Directions.....The town of Coachford is located about 15 miles west of Cork City. It is on the R618 road that runs along the north bank of the River Lee.
The race HQ is at the GAA grounds which is just to the south of the town.
The map below shows the relevant points. The start and finish lines are within 300m of the GAA grounds. Also shown in the map is the elongated loop which is near the end of the race.
Course.......The race starts near the GAA grounds...heads south nearly as far as the bridge over the reservoir before heading east to take in a triangular loop. It finishes with a small loop to the west of the town.
Profile...Most of the hilly sections are in the first 1.25 miles.
Course description...The race starts about 250m to the south of the GAA grounds....
Initially it's flat but after about 200m, the road begins to climb with an ascent of about 15-18 metres in elevation...
Coming so early in the race, this should be much of an issue especially as it is almost immediately followed by much the same drop on the other side.
At 0.6 miles before you get to the bridge over the estuary, you turn left onto a quiet country road...
Initially, the road is level but around 0.8 miles, you begin a gradual climb as you have to cross over the hill to the left...
This is easily the nicest section of the course as there are lovely views out over the reservoir and the Lee Valley...
At about 1.2 miles, the road levels off as you reach the top of the hill....
The road remains pretty flat for about 600m until it starts to drop again at about 1.6 miles.
At the halfway mark at bout 2.5 miles, you reach the T-junction where you turn left onto the R618 and head back towards Coachford...
Note that this can be a busy road so be aware of the traffic.
The next 1.5 miles back into Coachford are reasonably level. Just after the 4 mile mark, you reach the crossroads in the centre of the town. This is the start of the short section to the west...
Just beyond at about 4.2 miles is the start of the elongated loop....
As you head out, the road is level with some high ground on your left. At 4.5 miles, you come to the furthest point of the small loop and begin the return leg.
The road rises gently...levels off.....and then falls gently again. Then it's back to the centre of the town, right at the crossroads and down past the church to the finish line...
Overall.......Some hills but most of them are in the first 1.3 miles. Nice quiet country road from 0.6 miles to 2.5 miles. Reasonably close to Cork City & Ballincollig.
