Cork BHAA Iniscarra Race cancelled...!!!

Please note that the Cork BHAA 4 mile road race in Inniscarra has been cancelled. There is a lot of local flooding and there are problems getting access to the race venue. The Cork BHAA hope to hold the race at a later date.

Update on the Cork BHAA 'Iniscarra' 4 mile race... CANCELLED!!

With all of the news reports about the recent flooding near Iniscarra, some people have been asking whether this will impact on the race on Sunday or even if the race has been cancelled.

The race is in a spot called Ballyanly which is about 3 kms to the north-west of Inniscarra on high ground. It is not near any major rivers although I suppose the possibility of some pools of standing water along the race route can't be ruled out.

If the flooding has any real impact then it will probably be on access routes to the race. In the preview for the race, the routes given used the river crossing by the Anglers Rest pub which may well be closed.

If you aren't sure on the day, you might be better going via Blarney.

From Cork, take the main Limerick road (N20) and turn off for Blarney onto the R617. Keep going straight, through Blarney and then onto Tower and through it. Eventually, you come to a T-junction with the R579 in Cloghroe. Turn right here and you'll see the turn-off left at Blairs pub about 2 kms later.

Click on the map above for a bigger image.

Other races this weekend in Munster...
As well as the Cork BHAA race in Inniscarra on Sunday, there is also the 3rd race of the 'Feet First' 5 km series in Killarney. The first 2 races attracted a number of Cork runners and the 3rd race starts at 11:00am.

Preview of the Cork BHAA Inniscarra 4 mile road race...Sun 22nd Nov

This is the 2nd last Cork BHAA race of the year and the last one in which there are team and category prizes.

Note that the race starts at 11:30am. Weather permitting, it should attract a big crowd so get there early.

How to get there...Let's say you are coming out from Cork on the Straight Road /Carrigrohane Straight. Take the right at the end of the road and cross the bridge over the Lee and go past the Angler's Rest pub (Shown as A above). By the way, if you are coming out via the Ballincollig Bypass, follow the signs for Kanturk / Blarney and you'll arrive at the same spot. After the Angler's Rest, you have a choice of 2 routes...
A) - At the junction just after the Angler's Rest, take the Right past the Garage. Stay on this road (R579) for several kms, go past the junction and Church in Cloghroe and look for the turn off left at Blair's Pub about 2 kms later. The BHAA usually have stewards on the road at this last turnoff.
B) - At the junction just after the Angler's Rest, stay left on the main road and you will bypass Ballincollig which is to your South. Carry on past the junction with the turn off for Ballincolling and the Inniscarra Bar on the corner (Shown as B on the map above). Take the right at the next major junction (If you go as far as the Inniscarra dam, you've gone too far). There should be a sign at the junction for Cloghroe. At the next T-junction, turn left and then look out for the turn off left at Blairs Pub.
Look for race directions on the day. Proceed up this road and park in the GAA grounds in Ballyanly.

Course Description...This is a hilly 4 mile course. You can forget about fast times, there are too many hills for that. However, despite the hills, the course is run on nice quiet country roads and it's a nice spot for a race. The race itself starts down the road from the GAA grounds. Initially, you run downhill but soon, you turn off left and then there is a nasty drag uphill. Soon it eases off and then you are running on nice quiet roads. Around the 2 mile mark, you come to the small village of Berrings. You turn left here at the church and you have another uphill section. It's not so severe but enough to put you into oxygen debt if you push too hard. After that, you're on flat or downhill sections. Just in case you thought you were getting off lightly, the 3rd hill of note comes at the finish. In the last few hundred metres, you drop downhill and then you have to run about 200m up to the finish line which is just outside the GAA grounds.

Overall...As I said, forget about fast times but don't let the hills put you off. It's a nice area for a race and the country roads are quiet at that time on a Sunday morning. Refreshments are available in the GAA clubhouse after the race. After all those hills, you'll deserve it ;o)

I have put a map of the course up on the MapMyRun website in case you want to check out other ways to get there. The link is http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/cork/1129301821

Ballycotton 10 entry reminder........Just a reminder that the entry forms will be out in just under 2 weeks time on Monday week. If you want to go for the 'Stamped Addressed Envelope' option then you should be sending off for it this week.

Details of the entry conditions for the 2010 Ballycotton 10 mile road race can be found in this earlier post.

Running Marathons......How much is too much???

