Kerry012

Preview of the Kenmare 5km road race

This is one of the few road races in the South Kerry region.

The headquarters for this race is at the local community centre shown on the map below...

Course......

The 5k race starts outside the Sheen Falls Lodge which is approx. 1.4 miles from the Community Centre. Transport is provided but it's likely that most runners would use this as part of the warm up routine for the race.....

Start of the 5k race

The start area of the race is shown above with the first bridge of the course just beyond. This is the view to the right as you go up and over the bridge....a really quiet tranquil area...

...with a picture postcard view to the left of the falls...

From here, you are running on a narrow section of road that is often covered by trees and occasionally opens up to reveal views of the mountains in the distance...

It's all pretty flat so should be pretty fast. At about the one mile mark, you come to a junction where you join the 10k course....

From here, it's flat until you go over another humpback bridge at roughly 1.2 miles...

From here, the road rises slightly to join the main road around the 1.5 mile mark. The main road into Kenmare is reasonably flat and is slightly downhill as you enter the town. The finish line is about 200 metres beyond the Lansdowne Arms Hotel...

Overall....It's a stunning location for a race and it's a pretty fast 5k course.