Ballycotton 10

Condo131 · 20-03-2010 9:48am

FeelingTired wrote: »

Hi All,

I just checked with Irish Rail there. for anyone coming from Dublin on the train on Sunday morning, be warned that there is a bus transfer from Heuston - Portlaoise, then train to Cork which arrives in COrk at 11.55am, and not 11.15 am as originally quoted. Apparently they are working on the line.

Does anyone know if the coach will be there at 11.55 am to pick people up to bring them to Ballycotton? Anyone know how long it would take on the coach to Ballycotton?

Thanks for all your help. Kind Regards,

Paddy

Little birdie told me.......(actually the Ballycotton gurus)...:

"We are aware of the train situation, bus will wait."

Imho, On a 'normal' day, with no race, the bus should take approx. 40 min., on race day, I simply don't know as I normally arrive in Ballycotton very early.

tunguska · 20-03-2010 11:46am

village runner wrote: »

Did you get sorted ???

No. Amazingly enough theres nobody from the club heading down, which is very unusual as every year theres a mass club expedition to ballycotton. Although the train seems like a workable option.
It doesnt matter anyway because Ive had to knock it on the head. Tore my right calf muscle a few weeks ago and it wasnt happy after Craughwell 10 miler last sunday. Its ok but still a bit tender, Id be playing with fire by running Ballycotton on sunday. But definitely next year.

village runner · 20-03-2010 12:03pm

tunguska wrote: »

No. Amazingly enough theres nobody from the club heading down, which is very unusual as every year theres a mass club expedition to ballycotton. Although the train seems like a workable option.
It doesnt matter anyway because Ive had to knock it on the head. Tore my right calf muscle a few weeks ago and it wasnt happy after Craughwell 10 miler last sunday. Its ok but still a bit tender, Id be playing with fire by running Ballycotton on sunday. But definitely next year.

Was going to say i would pick yu up in kk station and drop you back there. Thats all i could have done. Bad luck again. You still do Rotterdam ??

brutes1 · 20-03-2010 4:15pm

Whos gonna win it? any ( or many sub 50 men in the field??

colblimp · 20-03-2010 7:32pm

I'm not running tomorrow due to my injury.

But I'll be down there giving copious amounts of encouragement!

As an aside, I'll sell my number and chip for no less than €1,000,000. Any takers?!! :eek::P:D;)

village runner · 20-03-2010 8:08pm

brutes1 wrote: »

Whos gonna win it? any ( or many sub 50 men in the field??

Brian Maher i heard is running. Top 5 material.

misty floyd · 20-03-2010 8:25pm

Best of luck everyone doing this.

run_Forrest_run · 21-03-2010 9:12pm

what another great day we had in Ballycotton! Once again the weather was amazing, very warm at the start and a great buzz about the place.
I was delighted to get a PB today, but my stomach is in bits now, between isotonic drinks and those energy gels:(

The breeze was strong enough out around mile 4 & 5 and I think it proved to be more troublesome than expected. But hey, it was of course worth it. Roll on Ballycotton 2011

emerald007 · 21-03-2010 9:13pm

any results?

run_Forrest_run · 21-03-2010 9:28pm

emerald007 wrote: »

any results?

I didn't win:D

Here you go...

TFBubendorfer · 21-03-2010 9:30pm

emerald007 wrote: »

any results?

yes, here

... Damn. Too Slow!

Sosa · 21-03-2010 10:05pm

village runner wrote: »

Brian Maher i heard is running. Top 5 material.

He was 3rd...

Are you back in action VR ?
No log entries in a while...

PaudieMac · 21-03-2010 10:22pm

http://www.runningpictures.blogspot.com/

Mick Rice · 21-03-2010 10:42pm

Nice pics Paudie Mac - even if there is a godawful one of me, but then again I tend not to be very photogenic at the end of races :-) Had a great time today and ran as hard as I could but never really got going. Not sure if it was the wind or the heat of the hills, or the fact that I'm slower than I'd like, but I'll blame one or a combination of the above. As others have said the event is a credit to John Walshe and his team in Ballycotton. It's a pleassure to have to race to aspire to each year. I missed it last year and I felt like I'd missed an important part of the year. A lot of people seem to have been a bit over their target times, with some honourable exceptions and MRAK of this parish is one. All in all a great day out.

village runner · 21-03-2010 11:15pm

Sosa wrote: »

He was 3rd...

