Preview of the Ballyandreen 5 Mile Road Race - Thurs 27th May (8pm)

The Ballycotton 5 mile Summer Series starts on Thursday evening with the Ballyandreen 5 mile road race in East Cork. This is the first of the 4 races in the series and there is a special plaque for anyone completing all 4 races. In addition, there are Top 50 T-Shirts for the top 50 men and Top 15 T-Shirts for the top 15 women. 
More info on the series HERE


Getting there.......If you are a regular then you know the way already. If you're not sure then read on.


Ballyandreen is a small town land to the west of Ballycotton itself. It's not a village so there is no point looking for signposts. If you are not sure where to go then take the main road into Ballycotton itself. Just as you reach the outskirts of Ballycotton, you'll see an old small church on the right hand side (...see 2 mile mark on the map below). Take the right here and keep driving for about 2 kms until you come to a crossroads. Turn left here. It's that simple.....church - turn right - 2 kms - crossroads - left. Follow the stewards instructions and park where directed.


Signing on...........NOTE THE CHANGES!!!
The organisers will not have the use of the usual house/hall down near the beach/finish line! Entries and changing will be at a marquee about 100m above the start (near the farmhouse on the right going down) for changing. Entries will also be taken near here in a smaller marquee.

Parking will be in a field on the right and toilets will be positioned here and also at the finish. Refreshments will be available in a local house just above the finish which will signposted.

As usual, people are asked to come early and it would help if they had the right entry fee (€5) ready. Also, the details required at the entry desk are: name, club (AAI), or town/village, and age category (35 up for women, 40 up for men).

Course...
The start point is near the registration point. The initial half mile has a good bit of uphill running it with a downhill section near the 1 mile mark. After that it's not too bad although there is a very steep downhill section near the 2 mile mark, almost too steep to really run on properly. Then it's out onto the main road and head West towards the 3 mile mark. The 4th mile is without doubt the hardest. There is a bit of a drag just after the 3 mile mark but you are soon running downhill again. However, just after 3.5 miles, you take a sharp left and the 'Beast of Ballyandreen' welcomes you!! It basically is a 500 metre slog up a tough 'little' hill. You'll be glad to see the 4 mile mark because after that, the last mile is a complete contrast. After an initial flat stage, you soon start running downhill, through the crossroads and all the ways towards the finish for what will probably be your fastest mile.

Overall...It basically is a 5 mile road race on narrow country roads in a quiet corner of East Cork. Last year, they got 411 runners and I'd expect the number to something similar again this year. Having that many cars and runners in a small area causes it's own problems and you should expect queues. The one thing you can do to make this event run smoother is to arrive early.........and have €5 ready!

And finally...
For anyone interested, I have the route up on the MapMyRun website.