Preview of the Carrigtwohill 5k road race - Wed 20th July 2011

The main event this week is the 5k road race in Carrigtwohill in East Cork. Located just off the N25 Cork to Midleton/Waterford road, it couldn't be easier to find or get to. If you are coming from Cork City, it is less than 10 minutes from the Jack Lynch tunnel.

Registration for the race is at Barryscourt Castle which is well signposted from the N25 road. Just take the slip roads if you are coming from the east or west and the castle is just 300 metres to the south of the main road. There is no need to go into Carrigtwohill itself.

Parking.......there will be a field adjacent to the castle that will be used for parking.

Entries......The entry fee is €7. All proceeds from the race go to 3 local charities.............Carrigtwohill Community Care, Meals on Wheels and CASA (Caring and Sharing Association). Please note that entries will be taken from 6pm so try and get there early.

Prizes........€100 for the 1st man and woman with the usual category prizes as well. Spot prizes and refreshments after the race in the grounds of the castle.

A flyer for the race can be seen in an earlier post.

The race is sponsored by Carrigtwohill Pharmacy and Tri-n-Run in Midleton.

Course...The race starts and finishes just outside the castle.

Essentially, you run south on a very quiet road......do the triangular loop twice......and then back to the finish.

If you look at the map, the green arrows show the initial loop. At approx 0.4 miles, there is a small climb before you join the  triangular section. From here, it's pretty flat until there is another small pull by the 1 mile mark. Then north..up to the next junction (top of the triangle)...left and repeat the loop again.

The 2nd loop is shown in orange. There will be some downhill running once you restart the loop with the slight pull coming this time at 2.2 miles.

Once you complete the loop this time, you take a right...see red arrows. From here, there is a slight downhill to the finish line by the castle.

Overall....a reasonably fast course. The hills are pretty small with the worst one coming early at 0.4 miles while the other one at 1/2.2 miles is a pretty minor affair.

The magnificent 16th century Barrycourt Castle just to the south of Carrigtwohill

Just after the start......narrow quiet road. Bends around to the right at the end and the start of the small uphill section which is about 300 metres long. Luckily, it comes early in the race and you only have to do it once.

The south-western corner of the triangular loop. You run past this spot twice...at approx 0.7 and 1.9 miles.

The hill at 1 mile and 2.2 miles. Pretty short with some downhill running after it.

The north-east corner of the triangle. Nice fast section. First time round, you turn left and start the loop again (Orange arrows). Second time around, you continue straight on towards the finish (red arrows).

Last corner before the finish...mostly downhill and fast....