Google+ Running in Cork, Ireland

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Preview of the Cork BHAA 'UCC' 10 km road race - Sun 5th of April (11am)
After a lull of about one month, the Cork Business Houses Athletic Association races are starting again in earnest. The next race in their busy calendar is the UCC 10 km race next Sunday. This race takes in the Lee Road and Straight Road and must be one of the oldest races on the local scene.



Registration...
This year will be the same as last year. So to register, you need to go to the old red brick pavillion in the Mardkye sports grounds. Please note that it is very expensive to park inside the Sports grounds. Note that the refreshments and prizegiving is in a seperate building about 1 km away. It might be an idea to park somewhere halfway between the two.

For a better idea of where the old pavillion is, use this link...http://pininthemap.com/d33af461acd75dd12


Course...
After you register, just follow the other runners accross the 'Shaky Bridge' to get to the start.
The first 200 metres or so is all downhill but soon you are on to the Lee road and it's pretty flat. Around the 2.5 mile mark, there is a good uphill section followed by a steep downhill bit around 3 miles. After that, it's more or less dead flat. You re-join the main road, go past The Anglers Rest pub and then join the Carrigrohane straight.
This last section is about 2 miles long and dead straight. Some people hate it as you can see the County Hall way off in the distance and it feels like it isn't getting any closer. To be honest, I can't see what difference it makes...you are at the 4 mile mark in a 10 km race and that's it.
(By the way, if you are thinking about doing the Marathon in June, the 4 mile mark here is about the 22 mile mark in the Marathon. You will have to run from here, in the Straight Road, Western Road and finish in Patrick's Street. Anyway...back to the UUC race...)
The finish of the 10 km race is just beyond the County Hall. Keep it in mind as you run in the Straight Road....once you pass that building, you're almost there. The finish is just outside the Kingsley Hotel.

Water...
Please note that there are no water stations out along the course. Once you finish, they will have bottled water available. They are asking runners to take only one bottle each so that there is some water left over for the slower runners.

Apres Race...
After the race, the refreshments and the prizegiving will be in the restaurant in the Lee Maltings. See map above. To see exactly where the Lee Maltings is, click on this link...
http://pininthemap.com/67404b694e24f13bb

Now for the interesting part!! This year again, there will be a draw for a Dell mini laptop in the Maltings Restaurant. There will be no tickets given out at the finish. They will just pick out a finisher at random regardless of whether they are in the hall or not. For all of the other spot prizes, the person must be in the hall.

If you would like to have a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website. Click on the link below...http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/cork/527572334

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