Race HQ is at the Macroom Community Leisure Centre which is inside the entrance to the grounds of Macroom Castle. The entrance gate is shown below...
Course map...
Course profile....
Course description....The 5k starts outside Macroom Motors at the eastern end of the town....
There is a gradual climb as you run through the town but it's really not that much of a gradient. At about the 0.5 mile mark, you pass the fork near the finish line...
The levels off and you pass the entrance to Macroom Castle grounds at about 0,6 miles...
The road now drops rapidly to the river...
Over the bridge over the Sullane River and then right onto a flat section of road...
Soon, it narrows and begins to climb until you reach 0.9 miles where you turn off right....
You are now on a small narrow road that runs around to the north of the town. The road is quite narrow in parts as you pass the 1 mile mark...
The next mile is mostly flat with the occasional small climb and drop. It is mostly narrow with an odd house...
Near the 2 mile mark, you pass the Bealick Mill. Built in the early 19th century, a water powered electricity generator was installed in 1899. Macroom was one of the first towns in Ireland to have street lighting and continued to supply the town’s street lighting until the advent of the ESB in 1935.
After the mill, it's over the River Laney....
.........and right at the T junction....
The next 200m are relatively flat until you turn right at the next junction at 2.2 miles.....
This next section is the hardest part of the course as you cross over the next bridge and run uphill to join the main Cork- Macroom road. It is however only about 300m long.
View as you cross the bridge and begin the climb. It's right at the end and up the slip road to join the main road...
At 2.4 miles, the road levels off and then drops rapidly to the eastern edge of the town and the start line outside Macroom Motors...
From there, it's back up through the town and left at the fork to the finish line.
Overall......A 5k that should be of interest to runners in Cork and Kerry alike with proceeds going to a cancer charity. Only one real hill of note. One of the few races in this part of the county.
