Waterford012

Preview of the Waterford Half-Marathon (December)...

Organised by Waterford Athletic Club. Usuually held on the first Saturday of December every year.

Race website.... http://www.waterfordachalf.com/

Location.....Race HQ is at the WIT Sports Campus. This is located just off the N25/E30 road which passes Waterford to the north-west. Just follow the signposts for Waterford as shown below.

Once you leave the N25, take the 2nd exit at the West Campus Roundabout...see map above and photo below...

Course map.....

More details to follow......

Kerry006

Preview of the Dingle Half-Marathon / Marathon...

Location.......Dingle is located in Co.Kerry in the South-West of Ireland

Course map......Both the half and full Marathon start in the town of Dingle. Half-Marathon runners finish in Dunquin and return to Dingle by bus. The full Marathon runners continue on and run back to Dingle.

Course profile.....There are a number of hills to be tackled in the first half. The most difficult part of the full Marathon is the steep climb around the 22 mile mark.

Course description.........Both the half and full Marathon start in the town of Dingle...

 Initially, the going is flat and you cross a causeway as you leave the town...

.......and then you encounter the fist of many small climbs.

The race travels west passing through the village of Ventry before going up a more serious hill as you head out towards Slea Head. Around the 9 mile mark, you cross a small stream which flows across the road......

 ....and then on towards Slea Head. This is the view looking back towards the Iveragh Peninsula to the south...

What really makes this Half and Full Marathon special is the fact the roads are closed. Normally, there is a lot of tourist traffic on this narrow road and it wouldn't be really suitable for running or walking. The road here is high above the sea and you have an incredible view out over Dingle Bay to the mountains of Kerry with the Skelligs in the distance.

Once you pass the grotto around the 10 mile mark, the Blasket Islands come into view...

....and then the twisting coastal road...

At 13 miles in Dunquin, the Half-Marathon runners turn off to the left...

...and on to the finish line. A fleet of buses take the runners back to Dingle.

The full Marathon runners continue on towards Ballyferriter with Brandon Mountain now coming into view. From here, the route is on quiet narrow roads as it heads towards Dingle...

At mile 21, there is an out and back section...

After this, there is just the big hill to tackle at mile 22 before descending down to the finish line back in Dingle.

Overall.........An incredible location for a Marathon and probably the most scenic in Ireland. Not the easiest of courses with several testing hills, especially during the Marathon near mile 22.


This YouTube clip from TG4 in Irish gives a good feel for what it is like...

Cork069

Preview of the Bay Run Half-Marathon...

The Bay Run Half-Marathon takes place in Bantry at the start of May every year.

The race starts in Glengariff and finishes in the town of Bantry. A fleet of buses take the runners from Bantry to Glengariff before the race.

 Between the mountains and the sea, it's a stunning location for a race...

Course profile...

Course map...

Course preview....

The race starts in the heart of Glengarriff , a stunning spot with views out over the Bay. Before you head towards Bantry, you first need to do a loop to the west.

At the western end of Glengarriff, you take a right at the junction...

Here is road is covered in Rhododendron as it turns and twists slowly uphill. Just after the 1 mile mark, you turn off left into the forest to do a short loop....

At first it's flat but you then climb steadily. At the end of this small loop, you rejoin the main road again and then it's a fast mile or so downhill and back into Glengarriff.

After you pass the start line again, you begin the next stage of the race. From the town, the road climbs for about a mile until near the 4 mile mark and the local golf club where is eases off. After a while, the road begins to climb again until around the 5 mile mark where you have extensive views out over Bantry Bay...

Now you begin the downhill section until you approach sea level again around the 8 mile mark...

The next 1.5 miles are very pleasant as the road twists and turns as it follows the rugged coastline. There are a few minor pulls but nothing serious. At about 9.5 miles, you approach Ballylicky and the Ouvane Falls Hotel...

The third and final part of the course begins now as you head south towards Bantry. There are a few minor climbs but nothing major. You still get the occasional view of Bantry Bay as you move away from the coast...

As you progress towards the town of Bantry itself, the course slowly changes from rural to urban.

As you descend into the town, the course takes a right...

 You now follow a narrow road which runs behind the houses shown above on the right. The narrow boreen exits onto a slightly wider road where you turn right into a short but steep climb...

 This road then passes a small housing estate before dropping down towards the waters edge...

 

 You now follow the Béicín Walk which follows the waters edge with great views out over Bantry Bay....

 Eventually the path loops around to the back of Bantry where you finish just a short distance from the main square...

Overall....probably not a course for setting personal best times but once the weather is nice, it's a stunning location for a race.

Cork052

Preview of the Clonakilty Waterfront Half-Marathon road race...

This Half-Marathon is held in early December every year as part of the Clonakilty Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10k.

Location....Clonakilty is located some 40 kms to the south-west of Cork City...

Map of the course...

Course Profile...

