This race in the town of Cobh is organsed by the local club...Ballymore Cobh AC
Location...The town of Cobh is located about 15 miles to the south-east of Cork City. Well signposted (exit 3) from the E30 / N25 Cork to Waterford road. There is also a cross harbour car ferry from Glenbook (between Passage West and Monkstown) for those traveling from the south-west.
Course Map......The 3k course itself is relatively flat, runs East-West and avoids the hills in the town. The race starts on Lynch's Quay and then runs west. At about 400m, it passes the finish line and the remaining 2.6kms is an out and back section.
Course in more detail....The race starts on Lynchs Quay next to the harbour...
At about 120m, you pass the old town hall and onto West Beach Road which is the main road along the seafront of the town...
At 200m...nice and flat...
At about 480m, you pass the Commodore Hotel....
At 570, you take the slip road to the left past the Sirius Arts Centre and down a slight slope...
From here on, you should be aware that runners will be kept to the right of the road to avoid faster runners coming back the same road.
At 670m, you pass the Heritage Centre and the wharf where many cruise ships make a call...
750m....the entrance to the Railway Station with the road dead flat...
At the 1km mark, you pass the Garda station...
The course is mostly made up of long straight sections of road. The exception is at about 1.15kms where the road bends to the left and then to the right...
Once around the corner, you're onto a long straight section. There is a very gradual uphill rise here. As you can see in the photo below, the railway track is nearly level with the road at the start of this straight section. The far end is level with a bridge which crosses over the tracks.
At 1.69kms, you reach the turn around point before you reach the road junction and railway bridge ahead...
From there, you run back down the straight section but with the harbour on your right this time. You pass the 2km mark along here...
Then it's past the two bends...past the Garda station...and past the railway station again...
After you pass the Heritage Centre again, there is a slight climb and you pass the Sirius Arts Centre at about 2.8kms....
From here, it's about 200m down a slight slope to the finish line outside the Titanic Experience building.
Overall...A fast 3k course. It's hard to say that there are any real hills as they are very small indeed. You certainly wouldn't expect to lose time on any of them. Nice location with views out over outer Cork harbour.
