Kerry012

Preview of the Kenmare 5km road race

This is one of the few road races in the South Kerry region.

The headquarters for this race is at the local community centre shown on the map below...

Course......

The 5k race starts outside the Sheen Falls Lodge which is approx. 1.4 miles from the Community Centre. Transport is provided but it's likely that most runners would use this as part of the warm up routine for the race.....

Start of the 5k race

The start area of the race is shown above with the first bridge of the course just beyond. This is the view to the right as you go up and over the bridge....a really quiet tranquil area...

...with a picture postcard view to the left of the falls...

From here, you are running on a narrow section of road that is often covered by trees and occasionally opens up to reveal views of the mountains in the distance...

It's all pretty flat so should be pretty fast. At about the one mile mark, you come to a junction where you join the 10k course....

From here, it's flat until you go over another humpback bridge at roughly 1.2 miles...

From here, the road rises slightly to join the main road around the 1.5 mile mark. The main road into Kenmare is reasonably flat and is slightly downhill as you enter the town. The finish line is about 200 metres beyond the Lansdowne Arms Hotel...

Overall....It's a stunning location for a race and it's a pretty fast 5k course.

Kerry011

Preview of the Rathmore 4 mile road race...(Organised by Gneeveguilla AC on behalf of Rathmore Ladies GAA)

Location...Rathmore is a small town located near the Cork / Kerry border on the N72 road between Killarney and Mallow.

Course map...The town is actually in two halves with about a mile of countryside in between. Race headquarters is at Rathmore GAA grounds which is to the south-west of the town.

From the N72 Killarney-Mallow road...
a) Coming from the Mallow direction, drive through the town and take the left after the church.
b) Coming from Killarney, look for the turn off right. Look for the brown signpost for the GAA grounds. See below...

This is the GAA ground...hard to miss...

Course map...

Course profile...

Kerry010

Preview of the Killarney Lions Club 10k.....

 The race HQ is at Castkerosse Hotel which is just off the N72 Killarney to Killorglin road...

 Entrance to the hotel....

 Course....It's an out and back course starting and finishing at the Castlerosse Hotel...

Some of the views out on the course....

...

...

...

Turnaround point at 5kms...

...

Overall.......Some small hills but they tend to be pretty short and the gradient isn't severe. Quite possibly the most scenic 10k in the country. Absolutely stunning location.

Kerry009

Preview of the Dingle 10k womens mini-marathon...

Location......Dingle is located in the west of Co.Kerry and is about a 45 minute drive from Tralee and 1 hour from Killarney.

Course map...The race starts and finishes in Dingle and takes in a loop to the west of the town.

Course description....The race starts in the middle of Dingle...

.....and then heads west through the town.....

On the edge of the town after about 1 km, you turn left at the roundabout and over the bridge...

From the river, there is now a short climb of about 300m to the junction where you turn off right and begin the loop...

After an initial bend, you then see the long straight ahead which is about 2.8 kms long and is a very slight uphill gradient.

At 4.2 kms, you leave the straight section as you turn off left onto a narrow country road....

 

Initially there is a small climb but it soon levels off. At about 4.8 kms, you reach the highest part of the course which is about 45m or 150ft above sea level...

From here, the road descends gradually in long straight narrow sections which should result in plenty of fast running. At the 6.7 km mark, the road reaches a dip where the road begins to climb again. As can be seen below in the photo, the far end of the hill is actually a crossroads where you'll be turning left...

The photo below shows the view at the crossroads as you turn back towards Dingle with just over 3 kms to go. On a clear day, you can see Mount Brandon way off to the left...

From here, the next section is really fast as the road drops in height. There is one slight pull after a bridge but for the most part, it is largely downhill. At the 8km mark, you join the road from Ventry and Slea Head...

The next section is initially flat but soon there is a rapid descent to the junction where you turned off earlier...

From here, it's back down to the bridge near sea level and through the town to the finish line back where you started.

Overall...A moderately fast course. The climbs tend to be more gradual than anything. On a nice day, a stunning location for a race.

Kerry008

Preview of the Rathmore 4 mile road race...(Organised by Gneeveguilla AC)

Location...Rathmore is a small town located near the Cork / Kerry border on the N72 road between Killarney and Mallow.

Course map...The town is actually in two halves with about a mile of countryside in between. Race headquarters is at the Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra secondary school alongside the local church in the western part of the town.

Course profile...

Description of course...The race starts on a narrow and quiet country road about 400m to the south of the local national school. As you can see, it's dead straight and gently rises...

At the first of two bends at about 400m, the Paps and the other mountains to the south come into view...

At about 650 metres, the road veers left at a small junction and then continues gradually upwards...

At about the 1 km / 0.7 mile mark, you reach the highest part of the course near the local GAA grounds. The race continues on this narrow road and just after the one mile mark, you turn left at this junction with the Derrynasaggart Mountains clearly visible to the south...

After another bend, the road then turns north as you head back towards Rathmore. At about 1.4 miles, the road begins to drop...

This next section of the course is by far the fastest as you have long straight sections that are gradually downhill...

At about 2.7 miles, you reach a T-junction in the town of Rathmore where you turn left...

This is another view of the road junction where you join the N72 road...

As the road is open, all runners will need to stay at the left hand side of the road. This is the view at about 2.8 miles as you leave the eastern half of Rathmore with a slight incline ahead...

The section between the two halves of the town is more rural with a footpath now alongside the road. This stretch below is near the 3 mile mark...

At about 3.9 miles, you reach the western half of Rathmore and the finish line is just up ahead by the church...

Overall...A reasonably fast course. Any hills tend to be long gentle ones rather than anything sharp and steep. About 70% of the course is on quite country roads. With it located on the Killaney - Mallow road, it should appeal to runners from North Cork and Kerry.