Course description....The race starts just outside the town of Clonakilty...

The first mile is alongside the water and is dead flat. Just before the 2 mile mark, you come to a causeway which shows the hills ahead...

At 2.3 miles, you reach the start of a major hill...

This hill is quite significant and is about 800 metres / half a mile long. The first 400 metres are quite steep with the remaining 400 metres being more gradual.

At 3.7 miles, you reach a junction where you stay left. This is where the full marathon joins from the opposite direction and both races use much the same route from here on.

From here, it's slightly downhill to the small village of Ardfield at 4.3 miles where you stay right at the church...

After another short downhill section, you have a steep but short uphill at 4.6 miles...

It soon flattens out though as you make our way through a series of junctions at 4.9 miles...

The next mile or so is pretty easy. While there are some hills, the gradients are pretty gentle and there are some great views out over the West Cork coastline.

At 6.3 miles, you begin the descent towards the coast and there are some steep downhills sections along the way...

Once you reach the coast, there is another short climb as you have to gain some height as you follow the coastline. At around the 8 mile mark, you'll see Inchydoney across the bay...

From here, you head back in towards Clonakilty with the bay on your right.

At 8.6 miles, you turn off left on to a narrow road which is the start of a significant climb which lasts for about one mile. The gradient isn't too bad but it's the length of the hill which is more of a factor.

This is the junction at the top of the long climb at 8.6 miles. You are now retracing your steps as this was near the 3 mile mark on the way out.

And of course, you get to run back down that big hill you ran up near the start of the race. This is the view near the 10 mile mark which shows the downhill and the causeway in the distance off to the right. The 11 mile mark is at the far end of it.

From there, it is basically flat and fast all of the way into the finish line in Clonakilty itself.

Video clip of the course...



Overall......Very scenic course looking out over the harbour and the ocean. Not as fast as a dead flat course as there are a number of testing hills. Probably the most scenic Half-Marathon in Cork.

Cork039

Preview of the Cork Half-Marathon (Blarney)...

Location.....This race starts and finishes in Blarney just to the west of Cork City.

The race is organised by St.Finbarrs AC, one of the main running clubs in Cork City and this is their flagship event of the year.

Brief outline......Basically, the Half-Marathon starts and finishes in the town of Blarney which is about 10 kms to the north-west of Cork City. The course does a quick loop around Blarney before heading north to a point where you turn around and return again with a gradual downhill for 5 miles to the finish. As you can see from the course profile below, the hill near Grenagh was removed in 2012 and the course is a lot faster course now.

Getting there.....From the N20 Cork to Mallow/Limerick road, take the well signposted turnoff for Blarney. As you can see from the map below, take the first left and then right and the race HQ is there at the GAA grounds.

 There will be parking at the race HQ which is Blarney GAA Club....

Additional car parking will be available on the morning of the race at Scoil Mhuire gan Smal...the secondary school on the Hedge Road which is just 200 metres away.

Car Park near the start line...

Course........As you can see from the map above, the start is very close to the GAA grounds. You do one short loop which is pretty flat before going straight on the second lap....past the garage......and after about 200 metres, over the small bridge and then right towards Waterloo......

The thing here is that you are basically running on a road which is right alongside a river so it's a very gradual uphill. Before the 2 mile mark, you will pass the finish line on the right as you continue up the valley.....

It's more or less like this for the next few miles......a very gradual climb in a wooded valley. Soon, the Waterloo Inn comes into view........

......and you take the right here over the small bridge and then up a short hill about 200 metres long...the first real hill in the race so far. After that it eases off again and back to a gradual easy climb as you carry on along a tree covered road until you reach a road junction near the 5.9 mile mark...

All the while, you will have been running alongside the main N20 road which runs parallel to this small road and climbing slowly all the way. In fact, you will have gained about 50 metres in altitude from the start (30m) to the road junction at 5.9 miles (80m).

Left at this junction and about 150 metres later at another junction near the 6 mile mark, you turn right and head up towards the turn around point (~7.5 miles) where there will be a timing mat to record runners.

Once you turn around, you retrace your footsteps as you run slightly downhill for most of the way to the finish line.

Out and Back........Please note that as this is an out and back course, runners will be running on both sides of the road during the mid section of the race. You should run on the left hand side of the road where this happens to avoid runners coming in the opposite direction.

Follow the instructions from the stewards on the day.

Overall.......The Half-Marathon course in Blarney had a reputation of being a tough course especially with that hill up around Grenagh. With that now removed, the course is a lot faster. There are no serious pulls as such and the gradual slope has only a slight impact on times. The course has real potential for anyone wanting to go for a personal best time.

Race Sponsor.......The race sponsor is John Buckley Sports, one of the main sports shops in Cork for running shoes and other running related gear.

You can find John Buckley Sports across the river from the Cork Opera House and his opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.30am – 5.30pm – late opening Friday until 7.00 – closed Sundays.