Updated 20th Oct 2017
The Rebel Run 10 km road race takes place in Bishopstown at the western edge of Cork City...
The race starts and finishes in the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and takes in a loop to the west.
Course profile...
Course description...The race starts on next to the athletics track in CIT and the first few hundred metres are pretty flat.
At about 800m, you turn left at the road junction by the Motor Tax office and then head west. Initially, the road remains level...
At about 1.2 kms or 0.75 miles, the road begins to drop rapidly as you pass the location for the Tennis Village...
The low point is at Inchigaggin Lane which is very close to the 1 mile mark which is just ahead on the sharp pull ahead as can be seen in the photo below...
Although the steep part is pretty short, the road does however continue to climb making for a tough start to the second mile. At about 1.5 miles, you turn off left and the road keeps rising...
Eventually the road levels off around 1.8 miles...a long uphill stretch and easily the hardest part of the course. The only good thing though is that at least it comes early in the race when legs are less tired.
At about the 2 mile mark, you begin a rapid descent downhill. Note the change in land ise as well. Having started in a residential area, you are now in the countryside albeit on the edge of the city. The built up area of Ballincollig can be seen in the distance.
At 2.2 miles, you turn off left onto a quieter road as the road continues to fall gently before leveling off.
The road then climbs slightly before leveling off again. The photo below shows what the road is like...narrow and mostly rural.
At 3 miles, you reach the bridge over the Ballincollig Bypass and you have a short climb as you reach it...
View east from the bridge....and a short but rapid descent on the other side.
From here, the road is pretty flat and at 3.4 miles, you turn left at the next T-junction and then head east on the Curraheen Road. The road continues to be mostly flat along this section...
It's only when you get to the next major junction near 4.2 miles that you have a short climb...
...then it's left over the Ballincollig Bypass again...
....and then right as you head back into the city's suburbs again.
Just after this point, the race goes onto a public walkway and heads back towards CIT....all pretty level and flat.
Overall.......A reasonable course on the western edge of the city with some modest hills in it. The hardest section is between miles 1 and 2. One of the main attractions of this race is the central location and ease of access for anyone living in or near Cork City.
