Cork Marathon route now finalised...
A few weeks back, I had a post here outlining the proposed changes to the 2010 Cork City Marathon and Relay. Those changes are now official and it has removed some of the hardest and hilliest sections of the race. As you can see from the map above, the major change is that the flat section along the walkways in Mahon has been included and the hilly section out by Ballincollig has been removed (...click on the map to have a closer look).

The organisers are predicting that a total of around 10,000 runners will take part in the 2010 event. That will most likely work out to be roughly 1,500 runners doing the full Marathon with the remainder doing the relay event. The number of entries are already well up on last year so they would seem to be target to achieve this number.

Relay Event.........they are using the same spots for the relay changeover.
Last year, the relay sections were..
1) 5.2 Miles....2) 5.5 Miles.....3) 3.2 Miles......4) 5.9 Miles.........5) 6.4 Miles.....

The route changes have the effect of making most of the relay legs roughly the same distance.......
Stage 1) 5.2 Miles......the same as last year. Start in Patricks St and changeover at the Silversprings Hotel
Stage 2) 5.5 Miles......same as last year.....start in Silversprings, through the Jack Lynch tunnel and finish in Mahon
Stage 3) 5.8 Miles......the middle section last year was the shortest. This year, it is mostly along the riverside walkway in Mahon, along the Marina and finishing near Victoria Road. Probably the quietest and most scenic section of the run.
Section 4) 5.2 Miles......start near Victoria road and finish on the Model Farm road. This year, the section around the Lough in Glasheen is cut out.
Section 5) 4.6 Miles......start on the Model Farm Road near CIT and finish on Patrick's Street. This has changed from the longest section to the shortest and easiest.

You can find an entry form HERE