Location.......Bruff is a small town in the south-east of Co.Limerick.
It is approx 14km east of Croom, 9km north of Kilmallock and 9km west of Hospital which is on the R513 Mitchelstown - Limerick road..
Course......Race HQ is at the local GAA club.
Profile.......Although in reality, the gradients are much more gradual than the profile below would suggest.
Race HQ......Bruff GAA grounds...
Course description......The race starts about 200m east of the GAA grounds. The road is nice and wide so there should be no delays getting underway.
From there, it's past the GAA grounds and then the road drops as you approach the T-junction in the centre of the town at about 0.4 miles. Here you turn left as you pass the prominent mural (see end of page).....
This is another view of that junction. The road drops as you arrive at the t-junction and continues to fall once you turn the corner....
About 200m later, the road bottoms out around the 0.5 mile mark where you turn left at the church...
After a short flat section of about 70m, you turn left again.....
From here, you follow the river for a short while before beginning the gradual climb....and it really is very gradual. You gain about 15m in elevation over 2km which is very modest.
This is the view around 1.5 miles....
At 1.9 miles, you turn left at the crossroads and the very gradual climb continues...
You reach the 2 mile mark near where the road takes a sharp left and then right. The highest point in the course is just after this. This is the view after the highest point....a slightly quieter and narrower road than before.
This next section is is for the most part relatively flat or slightly downhill. Again...no sudden climbs or drops which should make for fast running. This is the view as you cross the small river at 3.3 miles...
At 3.5 miles, you reach a T-junction where you turn left. You are now joining the R516 road from Hospital...
The next section is again largely flat with a small pull just after you reach the edge of the town around 4.8 miles....
From there, it's past the start line and on to the finish line near the GAA grounds.
Overall.......A nice 5 mile course on country roads in the south-eastern part of Co.Limerick. Any climbs are very gradual. Probably one of the fastest 5 mile courses in the county.
Additional info.......
The large mural commemorates the 400th anniversary of the ‘Flight of the Earls 1607’. The main image represents the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell leaving for Spain along with many of their followers. The portrait is Hugh O’Neill (Earl of Tyrone) and below is Brú na nDéise, the Irish name for Bruff. The two larger crests on the lower part represent Hugh O’Neill (2nd Earl of Tyrone) on the left and Hugh Roe O”Donnell (1st Earl of Tyrconnell) to it’s right.
This mural was commissioned by the City of Limerick Council in conjunction with Bruff Historial Society and was completed in September 2007.
