Location....Ballincollig is just a few miles to the west of Cork City...
Directions.......Refer to the course map below....From the main street in Ballincollig, turn in through the old gates of the fort...
You'll see the local Aldi shop on the left as you go in. After 100m, you take a right which takes you down to the Ballincollig GAA grounds...
Course map...
Course Profile...
Course description....This 5k road race starts and finishes near the Ballincollig GAA grounds...
There is a gradual uphill pull for about 500m but coming so early, it shouldn't be an issue. This will also result later in a very fast finish to the race.
At a junction at 500m, you turn right onto the Old Fort Road...
This next section of road is reasonably flat and at 700m, you pass a junction where you will be heading for home after taking in a small loop near Barracks Square...
At about the 1km mark, the road begins to drop away gradually and then at 1.4kms, you turn off right to begin the loop...
This next section of road is pretty flat as you pass Ballincollig Community School and at 2.2kms, you turn left and start a gradual climb which lasts for about 800m...
At 2.4kms, you turn left at the T-junction...
...and continue the gradual climb...
At around the 3km mark, the road levels off as you pass the Oriel House Hotel...
At 3.1kms, you turn left at the next junction...
.......and begin a short downhill section until it levels off at about 3.3ks where you complete the loop...
After a short flat section, you start the last hill at around 3.4kms...
This uphill section is short enough and only lasts for about 300m. At 3.9kms, you turn off right and begin the short loop...
As you can see above, there is a tiny pull as you run towards the 4km mark but it's very short. After running through this section with office blocks and apartment buildings, you return to the Old Fort Road at about 4.2 kms. From there, you run back towards the GAA grounds for a nice downhill finish.
Overall......A 5k race around Ballincollig. Some hills but none of them too severe. It's main attraction is probably the location and ease of access for a lot of people.
