Preview of the Liscarroll 8 km Road Race - Sun 24th Aug (1pm)
The 'Tom Fitzpatrick Memorial 8km' road race takes place in Liscarroll in North Cork next Sunday, the 24th of August at 1pm. This is only the 2nd running of this race and last year, they got just 53 entries. Considering that they have dropped the entry fee from €15 to €10, I'd expect that the entry this year should be well up.
This is one race that I have never done but Donal O'Donoughue has come to the rescue and supplied the following info...
Last year it was a lovely Saturday evening, on dead-quiet roads. This year it seems to be Sunday lunchtime at 1pm. Last year, there was a perception that this was an "expensive" race, advertised at EUR 15, but turned out to be EUR 12 on the day.This issue may have discouraged some people ??? This year it's EUR 10. It's an 8km race, rather than a five-miler. DIRECTIONS..............From the City, head for Mallow on the N20. Go straight though at the first roundabout, and straight ahead at the second roundabout also. You will pass a Peugeot dealership, a Toyota dealership, and a Statoil/Topaz petrol station. Watch the concrete panel fence on the left side for a few hundred metres. Where this fence ends, take the left-turn, at the white sign "Lisgriffin" / "Liscarroll". You will almost immediately go under a high-arched railway bridge, and you're onto a country road that goes up and down, but is almost straight. Drive with care! Beware of farm traffic as it's harvest time.
Alternatively, one can continue from Mallow to Buttevant on the N20, and branch off to the left, at the far side of the town and follow the R578. Longer, but maybe a better quality of road ???
Either way, plan for *at least* a 45 minute journey from the point you get onto the N20 dual-carriageway beyond Blackpool.
REGISTRATION...................When you reach Liscarroll, take a right turn, Castle St, and head for registration at the Community Centre, which is perhaps 100m down this road, on the right-hand side. Last year there was a hand-drawn map of the course on display.
COURSE..............The start line is near the centre of the town, the route leads back towards the community centre, and then onto quiet country roads. The finish line is just beyond the Community Centre. No particular issues with parking last year.There was one water station about half-ways around the course. The outbound leg of the race is on almost deserted roads, but take care on the return leg on the R578 road. In 2007, the course appeared to be marked, in kilometres, in reverse order. Reasonably flat course. No particularly steep hills. There is one long gradual incline, but nothing to worry about. Refreshments after the race are in the Community Hall.

Thanks for the info Donal. He has also kindly put up the route on the MapMyRun website if you want to have a closer look at the course or just want to see where Liscarroll is. Click HERE. Use the +/- controls to zoom IN or OUT.
More information on the race and prizes on offer can be seen on the Liscarroll AC website. Click HERE.