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Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Baldwin Street Gutbuster...the steepest road race in the world?


The annual 'Baldwin Street Gutbuster' race went ahead on Sunday the 18th of Sept 2011 in Dunedin, New Zealand. What is unusual about this race is that it was run on what according to the Guinness Book of Records is the 'Steepest Residential Street in the World'.

The course is some 350 metres long with a climb of appox 70 metres resulting in a 19 degree or 35% slope. The race itself involves running 350 metres to the top and back down again. The current record which was set in 1994 is 1:56 and the winning 2011 time was 2:32.

Pictures from the BBC News website

To put that in comparison with some local hills, the famous (...or is that infamous?) Patricks Hill in Cork City has an ascent of approx 40 metres over a distance of 250 metres. There was a charity race up this hill back in 2010 on the same weekend as the Cork City Marathon. It also features regularly on various cycling events.

Another Cork beauty is Strawberry Hill just off Blarney Street. It has an ascent of approx 50 metres over a distance of 370 metres.

Nothing as bad as Baldwin Street though!

Are there any steeper roads in Cork / Ireland?
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11 comments:

  1. rom18/9/11 2:52 pm

    http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5089891 maybe ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. John Desmond18/9/11 3:16 pm

    Looking at the OS map, that hill you outlined is Killeady Hill near Crossbarry.

    It has an ascent of approx 70m over a distance of 730 metres.

    Baldwin St has the same ascent over half the distance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grellan18/9/11 3:38 pm

    How about Barrack Hill in Cobh - we could give it a shot after Cork to Cobh in 2 weeks - continue through the finish line, through the arch and up the hill for a nice warmdown ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. John Desmond18/9/11 4:11 pm

    Barrack Hill in Cobh seems to be ~40m ascent over 200m...i.e. a 1 in 5 slope which is about the same gradient as Baldwin St!

    ...although not as long (200m v 350m)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brian18/9/11 4:48 pm

    You could race the Barrack Hill in Cobh up and down twice.Total ascent 80m distance 400m.Call it "The Barrach Hill Back Breaker".

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous18/9/11 8:32 pm

    There's a hill past the anglers rest pub signposted Bunacomer I think, it's 700 metres in length but I dont know how high it's very steep but I only clocked in the car yet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. rom18/9/11 8:46 pm

    Another nice one near me http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/51080232/?open_ive_done=1

    if Kilady hill aint enough for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous20/9/11 11:37 am

    barnavara hill in glanmire......its always a killer in my eyes.......

    ReplyDelete
  9. John Desmond22/9/11 10:02 am

    That one beyond the Anglers Rest is ~680m long, ascent 100m....which is roughly a 1 in 7 slope.

    Steep but not as severe as the others.

    That hill in Glanmire is only 1:8. Steep but nothing special.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous22/9/11 8:25 pm

    "The Barrach Hill Back Breaker".
    Nice one!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous29/9/11 9:21 am

    I am glad to hear that Cork runners are fascinated by the Gutbuster, especially so since I set the record for the Gutbuster in 1994 and subsequently lived in Ireland for 3 years from 2000. One of my good training buddies in Dublin was a top 800m runner from Cork.I love that place.

    Sasha Daniels

    ReplyDelete

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