There was an article in the Irish Times during the week about running Marathons by Professor William Reville of UCC. In it, he argues that people should avoid running Marathons. See the article below...

RUNNING MARATHONS is quite popular – more than 12,500 runners took part in the Dublin City Marathon on October 26th. It is generally thought that popular marathon-running is a healthy development, but I cannot agree. I believe that the growing popularity of the marathon is an unfortunate development for recreational running.

The word “marathon” comes from the Greek legend of Pheidippides, who is said to have run 25 miles in 490 BC from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the defeat of the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Pheidippides then collapsed and died, so per- haps he was delivering another message also.
The marathon was not an event in the ancient Greek games – it is a modern invention. The first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens in 1896 and the first marathon race was run at that event.

The marathon is run over an official distance of 42.195km (26 miles, 385 yards). More than 800 marathons are held worldwide annually and tens of thousands can participate in the larger events. More than 400,000 ran marathons in the US in 2008. The marathon is steadily becoming more popular. The Dublin City Marathon was founded in 1980 when 2,100 runners took part, and 12,799 runners entered for the 2009 Dublin event.
The marathon is a severe physical test and if you plan on participating you must train carefully for three to four months beforehand, following a daily running schedule. For example, if you plan to run the marathon in around four hours, your weekly training schedule will build up until you are routinely running 40-50 miles per week. Preparation schedules and advice are widely available, on dublinmarathon.ie, for example.
When you train hard your body suffers damage but it repairs itself, becoming stronger and more resistant to damage during further exertion. In this way you gradually build up your resistance until eventually the Big Day arrives. You could do significant harm to yourself if you undertook a marathon without adequate preparation.

Many studies have demonstrated the physiological, biochemical and physical effects of running a marathon. Changes in the immune system and in kidney function have been measured and the muscles, including the heart, are subjected to severe stress. A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology (Vol 88, 2001) found elevated levels of thickening factors in the blood of marathon runners 24 hours after the race. Another study publicised in the journal Circulation ( Vol 114, 2006) tested the hearts (using ultrasound) and bloods of 60 non-elite Boston marathon finishers. The results showed that, after the race, hearts in some runners had difficulty in re-filling chambers and abnormalities were noted in the way blood was pumped from the heart to the lungs. The runners also had elevated blood markers indicating heart damage.

Heart damage such as that reported in the Circulation article is not permanent and within a month after the race all runners showed relatively normal cardiac function again. However, the fact remains that during the marathon itself, and for several hours afterwards, the heart and blood enter a danger zone that increases the risk of a cardiac event, particularly in middle-aged runners with silent coronary-artery disease. Also, regular high-mileage running exerts a heavy toll on leg joints.

Aerobic exercise is very good for physical and mental health. But moderate exercise is sufficient to give you all the health benefits available from running. Increasing the levels of running beyond moderate levels does not produce any additional health benefit. To get the maximum health benefit from running, you do not need to run more than three or four four-mile sessions per week, each session run in 45-50 minutes.

The vast majority of participants in marathons are recreational runners, people who take up running as a pleasurable healthy exercise. In my opinion, the marathon is far too severe for recreational runners. Also, in my experience, a number of people who start running in order to run a marathon drop out of running once the marathon goal is achieved, thereby foregoing the ongoing health benefits that running confers.

I would encourage people to take up running, but unless you plan to become an elite athlete, build up a habit of moderate running that you can easily incorporate into a sensible lifestyle, a healthy habit that you can maintain into your old age........Irish Times

Do you agree? Obviously, there is a point where you can do too much of anything but how much is too much? Is running Marathons any worse than being inactive and overweight? Leave a comment by clicking on the Comment link below.

By the way.....in case you are wondering, the picture up top is the start of the New York City Marathon!

Events this weekend....Sat 14th - Sun 15th Nov
The only event in Cork this weekend is the County Intermediate & Masters Cross Country in Bandon at 1pm. This is open to club runners only. Anyone interested should contact their club secretary.

Outside of Cork, there are a number of events raning from 3 miles to 13.1 miles. See the Running in Munster website.

Lisgoold 5k photos....
Just a note to say that there are now 45 photos available of the Lisgoold 5km road race. Just scroll down the page to the Lisgoold 5k results...