Are you back in action VR ?
No log entries in a while...

On off. Cant seem to shake virus. Another horrible performance today. Cooked after 2 miles.
Ran 18 in 2 hours easy enough 13 days ago and 10 friday week in 64 so i dont know. Hence no posts cost it aint happening.

Condo131 · 22-03-2010 12:04am

104 more photos here

Oryx · 22-03-2010 9:56am

My first time doing this race, and I can see why its well liked. The course is perfect and its organised in an efficient but so laid back way. The old boy stewards didnt know where the car parks were but they were so helpful anyway you didnt care.

def hope to do this again, with a better time.

Stupid_Private · 22-03-2010 10:07am

Stupid injury kept me from running so I made use of my €5 Ryanair flight to Cork and got some pictures instead. The first 100+ were uploaded last night and I'll get through the remainder later.

The ones that are currently there are from 400m to go

Ballycotton 10 pictures

colblimp · 22-03-2010 10:24am

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Stupid injury kept me from running so I made use of my €5 Ryanair flight to Cork and got some pictures instead.

The ones that are currently there are from 400m to go

Ah, you were in the same position as me - I was the steward that assisted the collapsed runner. Some great pics there. That's me clapping my hands in your pic of the race winner.

mrak · 22-03-2010 12:07pm

Mick Rice wrote: »

A lot of people seem to have been a bit over their target times, with some honourable exceptions and MRAK of this parish is one. All in all a great day out.

+1 to all that - super race as always and the warmest I can ever remember. I had really broken training for the last few weeks so didn't know what to expect - guessed I'd be somewhere between 57 and 59 so at a bit under 57 was happy. Tactic was to run it hard and hang on.. 1st half was a decent 27:43 but 2nd was a jelly-legged 29:03.

Can't understand why the general times were down on other years - I was a minute slower than last year but 14 positions higher. And last year there was a stiff headwind for much of it whereas this year it was a puffy breeze at most.

Stupid_Private · 22-03-2010 12:28pm

mrak wrote: »

Can't understand why the general times were down on other years - I was a minute slower than last year but 14 positions higher. And last year there was a stiff headwind for much of it whereas this year it was a puffy breeze at most.

Last year the top 12 were all under 53 minutes. Only 3 this year did that!

The first train from Dublin didn't get in to Cork until 12.55 instead of the usual 11.15. I'm guessing none of them got to take part. Maybe the 20 or so people who would have made up the numbers at the front were all on the train...

TFBubendorfer · 22-03-2010 12:41pm

mrak wrote: »

Can't understand why the general times were down on other years - I was a minute slower than last year but 14 positions higher. And last year there was a stiff headwind for much of it whereas this year it was a puffy breeze at most.

Same here (though a good bit behind you, obviously). I was half a minute slower than last year (and a full minute slower than expected) but was several places better than last year in the results.

I can't quite explain why. I really don't think it was too warm, and the wind was just as bad last year. But times seem to be slower than last year. 61:58 was good enough for a t-shirt, which is a good bit slower than usual.

mrak · 22-03-2010 12:50pm

Stupid_Private wrote: »

The first train from Dublin didn't get in to Cork until 12.55 instead of the usual 11.15. I'm guessing none of them got to take part. Maybe the 20 or so people who would have made up the numbers at the front were all on the train...

Wow - that would be a disaster!

FeelingTired · 22-03-2010 12:56pm

mrak wrote: »

Wow - that would be a disaster!

Can I just recorrect this statement...the first train from Dublin which I was on arrived at 11.52am in Cork Station. I emailed organisers on Friday and they said bus would wait for this train, which arrived on time as scheduled. 15 or so of us off this train from Dublin were left stranded, and we had to pool into taxis which cost about €70 each, and then we had to take all the diversions in the taxis. We barely made it on time, and a bit stressed.

