Directions...
From the N20 Cork to Mallow/Limerick Road:
Exit for Blarney (R617) and drive through village and onto Tower. At the next T-junction, you'll come to Cloghroe Church. Turn right onto the R579 for Kanturk and turn off left at Blairs Inn. Continue up the hill for 1 mile until you arrive at Inniscarra Community Centre.
Blairs Inn...turn off left here
From the N22 Ballincollig By-Pass / Cork to Killarney Road:
Follow the signs for Banteer / Kanturk R579. Having passed the Anglers Rest Pub take the road straight ahead for Kanturk R579. Follow the road for 7.6km passing through Cloghroe. Turn left at Blairs Inn passing the pub on your right hand side and continue up the hill for 1 mile until you arrive at Inniscarra Community Centre. There is plenty of parking available inside the grounds.
Inniscarra Community Centre
The start of the race is just a short distance away from the GAA Grounds / Community Centre...
Initially, it's very fast as you run steeply downhill but this changes very quickly as the road begins to climb just before the turn off left....
Once around the corner, the road continues to climb until roughly the half-mile mark when it eases off. A tough start but at least it's the worst hill out of the way.
From here, the road climbs but at a much more gentler pace. Eventually you come to the 1 mile mark...probably the toughest mile of the race but coming early on, it's not too bad.
The section between one and two mile marks is reasonably flat on a quiet road...
...it should be a fast mile.
At around the 2.3 mile mark, you come into the tiny village of Berrings...
You turn off left here and straight into the second hill. While it's steep, it's not very long. After this, the road flattens out again and starts to drop as you approach the 3 mile mark...a slow mile due to the hill.
From here, the road drops downhill until you join the lower road and start heading east towards the finish. With about 600 metres to go, the road drops rapidly...
...before the last and final uphill section to the finish line...
Overall....Probably not the fastest of 4 mile courses with the three short uphill sections but it's a nice quiet spot for a race. The course is on country roads with very little traffic and yet is still very close to Cork City.
