Preview of the Mallow 5 Mile road Race - Fri 25th Apr (7:30pm)
This will be the 2nd evening race since the clocks changed, coming just 1 week after the Castlemartyr race. The main thing to remember about this race is that you do NOT have to enter the centre of Mallow town itself. Everything is happening to the West of Mallow.

Registration...
The main event centre for the race is at the Roundabout Tavern. This is at the main roundabout which is on the N20 Cork to Limerick road. I am told that parking should also be available near here. Note that the entry fee is only €5!! There will be prizes for the first 4 Men and Women finishers and for the first finisher in each age category.

The course...
The 5 mile course basically follows part of the same route as the annual 10 mile road race. It starts around the 3.5 mile mark and finishes around the 8.5 mile mark. From the Roundabout Tavern, the start is just a short way out the N72 Killarney road. The first 2 miles of the race are mainly inside the hard shoulder alongside the busy road. Near the latter sections of the 2 miles, it can get very narrow so you need to be careful. Fortunately, just after the 2 mile mark you turn off left and you are onto nice quiet country roads. From here until the finish, the traffic should be light and is without doubt, the nicest part of the race. Overall, the course is pretty flat and there are only a few small drags. One is near the 2.5 mile mark just after you cross the river and the other one is just a few hundred metres before the finish. Again, nothing major so no need to worry about them.
The Finish...
Note that there is a bit of walk/jog from the finish back to the Roundabout Tavern. See red dots above. You need to go up onto the main road and jog inside the hard shoulder. The distance is about 1.2 kms.

Overall...
A pretty flat 5 mile course. Note the start time...7:30pm, not 8pm! There is also a 5 mile walk starting at 7pm. If you want to look at the course in more detail, Mallow AC have put the course up on the MapMyRun website.

Note...
There is also a 4 mile race on Thursday, the 24th of April in Ballynoe. See details under the comments below...

Comments...
"Saw on the free Midleton news booklet 2 wks ago that there is a 4 mile road race on in Ballynoe this Thursday 24th April. Is this one of those races where you have to be an athletic club member? Just wondering - was going to do it but I'm not a member of any athletic club so maybe I'm not allowed? Great website by the way - wouldn't know where any race is held if it wasn't for this website.....Anonymous"

"I have just recieved this info....The main awards (medals) are confined to East Cork clubs, it's a bit like the County/Munster setup. However, any outside runners are welcome and a regular few always turn-up. The women's race starts at 7.15pm followed by the men's. The hall in the centre of the village is the headquarters where there is usually a cup of tea afterwards. To get to Ballynoe from Cork city, take the Tallow road from Midleton (via Dungourney) and Ballynoe is signposted just past the well-known Leahy's Open Farm.....in a mail from John Walshe.....John Desmond