The village of Killeagh is located in east County Cork on the N25 Cork-Waterford road. It is approximately 32 kilometres from Cork city and 10 kilometres west of Youghal.
The race HQ is at the Killeagh GAA grounds where there are changing and shower facilities. The entrance is where the 4 mile mark is shown on the map below.
As you approach Killeagh from Cork City / Midleton, the N25 road goes over an old railway bridge. About 100 metres after this, you take the first left...at the graveyard...see below...
After about 400m on this narrow road, you come to the entrance to the GAA grounds on the right...
The 4 mile course takes in a loop to the west of Killeagh. The first two miles are on the Killeagh - Mogeely road while the return journey is a much quieter narrow road.
This is the profile of the course. It can be broken down into three thirds. The first third is mostly uphill, the second third is mostly downhill and the last third is mostly flat.
Course description......Note that on the map showing the location of the GAA grounds, there is a small path going from the grounds and through a local housing estate. You can use this to get to the start line, there is no need to go out to the main road.
The 4 mile course starts close to the main road. As you can see below, it's pretty flat.
After about 400m, you reach the edge of Killeagh and begin a gradual climb...
After about 800m, you come to the junction shown below. It kind of shows what the hill is like. The road up to the right shows the climb out of the valley whereas the actual course which is straight ahead skirts the lower slopes of the hill. There is some climbing but nothing major.
At about 0.7 miles, you have done most of the climbing and now there are some gentle rises and falls as the road follows the contours of the side of the hill. At about 1.4 miles, you reach the highest point of the course near this junction......
After this, there is a nice fast downhill section...
Near the 2 mile mark, you leave the Mogeely road and turn off left onto a narrow country road...
As you can see, it's pretty narrow and slightly downhill. One of the features you will notice along the route is the prominent water tower which is shown below on the left. This can be seen from several points along the course.
The corner at about 2.3 miles and about as close as you'll get to the tower. The road after this is pretty flat.
Bend at 2.6 miles....perfect road for a road race...nice and quiet....
At about 3.1 miles, you come to what was an old railway crossing. The Cork to Youghal railway line opened in 1860 and regular passenger services ran on it until February 1963. In the following 19 years, it was used for occasional summer excursions and goods traffic. It closed in August 1982.
After this, it stays pretty flat. After a dog bend at 3.4 miles, the course turns north-east and at 3.8 miles, you cross the old railway line again.
After going up and over the bridge, you'll see Killeagh in the distance...
The finish line is at the entrance to the GAA grounds. Once you see the 60kph signs in the distance then you'll know the finish line is just beyond it.
Overall......Some climbing early on but at least it's in the initial stages when you're not tired. Plenty of downhill and flat running. It should be a pretty fast 4 mile course. The last two miles of the course are on nice quiet country roads.
