Cork City Marathon 2022: Five things runners need to know in advance
The starting line of the 2019 Cork City Marathon on Patricks Street, Cork. Picture: Gavin Browne
"At this stage, the most important thing is not to get injured. You have all the training done, so any kind of hard training you do now is not going to be of any benefit. What you're trying to do really, at this stage, is to rest up, and to make sure that all your muscles are in perfect order.
"I don't run on Friday or Saturday for a marathon on Sunday. Maybe a walk or something like that, to keep ticking over a little bit. Some people feel they have to go for a run, mentally, that they'd feel wrong, resting. And if that's the case, I would say just go for it, a very, very easy run on Friday or whatever.
"But at this stage, really, I think the important thing is to give your body the time to recover and be in the best possible shape for Sunday morning."
"One of the key things with runners is generally, is that they'd be minding their diets a little bit all along, trying to be as healthy as possible, and doing lots of training. The last few days are nearly the opposite, like, you're resting a bit more, and you're eating that little bit more.
"A lot of people carbo-load in the two or three days before the race. Personally, what I do is, I would just eat a little bit more. Try to keep things healthy enough, pasta and rice. Most important of all, is that its stuff that kind of agrees with yourself. Stick with foods that you're well accustomed to, eat that little bit more, to build up towards the race, you know, but don't overdo it, either.
"Be sensible, eat more often, rather than eating big, huge meals, keep it reasonably healthy."
"From running a long time it comes naturally to drink a lot more water, but if people are doing their first marathon, it's important from today on to start taking that little bit more water on board.
"I stay away from fizzy drinks and stuff like that, maybe the odd sports drink, but water is the key, really. Keep sipping away, keep drinking all day long, today, and tomorrow and Saturday. It's vital on race day, during the race, not to overhydrate. It's a mistake a lot of people make, that I would have made myself in a lot of my earlier marathons.
"You see a water table, and you think you're going to have to drink at this table, and drink at the next one, then before you know it, you've too much on board and washing the salts out of your body. It's important not to drink anymore on race day than you would on your long runs. Even with an extra six miles, drink that bit more, but not full bottles at every water station.
"There are lots of water stations on the course, and the reason they're there is because people are thirsty at different points in the race, but that doesn't mean that you have to drink a bottle at every water station because if you do, you can find yourself in a lot of trouble later on. Keep hydrated going into it, rather than over-hydrated during."
"It's a big day, but not the day to try anything new, really. My advice would be to wear the same running gear that you had been wearing in your long runs, and I certainly wouldn't be advising people to add anything new on race day. The same thing with runners: ideally, you'd have a reasonably new pair of runners that you would have got maybe in the past, but not brand new. Keep the same gear that you've had all along.
"On the morning of the race, when you're actually standing on the starting line, you'll be quite cold, so it could be good to have maybe a zip-up top or something like that, and have your racing gear underneath it. You can hand that to someone at the starting line, a friend, or whoever is at the race with you, or if you want to wear an old one and discard it, and it'll be picked up for charity. Keep warm on the starting line, and remember that once you're running, you're going to heat up quickly enough, so keep your running clothes light."
"A key thing if you can do it is to get one good night's sleep, either tonight or Friday night, it's gonna be very difficult to get a good night's sleep on Saturday night before the race, because you're a little bit on edge, and there's an early night start. I don't think it's really possible to relax, so I think people that are trying to get a good night's sleep on a Saturday night, would be probably better off trying to get a good night's sleep on Friday.
"Then, during the race, no matter how good an athlete is, there's going to be times during the race that they're finding it difficult, and I think it's a case of hanging in there for those difficult bits. You can regain a little bit of energy, and you can just stay in there, you might be able to pick up again a bit later on."
"If it's your first marathon, or if it's your hundredth, a marathon is a big thing. an achievement. Look at it positively — it's great to be back on the streets of Cork, with record numbers running in the race. It's these kinds of occasions that we really missed during the pandemic, it was really difficult to train when you'd nothing to train for. Take in the atmosphere, enjoy the crowd, and be as positive as you can about it."
Registration will take place at Cork City Hall on Friday, June 3 from 12pm-7pm; and again on Saturday from 11am-6pm.
Each participant of the Cork City Marathon will receive their race number and bag during registration in the main hall of the Concert Hall of Cork City Hall on Friday and Saturday.
In a change to previous years, the main Registration on Friday and Saturday is in the Concert Hall of Cork City Hall. The entrance is on Terence MacSwiney Quay.
There will be changing facilities available in Cork City Hall, and leaving your bag for later collection. All bags must have a label with your race number tag on it, which you will find as a tear-off on the bottom of your race bib.
The marathon and relay start at 8.30am on St Patrick’s Street (wheelchair at 8.25am). The start area will be zoned into your predicted time for the race.
The half-marathon starts at 10.15am on Monahan Road. There are no parking facilities in the area of the half-marathon start. The start line is easily accessed on foot from Blackrock or is a short walk from City Hall. Please be in position by 9.45am.
The half-marathon will also start in two waves: Those hoping to run the race in 1 hour 58 minutes or faster will start in wave one; while wave two will be led out shortly after.
The race will also finish on St Patrick’s Street for everyone.
Hydration is advised well before race day — water will not be available on Patrick’s Street for the marathon/relay start, so bring your own if you think you’ll need it. Refill Ireland will have a hydration station set up after the finish line.
Water and Lucozade Sport will be available throughout the course — all water stations will be stocked with 330ml sugarcane and paper-based tetra packs with sugarcane caps — 100% recyclable. Lucozade Sport will be provided in cups at three of the stations, roughly at 11, 18 and 23 miles. There are toilets at the start area, and around the course, near the Relay Changeovers.
The course time limit is 6 hours. After 6 hours, the Gardaí may ask you to move onto the footpaths, but the finish line will stay in place for 7 hours. St Patrick’s Street will be closed to traffic for the day.
- Full information on race-day arrangements are available here.
A Garda traffic management plan will be in operation.
There will be traffic restrictions on the day in Cork City and Suburbs between 6am and 6pm.
For travel into and around Cork City on Sunday 5th June, the general advice is to use the Ring Roads (N25 South; R635 North) and Link Road (N27).
St Patrick’s Street and adjoining streets are closed to traffic all day, from 5.30am to 6pm. North Main Street will also be closed to traffic from c. 10.00am until 3pm.
- For full traffic details and road closures, visit the Cork City Marathon website.
Full advice on opening/closing times for the city's carparks is available here.
- Full information on traffic restrictions is available here.
Eamon says: "You'd be trying to think of places where you can maybe see [the action] twice. A good spot would be The Lough. Go there, and then you have time to walk back into town, and you'll meet the runners again at the finish line. There's quite a lot of people, around and the Lough is actually a great spot as well, loads of people around and a really good atmosphere.
"If you're looking at somewhere maybe a little bit quieter, if you're from Ballicollig direction, you could walk out the [Carrigrohane] straight. it's quite a good vantage point, in that there's not a lot of people around, and the race slows down by that stage so you'll be able to pick out your runner."
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