Other than that, it was a magnificant day, the weather was awesome, the crowd were brilliant, and the organisation (except for the big disappointment of the bus not picking people up from the train station) was very good

hunnymonster · 22-03-2010 1:00pm

mrak wrote: »

Can't understand why the general times were down on other years - I was a minute slower than last year but 14 positions higher. And last year there was a stiff headwind for much of it whereas this year it was a puffy breeze at most.

A lot of people were complaining about the heat when they finished but I can't imagine it having that big an effect on the elites, or at least not on significant numbers of them.
Was the start a lot messier than usual?
What were the women's times like? (wind and heat affect us differently which sometimes make comparisons useful)
Was the road surface bad? If potholes necessitated a long way round each corner would this be enough to slow people?

I was down as a spectator yesterday and I have a lovely day chilling and meeting people.

colblimp · 22-03-2010 1:04pm

FeelingTired wrote: »

Can I just recorrect this statement...the first train from Dublin which I was on arrived at 11.52am in Cork Station. I emailed organisers on Friday and they said bus would wait for this train, which arrived on time as scheduled. 15 or so of us off this train from Dublin were left stranded, and we had to pool into taxis which cost about €70 each, and then we had to take all the diversions in the taxis. We barely made it on time, and a bit stressed.

Other than that, it was a magnificant day, the weather was awesome, the crowd were brilliant, and the organisation (except for the big disappointment of the bus not picking people up from the train station) was very good

You should email John Walshe and tell him what happened - that is an absolute disgrace and you shouldn't let it lie.

That coach isn't the only disaster on the day - I had to wait 15 minutes for any first aid to come and assist the collapsed runner, luckily a doctor was there to help out. What made it worse was, when I walked her over the finish line and went to the first aid tent, all the Red Cross people were standing around talking, doing absolutely nothing and looking extremely bored with the whole day.

So much for a well organised Ballycotton...

T runner · 22-03-2010 1:44pm

hunnymonster wrote: »

A lot of people were complaining about the heat when they finished but I can't imagine it having that big an effect on the elites, or at least not on significant numbers of them.
Was the start a lot messier than usual?
What were the women's times like? (wind and heat affect us differently which sometimes make comparisons useful)
Was the road surface bad? If potholes necessitated a long way round each corner would this be enough to slow people?

I was down as a spectator yesterday and I have a lovely day chilling and meeting people.

Looking at the results Im guessing some of the "marathon mission sqaud" elite runners may have ran at marathon race pace. 55 mins for Brian McMahon looks like that. I think he and others are racing Paris. Did any front runners look like they weren't all out?

Dont know about the heat, maybe if its been a few degrees warmer than recently it would affect race performance but as you say surely not the elites.

Gringo78 · 22-03-2010 1:51pm

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I can't quite explain why. I really don't think it was too warm, and the wind was just as bad last year. But times seem to be slower than last year. 61:58 was good enough for a t-shirt, which is a good bit slower than usual.

hunnymonster wrote: »

A lot of people were complaining about the heat when they finished but I can't imagine it having that big an effect on the elites, or at least not on significant numbers of them.
Was the start a lot messier than usual?
What were the women's times like? (wind and heat affect us differently which sometimes make comparisons useful)
Was the road surface bad? If potholes necessitated a long way round each corner would this be enough to slow people?

Don't think the heat was a factor at the top end of the field. My garmin had me running 10.07 miles and i tried to run the race line as best i could, god knows Condo131 drums it into us enough, but I noticed that people really do not run the race line so well in Ballycotton...could be a factor in the times? I didn't have to skip around any potholes.

Gringo78 · 22-03-2010 1:55pm

T runner wrote: »

Looking at the results Im guessing some of the "marathon mission sqaud" elite runners may have ran at marathon race pace. 55 mins for Brian McMahon looks like that. I think he and others are racing Paris. Did any front runners look like they weren't all out?

Is there any point to doing this? I mean is it not a complete waste of time to travel all the way to Ballycotton to run at PMP when you could do that on your own?

