Location...Kilworth is located about 4 kms to the north-east of the town of Fermoy...
Direction...Access is very easy. From the M8 motorway, take exit 14 which is just north-east of the town and follow the signposts for Kilworth.
Registration and race HQ is in the local community centre.
Course...The course is basically in the shape of a square and is 5kms long.
The 5k race starts in the village...
You pass the finish line and straight past the Square...
Another 100m and it's left in through a new estate...
At about the 600m mark, you're out onto another road and you head back in towards the heart of the village...
Just around the 0.5 mile mark as you approach the eastern side of the Square, you turn off right and head north out of the village...
This next section of road up to about the 1 mile mark is mostly level. Overall, a very fast opening mile.
As you approach the 1 mile mark, the road begins to rise and is the start of the most challenging part of the course. From about the 0.9 mile mark to about 1.3 miles....~600m in length....the road rises about 30 metres in height.
As soon as you reach the crossroads at 1.3 miles, you are at the highest point of the course. You turn left and the roads drops away gradually.
This next section of road which heads in a westerly direction is about 0.7 miles in length. It has a small climb but is mostly flat or gradually downhill with a net drop of about 10 metres. There are also some nice views to the south of Corrin Hill in the distance and the valley below...
At the end of this narrow road around the 2 mile mark, you come to a T-junction where you turn left...
This is the start of a long downhill section where you drop about 30 metres in height over the next 800m. The narrow is narrow with high hedgerows on both side. It is also probably the fastest part of the course.
At about 2.5 miles, you come out onto a larger road where you turn left.
From here, there is very gradual climb back into Kilworth itself. No more than maybe 10 metres in height over the last half a mile.
The finish line is just beyond where the race started.
Overall...After an initial small loop around the village, the 5k route is mostly on quiet country roads. Tough section just after the one mile mark. Lots of fast downhill running as well. The primary aim of the raise is to raise funds for a worthwhile local charity.
