Location....This 5 km race is located in the countryside a few miles to the south-west of Cork City on the Waterfall to Crossbarry road.
The easiest way to get to Gogginshill from the city is via Waterfall....
The turn off for Waterfall is about 300m north of the Bandon Road Roundabout. If you are coming from the direction of CUH then take the right at the fork in the road...
About 2.5 miles beyond Waterfall, you take a left at a crossroads...
Gogginshill National School is just a short distance down this road on the right.
Course map...
Course profile....
Course description...
The race starts at the crossroads just to the north of Goggins Hill School on the Waterfall to Crossbarry road...
The road climbs very slightly and then turns off left after about 500m onto a quiet and narrow country road...
This country road starts off dead straight and slightly downhill. At about 0.6 miles, the road bottoms out and there is a gradual climb on the other side...
Around the 0.8 mile mark, you reach the highest part of the course as the view to the south opens up...
From here, the road begins to drop gradually with plenty of fast running as you through the one mile mark. At about 1.2 miles near this farmhouse below, the downhill gradient gets more pronounced...
One part of the course that is of particular interest is the 'dip' around the 1.4 mile mark. As you can see from the photo below, the road drops rapidly to a point where it crosses a stream and then rises as sharply on the other side...
It doesn't however last too long...more of a short sharp shock.
After the climb, the road levels off and there is a great view to the south...
The road is still relatively flat until about 1.8 miles when the road drops away again...
Near the two mile mark, you turn off left at the next junction and head north...
The next section is the hardest part of the course as there is quite a steady climb straight off from the junction but it gradually eases off at 2.3 miles. At 2.7 miles, you pass the local church...
Up ahead at the 3 mile mark, the course goes into another 'dip'. It isn't as deep as the earlier one but is still a challenge near the end of the race. As you can see in the photo below, the school can be seen in the distance with the finish line outside it.
Overall.......Probably not a course for personal best times. Close to Cork City so its easy to get to for a lot of people. Nice quiet rural course.
