Showdown in Pulford - Cheshire Elite Marathon 2021
Cheshire Elite Marathon
Pulford, Cheshire, UK
Sunday April 25th 2021
The Cheshire Elite Marathon takes place next Sunday, in Pulford, Cheshire, England. The event was originally planned for Wrexham, Wales, but was transferred to Pulford, less than 8 miles away, in Cheshire, England, as Wales is still under Covid restrictions. Several Elite Irish athletes will be attempting to make the Qualification standard, including (Men): Gary O'Hanlon, Mick Clohisey and Sean Hehir, with a competitive Irish women elite group of Ann-Marie Mcglynn, Breege Connolly, Fionnuala Ross, and Cork club members Aoife Cooke (Eagle AC) and Dylan Hassett (Leevale AC)
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| Aoife Cooke, Eagle AC | Dylan Hassett, Leevale AC |
Currently, travel outside Ireland without a valid reason, is prohibited, however Elite athletes who have been given documents by Athletics Ireland, having been approved by Sport Ireland, are exempt from this prohibition. It is understood that the Elites listed above have all been given the necessary documentation by Sport Ireland/Athletics Ireland - except Dylan Hassett, who is travelling directly to the UK from the U.S., and therefore does not come under the Irish restrictions.
However, all persons who are returning to Ireland, including those carrying the Sport Ireland/Athletics Ireland documentation, must abide by the requirements set out in Government Travelling to Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic
Travelling to/from the Republic via Northern Ireland does NOT exempt from these requirements.
This afternoon, the official Run Cheshire website listed 275 entrants for the Elite Marathon, including some 22 Irish, excluding the elites, with eight of these from Cork. Some of today's Runner Beans Podcast, with race organiser Michael Harrington, centred around athletes from the Republic crossing the border with Northern Ireland
Course
Start and first lap, with subsequent laps over the trangular anti-clockwise course
The event will set of in time based waves, with just 15 to 20 seconds between groups., over the approx. 7.5 lap, triangular shaped course, which has been measured by AIMS Measurer, Dene Townsend. Race organiser Michael Harrington describes the course as being a very fast, and essentially flat
Start - on a wooded off-road tarmac path
Weather
Sunday's weather as at Monday April 19th
With five days to go, it's really too early to be predicting the weather, but as of now, Monday night, it looks like Sunday morning will be dry and practically windless - probably ideal conditions, with a high centred around the north of England
Livestream, Tracker and Entry List
The event will be livestreamed and you will also be able to track everyone, using the above link. The Livestream link will be posted, and shared on Cork Athletics social media, as soon as available
Livestream on Run Cheshire Facebook Page
As of today, April 19th, there are 43 days left for athletes to meet the Olympic Qualification standard of 2:11:30 (Men) and 2:29:30 (Women), and 96 days to the Opening of the Postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Athletes from several countries will be striving to meet the standard, with the event being described in today's Runner Beans Podcast "Cheshire Elite Preview" as being the "Last Chance Saloon", as missing the time on Sunday would leave athletes less than six weeks to recover and make another attempt. Even so, needing another attempt at achieving qualification, and meeting it, would leave the athlete(s) requiring three top class performances in little over 100 days, certainly a task of Olympic proportions.