Results of the 2nd East Cork AC 'Winter Series' 3km road race...Tues 10th Nov 2009
A record crowd turned out for the 2nd race of 7 in the East Cork 3km series last night. Normally, a crowd of about 120 turn out but the figure of 185 last night is a big jump. For such a small circular course, possibly a 'bit' too many ;o)

East Cork AC 3Km Winter Series Race 2 10/11/09
1 James McCarthy East Cork AC 9.05
2 Ed Murphy Gneevegilla 9.25
3 Kevin O'Brien East Cork AC 9.31
4 Noel Berkeley DSD AC 9.33
5 Aidan Mullins Bantry AC 9.38
6 Frank O'Carroll East Cork AC 9.45
7 Denis Coughlan St Finbarr's AC 9.51
8 Timmy Murphy Grange/Fermoy AC 9.54
9 Joe Fitzgerald East Cork AC 9.58
10 Alan O'Reilly East Cork AC 10.04
11 Shane Fitzgerald East Cork AC 10.13
12 Eric Meade East Cork AC 10.18
13 David O'Dwyer East Cork AC 10.22
14 Tom Hartnett East Cork AC 10.25
15 Conor Tierney East Cork AC 10.30
16 Josh O'S-Hourihan Midleton College 10.44
17 Denis McCarthy East Cork AC 10.45
18 Conor O'Brien Eagle AC 10.46
19 Gary Prendergast Rathcormac 10.48
20 Cathal Kelly St Finbarr's AC 10.49
21 Owen O'Connell Midleton 11.05
22 Tom O'Brien Cork 11.06
23 Donal Broderick Midleton AC 11.09
24 John Dunphy Eagle AC 11.16
25 Owen O'Connell Midleton 11.20
26 John Connelly Aghada 11.25
27 Sean Kenny Midleton AC 11.27
28 Darren Flynn Grange/Fermoy AC 11.30
29 Olan Barrett Grange/Fermoy AC 11.32
30 Martin O'Reilly St Finbarr's AC 11.36
31 Dermot Murphy Midleton 11.36
32 Barry McDermott Dromahane 11.37
33 Coran Swayne Midleton GAA 11.37
34 Dan O'Callaghan Whitegate 11.38
35 John O'Connell Midleton AC 11.38
36 Niamh Walsh Youghal AC 11.39
37 Aidan Kelleher Dungourney 11.39
38 David Murphy Midleton CBS 11.40
39 Mick Murphy Midleton AC 11.41
40 Adrian Walsh Ballycotton 11.42
41 James Power Whitegate 11.43
42 Sean O'Sullivan Midleton AC 11.45
43 Kevin Cooney Midleton AC 11.46
44 Trevor Mahoney Midleton AC 11.47
45 Brendan O'Mahony Grange Fermoy AC 11.47
46 Daniel Walsh Midleton CBS 11.50
47 Ned Ramsell Midleton AC 11.53
48 Gordon Kelly Aghada 11.54
49 John Griffin Grange Fermoy AC 11.55
50 Sean O'Keeffe East Cork AC 11.57
51 Laurence Collins Mount Uniacke 11.58
52 Ken O'Keeffe Aghada 12.01
53 Sean O'Farrell Midleton CBS 12.02
54 Aidan O'Reilly Midleton 12.04
55 Peter O'Brien Midleton CBS 12.05
56 Kevin O'Reilly Midleton AC 12.06
57 Paul Walsh Ballynonty AC 12.07
58 Conor McGrath Ballyandreen 12.08
59 Peter Stanley Passage 12.09
60 Billy O'Sullivan Midleton 12.10
61 John O'Farrell Midleton AC 12.15
62 AJ Murphy Midleton 12.18
63 Leo O'Donovan Midleton 12.19
64 Brian Nolan Midleton AC 12.19
65 Ted O'Leary St Catherines 12.20
66 Tom O'Neill Aghada 12.21
67 Eddie Lowe Fermoy 12.21
68 Simon Thompson Midleton AC 12.24
69 Brendan Cantwell Castlemartyr 12.24
70 Brian Healy Midleton AC 12.25
71 John O'Riordan Rising Sun AC 12.25
72 Trevor Collins Naas 12.26
73 David Creedon East Cork AC 12.28
74 Colm Power Killeagh 12.29
75 Bob McNamara Cork 12.32
76 Kieran O'Donovan Ballinacurra 12.41
77 Batt Kearney Leevale AC 12.44
78 Dave Barry Midleton 12.45
79 Cathal McAllister Whitegate 12.47
80 Rick Prendergast Castlemartyr 12.48
81 Eibhlin Cleary East Cork AC 12.50
82 Breda Cahill Midleton AC 12.51
83 Pat O'Donoghue Cloyne 12.51
84 Alan Kelly Midleton AC 12.52
85 Mary Histon de Barra Rising Sun AC 12.53
86 Kieran Walsh Youghal AC 12.58
87 dbn 12.59
88 John Walshe East Cork AC 13.00
