There is always a big turn out at this race every year. As well as the usual faces, there are plenty of people from other sports as well who do this race as a traditional run and may not do another race all year. Last year, they got about 500 runners and if the weather is ok this year, I'd expect them to get much the same again.
Directions and Sign-On...Belgooly is pretty easy to get to. From Cork, take the airport road South and head for Kinsale. Belgooly is on the way. Once you enter the village, you need to go past the church and then take the right at the only crossroads. Down about 200 metres on the left, you will see the GAA grounds and the sign-on is in there (see X on the map above).
Course description...The start is just on the Kinsale side of the crossroads in the middle of Belgooly. You run back towards Cork, through the village and up the hill past the church. For the first 2 miles, you are on the main road. It's a road you would never do normally as it is way too busy but with so many runners on the road, the cars have no option but to slow down. Just after the 2 mile mark, you take a sharp left and you are now onto quiet country roads. There are some drags along this section though. Nothing too serious but some hills are steep enough to put you into oxygen debt if you push too hard. At about 3.6 miles, you rejoin the main road again and you have a straight run into the finish just outside the church.
So, overall...It's not the fastest of course's so don't expect any fantastic times. But this race is one that most people seem to use as their traditional Christmas run, with most of the regular runners in Cork taking part. The entry fee is €10 but €5 of this goes to charity.
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