Tipperary005

Preview of the Poulmucka 8 km road race.....

Directions.......Poulmucka is located about 5 miles to the north-west of Clonmel in S.Tipperary.

From the N24 road running from Cahir to Clonmel, look for the turn off for Newinn and Cashel (R687)...

Turn off 2.2 miles from the roundabout on the western side of Clonmel

Poulmucka is located on the R687, about 2.4 miles from the junction above.

The village itself is no more than a pub and a few houses...

Course Preview....The 8 km route takes in a triangular loop to the north-west of Poulmucka...

There are also some hills along the route with the most serious climb around 2.5 miles / 4 kms...

The race start at the entrance to Poulmucka, about 150 metres from the crossroads in the village...

Once you enter Poulmucka, you pass where the race will finish and you begin a short climb of about 300m...

At the top of the climb...about 0.3 miles, the road drops away very gradually...

The road stays relatively flat as you pass the road junction at 0.5 miles. This is the start of the loop to the north-west...

At 0.7 miles, you start another climb but this time, it lasts for about 400 metres and it's tougher than the previous one...

You pass the summit of the hill around the 1 mile mark, a tough enough opening mile. On the other side, there is a long descent which should be very fast...

The road begins to level off but it's fast all the way to the 2 mile mark...a very fast mile.

At Whitelands Cross at 2.2 miles, you leave the R687 and turn off right on to a quiet country road. This is the lowest part of the course...

Initially, the road begins to climb very gradually as you approach two sharp bends...

...but at 2.5 miles, you can see the climb ahead....

The worst part of the climb comes early on but becomes a lot more gradual as you approach the 3 mile mark...

Just after this, you turn right at the next road junction. The road is still narrow and drops slightly. At 3.3 miles, the road rises ahead again but it's a pretty modest climb...

At about 3.5 miles, the road levels off and stays more or less flat for most of the next 800 metres...

After 4 miles, the course drops away slightly...

At 4.5 miles, you reach the junction with the R687 and the end of the loop...

From here, there is a very slight climb before the rapid descent to the finish line outside Moloney's Bar in Poulmucka...

Overall......An undulating 8 km course in the countryside of Co.Tipperary. A mixture of slow and fast miles on mostly quiet country roads. The hills are reasonably modest so you should be able to still post a good time.

Cork072

Preview of the Crosshaven 8 km road race...

Location...Crosshaven is located about 11 miles to the south of Cork City. From the South Ring Road going around to the south of Cork City, follow the signs for Carrigaline and then Crosshaven.

Crosshaven in more detail....As you enter Crosshaven from the Carrigaline road, you pass the RCYC Yacht Club. Closer to the main square, you'll be directed to parking. Race HQ is at the local Pipers Amusement grounds.

Course map...

Course description...The race starts in the square in the centre of Crosshaven. The first 1.4 kms is the toughest part of the course as you run up towards the fort in Camden. After the turn around, it's a rapid descent back to the square and the the start of an out and back section along the walkway to Carrigaline.

In more detail....The race starts in the square and run up the road to Camden past Cronins pub...

After 500m, you come to a crossroads. On the way up, you continue straight ahead. On the way back, you turn right down towards the boat yard...

At 1.4 kms, the turn around point near Camden Fort with a magnificent view out over Cork harbour...

Once you turn around, you have a very fast descent back to the crossroads and then right...down the hill to sea level where you turn left and run past the boat yard at about 2.5 kms...

As you get closer to the square in Crosshaven, you pass Pipers Fun Fair at 2.8 kms...

After running back through the square, you head out on the start of the next out and back section...

 For the next km, you run on roads and after the Yacht Club, you run on the walkway...

At about 4.9 kms, the road and path turn a corner and you hit the turn around point at about the 5.4 km mark...

From there, you turn around and head back towards Crosshaven....past the Yacht Club....and back to the finish line in the square.

Overall.....Tough start with a climb for about 1.4 kms. After that, it's downhill and flat. A stunning spot for a race on a sunny evening.

Cork033

Preview of the GR8KM road race in Mitchelstown, NE Cork...

This new course was introduced in 2017

Location...Mitchelstown is located just off the M8 Cork to Dublin motorway and is easily accessible...

Directions........If you are coming from the direction of Cork City, leave the motorway at exit 13 and head into the town on the old Dublin road.

 As you enter the town proper, you come to this crossroads with traffic lights where you turn right...

 Just 100m later, you turn left....look for the signs for the Tesco shopping centre...

 Race HQ is at the new Mitchelstown Leisure Centre which is located beyond Tesco down this road.

Course......This is the new course from 2017 onwards. The race starts and finishes near the Leisure Centre.

Profile......

Course Description...The race starts on a small quiet country road just a few hundred metres from the Mitchelstown Leisure Centre.

As can be seen from the photo below which is around the 200m mark, it''s a very fast start with a gradual downhill.

As you get closer to the 1km mark, you turn off left onto another quiet road...

This section is still pretty fast and at around the 2km mark, you exit onto a larger road and start a really fast downhill run...

At about 2.5kms, the road levels off and then you cross over the M8 motorway at 2.6kms...

Almost straight away, you turn off left onto a quieter road...

You now start a gradual uphill section and this end at about 4.4kms with a crossroads in the shape of an X. You take the first left...

From here, you start another long stretch of fast running with long straight sections that go gradually downhill...

At about 6kms, the road levels off and at about 6.kms, you cross over the M8 motorway as well.

At the other side, you pass the 7km mark and then run the last km to finish in the outskirts of the town...

Overall......The new course introduced in 2017 returns to its original route with plenty of fast running on nice country roads but avoids the busier roads through the town. As courses go, it pretty fast and of course, it's easy to get to due to its proximity to the M8 motorway.