89 Kevin Morrison Midleton AC 13.03
90 David Moloney Whitegate 13.03
91 Elaine Guinane Eagle AC 13.07
92 Pat Walshe Midleton GAA 13.09
93 Kathy Sloane Aghada 13.12
94 Donal O'Donoghue Little Island 13.13
95 Ann-Marie Perry Midleton AC 13.17
96 Paul O'S-Hourihan East Cork AC 13.17
97 Brian Kenneally Midleton AC 13.23
98 Jim McEvoy Midleton AC 13.24
99 jof 13.26
100 Marian Ahern Midleton AC 13.27
101 Deirdre Ahern Midleton AC 13.28
102 John Murphy Carrigaline 13.29
103 Yvonne Kennedy Midleton AC 13.33
104 Martin Carr Midleton 13.37
105 Conor Cusack Midleton 13.41
106 Padraig O'Regan Ladysbridge 13.42
107 Finbarr Lyons Midleton 13.42
108 John Fennell West Waterford AC 13.43
109 Rebecca Walsh Youghal AC 13.45
110 Declan O'Connell Cloyne 13.46
111 Eadaoin O'Neill East Cork AC 13.47
112 Roger O'Mahony Glounthaune 13.48
113 Danny McCarthy Midleton AC 13.57
114 Vincent Murray Glanmire 14.04
115 Con Warren Carrigtwohill 14.11
116 Samantha O'Keeffe East Cork AC 14.13
117 Dermot Cashman Carrigtwohill 14.15
118 Austin Murphy St Finbarr's AC 14.22
119 Angela McEvoy St Finbarr's AC 14.22
120 Mary O'Keeffe Midleton AC 14.26
121 Graham Stanley Passage 14.28
122 Darren Cusack Midleton 14.37
123 Kerrie O'Neill Aghada 14.39
124 Karen Ahern Midleton AC 14.40
125 Tom Cusack Midleton 14.41
126 Ciara Coughlan Midleton AC 14.42
127 Margaret Barry Midleton AC 14.43
128 Claire O'Brien East Cork AC 14.44
129 Elaine Hennessy Midleton AC 14.46
130 Karen O'Brien Cobh 15.01
131 Karen Dorgan Cobh 15.15
132 Frank O'Brien Carrigtwohill BNS 15.18
133 Philip Mullane Ballycotton 15.20
134 Karina Erangey Whitegate 15.21
135 Trish Murphy Midleton AC 15.22
136 Diane Walsh Midleton AC 15.30
137 Louise Barry Midleton 15.32
138 Jim Curtin East Cork AC 15.36
139 Mark Sheehan Coachford 15.44
140 Harry Farmer Cloyne 15.45
141 Linda Hegarty Midleton AC 15.46
142 E O'B ????? 15.52
143 Denis Manning Cork 15.53
144 Liam Morrissey Aghada 15.54
145 Leah McEvoy Midleton AC 16.00
146 Jimmy Murray Rising Sun AC 16.01
147 Don O'Hanlon Cork 16.02
148 Linda Watson Midleton 16.03
149 Kat Hurley Dungarvan 16.09
150 Sarah O'Mahony Midleton 16.26
151 Joan McCarthy Midleton AC 16.27
152 Sinead Slater Kilkenny 16.31
153 Aideen Murphy Midleton 16.31
154 Margaret Sinclair Midleton AC 16.32
155 Ann Thornborrow Whitegate 16.47
156 Mike Dorney Midleton 16.51
157 Vincent O'Neill Midleton AC 16.53
158 Clodagh Kelleher Passage 16.56
159 Fionan O'hAodain Lisgoold 16.59
160 Joy Sexton Aghada 17.05
161 Lorna Santry Carrigtwohill 17.09
162 Sharon Compton Midleton AC 17.11
163 Sinead Robinson Midleton AC 17.17
164 Clare O'Leary Midleton AC 17.27
165 Pauline Casey Midleton 17.33
166 Tom Casey Midleton 17.33
167 Grainne Murphy Cork 17.41
168 Maura O'Doherty Midleton AC 17.49
169 Siobhan O'Connor Midleton 17.58
170 Lillian O'Meara Midleton 17.59
171 Fergal O'Meara Midleton AC 18.00
172 Kathleen O'Connell Midleton AC 18.16
173 Barbara O'Connor Midleton AC 18.20
174 Taylor Murphy Leevale AC 18.34
175 Emer Hallahan Leevale AC 18.34
176 Olive Hallahan Midleton AC 18.35
177 Nora Savage Midleton AC 18.43
178 Mary Toher Midleton AC 18.57
179 Lisa O'Lomasney Midleton AC 18.58
180 Sinead Ivers Midleton AC 19.05
181 Maria Archer Midleton AC 19.08
182 Karina Farmer Midleton AC 19.23
183 Jim McMurtry Midleton AC 21.43
184 Conor la Mere Ballinacurra 22.38
185 Chuck la Mere Ballinacurra 22.39

