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.

Cork044

Preview of the Cork Womens mini-marathon...

Although it is advertised as Munsters Premier 4-Mile Road Race, it is in reality a 3.9 mile charity walk/run with a road race at the front of it. Somewhere in the region of 10,000 women take part in this event.

Map of the course...The race takes place in the eastern part of Cork City.

Overview of Start / Finish area...The mini-marathon starts on the Centre Park Road, about 150 metres from the Victoria Road roundabout. The finish line is about 300m from the same roundabout, just next to Kennedy Park. Note that walkers and non-competitive runners are placed in a holding area before the start. Faster runners who must obtain a tag in advance can warm up near the start line.

 
Course description...The start of this race is on the Centre Park Road near this junction...

The road on the left shown above acts as a holding area for the walkers and slower runners. The start line is just beyond this junction.

Initially the road may seem quiet wide but with 10,000 or so people taking part, it quickly fills up.

At this early stage, the road and footpaths will be full of people running and walking. If you are hoping to run a fast time then it's important that you start near the front.

The road for the first mile is more or less dead flat. Initially, the route is through an industrial area and then passes into an area covered by trees...

 At 0.8 miles, you reach the River Lee and the start of the Marina...

You reach the one mile mark near Pairc Ui Chaoimh, the GAA stadium.

The road is quite narrow here but it is probably the nicest part of the course. The Maria is lined with trees and there is a view to the left out over the River Lee as it leaves the city.

The Marina itself is dead flat and this is the view around the 1.6 mile mark...

At around the 2 mile mark, you encounter the only real hill on the route. It's only about 200 metres long but it can be quite testing if you are a beginner.......

Start of the only real hill near the 2 mile mark

Once you pass St.Michael's church at 2.1 miles, the road begins to level off...

At 2.2 miles, you cross over the old railway line to Crosshaven and the road is level for the next 600 metres...

The road begins to go gradually downhill at about 2.5 miles...

The bottom of the hill is at a road junction at 2.6 miles in Ballintemple...

After this, there is a very slight uphill pull pas the AIB bank and post office until you turn right at 2.8 miles...

This residential road is initially flat but there is a sharp drop about 100 metres long around the 3 mile mark...

 

At the junction at the bottom of the hill...

...the road is dead flat from there until the finish line.

Finish line at about 3.9 miles near Kennedy Park...

Overall....A reasonably fast course with one serious hill around the two mile mark.
Experienced fast runners should make sure that they get a tag to start near the front.
Beginners or anyone whose limit is near 4 miles should start slow and go easy up the steep hill. A cautious approach will pay off in the last two miles in the race.