Preview of the Bandon 10k road race...
The Bandon 10k orad race is organised in conjunction with the Bandon Half-Marathon usually held in May every year.
Race HQ is at the local Rugby club. This is located on the Clonakilty Road on the south-west side of the town...
If you are coming from Cork then just follow the signs for the N71 to Clonakilty. As you are leaving the town and it starts to become more rural, the Rubgy club is on the right, straight across the road from a Kia dealership....see pic.
The distance from the club grounds to the start of the Half-Marathon is about 600m. The 10k start is 800m to 1km away depending on which route you take. The short cut in the middle is through a car park of a pub....
The Bandon 10k course...The 10k route is basically a shorter version of the Half-Marathon in that it doesn't go so far west of the town.
The race starts roughly in this area...
...before going out to join the main road and then heading west....
The road from here to the 1 mile mark is almost dead straight and there is plenty of space to pass people out as the field begins to thin. At about 0.6 miles, the road kinks very slightly to the right...
From here, the road continues straight and then turns slightly again. Nothing really changes until you hit the turn off right at about 1.7 miles...
...and then it's onto nicer and quieter country roads. After a very short stretch, you come to the 2 mile mark. After this house below, the road climbs slightly...
....until you hit a crossroads around the 2.2 mile mark....
This is a significant point for both the 10k and Half-Marathon in that you will be running on this next section of road twice. As you can see from the picture above, on the way out you will be staying to the left and on the way back, you will be turning off left.
As the road flattens out again, you come to the 2.5 mile mark...
Here, you turn off left and it's a sharp but short climb. The road eases off again before you have to tackle another slight hill again on a long straight section. From the top of the hill, it's down rapidly to the 3 mile mark near the next crossroads...
Here, the 10k and Half-Marathon routes diverge. The Half-Marathon will continue straight ahead while the 10k runners will turn right.
Depending on your speed, you may meet runners from the Half-Marathon race here coming back and re-joining you along this stretch. The photo below shows the view from the crossroads...
Now the road rapidly descends to the 3 mile mark and the next junction...and then right...
...and then it's a case of an uphill climb again. Soon, you rejoin the piece of road where you turned off at 2.5 miles and then it's back to the crossroads. On the way out, it was at 2.2 miles, now it's 3.7m.
Now after turning off left onto a quiet road, you face another tough part of the course....
The ascent is roughly 25m over the next 900m or so. On the way uphill, you pass the 4 mile mark.
After a long climb, you hit the top of the hill around 4.6 miles with a golf course on both sides of the road...
After this, the road drops rapidly as you pass the 5 mile mark.
You continue the rapid descent and you end up next to the River Bandon. Here, the road flattens out before the last sting in the tail...another short climb. After this last testing section, you enter the outskirts of the town around the 5.5 mile mark...
The road now stretches straight ahead and you pass the 6 mile mark as you run downhill...
...allowing for a very fast finish.
Overall...probably not the fastest of 10k races. If you set a PB on this course then it's well earned. There are certainly a number of hills to deal with and the one around mile 4 is especially demanding.
From the finish line, it's 1.5 miles back to the Rugby grounds which would make for a warm down or else, you can take the shuttle bus that's provided.