2nd race of the East Cork 3k winter series....

Just a reminder that the 2nd race of 7 takes place this evening in Midleton East Cork at 7:30pm. A total of 132 runners turned out for the 1st race and a similiar number will probably turn out for the 2nd one. Some details are shown below. For additional info, see the preview of the 1st race.

East Cork Athletics Club PRESENT THE 12th YEAR OF THEEAST CORK AC ‘3K’ WINTER SERIES

Total of 7 runs over 3km (just short of 2 miles) in Midleton betweenOctober and February – Run ANY FIVE and receive a classy printed long-sleeve T-shirt! The Series takes in three laps of a 1km circuit around Bailick and Ballinacurra. Entries, along with the start and finish, are at the bottom of the Dark Road.

ALL COMPETITORS ARE REQUESTED TO WEAR A REFLECTIVE BIBDATES:

Tuesday October 20th 2009

Tuesday November 10th 2009

Tuesday December 1st 2009

Tuesday December 22nd 2009

Tuesday January 12th 2010

Tuesday February 2nd 2010

Tuesday February 23rd 2010

Entry fee: €3.00 per race (East Cork AC members and all Juveniles - €1.00). Time: 7.30pm each night.

Results of the Lisgoold 5 km road race...Sun 8th Nov 2009

This new 5 km road race in Lisgoold in East Cork took place in ideal conditions with blue skies and some nice winter sunshine. By all accounts, the start was a 'bit' tough but they still got around 125 runners which for a first outing was excellent.

Race report by Donal O'Donoghue...

"The Lisgoold 5k went ahead in excellent conditions. 9-11C, Sunny, slight cool breeze. With the clear skies, you could see for miles over the East Cork countryside.Did somebody mention a hill at the start? It seemed more like a mountain! The start line was on an uphill section, before the Church, on the road signposted Leamlara.The first mile was very tough uphill. Some people even falling back to walking pace for a while, and still I couldn't catch up with them.

The road was not closed to traffic, but was exceptionally quiet. There were plenty of traffic marshalls in yellow jackets at junctions and bad bends with mile markers at each mile. The finish was a decent downhill stretch, with many flying finishes. Big Seiko clock there too. 125 ran altogether. Everybody received a bottle of Gatorade at the end, and there was all-you-could-eat in terms of sandwichs, biscuits, cream cakes, swiss-roll, teas, coffees, at the Lisgoold Community Centre.

Overall a good race, but perhaps just a little bit steep at EUR 10 for 5k"......Donal O'Donoghue

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

Photos.........there is a slideshow of 45 photos taken by Denis Kelleher HERE.

Other races this weekend...7th & 8th Nov 2009
Just a reminder that as well as the 5 km race in Lisgoold on Sunday morning, there is also a 5 km road race in Killarney on Saturday, the 7th of November. This will be the 2nd race in a series of 4 races. The first race on the 11th of October attracted quite a few runners from Cork.

More details on the Running in Munster website.

Preview of the Lisgoold 5 km road race...Sun 8th Nov (11am)

This event is organised by Lisgoold GAA club and is a brand new race! From time to time, I come accross 'runs' organised by GAA or other sports clubs and they are are nothing more than fun runs. This however is a proper race with plenty of prizes and run on an accurate course measured to the nearest micron by John Walshe of Ballycotton Running Promotions. The entry fee for the race is €10.

