Autumn League #5: Regional Park Ballincollig Tuesday September 17th Results and Report

Post date: Sep 25, 2019 7:27:31 PM

The final event in the CorkO Autumn League took us to the Regional Park Ballincolling on Tuesday September 17th. There has been a lot of developments in the park over the last number of years which have greatly enhanced the amenities on offer in the park and make it a very popularity destination. So, on a glorious sunny Autumn evening it was wonderful to see so many people in the park participating in all manner of outdoor activities such as running, walking, soccer and cycling. The 50+ participants at our final Tuesday evening event of the year added to the mix.The planner set out two great courses. The short was a nice loop around the centre of the park while the long was a more adventurous affair. It began with a number of short fast legs to the west of the start area before taking competitors across the pitches in the centre of the park to control 8. Another series of short legs followed in the area of runnable forest at the eastern end of the park. On exiting the forest participants passed by one of the beautiful wild flower meadows which looked especially colourful on the night.The leg from 11 to 12 took competitors to a newly mapped area of the park. During the summer months access to the park was extended on the most easterly section of the map. This new area includes a lovely walk way along the river as well as the restoration of some of the historic buildings and the careful positioning of some large mill stones which illustrate the park’s rich heritage as a former Gunpowder Mill. Unfortunately, the two controls in this area proved troublesome for many on the night. Some folks didn’t pay close enough attention to the map and the uncrossable crags and high fence caused issues on the night. Those looking for a fast route to exit from control 13 were left disappointed as the quickest way out was probably the route in. Although I believe some competitors did mange to squeeze their way through a small gap in the fence!Once on the right side of the fence it was a fast run to control 14 before a return to the charming runnable forest for another few short legs. Competitors were homeward bound at this stage but sadly control 17 in the rough open and surrounded on most sides by undergrowth caused difficulty for many as there was only one relatively easy way to approach this control site. Once punched there was a quick dash across the canal again to control 18. As with several of the legs which took competitors in a westerly direction on the night the low evening sun made it difficult to look straight ahead. So, I hope no one collided into the goal post en route to this control. From here there was one final control to punch before a sprint to the finish.

Niamh Corbett stormed to victory on the 4.7km Long course. She punched all 19 controls in a blistering timer of 30:35 to not only earn the title of the fastest lady around Ballincollig but also claim the overall event winner honour. Niamh made short work of the testing course and had a comfortable winning margin over event runner up Conrad Daly. Conrad finished in a time of 33:22 and was the fastest man on the night. Not far behind Conrad was Darragh Hoare who punched the finish in a timer of 33:39. The third fastest man on the night was Brian Corbett who complete the course in a time of 34:12.As mentioned already Niamh Corbett was the event winner and the fastest lady on the night. There was a very close battle for the runner up spot with only nine seconds differentiating our next two finishers. Caroline Murray edged out Sinead O'Donoghue to take the runner up title having finished in a time of 46:46. Sinead claimed the final podium spot when she punched the finish in a time of 46:55.On the Short course it was Eve Buckley who took the event winner title. She punched all 11 controls in an incredibly fast time of 16:02. The runner up spot went to Sarah Hoare who finished in a time of 21:10. Clare Nutall took third place when she punched the finish in a time of 24:06.Well done to all who participated on the night. Full individual results with split times are available at the following link:http://www.orienteering.ie/result2?oaction=moreResult&id=22111Huge thanks to Gerald Duffy for planning and organising the event. Thanks to Dave O’Donovan for taking care of starts and to Niamh and Mary Murphy and Conrad Daly for assisting with registration and control collection on the night.

As always, we are very grateful to Cork City Council for giving use permission to use of this wonderful amenity.

That’s it for Tuesday night orienteering for this year. We hope you enjoyed some great outdoor adventures with us.

If you are looking for something challenging to do over the winter months then why not consider joining us at Fitness Worx on Monday nights for our winter Strength and Conditioning Class.