Location...Garryvoe is located in East Cork
Directions.....Coming from Cork City, there is a choice of two routes. Normally the easiest way to get there is probably to drive on the N25 as far as Castlemartyr and then head south via Ladysbridge. There are often traffic bottlenecks in Castlemartyr so going via Cloyne and Shanagarry might be the best option.
Route......This is the 5km route to the north of Garryvoe. It is held on part of the Shanagarry 5 mile race course which runners might be familiar with.
Profile.....The course starts off pretty flat, has a tough 800m section in the middle which is followed by a lot of downhill running.
Course description........The Garryvoe 5k race starts and finishes near the Garry Hotel next to the strand.
At the first T-junction, runners turn right. As you can see from the arrows, this is also the last sharp bend for the finish.
The course then runs past some holiday homes as it follows the coast. At about 600m, it turns sharply inland and at about 800m or half a mile, you leave the mobile homes behind. This is the view...narrow country country and reasonably flat.
The road rises gradually but is very gentle until the one mile (1.6km) mark...a very fast opening mile.
After the 1mile mark, the road gets gradually steeper. At about 1.8kms, you begin the start of an 800m section which is the hardest part of the course.
At 1.3 miles / 2kms, you turn left at a t-junction and then continue uphill...
At about 1.5 miles / 2.4kms, you reach the highest part of the course which is about 55 metres above sea level. From here, there is a great view of Ballycotton Bay and the lighthouse.
The second half of this course is extremely fast.
It starts with a short downhill section followed by a short rise. This is followed immediately by another downhill section to the crossroads near the 2 mile / 3.1km mark.
Many of you may be familiar with this crossroads as it's at the top of the long climb out of Garrvoe in the Shanagarry 5 mile road race. In the Garryvow 5k race, you turn left here and down that hill.
This long downhill section is a gradual descent and this results in very fast running. It's not like a steep downhill where you spend a lot of your time braking and trying to slow down.
The finish is back near the start line in Garryvoe, close to sea level.
Overall.......Nice quiet country roads. Flat start, tough 800m section in the middle with a long fast downhill finish.