Lisgoold........Where is it???........I had to admit I had to get out a map to find it! It's one of those places where most people have heard of it but few people have seen ;o)

Basically, it's a few miles north of Midleton. If you are coming from Cork City, take the N25 East and take the turn-off for Midleton. Almost immediately, you'll come accross the new road junction. Take a left here and bypass the town. You'll come out on another wide road junction. Take the left here and you are now on the R626 heading North for Lisgoold, Ballincurrig and Rathcormack. Look for the Community Centre when you get there.

Course.......This is a rough outline of the course. A description of the course is given below...

"Starts in the village. Mile markers. Course starts on an uphill section, with a gradual pull for about 600 metres and then a steep incline up past the graveyard to Top Cross which lasts about 400m. Turning right at the cross roads the course is relatively level until the 1 mile mark where you can catch your breath and enjoy the scenery before the course ascends to Corbally and there is a small incline back onto the main road at Smarts Bar before turning right for Lisgoold Village. Mile 2 is just beyond the thatch houses on the right. Mile 2 to three is a gradual down hill until you reach the bridge which has an incline up to the GAA pitch. From here to the village is a gradual downhill, the 3 mile mark just at the housing estate and the finish line just before the entrance of the community centre."

Overall......with an entry fee of €10, this race would be in the upper range compared to other similiar road races locally. With a tough uphill start, it's unlikely to be a course for fast times. However, the route would seem to be on nice quiet country roads and will make a nice change from running in built up areas. They are taking entries from 10am and the race starts at 11am. A flyer for the race can be seen HERE.

Results of the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 Mile Road Race...Sun 1st Nov 2009

A record crowd of 305 or so turned out for this 4 mile road race near the Marina in Cork City. No doubt if it hadn't clashed with the Cork AAI Senior County Championships, the numbers would have been higher. Just to see how much the numbers have grown of late, here are the number of finishers for the last few years...

2008 = 284
2007 = 272
2006 = 247
2005 = 182
2004 = 179

As for the race itself, the course was a little tricky with large pools of water present due to the heavy rain overnight and the abundance of leaves blocking the drains.

Results....these are now available HERE.

Photos....you can find 312 photos taken by Richard Cronin HERE.

Video clips of the 2009 Dublin City Marathon...
Now that almost a week has passed since the Dublin City Marathon, a number of video clips have appeared.


The first video clip above was taken a few hundred metres after the start (...and I even managed to make an appearance in this one ;o)
When I arrived at the start of the race, it was obvious that the crowd was big but it was difficult to judge how big it was. By the time I had passed the point where the camera was (....~1:53 in the video), from my point of view, the road seemed to be packed with runners. It's only when the video clip gets to around 3:25 that you get to see the true scale of the Dublin Marathon. It's pretty amazing to that many people running together.


This 2nd short clip above shows a section which was just after O'Connell street I think?



This short clip above is near the 21 mile mark (~2h 31m mark).


...and again, another short clip at the 21 mile mark but this time around 2h 40m.

County Junior & Senior Cross Country Championships...Sun 1st Nov

As well as the Cork BHAA 4 mile road race, the Cork AAI are holding the county junior and senior cross country championships in Clonakilty, west Cork. It seems a pity that there is a clash of events as the road race is bound to attract a lot of runners locally.

I think entries may have closed last Wednesday but any club runner interested should contact their club secretary for exact details.

The race will be held in the Showgrounds which I think are on the opposite side of Clonakilty if you are coming in from the Cork City/Bandon side. Start times for the various races is around 1pm (12 noon-2pm??).

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 mile Road Race - Sun 1st Nov (11:00am)
After a busy summer of road races, local events seem a bit thin on the ground at the moment by comparison. With the days getting shorter and colder, next Sunday see's the first road race of Winter with the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 mile rod race. The registration is at the Lee Rowing Club clubhouse which is located just next to the Pairc Ui Chaoimh GAA stadium....€5 for registered runners and €7 for non-registered. There are plenty of parking spaces available here at the stadium, outside the rowing club and down along the cul-de-sac by the waterfront (Just where the 4 is marked on the map).
They got 284 at this last year so I would expect something similiar if not closer to 300 this year. The race starts at 11am so it is worth getting there a bit early to avoid the backlog at the sign-on. The current weather forecast for Sunday morning is poor with heavy showers.

