Location.......The venue for this race is the village of Twomileborris in the eastern part of Co.Tipperary.
Twomileborris is 7kms east of Thurles and is just 2kms from the M8 motorway.
Coming from the North on the M8, you can leave at Exit 5. Note there is no way of leaving Exit 5 if you are coming from the South.
Coming from the South, the easiest way is probably to leave at Exit 6 and go to the T-junction at the Horse & Jockey. Turn left and take the R639 which is the old Cork-Dublin road. From the centre of Littleton, the turn off left for Twomileborris is just under 5kms.
The race HQ is in the local community hall which is across the road from the church in the centre of the village...
The start line is about 900m from the community hall.
Course......The 7km course takes in a loop to the south of Twomileborris and crosses over the M8 motorway twice.
Profile.....
Course.......The start of the 7km race is on a narrow country road....dead flat and straight.
After 1km, you come to the first 'hill' but it just a short climb up to the bridge over the M8 motorway.
....and of course, it's downhill on the other side....
At 1.7kms, you turn left at the next T-junction....
There are some gentle climbs and drops along the next section but it's very minor. Nothing more than a few metres at most.
At 2.5kms, you join the old Cork-Dublin road and the road begins to climb gently.
Again, nothing too serious as you run inside the hard shoulder. The wide road reflects the fact that it was once a national road but with the advent of the motorway, the traffic along this road is pretty light.
At 5kms, you turn off left and head for Twomileborris...
After a straight and flat section, you have a short climb again as you cross over the M8 motorway again...
...with a downhill on the other side again.
At about 5.7kms, you come to what is the only real hill on the course. It's about 300m long and has an elevation gain of about 12m so it's not that serious.
At reaching the top of the hill at about 6kms, you're at the highest point on the course. Almost straight away, you start going gently downhill.
At 6.7kms, you're back into the middle of Twomileborris...
...past the church and community hall and onwards to the finish area...
Overall......Despite what the profile might suggest, it's a reasonably flat course. Looking the Ordnance Survey maps for the area, the lowest point of the course is probably around 115m asl and the highest is just over 130m i.e. there is no more than 15 metres between the highest and lowest parts of the course. The only real hill is about the 5.7km mark. Mostly quiet roads. Easy access due to its proximity to the motorway.
