Thursday, January 24, 2013

Preview of the Dungarvan 10 Mile Road Race - Sun 27th Jan 2013

The big race in Munster next weekend is of course the Dungarvan 10 mile in Waterford. There was a limit of 1,750 entries for this race and it was full at the start of last December, about 3 weeks earlier than last year which had only 1500 places available. There will be no entries taken on the day.

Pictured...(L) Gerry O'Connor, manager Dungarvan Shopping center associate sponsors of the John Treacy Dungarvan 10 mile road race. Dungarvan Shopping centre have kindly sponsored both the men's and Ladies course record bonus payments., also pictured (R) is James Veale, chairman of West Waterford athletic club.

Only a few years ago, this race only attracted a few hundred runners. The organisers, West Waterford AC have built on it year after year until it is now one of the main 10 mile road races in the country. This of course didn't happen by accident. They put on a well organised event every year and this is reflected in the fact that people keep going back.

At this stage, all entrants should have received their race packs by post. The main item in this is the race number which has a timing chip on the back.

Info...
1) Entries...A full list of entries can be found HERE. Any important details such as, Race No, Category, Club which are incorrect please inform Ann Dunford - adunford262@gmail.com

2) Pacers...They will have 2 pacers for each of the following times...60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 & 90 mins.

3) Transfer of Numbers...West Waterford AC appeal to those with race numbers who might not be taking part in the race Sunday to please refrain from transferring your number to another runner.

4) Headphones / MP3 players...From the organisers..."We do not under any circumstances allow our runners to use I-pods or Mp3 players. We have found out over the years that headphone wearers do not hear instructions from our stewards/Gardai and so are safety hazards. With the numbers we have in this race we must look after everyone's safety and so to stop this we do not give headphone wearers any finish time. We will have someone assigned to take note of their race number and 'headphone wearer' will appear on the race results instead of their name. We take this very seriously, we have to, your safety is important to us."

For more info, refer to the FAQ page on the race website.

Location...What I am going to concentrate on here are additional details that may not be so obvious on the race website.

Directions...If you are coming from the Cork direction on the main N25 road, you will need to turn right at the first roundabout at the entrance to the town. As you drive through Dungarvan, you will see a church on the right.....

Take the right just after the church and the Sports Centre is just down this road...

Please note that unless you arrive early, parking in this area may be full. There are plenty of other areas to park in the town.

Distances...Sports Hall to Start Line...1 km, Finish Line to Sports Hall...1.5 kms
Course...The Dungarvan 10 mile road race has a reputation of being a fast course. If your target is trying out for a PB then this is the one to run. The route takes in a small loop through the town before leaving Dungarvan to take in a bigger loop in the countryside.

The start point is approximately 1 km from the Sports Centre. The road here is very wide and there is plenty of space. Please note that your time starts with the gun. Even with 1000+ runners taking part, there is no major delay in everyone starting at more or less the same time.

As you can see from the image below, the road rises just after the start. Coming at the start of the race, it's a lot easier than later when you're tired.

After an initial steep section, the going gets easier as you begin the loop around the town. As you can see from the image below, you keep running straight.....take in a short loop.....and then run downhill and re-join the main road and turn right.

You then run back down towards the start line....passing the 1 mile mark....and then on towards the roundabout at the entrance to the town, you take a left and out the main road to the south....

The course here is now very fast. You will be running inside the hard shoulder, the road is flat up to the 2 mile mark before going gradually downhill......then it's time to turn off right...

Now you are onto a quiet narrow country road and the road rises again gently...

Eventually, the road widens as it approaches the town and an industrial area. The road here is pretty fast and flat. Not long after the 3 mile mark, you rejoin the main road...

However, you're only on this short section of main road for about 100 metres. Then it's straight through the roundabout and take the 2nd left...

.....and then it's onto a reasonly flat road as you leave the town...

The next mile or so is reasonably flat. There are a few very small drags but certainly nothing worth noting. Just after the 5 mile mark, you reach the most westerly point as the course takes a sharp left. As you approach the corner, you will see other faster runners at the other side of the field...

This section is narrow but dead flat until you turn right at the next junction...


Just around the corner, you soon pass the 6 mile mark. This is followed by a gentle uphill section.....

Nothing too serious but coming at 6 miles, it can have an impact. Eventually, the road flattens out and this is followed by a steep downhill section...

At the end of the hill, you cross a small bridge over the River Brickey and take a sharp left...

The road now follows the river so it's dead flat............(well, slightly downhill but nothing that you would notice ;o)

It's like this for about 1.3 miles as you pass the 7 and 8 mile mark along the way. At around 8.2 miles, you rejoin the main N25 (pic above) and you run inside the hard shoulder as you head back towards Dungarvan. Initially the road is flat but soon begins to climb. It never gets too serious but coming at 8.3 miles, it can have a huge impact if you are tired. This is arguably the hardest part of the course.

Soon, you pass the 9 mile mark and you are now back on familar ground as you are on the same section of road that you were running on earlier. The road begins to flatten out and it stays like this until you reach the roundabout at the entrance to the town. At this stage, you are getting very close to the finish....

Just after the roundabout, you'll see the sign for the turn off to the left...

Once you turn left, it's only a short run of about 100 metres to the finish.

At the finish line, there will be a timing mat which will record your time as you cross it. The sports hall is 1.5 kms from the finish.

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