Course...They hold a number of 5km and 4m races in this area using different routes. The route shown above is the usual one for the HSE race. You can get a better look at the course at this LINK

So, on to the description. The course is almost dead flat and there are no climbs. The race basically starts on the Marina near the clubhouse, takes in 2 laps of the Centre Park Road and Monaghan Road, and then finishes near the Marina again. You can expect your times to be pretty fast on this course. They only thing that you have to be careful about is the road surface. There are a lot of heavy goods vehicles using these roads and the road surface can be uneven in spots. It is not a big issue but just keep it in mind if you are running close behind someone and your view forward is obstructed.

Overall, this is a nice fast course. The roads are quiet at this time on a Sunday morning and it is one of the few places where you can hold a road race in Cork City without traffic being an issue. There are refreshments available after the race in the clubhouse.

You can find a flyer for the race HERE.

Pacemakers in the Dublin Marathon...

One of the new features in the Dublin Marathon this year was the use of pace makers for the following times....Sub 3, Sub 3:30, Sub 3:45, Sub 4:00, Sub 4:15 and Sub 4:30. As you can see from the photo above, each pace maker ran with a coloured balloon and as expected, each one attracted a large number of runners as they ran in a group to achieve their target time.

Question....would the use of pace makers in other Marathons like in Cork be a good idea??

For the Cork and Dublin Marathons this year, the one big difference between them was the number of runners involved. If you take out the Relay runners in the Cork Marathon, there were only about 1,500 people running as opposed to something like 13,000 in Dublin. Having run in both of them, I noticed that in Cork, I was often running on my own with large gaps between Marathon runners while there was always someone to run with in Dublin. The sub 3 pace maker might not make much sense but what about the other target times? Would there be enough people running at these various target times to justify it?

Results and Photos of the 2009 Dublin City Marathon...26th Oct 2009 (Updated 1st Nov)

Conditions were ideal in Dublin for the Marathon.....dry, bright, not too warm and very little wind. The field for the Marathon was huge with in excess of 10,000 runners taking part with loads of support from the public out along the route. Looking around, it was obvious that a large number of runners from Cork travelled up for the event.

Results.......the results can be found HERE. Just one note...they seem to have got the clock time and chip time mixed. Obviously, the faster time is the chip time which is your actual time...i.e. the time it took you to cross the start mat and finish line.

Photos.....here are a few for the moment...

1) A large gallery of 500 photos HERE.

2) Another 500 HERE.

3) Another 500 HERE.

4) Another 500 HERE.

5) Another 500 HERE.

6) Another 500 HERE.

7) Another 500 HERE.

8) There is a large database of photos at RacePix365. Just enter your bib number.

9) John Quigley of Eagle AC took loads of photos.........173 near the 1 mile mark at College Green, 170 at the 10.5 mile mark near Kilmainham and 203 at 24.5 miles at Beggars Bush.

10) A small selection of colourful photos HERE.

11) 50 photos by Kieran Connolly HERE.

12) 28 photos by Helen Mulvey HERE.

13) 71 photos mainly of the front runners HERE.

14) 34 photos HERE.

15) Around 1500 photos! at Chapelizod.

16) 175 photos HERE.

17) 500 photos here between 10 and 11 miles.

18) Almost 1,800 photos HERE.

19) A small gallery of 27 photos HERE.

20) Waterford AC have a small gallery mainly of their own runners HERE.

21) A small gallery of 29 photos near the start.

22) A small gallery showing some of 1st 62 men and 6 women finishing.

23) A very small gallery of 21 photos showing some of the runners between 2:43 and 3:04 finishing.

Weather forecast for the Dublin City Marathon....Mon 26th Oct 2009
No doubt, many runners from Cork and Munster will be heading to Dublin today and tomorrow for the Dublin City Marathon on Monday. The weather forecast is looking pretty good at the moment with low pressure systems passing over the country on Sunday and late on Monday but it looks likely that we will miss the worst of it on Monday.

Met Eireann forcast the following........."Dry for part at least of the day - dry throughout in many or all areas, but rain approaching from the Atlantic may reach the south and west before the end of the day. Variable cloud cover, sunshine at times. Lighter winds as well, variable or southeast in direction. Highs 12 to 15 C."

So overall, it looks as if it might be clear on Sunday night/early Monday morning so it may well be cold (7-8 deg?) before the Marathon starts. It looks likely that there will be hardly any wind so that shouldn't be a factor during the event. It may well be a sunny day so if the sun comes out, it might actually be too warm!...especially from 11am onwards. It seems that rain is unlikely. Fingers crossed, it looks pretty good for Monday :o)