I know Alan O'Shea posted a time of approx 56min but he was in the hunt up until 5or 6 miles in when he cramped up for some reason, nothing to do with the weather. Another local runner expected to do well, James McCarthy didn't finish so something happened there also.

radar0976 · 22-03-2010 1:59pm

FeelingTired wrote: »

Can I just recorrect this statement...the first train from Dublin which I was on arrived at 11.52am in Cork Station. I emailed organisers on Friday and they said bus would wait for this train, which arrived on time as scheduled. 15 or so of us off this train from Dublin were left stranded, and we had to pool into taxis which cost about €70 each, and then we had to take all the diversions in the taxis. We barely made it on time, and a bit stressed.

Other than that, it was a magnificant day, the weather was awesome, the crowd were brilliant, and the organisation (except for the big disappointment of the bus not picking people up from the train station) was very good

In fairness if you are going to leave it until the morning of the race to travel down from Dublin what do you expect ? That leaves no margin for error. If you want to avoid any potential problems come down the night before !! You cannot blame the Ballycotton organisers for everything. They are race organisers not a bus company. For €15 (which is very good value) what do you expect ??! As an alternative why not drive. It takes less than three hourse to drive Dublin to Cork now. If you left Dublin at 8 you'd easily be in Ballycotton for 11:30. Once again the Dublin brigade have a jibe at anything beyond the Red Cow!!

eliwallach · 22-03-2010 2:15pm

mrak wrote: »

Can't understand why the general times were down on other years

I bucked this trend and finished 3 min faster than last year and with a PB in the bag. Regrettably sub 70 eluded me again

.
A 7:20 last mile put paid to that. Jelly legs up hill. 70:10
Weather was fantastic, but didn't find heat a factor. Wind was contrary for a while out the course.
Blagged my way to two mugs though :rolleyes:.

run_Forrest_run · 22-03-2010 2:29pm

eliwallach wrote: »

Blagged my way to two mugs though :rolleyes:.

how can you sleep at night!!

colblimp · 22-03-2010 2:43pm

radar0976 wrote: »

In fairness if you are going to leave it until the morning of the race to travel down from Dublin what do you expect ? That leaves no margin for error. If you want to avoid any potential problems come down the night before !! You cannot blame the Ballycotton organisers for everything. They are race organisers not a bus company. For €15 (which is very good value) what do you expect ??! As an alternative why not drive. It takes less than three hourse to drive Dublin to Cork now. If you left Dublin at 8 you'd easily be in Ballycotton for 11:30. Once again the Dublin brigade have a jibe at anything beyond the Red Cow!!

Your point is not valid. If the organisers are offering the service then they should keep to it, whether the train is late or not. If they can't deliver on the service they've offered then don't offer it in the first place! :rolleyes:

FeelingTired · 22-03-2010 3:25pm

radar0976 wrote: »

In fairness if you are going to leave it until the morning of the race to travel down from Dublin what do you expect ? That leaves no margin for error. If you want to avoid any potential problems come down the night before !! You cannot blame the Ballycotton organisers for everything. They are race organisers not a bus company. For €15 (which is very good value) what do you expect ??! As an alternative why not drive. It takes less than three hourse to drive Dublin to Cork now. If you left Dublin at 8 you'd easily be in Ballycotton for 11:30. Once again the Dublin brigade have a jibe at anything beyond the Red Cow!!

Now that response is quite pathetic. I would have come down the night before IF I hadn't have been told that there was a bus. I don't have a car, but I would have defintely come down on Saturday if it didn't say in the programme sent out to EVERYBODY that there was a bus, I emailed the organisers on Friday and they totally reassured me that there'd be a bus there for us.

Listen, If I wasn't told there'd be a bus, I would have made my own way on Saturday night. HOWEVER, I was reassured that there would be a bus, so it is fair on me to rely on it.

And grow up would you, having a go at Dubs, that's plain childish. I complimented the organisers for everything else, said the crowd and locals were brilliant and I enjoyed the race, it's disgraceful that you have to make it a slagging match about Dubs having a go at anything past the Red Cow...someone has a chip on their shoulder

Condo131 · 22-03-2010 3:29pm

Gringo78 wrote: »

Don't think the heat was a factor at the top end of the field. My garmin had me running 10.07 miles and i tried to run the race line as best i could, god knows Condo131 drums it into us enough, but I noticed that people really do not run the race line so well in Ballycotton...could be a factor in the times? I didn't have to skip around any potholes.

