Long training runs for the Cork City Marathon...14.2 to 21.2 miles...
With roughly 8 weeks to go to the Cork City Marathon, some of you will now be thinking about getting in some long runs. I'm sure most of you have your own routes sorted out already but just in case you are looking for idea's, I have put a route up on the MapMyRun website.
First of all, you park and start at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, the GAA stadium on the Marina. You run down the Marina, past Blackrock Castle, down along the walkway next to the river, accross the old railway bridge to Rochestown, down to Passage and then on to Monkstown. All said and done, about 9 miles along the waterfront, most of it scenic and safe.
Around the 9.5 mile mark, things get a bit tricky as you run out of footpath and you need to run on a narrow section of a busy road for about 600 metres. Then take the right for the recycling centre. Now the hard part, a 2 mile climb. Nothing steep but it's a long drag.
After that, a steep decent, left at the college crossroads and back into Rochestown. Back along the walkway and take the direct route along the old railway line all the way back to Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Total milage = 15.7 miles.

Options...
You have 2 options, you can return by the waterfront route after Rochestown. That will add 1.5 miles on to your run giving a total of 17.2 miles. Or, you can go out and return by the more direct old railway track route, that will take 1.5 miles off your run giving a total of 14.2 miles.
So, with some simple route choices, you have the option of doing 14.2, 15.7 or 17.2 miles.
You can see the route in more detail by clicking on the link below...



Adding 4 miles to your run...
To get in a really long run, you can do an extra 4 miles BEFORE you start the long run. Basically, the route is based on the Cork BHAA John Buckley Sports 4 mile course. Click below to see it in detail...



By doing this beforehand, you now have the option of doing 18.2, 19.7 or 21.2 miles.

Some extra notes...
1) Before you try these kind of distances, you should have done some 10 and 12 mile runs beforehand.
2) When you are going up into these kind of distances, dehydration becomes an issue. A good idea is to leave a bottle of water for yourself somewhere in a hedge around the halfway point.