Race week is upon us and as promised we are back to share the excitement that it brings with it.
The work behind the scenes has continued and here is how things are looking up to this point.
The important outside services are all set, that is the Ambulance crew, the Gardai, the chip timing company MyRunResults.com, and both of our charity partners and sponsors have been invited down to the event. Some local community groups in the area have also been contacted to let them know of the disruption on that morning that may affect them.
It’s all about the numbers & getting people involved at this stage. So many from the club have already volunteered their time and we are very grateful for this. There are always the last minute unforeseen circumstances that bring some cancellations but that’s to be expected, people do their best to help out.
So about now the club members are goggle-eyed from emails asking them to please come down and help out if you can spare any time at all on Sunday morning, please let us know if you are around, please make some sandwiches, please bake some cakes…!
But here’s why:
- We need as close as we can get to 40 stewards to man junctions, direct runners etc.
- 8 on bikes around the course
- A course set up & take down manager
- A start/ finish area manager
- 7 on registration & number allocation
- 6 on catering & set up
- A lead car driver
- Photographers & social media coverage
- Water station at finish line supervisors
- Hall & parking manager
- An MC
- And 2 race directors
It doesn’t take long to require about 80 people to run this club event safely and efficiently.
In a club of just over 160 members that requires a whole lot of member commitment.
From the Runners perspective;
The prizes have been received from our sponsor the Edge Sports and are enveloped up, ready to go. There’s a superb selection of prizes with the top 5 Men & Women receiving cash prizes, while there is a full selection of age category prizes also.
The course bonus is on offer again this year with thanks to Coughlan Dekeyser Architects, for any of you who would like to have a go at winning this:
- €250 Course Bonus First Man sub 25 mins
- €250 Course Bonus First Woman sub 27:43 mins
The winners cups & club winning shields are being engraved as we speak and will be ready for collecting on Friday afternoon.
Then of course the important post race refreshments preparations are underway. Club members’ kitchens are busy with baking and sandwich making activities in full swing this week. We do run this event on tight margins so the club members very generously provide pretty much all of the food you see on the day.
There is the exciting upcoming trip to Musgraves where all the water, coffee, cups plates etc. are purchased. The Burkos will also be collected on Friday afternoon for the essential cup of hot tea or coffee once the running is done.
Our MC Mike McGrath is in full flow preparing his race day speech, jokes & spot prize questions. The PA system for Mike is another race week job for your two Race Directors, to be collected from the hire company.
And all week long, we push hard for more entries to try to maximise the money raised for our charity partners. We will also anxiously check the weather about 300 times and become somewhat expert in winds and wind speeds! (so far it’s looking pretty good!)
From a Course perspective:
A course inspection to ensure everything is in order for Sunday will be carried out towards the end of this week and this will be repeated again over the weekend and of course on Sunday morning pre race when Denis Looney will be putting out the mile markers.
Then on Race day morning:
There is always a great moment of relief when we see the MyRunResults guys arrive in Carrigaline from Dublin early on race morning, we know we are going to be good to go then.
Almost as important is Michael from Kelcab delivering the all important portaloos, everyone is good to go then 😀
The hall will be set up early Sunday morning with both the Eagle AC and sponsors The Edge Sports banners erected and tables ready for number collection and new entries. There will be a bustle of activity in the kitchen with set up underway and some top class baking being delivered.
There will be a pre-race meeting where the stewards & bikes will be briefed about their allocated places. Then the final course inspection will be carried out by our lead car. Following this, all eyes will turn to the startline!
Now all we need is you, we do hope you will join us & we wish all of our participants the very best of luck on Sunday morning.
If you have already entered then thank you for supporting Eagle AC, Carrigaline Meals on Wheels & Foroige Youth Diversion Project. If not there are still entries available online with Eventmaster.ie until Saturday evening. This year we are happy that we can also offer some final entries on race morning in the Carrigaline community hall, entry on the day will be €15.
One final note of caution:
Everyone will be toeing the line and ready for that start gun to go at 11 am sharp, because race director Ruairi Egan will accept nothing less than a perfectly on-time start!
We will be back after the race to let you all know how it went. We are really looking forward to hosting the 35th running of this Tommy Ryan Memorial Carrigaline 5 Mile Road Race.