I was back in the pack (finished just under 74) and did find the heat a factor, though I just couldn't get going from the start. I did try to run the SPR, but it was impossible, with the number of runners around - you can't just barge everyone out of the way. My Garmin gave 10.18 miles. Potholes weren't an issue to any major extent.

John Walshe is regarded as THE man in Ireland for measurement, so I'd have no qualms whatsoever over any of his courses. Just shows how much deviation you can incur in a race. Another factor is that, with crowds, assuming you are passing people, you are likely to be taking a roundabout/longer route to get by. Yes I also noticed that the vast majority didn't run the racing line.

T runner · 22-03-2010 3:42pm

Gringo78 wrote: »

Is there any point to doing this? I mean is it not a complete waste of time to travel all the way to Ballycotton to run at PMP when you could do that on your own?

I know Alan O'Shea posted a time of approx 56min but he was in the hunt up until 5or 6 miles in when he cramped up for some reason, nothing to do with the weather. Another local runner expected to do well, James McCarthy didn't finish so something happened there also.

You may be right. Alan O'shea definately looked as if hed raced at the end. Sean Connolly though had recently ran 29.37 for a 10k in England. I dont know if he was in contention after 5 or 6 but he looked extremely comfortable at the end. I think McMahon is definately running Paris and 5.30 is his marathon race pace.

Pure speculation but if he didnt die in the race yesterday to run so slowly I would suspect he may have ran 10+ miles before the race to make 10 miles at PMP more beneficial. In that case a race setting would help.

If he and Connolly ran even races I would suspect this as a possible explanation for the slow times for them.

Condo131 · 22-03-2010 3:45pm

colblimp wrote: »

Your point is not valid. If the organisers are offering the service then they should keep to it, whether the train is late or not. If they can't deliver on the service they've offered then don't offer it in the first place! :rolleyes:

I disagree with your point, because the race starts on time. afaik, it has done so EXCEPT for two occassions: in the first instance, there was a timing malfunction and the race start was delayed by about 3 mins. In the second case, because of the crowds arriving late, the race was delayed by 30 mins on the advice of the Gardai. Other than that, afaik, it has always started on time - and I've started 26 times!

The train delay was flagged up by Iarnrod Eireann and the expected train arrival time in Cork was 11:55am - assuming that the train actually did arrive at 11:55, that left just 95 mins to get on the bus, get to Ballycotton and then get to the start. I don't know about you, I certainly wouldn't be happy to travel 200 miles with that margin.

Race organisers have enough to be doing without worrying about bussing people in. I don't know if the bus is organised by Ballycotton Running promotions, or just a facility that is available on the day, but, with a tight travel schedule, the onus is on everyone to ensure that THEIR travel arrangements are flexible enough to cater for the unexpected, or as in this case, the expected train delay.

One thing I'm not clear on from the posters who travelled by train on Sunday morning: Did the bus meet the train? Or was it the case of the bus being full and leaving people behind. Or people being unable to find the bus? ...or what??

FeelingTired · 22-03-2010 3:52pm

Condo131 wrote: »

I disagree with your point, because the race starts on time. afaik, it has done so EXCEPT for two occassions: in the first instance, there was a timing malfunction and the race start was delayed by about 3 mins. In the second case, because of the crowds arriving late, the race was delayed by 30 mins on the advice of the Gardai. Other than that, afaik, it has always started on time - and I've started 26 times!

The train delay was flagged up by Iarnrod Eireann and the expected train arrival time in Cork was 11:55am - assuming that the train actually did arrive at 11:55, that left just 95 mins to get on the bus, get to Ballycotton and then get to the start. I don't know about you, I certainly wouldn't be happy to travel 200 miles with that margin.

