Although it is advertised as Munsters Premier 4-Mile Road Race, it is in reality a 3.9 mile charity walk/run with a road race at the front of it. Somewhere in the region of 10,000 women take part in this event.
Map of the course...The race takes place in the eastern part of Cork City.
Overview of Start / Finish area...The mini-marathon starts on the Centre Park Road, about 150 metres from the Victoria Road roundabout. The finish line is about 300m from the same roundabout, just next to Kennedy Park. Note that walkers and non-competitive runners are placed in a holding area before the start. Faster runners who must obtain a tag in advance can warm up near the start line.
Course description...The start of this race is on the Centre Park Road near this junction...
Initially the road may seem quiet wide but with 10,000 or so people taking part, it quickly fills up.
The road for the first mile is more or less dead flat. Initially, the route is through an industrial area and then passes into an area covered by trees...
At 0.8 miles, you reach the River Lee and the start of the Marina...
You reach the one mile mark near Pairc Ui Chaoimh, the GAA stadium.
The road is quite narrow here but it is probably the nicest part of the course. The Maria is lined with trees and there is a view to the left out over the River Lee as it leaves the city.
The Marina itself is dead flat and this is the view around the 1.6 mile mark...
At around the 2 mile mark, you encounter the only real hill on the route. It's only about 200 metres long but it can be quite testing if you are a beginner.......
Start of the only real hill near the 2 mile mark
Once you pass St.Michael's church at 2.1 miles, the road begins to level off...
At 2.2 miles, you cross over the old railway line to Crosshaven and the road is level for the next 600 metres...
The road begins to go gradually downhill at about 2.5 miles...
The bottom of the hill is at a road junction at 2.6 miles in Ballintemple...
After this, there is a very slight uphill pull pas the AIB bank and post office until you turn right at 2.8 miles...
This residential road is initially flat but there is a sharp drop about 100 metres long around the 3 mile mark...
At the junction at the bottom of the hill...
Finish line at about 3.9 miles near Kennedy Park...
Overall....A reasonably fast course with one serious hill around the two mile mark.
Experienced fast runners should make sure that they get a tag to start near the front.
Beginners or anyone whose limit is near 4 miles should start slow and go easy up the steep hill. A cautious approach will pay off in the last two miles in the race.
