Preview of the Cork BHAA 4 mile road race in Inniscarra - Sun 23rd Nov 2008 (11:30am)
This is the 2nd last race on the Cork BHAA 2008 calendar and it's the last one in which there are category and team prizes.
How to get there...Let's say you are coming out from Cork on the Straight Road /Carrigrohane Straight. Take the right at the end of the road and cross the bridge over the Lee and go past the Angler's Rest pub (Shown as A above). By the way, if you are coming out via the Ballincollig Bypass, follow the signs for Kanturk / Blarney and you'll arrive at the same spot. After the Angler's Rest, you have a choice of 2 routes...
1) - At the junction just after the Angler's Rest, take the Right past the Garage. Stay on this road (R579) for several kms, go past the junction and Church in Cloghroe and look for the turn off left about 2 kms later.
2) - At the junction just after the Angler's Rest, stay left on the main road and you will bypass Ballincollig which is to your South. Carry on past the junction with the turn off for Ballincolling and the Inniscarra Bar on the corner (Shown as B on the map above). Take the right at the next major junction (If you go as far as the Inniscarra dam, you've gone too far). There should be a sign at the junction for Cloghroe. At the next T-junction, turn left and then look out for the turn off left.
Look for race directions on the day. Proceed up this road and park in the GAA grounds in Ballyanly.
Course Description...This is a hilly 4 mile course. You can forget about fast times, there are too many hills for that. However, despite the hills, the course is run on nice quiet country roads and it's a nice spot for a race.
The race itself starts down the road from the GAA grounds. Initially, you run downhill but soon, you turn off left and then there is a nasty drag uphill. Soon it eases off and then you are running on nice quiet roads.
Around the 2 mile mark, you come to the small village of Berrings. You turn left here at the church and you have another uphill section. It's not so severe but enough to put you into oxygen debt if you push too hard. After that, you're on flat or downhill sections.
Just in case you thought you were getting off lightly, the 3rd hill of note comes at the finish. In the last few hundred metres, you drop downhill and then you have to run about 200m up to the finish line which is just outside the GAA grounds.
The race itself starts down the road from the GAA grounds. Initially, you run downhill but soon, you turn off left and then there is a nasty drag uphill. Soon it eases off and then you are running on nice quiet roads.
Around the 2 mile mark, you come to the small village of Berrings. You turn left here at the church and you have another uphill section. It's not so severe but enough to put you into oxygen debt if you push too hard. After that, you're on flat or downhill sections.
Just in case you thought you were getting off lightly, the 3rd hill of note comes at the finish. In the last few hundred metres, you drop downhill and then you have to run about 200m up to the finish line which is just outside the GAA grounds.
Overall...As I said, forget about fast times but don't let the hills put you off. It's a nice area for a race and the country roads are quiet at that time on a Sunday morning. Refreshments are available in the GAA clubhouse after the race. After all those hills, you'll deserve it ;o)
I have put a map of the course up on the MapMyRun website in case you want to check out other ways to get there. The link is http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/cork/1129301821
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