Race organisers have enough to be doing without worrying about bussing people in. I don't know if the bus is organised by Ballycotton Running promotions, or just a facility that is available on the day, but, with a tight travel schedule, the onus is on everyone to ensure that THEIR travel arrangements are flexible enough to cater for the unexpected, or as in this case, the expected train delay.

One thing I'm not clear on from the posters who travelled by train on Sunday morning: Did the bus meet the train? Or was it the case of the bus being full and leaving people behind. Or people being unable to find the bus? ...or what??

I agree, of course the race should start on time. About 15 people got off the train and there was no bus, we waited 10-15 mins and realised no bus was forthcoming. Find below the exact email I sent to the organisers last Friday, and the response below. Like I have said, I'd have made different arrangements had If there wasn't a bus provided as quoted in the programme and in the email, BUT it conclusively said there was going to be a bus. Email thread below is pretty conclusive don't you think?

Hi X.
You can get our bus from Kent station straight away & you should still be on time. It will wait for Dublin train. We will make sure that this bus will have access right into village, though it may not give people much time to prepare & warm up. However, if train arrives after 12.30 then I would say there is little hope of making the start line.

Regards
Y

Website www.ballycottonrunning.com

Original Message

From: X
To: 'Ballycottonrunning'
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 4:06 PM
Subject: Ballycotton 10

Hi there,

I had a query I was hoping you could help me with.

I just checked with Irish Rail there. Coming from Dublin on the train on Sunday morning, there is a bus transfer from Heuston – Portlaoise this week, then train to Cork which arrives in Cork at 11.55am, and not 11.15 am as originally quoted. Apparently they are working on the line.

Does you know if the coach will be there at 11.55 am to pick people up to bring them to Ballycotton? Would the coach make it to Ballycotton on time?

blind_hurler · 22-03-2010 4:12pm

eliwallach wrote: »

I bucked this trend and finished 3 min faster than last year and with a PB in the bag. Regrettably sub 70 eluded me again .
A 7:20 last mile put paid to that. Jelly legs up hill. 70:10
Weather was fantastic, but didn't find heat a factor. Wind was contrary for a while out the course.
Blagged my way to two mugs though :rolleyes:.

That's my mug and I want it back

buck65 · 22-03-2010 4:25pm

We actually arrived in the Garryvoe Carpark at 1pm!! (Due to unforeseen circumstances with a sick baby) Thankfully we blagged a lift with a civil service minibus who drove at 100km an hour to get to the start (along with 5 or 6 others).
The race was a delight. Summer sun, great crowds, great organisation and help along the way. I really think that this is the best race in Ireland (ok I've only done mabe a dozen different events).
Didn't push the time as I had a bout of something, sat back in the back of the crowd and had a blast.
Well done all and thanks to the Civil service driver.:D

This of couse should read Civil Defence, the budget has me ruined

FeelingTired · 22-03-2010 4:33pm

buck65 wrote: »

We actually arrived in the Garryvoe Carpark at 1pm!! (Due to unforeseen circumstances with a sick baby) Thankfully we blagged a lift with a civil service minibus who drove at 100km an hour to get to the start (along with 5 or 6 others).
The race was a delight. Summer sun, great crowds, great organisation and help along the way. I really think that this is the best race in Ireland (ok I've only done mabe a dozen different events).
Didn't push the time as I had a bout of something, sat back in the back of the crowd and had a blast.
Well done all and thanks to the Civil service driver.:D

Agreed, a truly magnificent race, it's my favourite race anyway

RedB · 22-03-2010 5:01pm

It was a fantastic day and a really enjoyable event. Thanks to all the organisers and local community for their efforts. Well done and look forward to doing it again next year.

tisnotover · 22-03-2010 5:09pm

results are now up showing 1st and 2nd half 5mile splits
http://www.ballycottonrunning.com/files/Ballycotton%20Result%20with%20Splits.htm

Very interesting to see a lot of people ran a slower 2nd half to race (like me :rolleyes:)

TFBubendorfer · 22-03-2010 5:25pm

tisnotover wrote: »

Very interesting to see a lot of people ran a slower 2nd half to race (like me :rolleyes:)

The first 2 miles being downhill and the last 2 miles going uphill the other way, that quite literally comes with the territory (wilting over the last 2 miles like I did doesn't help, of course!

