Preview of the Bandon 5 mile road race...
Location...Bandon is about 20 miles to the south-west of Cork City...
Directions........If you are coming from Cork City......As you enter Bandon, take the relief road left at the first roundabout. Follow the directions for Clonakilty and this will take you to the local GAA grounds...see red dots on map below.
Entries....The local GAA grounds are the race HQ for this event. Parking, entries, refreshments and prize giving are there.
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| GAA grounds as seen from the relief road |
Course....The race course is basically made of three parts. The first two miles are largely downhill / flat and are very fast. The third mile is uphill and slow. The last two miles are downhill and fast again.
The race starts on the relief road to the south of the town. From the GAA grounds, it is approx. 700 metres. The start is on the highest part of the road and the first few hundred metres are flat...
Soon though, the road begins to drop away and this section is very fast...
....or as seen from the next road junction....You run down the hill and turn off left....
After a very slight climb, you drop down into the town and you cross over the Bridewell River, a tributary of the Bandon River, and then take a sharp left....
From here, you follow the river and take the next left and pass the entrance to the GAA grounds...
Just after this is the 2 mile mark. Again, another fast mile. Now for the tough part of the race. The third mile is mostly uphill and you are going to lose time here.
At about 2.6 miles, you turn off left and the hill gets easier...
...and by the time you reach the 3 mile mark, the road is largely flat. Easily the toughest mile of the race. From here, it is largely downhill all the way to the finish line. It starts with a good downhill gradient...
...and then eases off at the next road junction which you run straight through...
From here, you are running along a narrow quiet country road until you join another road which winds it's way though a wooded valley. Along here, you hit the 4 mile mark...a fast mile. From here, it is slightly downhill all of the way until the finish line at the next T-junction...
Overall......a race that can be broken down into three parts. It would probably be best to not run flat out for the first two miles and you should keep something in reserve. You are going to lose time on the hilly third mile and this is where the easier initial pace will pay off. The last two miles are downhill and fast. Anyone who still feels fresh at the 3 mile mark will be able to make up for it over the last two miles and spend the rest of the race passing all of those runners who went out too fast.
Post Race....The finish line is just over a mile from the GAA grounds so you can use this as part of your warm down. Note that following the race route through the town is the quickest route (1.18 miles) as opposed to running back up the relief road (1.42 miles).
Prize giving and plenty of refreshments (tea. sandwiches, etc) are available back in the GAA hall.
