Preview of the Cork BHAA 'HSE' 4 mile Road Race - Sun 4th Nov 2007 (11:00am)

There are now only 3 BHAA races left in the 2007 calendar, all of them 4 milers. The 3rd last one takes place next Sunday, the 4th of November on the Marina in Cork City. The registration is at the Lee Rowing Club clubhouse, marked X on the map above. It is located just next to the Pairc Ui Chaoimh GAA stadium. There are plenty of parking spaces available here at the stadium, outside the rowing club and down along the cul-de-sac by the waterfront (Just above where the 4 is marked on the map).

They got about 250 at this last year so I would expect something similiar if not closer to 300 this year. The race starts at 11am so it is worth getting there a bit early to avoid the backlog at the sign-on.

Course - I am assuming that the route shown above is the correct one. They hold a number of 5km and 4m races in this area using different routes. The route shown above is the usual one.

You can get a better look at the course at this LINK

This is the alternative 4 mile route. Basically, the course is much the same except that the start and finish have moved slightly. If you want to see this course, see this LINK

They have another 4 mile route which heads down the old railway track and passes Mahon Point before returning. They might use that although last year, they used that route for the 'Turket Trot' in December.

So, on to the description. The course is almost dead flat and there are no climbs. The race basically starts on the Marina, takes in 2 laps of the Centre Park Road and Monaghan Road, and then finishes near the Marina again. You can expect your times to be pretty fast on this course. They only thing that you have to be careful about is the road surface. There are a lot of heavy goods vehicles using these roads and the road surface can be uneven in spots. It is not a big issue but just keep it in mind if you are running close behind someone and your view forward is obstructed.

Overall, this is a nice fast course. The roads are quiet at this time on a Sunday morning and it is one of the few places where you can hold a road race in Cork City without traffic being an issue. There are refreshments available after the race in the clubhouse. Enjoy...