)

T runner · 22-03-2010 6:51pm

tisnotover wrote: »

results are now up showing 1st and 2nd half 5mile splits
http://www.ballycottonrunning.com/files/Ballycotton%20Result%20with%20Splits.htm

Very interesting to see a lot of people ran a slower 2nd half to race (like me :rolleyes:)

Looks like Connolly got burnt some time in teh second half

Oryx · 23-03-2010 2:10pm

Two of the links given here show pics of me, so thank you for that, guys. Even though I look like Im in fierce pain and struggling.

Condo131 · 23-03-2010 4:11pm

676 More photos from about 5.5 miles are here on the Eagle AC website - there are actually three different folders totalling 798 photos from Ballycotton on the site.

Here are some stats from the results. These are the figures for those with negative splits, line to line, i.e. the time to cross the mat at the start has been stripped out. I mangaed to feature in the list of those with genuine negative splits!

Range|Neg Split Finishers|Cum Neg Split finishers|Total Finishers
Sub 55|0|0|10
Sub 60| 3|3|66
Sub 65|8|11|180
Sub 70|30|41|375
Sub 75|64|106|649
Sub 80|72|178|971
Sub 85|82|260|1295
Sub 90|80|340|1603
Sub 95|42|382|1855
Sub 100|27|409|2047
Sub 105|13|422|2191
105 +|7|429|2356

Racman · 23-03-2010 4:48pm

Just some random thoughts and facts.

I was one of the "Kent Station 12" (10 runners and 2 kids). Three different people had been assured by the organisers that the bus would wait. I suspect that the bus driver just took it upon himself to leave, without checking if the train was going to arrive soon. The train arrived bang on schedule (as revised). The organisers put on the bus to facilitate people travelling out from Cork, not just those from the train, but do not charge for it! I told the organisers two years ago that I would be willing to pay but that has not been implemented. I would not give them a hard time about this year's problem. I was philosophical about it - yes, it is a bit of a risk to travel by train on the morning but it has worked out ok for me for the last three races. (The fact that I and two children missed the bus last year was entirely our own fault - had to use the bathroom at the station and came out to no bus.) Cork taxi drivers love me - our guy this year denied slipping the bus driver a few bob to leave.

Magnificent event overall, not just the race. Colblimp was critical of the first aid people. Yes, some of them were standing around - but I saw others attending to a runner who was in an ambulance. They were there and available. People knew where they were. If they were required somewhere else, they just needed to be called.

Regarding the running times. Looking at the first 100 finishers in 2009, 70 were faster in the second half. In 2010, only 4 had a faster second half. The 100th finisher in 2009 had a gun time of 60m 38s but the 100th finisher in 2010 had a gun time of 61m 58s. I think it was due to the wind - I found the ninth mile very hard this year and lost 16 seconds but I coasted up that hill with the wind in my back last year. (I wonder does anyone record wind speeds and directions etc - would be interesting to compare the years. If you are a bit of an anorak like me.)

Nevertheless, I was very pleased to get in under the hour, get a top 100 t-shirt and be one of the top finishers in my age category. I couldn't wait around to see if I got a prize - I had a bus to catch!

If you have never run Ballycotton, try to enter next year. It is a great experience - the crowds, the start, the finish, the community involvement, the organisation, even the free buses. And all for just €15.

Gringo78 · 23-03-2010 6:18pm

Condo131 wrote: »

Here are some stats from the results.

Some more stats:

All of the Top 10 were club runners or 100%
46 of the Top 50 were club runners or 92%
88 of the Top 100 were club runners or 88%

Overall, 40% of finishers were Club Members

What does that say? Probably nothing.

colblimp · 23-03-2010 7:38pm

Gringo78 wrote: »

Some more stats:

All of the Top 10 were club runners or 100%
46 of the Top 50 were club runners or 92%
88 of the Top 100 were club runners or 88%

Overall, 40% of finishers were Club Members

What does that say? Probably nothing.

It tells me that if you join a club, your running will definitely improve. So in that sense, it's useful statistics.

Ballycotton 10

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