Preview of the Bandon 5 mile road race - Sun 30th Dec (2pm)
Up to recently, this race used to take place on New Year's day. This year, it takes place on the last Sunday of the year, just 2 days before New Year's day. Last year, they got 134 entrants in what were very windy conditions. Going on the numbers attending recent races, and assuming that the weather is ok, I'd expect that they will get between 150 and 200 this year.

The flyer for the race is shown above. Click on it to see it in more detail.

The race...The sign on for this race is in the Bandon GAA grounds. There is plenty of parking space inside the grounds and if you get there early, there should be no need to park outside. If you are not sure of where the GAA grounds are, then follow these directions...
Assuming that you are coming from Cork, take the relief road left at the 1st roundabout as you enter Bandon (Petrol station on corner). Climb the hill and down the other side, right at the next T-junction and the GAA grounds are on your left just before re-join the road on the Western side of the town. See the X on the map below.

The course...The start is a bit of a run from the GAA club. Follow the other runners to the start. The start and 1st mile is mostly downhill or flat. Then you run through the town until you turn left and go past the GAA club. Here the hard work starts. There is a good climb after the 2 mile mark until you turn off left. Nothing too serious but enough to make you go into oxygen debt if you push too hard.
Once you turn off, you are on some nice quiet country roads until the finish. So, overall, it is probably not the fastest of courses but it's not too bad. Just remember to keep something in the tank for the 2nd half after the long hill at 2 miles.

....and one last thing, the finish is about 1 mile from the GAA club! You can return by 2 routes....up the hill past the start or through the town and follow the race route.

If you want to have a closer look at the course, I have put it up on the MapMyRun website. The link is HERE.