St Coca’s AC 5km – 28th June

report by Mark Hogan

June really is the time for some very fast road races as the summer weather finally kicks in. Following on from the huge turnout at the Docklands 5km, another big crowd of Sportsworlders made the short journey to Kilcock for the St Coca’s 5km. With an entry price of only €16, the promise of a fast competitive course and the sell-out of the Dunshauglin 10km, this meant a record turnout for this annual 5km race.

The organisation from the local club is very good with ample parking right next to the start line, a 1.2km dirt track to warm up on and real toilets (!) in the local school. After a quick warm up with a few of the lads we all lined up in the sub 18 / sub 20 category right at the front of the pack. The nice thing about the course vs. Docklands is that it is certainly less of a mental battle when you don’t have to look at the 5km distance ahead of you or think about the dreaded u-turn at a cone. The course follows winding country roads pretty much all the way round with only one slight hill at about the 3km point before a very fast finish back into the village.

My aim for the day had been to be more conservative at the start compared to Docklands and try pace myself more evenly so that I didn’t go out too hard and die a death. A 5km is never, and should never feel, comfortable but there are definitely easier ways to get the same time or better by being more evenly paced. I set out at 3.20 per km and pretty much stuck to this all the way round except for the slight blip with the hill, but was delighted with the improvement in a week. There were some great results from a lot of people in the club. But I do want to call out Wes who banked a brilliant sub 17 which is a serious achievement and one he’s been so close to over the last few races – obviously the lack of sleep and extra training is paying off!

The post-race feed was also worth staying around for, so overall a 5 star race that I would highly recommend.