Liliya Shobukhova finished first for her third straight victory in the Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:18:20, the second fastest time in event history and the fastest time in the world this year. The win and sub-2:20 time bonus were worth $140,000 in prize money, she’s now the second fastest woman in history.

So what does the start of a big city Marathon look like with 45,000 runners? See the video clip below....45,000 runners in under 1 minute (after advert)

Results of the Cork BHAA Cork to Cobh race - Sun 2nd Oct 2011

The results of the annual 15 mile road race between Cork and Cobh are out now. The winner of the mens race was Martin Dunford from Limerick in a time of 1:20:43 while Angela McCann from Clonmel was the first woman home in 1:35:01.

A total of 737 runners took part which is down somewhat on the two previous years which were 800 plus.

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos.....(Updated 14th Oct 2011)
1) Sheldon Kirkwood has a gallery of photos HERE
2) Trevor Collins has 2 photo galleries.....
...a) A slideshow of approx 120 photos mainly around Glounthaune...HERE
...b) A slideshow of approx 130 photos aminly of the finish line ...HERE