Friday 4 March 2016

WEEKEND RUNAROUND

Captain's Message

Hi all,
Firstly, let me take this opportunity to announce that at a recent committee meeting, I was appointed Captain of the club, and Mark Walsh was appointed Vice-Captain.  I would like to thank our outgoing Captain, Noel O'Regan for all his hard work and dedication in his two and a half years in the role.  Noel was instrumental in bringing coach, Donie Walsh, to the club and I'm sure you will all agree that this has been a very positive improvement to our club training.  I am delighted that Mark will serve as Vice-Captain - he has already displayed great energy and commitment since he joined the committee.
Meanwhile, onto more pressing matters - the upcoming Ballycotton 10!  I would like to wish all our members the best of luck, and in particular those who are doing it for the first time.  Four of our members who joined our beginners group last September will be among them.
Given the requests from the organisers urging people to car-pool, I have provisionally booked a 54-seater bus and would need to know today if you would like to avail of this, at a cost of €5.  It will depart from Tesco carpark at 11:30am and return from Ballycotton at approximately 4pm (TBC).  The advantage of getting the bus is that it will drive into the village and will remain there during the race so gear etc can be left on the bus.
For those not travelling by bus, please consider car-pooling as the organisers are very concerned about the state of the fields that are normally used for parking.
As always Donie and Kathleen O'Connell will have their car/cars on the cliffs in Ballycotton for any members who want to leave their stuff there during the race. This has been the traditional meeting point for club members where we do our group photos and warm ups and then avail of the safe storage of gear.

If you aren't already doing so, keep an eye on http://www.corkrunning.blogspot.ie/ and on our own blog, http://midletonathleticclub.blogspot.ie/ for important update regarding the race.
Enjoy the race and the day!

Best regards,
Anna Doris
 
 
East Cork Sports STAR Of The Month for Neilus Aherne
 
Club member Neilus Aherne who recently won Gold in the All Ireland Masters Cross Country was today Friday awarded Sports Star Of The Month at a reception held in the Midleton Park Hotel. In his acceptance speech Neilus singled out club member Sally Drennan who has pioneered Cross Country running in our club and without whom he would never have ventured into the sport.. A well deserved award Neilus your club is as always proud of you. Danny
 



 Neilus with his proud grandson Conor.
 
 

 Some of Neilus's "Support Crew" on the day
 
 
 
BALLYCOTTON ‘10’ UPDATE… (04/03/2016, 2pm)
As mentioned in our previous update, in our 38 years organising the race this unquestionably have been the most difficult, due to circumstances completely outside our control.

Car parking each year is now our biggest concern and with the unprecedented weather conditions this winter it has taken on an even greater urgency. Up to noon today (Friday), whether the race took place or not on Sunday was in doubt. However, we have decided to go ahead and we would ask that people take note of the parking arrangements and to follow the instructions of the Gardai and the race stewards.  

Once again, we ask people if at all possible to car pool to cut down the number of vehicles and also to allow extra time in getting to Ballycotton. 

With the extra logistics due to the car parking arrangements, we would certainly welcome any extra help on the day. If anyone is free to offer assistance, please contact Tom Hartnett at: 086-2386390.

Thanks to Cork County Council, repairs have been carried out on the various roads in the area but we remind runners that iPods, headphones, etc are banned for safety reasons and buggys, dogs or bicycles are not allowed at any stage on the course.

For those who did not receive their race packs, please report to the Community Hall on Sunday (10am onwards) for a new number. Most of the information you require is contained in the FAQs in the race programme and on no account can numbers be transferred. 

And finally, in anticipation we thank you for your co-operation and patience and we wish you all an enjoyable and rewarding day around the roads of Ballycotton on Sunday next. 

Ballycotton Running Promotions