Cork079

Preview of the Rebel Run4Fun 5k race in Ballincollig.

Location...The race is in the western side of Ballincollig to the west of Cork City...

From the Ballincollig Bypass, take exit 2 and follow the road into the western side of Ballincollig...

After Coolroe Meadows, take a right at the T-junction and head into the town. Continue straight through the junction outside SuperValu...past the White Horse Bar and then turn left at this junction...

Registration is at the school shown below...

Our Lady of Good Counsel School

Course description from the organisers....The route for the 5k Series is on mixed terrain, starting on the road (approx 100metres) before entering the Regional Park from the Inishmore side. The remainder of the route will be on gravel paths, tarred paths, woodland trails so please be aware of this. There are some narrow points (over bridges) during the route through the Park but these will be clearly marked in advanced for participants on the day. Once participants enter the Regional Park they will complete two laps of the route before finishing.

Course Map...

Course description......The race starts near the school on a quiet straight section of road.

Not long after the start, you turn right into the Ballincollig Regional Park...

Once inside the park, it's a mixture of trails on compact gravel in open areas...

...on tarmac paths through wooded areas...

...and on paths alongside playing pitches...

Overall........Scenic and quiet course. Very fast start. Largely flat. Potential for some choke points along the course. Would probably be considered a fast 5k course.

Cork073

Preview of the Belle of Ballincollig 5k road race...

Location....Ballincollig is just a few miles to the west of Cork City...

Directions.......Refer to the course map below....From the main street in Ballincollig, turn in through the old gates of the fort...

You'll see the local Aldi shop on the left as you go in. After 100m, you take a right which takes you down to the Ballincollig GAA grounds...

Course map...

Course Profile...

 

Course description....This 5k road race starts and finishes near the Ballincollig GAA grounds...

There is a gradual uphill pull for about 500m but coming so early, it shouldn't be an issue. This will also result later in a very fast finish to the race.

At a junction at 500m, you turn right onto the Old Fort Road...

This next section of road is reasonably flat and at 700m, you pass a junction where you will be heading for home after taking in a small loop near Barracks Square...

At about the 1km mark, the road begins to drop away gradually and then at 1.4kms, you turn off right to begin the loop...

This next section of road is pretty flat as you pass Ballincollig Community School and at 2.2kms, you turn left and start a gradual climb which lasts for about 800m...

At 2.4kms, you turn left at the T-junction...

...and continue the gradual climb...

At around the 3km mark, the road levels off as you pass the Oriel House Hotel...

At 3.1kms, you turn left at the next junction...

.......and begin a short downhill section until it levels off at about 3.3ks where you complete the loop...

After a short flat section, you start the last hill at around 3.4kms...

This uphill section is short enough and only lasts for about 300m. At 3.9kms, you turn off right and begin the short loop...

As you can see above, there is a tiny pull as you run towards the 4km mark but it's very short. After running through this section with office blocks and apartment buildings, you return to the Old Fort Road at about 4.2 kms. From there, you run back towards the GAA grounds for a nice downhill finish.

Overall......A 5k race around Ballincollig. Some hills but none of them too severe. It's main attraction is probably the location and ease of access for a lot of people.

Cork042

Preview of the Ballincollig 5 mile road race...

Description....This the route used for the Cork BHAA Leisureworld 5 mile road race in Ballincollig.

Location...Balincollig is located about 4 miles or 6 kms west of Cork City

Directions.......The South Ring Road in Cork City will take you over the Bandon Road Roundabout and on to the Ballincollig Bypass. Follow the signposts for Ballincollig which should see you taking a left at the interchange shown in the map below...

After the interchange, you drive north towards Ballincollig for about 1 km until you come to the Killumney Link East Roundabout where you turn left onto the Killumney road...

 You then drive west for a few hundred metres before turning right at the next junction...

After another 400m or so, you'll see Supernova on the right hand side of the road. There is plenty of parking available there. This is the race HQ for the Cork BHAA Leisureworld race.

Map showing where everything is...As you can see, Supernova is located on a road linking the main road through Ballincollig to the Killumney road to the south.

The start and finish lines are just up the road.

Course profile...

Course map...

Course description...The map starts on the link road...

There is a slight pull but nothing too obvious. At 0.35 miles, you turn right at the junction...

As you head west, the road is reasonably flat until about 0.7 miles when it begins to go downhill. The drop is the steepest just before 0.9 miles when you turn left...

Once around the corner, the road continues to drop slightly as you pass the 1 mile mark...

...a fast opening mile.

From here, you leave the housing estates of Ballincollig behind as the road becomes more rural...

At 1.6 miles, you have a short climb as you cross a bridge over the Ballincollig Bypass...

View from the bridge looking east at the Ballincollig Bypass and the hill to the right that you will have to partially climb...

From the bridge, you drop down rapidly on the other side to a T-junction at 1.7 miles where you turn left...

Once you turn the corner, you start the hardest part of the course...a climb about 450 metres long...

This is quite testing at first but gradually eases off. No sooner will you reach the top at around 2.1 miles then the road begins to drop on the other side...

At 2.4 miles, you continue downhill as you pass the road junction by the Ballincolling Bypass interchange...

The road levels out at 2.6 miles at the next junction...

...where you continue straight on and cross over the bridge and take an immediate left...

You are now on what is the quietest and probably the nicest part of the course...

200m ahead, you have another climb...

........which is pretty short as you gain enough height to cross over the Ballincollig Bypass for the second time...

After a short rapid descent on the other side, the road narrows as you begin a gradual climb lasting about 400m. At 3.4 miles, you reach the top of this small hill.......

The drops slightly on the other side before you are into another short climb about 100m long at 3.6 miles...

.....and then becomes a lot more gradual. At 3.9 miles, you reach Clash Cross and you turn left and continue the gradual climb...

At the 4 mile mark, you cross over the road coming from the Ballincollig Bypass...

From here, the road is reasonably level until you reach the T-junction at 4.4 miles where you turn right...

Then it's downhill to the junction at 4.6 miles where you turn right and back onto the road where you started...

Overall......One of the main features of this 5 mile road race is it's proximity to Cork City and the ease of access from the South Ring Road and the Ballincollig Bypass. There are no shortage of hills along the course but only one is really bad but at least it comes reasonably early at 2 miles. As 5 mile courses go, it's on a par with a lot of them in terms of difficulty. Expect a reasonable time.