Waterford006

Touraneena is just east of the R672 Dungarvan to Clonmel road. As you can see from the sign below, the junction on the R672 to turn off is 25 kms from Clonmel and 16 kms from Dungarvan.

From the south-west, it is just off the R671 Clashmore to Clonmel road. From Youghal, take the N25 to Kinsalebeg, and turn left (north) onto the R671 to Clonmel, and take a right turn about a mile past the old village of Millstreet (see photo above left).

Entries are taken at the nearby community centre. This race is usually organised by the Touraneena Racquetball club.

 Course Description.......The start of the race is up a narrow country road outside a graveyard...

You run back towards the village and after about 100 metres at the T junction, you turn right up a hill...steep at first but then begins to ease off...

 You run past the finish line and then through the rest of the village. The road continues to climb gently as you leave Touraneena and run into the countryside...

 At about 0.6 miles / 1 km, you take a right and the road continues to climb...

At about 1.1 miles / 1.9 kms, you join the R672 and the highest part of the course....a slow opening mile.

 At roughly the half-way mark at 1.6 miles / 2.5 kms, you go through this crossroads and continue gradually downhill..

 Eventually, the road levels off around 1.8 miles and even rises a bit around the 2 mile mark. Just after that, you turn right and leave the R672...

 The road continues to fall gradually....farmland on both sides early on and then becoming more wooded...

 At about 2.7 miles / 4.7 kms, you turn right at the next crossroads...

 From here, the course gets even faster. The roads drops sharply...eases off near this house...

...and then drops rapidly again. At the lowest point of the course, you cross over a bridge but then there is a very steep climb...

It's quite short but it's a real beauty ;o)

In the photo above, the building in the distance is at the junction which is just after the start of the race. As you go through the 3 mile mark, the gradient eases and the finish line is straight ahead outside the church...

Overall........Starts with 1.1 miles of gradual uphill followed by 1.6 miles of gradual downhill...then a rapid descent followed by one of the toughest finishes in any local race. Lots of fast sections in this race but it's probably the finish that you'll remember.

Tipperary008

Preview of the Clogheen 5 km road race...

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.

Tipperary002

Preview of the Faugheen 5k road race...

Directions.......Faugheen is a very small village located to the north of the town of Carrick-on-Suir in S.Tipperary. It is located less than a mile off the R697 road which goes from Carrick-on-Suir to Kilkenny.

If you arrive in Carrick-on-Suir then follow the N24 road. In the centre of the town at the Garda station, take the R697 north. This will be signposted for Kilmaganny.

Keep the park on your right hand side. You then need to take the left at this junction below. Again, it's signposted for Kilmaganny.

From the junction above, it's 3.3 miles / 5.3 kms to the tun off for Faugheen. Look for the left hand turn which is on a wide sweeping bend to the right...

From here, it's about 1 km to Faugheen. Follow the directions for parking.

Course Preview....The race route is in the shape of a triangle. This is the same route as used by the famous Faugheen 50 Motor bike circuit...

As you can see from the map above, it's basically 1.5 loops of a circuit which is just over two miles in length. The start line is located about 0.9 miles from the village itself, ideal as part of the warm up for the race itself.

The race starts on a narrow country road...

Within 200 metres, you turn left on to the road head back towards the village...

One aspect of this course is that any hills that are present are very short and are very minor. This is the view as you approach Faugheen...

At the junction near the church, you take a left first time around. This is about the 0.9 mile mark. When you come to this junction for the second time, it will be just after the 3 mile mark and you'll be turning right towards the finish line.

Around the one mile mark at the western end of the village...a long straight road ahead...

At the end of the straight stretch at about 1.5 miles, you take a left on to a narrow road...

Pretty soon, you encounter another 'hill' if you could call it that. As you can see from the photo below, it's a small drag about 100 metres long....a very minor affair.

On the other side, the road opens up again for a long straight flat section. You're roughly at about the 1.7 mile mark here.

From there, you run back through where the race started and then back towards the village again. Right at the junction shown earlier and the finish line is near Flemings pub...

Overall.......It should be a very fast course. Any hills are very small and there is plenty of gradual downhill running to make up for any time lost. Nice 5k race on quiet country roads.

Kerry007

Preview of the Killarney 5 km race

(Organised by Gneeveguilla AC as part of their 5k Spring Series. Updated for 2015)

Directions...Each race in held in the Demesne at the western side of Killarney...

If you're not sure of the exact location then the easiest way to get there is from the Bypass which runs to the north of the town itself. The most westerly junction on the Bypass is the Ballydowney Roundabout. Take the 2nd left here and head south...

After 600 metres on the Port Road, the Old Monastery is on the left just after the next junction...

If you are coming from the other direction i.e. the South...then the Old Monastery is about 200m after the Cathedral. See course map below for a clearer view.

Registration at the Old Monastery

Course Map...

The race starts on a quiet path near the children's playground...

After a few hundred metres, you'll pass Deenagh Lodge...

From here, the path starts to go downhill with a backdrop of the Reeks in the background...

This downhill section at about 0.5 miles is the fastest section of the course. The key here however is that you don't need to run back up it later. i.e. The course has a slight net drop which means it's very fast.

At the bottom of the hill, you come to a crossroads. This is where the race will finish later.

The course now levels off with more views of the mountains...

At 0.8 miles, you cross over a small bridge and continue straight ahead.

At about the one mile mark, you come to the start of the small loop on the course. Right for now.....

At about 1.8 miles as you approach Ross Castle, you turn left into the car park and out onto Ross Road.

At 2.3 miles, you turn left off Ross Road and head for home.

After completing the small loop, you head back towards the small crossroads and the finish line before you climb the hill.

The course....Essentially it's a very scenic and fast 5k course set in Killarney National Park, a course  that most towns in Ireland would love to have. Suitable for runners of all abilities...from serious to joggers. People come from all over the world to visit this location. If it's on your doorstep then make the most of it.