Location...Shannonvale is a small village just a few kms to the north of Clonakilty in West Cork...
Shannonvale is just 1 km west of the N71 Bandon to Clonakilty road. If you are coming from the Bandon direction then turn right at the West Cork Business and Technology Park...
Race HQ is Phairs Pub at the crossroads in the centre of Shannonvale...
Course...The race course basically follows the valley of the Argideen River.
Profile...
Course description...The race starts about 600m to the south of Phair's Pub...
The first few hundred metres are pretty easy as the road is slightly downhill. At 0.7 miles, you join the R588 which is the road between Clonakilty and Enniskeane.
On this section, the road is dead straight and very slightly uphill until you turn off right at 1.3 miles...
You are now on another long straight section of road and there is a slight drop this time. You turn left at the next T-junction just after the 2 mile mark...
At 2.5 miles, you have the first real downhill section. The road drops down to cross a stream and back up the other side...all in the space of about 300m...
At 2.75 miles, you take a right at the next T-junction and rejoin the R588 road again...
Almost straight away, the road begins to drop away...
...until you cross over the Argideen River at the 3 mile mark...
On the far side, the road twists and turns as it rises gently. At 3.3 miles, you leave the R588 and turn right onto a quieter road...
The road is flat along here and you turn right at 3.5 miles on to an even quieter road...
Initially, this road is a long straight stretch with an uphill section at the end. This is probably the hardest part of the course as the road climbs past the 4 mile mark. At 4.9 miles, you take a right at the next crossroads...
From here, the road is reasonably level and has a short sharp uphill pull to the crossroads at 5.7 miles where you turn right...
The final 800m of the race is all downhill and very fast. Initially, it starts off with a gradual downhill as you approach the edge of Shannonvale...
...but soon, it turns into a much more rapid descent as you head towards the bridge over the Argideen Riven and the finish line...
Overall.....In an area with plenty of hills, this course has a lot of straight flat sections. The only real hill as such is around mile 4. Mostly on quiet country roads. As 10k courses go, it's pretty reasonable and you should expect to set a good time.
