Tipperary016

Preview of the Ballynonty 1 mile road race...

Location.....The village of Ballynonty is just 10.5 kms / 6.5 miles from the M8 motorway...

See map & photos below.....From the motorway, take exit 6....drive 800m to the T-junction in Horse & Jockey where you turn left...You are now on the old Cork-Dublin road. Drive up this road for 1.9 kms / 1.2 miles and take a right onto the L4101 (signposted for Killenaule which is just to the south of Ballynonty). Keep driving straight for 7.8 kms / 4.9 miles and you'll end up in Ballynonty.

Left at the T-junction in Horse & Jockey

Right at the next junction which is signposted for Killenaule

Closer look at Ballynonty....See map & photos below...

As you approach from the direction of the Horse & Jockey, you'll come to a crossroads in the village. Drive straight through and 140m on the left, you'll see the local community centre which is in an ordinary residential house. This is the race HQ.

View of the crossroads as you arrive from the direction of Horse & Jockey. Drive straight through.

Ballynonty Community Centre is 140m from the crossroads in the village

The finish line is just 400m from the Community Centre. Run back to the crossroads...left....over the bridge and then right...

The start line is of course 1 mile from here....or 2kms from the Community Centre. This is an ideal warm up for the race.

Course Map.......

Profile....

Note that the profile shows only about 25ft between the highest and lowest point. The slopes are very gentle which stretched out over a mile.

Course description.......The race starts in a straight section of road with the crossroads off in the distance...

The course is pretty flat initially but goes slightly downhill as you approach the crossroads ahead...

At the crossroads which is just shy of a quarter of a mile, you keep going straight ahead...

From the crossroads, you continue running downhill...

This soon levels off and then begins a gentle climb. The photo below shows a typical section of the course...nice quiet country road.

The finish line is near the 50kph signs before the junction ahead...

Overall........A reasonably fast 1 mile course. Quiet country roads.

Organised by Ballynonty AC, it is one of the few one mile races on the calendar.

Cork010

Preview of the Ballinhassig Straight Mile...


This one mile road race is on a quiet country road just to the south of Ballinhassig near Cork City.

Directions...Take the N71 road from Cork City for Bandon and turn off left for Ballinhassig.

Just as you enter the village, you will see the community hall (see inset pic)....turn right before this and drive south for about a mile.  You'll see the various cars parked near a road junction so you can't miss it.

Note that registration is usually at a car parked at the side of the road. There is no sports hall or anything like that.

Course...The course is almost dead straight and it can be broken up into three pieces....
1) Gradual downhill from the start to about 450 metres
2) Slight rise to about 900m
3) Slight downhill then to the finish line at 1609 metres or one mile.

Here are some photos of the course...

This one shows the start line with the line marked across the road. As you can see, it's a gradual downhill.

At 450 metres, the road levels out near this road junction. The road rises ahead but it really is a gentle gradient. The fact that you are no longer running downhill makes it feel just that little bit harder.

At the crest of the hill at about 900m, there is a very slight bend to the right and the last 700 metres can be seen ahead.

The finish line back near the road junction and the registration car.

Overall.......One of the very few mile races on the road in Munster. A low key event that usually attracts a small gathering with the proceeds going to charity.