Location...Clogheen is a village in the south of County Tipperary at the base of the Knockmealdown Mountains. As can be seen from the map below, it is located between Mitchelstown and Clonmel on the R665 road.
Course Map...The 5 km course takes in a loop to the north of Clogheen.
Course Profile...The 5 km course can be broken up into a gradual uphill for the first half and a gradual downhill for the second
Entries...Registration is at the local community hall which is used to be an old church. This is located on a bend in the road in the centre of Clogheen.
As can seen from the photo below, the start and finish lines are just outside the community hall...
Course description...The race starts on the main street and heads east...
....across the bridge over the River Tar and up a slight hill out of the village...
After 500m, you begin the start of the loop to the north of Clogheen...
As you approach 800m or the half mile mark, you turn off left onto a narrow quiet country road..
This is the hardest part of the course. After a long straight stretch that rises gradually, it eases off around the one mile mark.
After this, things get a lot easier as the road levels off and the Galtee Mountains to the north-west come into view. Near the northern part of the loop, you come to several junctions where you keep going left.....at 1.4 miles...
...at 1.5 miles where you reach the highest part of the course...
...and at 1.6 miles. You now join the busier R668 road and head south for Clogheen.
You now begin a long straight fast section which is a gradual downhill. At 2.7 miles, you reach the end of the loop section as you turn right into Clogheen...
....and back down towards the bridge with a view of the Knockmealdown Mountains in the background...
The 3 mile mark is near the bridge and the finish line is outside the community hall.
Overall...A scenic 5 km course at the base of the Knockmealdown Mountains. Any climbs are gradual and in the first half. The second half of the race is very fast. A reasonably fast course.
