Preview of the Corkbeg 5 mile road race...Thurs 9th July 2009
This 5 mile road race takes place in Corkbeg in East Cork at 8pm. Corkbeg is located about 1 km from the village of Whitegate on the Eastern side of the harbour. See the map above. If you are coming from Cork, take the N25 East and at the roundabout on the Midleton bypass, take the 3rd exit and keep going South to Whitegate. As you enter the village, you first pass the ESB power station and then the village itself. Just take the next small right hand turn and the start is a few hundred metres up this road. Entries for this race will be in the small wooden building just alongside the Pitch & Putt club. If you are unsure of where to go, click on the following link and use the + / - buttons to zoom IN / OUT and the MAP / SATELLITE buttons to change your view.
http://pininthemap.com/48805bbe91750abfa

Course...The start and finish point for this race is at the gates of the Oil Refinery. The first mile is very fast. You are running down a gentle downhill slope from the start all the ways until you get to Whitegate. The 1 mile mark is just where you start running uphill as you leave the village. Watch out for the stewards instructions here as you will need to cross to the other side of the road around here. The 2nd mile is a tough mile as you continue to run uphill past the ESB power station and then take a right turn and up an even steeper section to the 2 mile mark. The 3rd mile is a fast one. The road flattens out after 2 miles and soon, it drops sharply back down to the main road and then left with a flat section to the 3 mile mark. The 4th mile is more or less flat until you reach the 4 mile mark just after the power station. The 5th and final mile has a bit of a sting in the tail at the end as you need to run back up that gentle incline to the finish at the oil refinery gates.Overall, a 5 mile race with a few drags but nothing heart stopping ;o)

If you want to have a closer look at the course, I have it up on the MapMyRun website...http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/cork/559281907

This short clip was taken around the 4.5 mile mark as you turn off right in Whitegate for the finish.