Limerick017

Preview of the Tournafulla Wind Farm 5k & 10k...

Directions​: The Wind farm run will be signposted from Templeglantine Village on From Newcastle West​: On the N21 approaching Templeglantine Village take the first left towards the GAA field. At the GAA field turn right and continue straight on up towards the top of the hill, the Wind Farm entrance will be on your left.

From Abbeyfeale​: On the N21 drive past Templeglantine Village take the last right hand turn towards the GAA field before the 100km speed limit. At the GAA field turn right...

...and continue straight on up towards the top of the hill, the Wind Farm entrance will be on your left.

5km route...

10km route...

Overall......A unique race through a wind farm in West Limerick.

Limerick016

Preview of the Castlemahon 10k...

Castlemahon is located just to the South-East of Newcastle West in Co.Limerick...

As you can see, it is very close to Newcastle West and is just off the R522 road which goes to Dromcolligher.

The race HQ is the new Community Hall which is located next to the primary school. The course is designed so that neither the start or finish lines are too far from the hall.

Course......The 10k race takes in a loop to the south-east and one notable feature is just how flat it is. The maximum change in elevation is about 40 feet or 12 metres which is very small over a 10km course.

Profile....

Photos to follow.....

Course description.....The 10k starts on the road linking the village of Castlemahon to the R522...

After about 800m / 0.5 miles, you come to a crossroads with the R522 where you turn left...

One unusual feature of the course is just how straight the roads are. From the crossroads at 0.5 miles, it is almost dead straight for 1.5 miles. Along the way, there are some small dips like this one just after the 1 mile mark...

At about 2 miles, the straight road ends as you approach the turn off to the left ahead...

At about 2.2 miles, you cross over a bridge on a bend and take a left....

The road becomes narrower and quieter but still remarkably straight...

At 3.6 miles, you pass the local GAA grounds...

At about the 4 mile mark, you come to a T-junction where you turn left and head for Castlemahon...

The next mile is dead straight again and the section between miles 5 and 6 has some bends. All the while, the course remains pretty flat. Near the 6 mile mark, you approach the 50kph speed signs which show the village is getting close...

After another 400m, you'll see the finish line near the local church...

Overall........A very fast 10km course in West Limerick. Pretty flat with loads of straight sections.

Limerick014

Preview of the Adare 10k road race...

The Adare 10k road race is organised by West Limerick AC and is held in February every year.

Location.....Adare is located on the N21 from Limerick to Rathkeale.

Everything is centrally located in the heart of Adare. There is a car park about 100m from the small roundabout in the centre of the village. Race HQ is at Adare Village Hall. This about 200m from the parking area and the start/finish area is about 500m from the hall.

This is the iconic Adare Community Hall which runners register on the morning of the race. Post race refreshments will also be here.

This is a map of the course which takes in a loop to the west of Adare...

Course description.......The race starts about 500m from the race HQ on a flat and straight section of road.

After 300m, you come to the small roundabout where you turn right...

Adare Village Hall is located on a fork in the road. Here, you take a right....

After a series of one off houses, you're into the countryside proper pretty soon.

At about 1.4 miles / 2.3kms, you cross over the now defunct railway line from Limerick to Foynes which closed in 2001. This point is just 12 miles from Limerick City by the old rail route.

Along this next section, there is a small drag. The thing about the course is that there are no big hills as such. The difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points on the course is only about 15 metres so any hills you do come across as pretty short.

At 2.4 miles / 3.8 miles, you turn right at a small crossroads...

At 2.4 miles / 4kms, you pass Shountrade National School...

At about 3.7 miles / 6kms, you come to possibly what is the hardest part of the course. There is a short pull up to the T-junction shown below and this is followed by another climb. As before though, it's reasonably short and you've plenty of downhill after it.

At 4.1 miles / 6.6 kms, you come to a fork in the road where you take the right and onto a long straight section as you head back towards Adare.

At about the 6 mile / 9.6km mark, you cross over the old railway again which is now 11 miles from Limerick.

After one more bend, it straight and flat all the way to the finish line which is near where you started.

Overall.......Nice 10k course on quiet country roads to the west of Adare. Some pulls but they're short enough. A very popular race with a long tradition that attracts a lot more than the usual 10k race. Expect to run a reasonably fast 10k time.