Race Notice...Rás Bóthair 5 mile race - Sun 29th Apr 2012

This is a new race on the calendar and it's located just off the roundabout by the Jack Lynch Tunnel to the east of the city. The entry fee is €10 and the race starts at 10:30am.

Directions......Registration for this race is at Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil which many of you may know better as the old Ibis hotel that was located just off the tunnel roundabout. The current Gaelscoil took over the building in mid-2011.

In the photo above, the northern entrance to the Jack Lynch Tunnel is bottom left. The main road to Midleton is bottom right. The road to Glounthaune is upper right. The road on the lower left goes to the Dunkettle Roundabout and the road up top is the M8 motorway to Fermoy/Dublin.

The entrance to the Gaelscoil is from the north, next to the lower orange arrow shown above. If you are coming from the Dunkettle roundabout, the Dublin road or from the tunnel, you will need to take the slip road to the left which is the old road to Glounthaune.....

At the next smaller roundabout, take a left and then the Gaelscoil is just up the road on the left.

The map also shows the start which is just up the road in the direction of Glanmire. The route heads down towards Glounthaune (yellow arrows) and returns downhill from the north (orange arrows) and finishes next to the school.

Course.....This photo shows the course in full. The first two miles are very flat and likely to be very fast. Just before you reach the church in Glounthaune, the road begins to rise. As you turn left, there is a very sharp climb and this is by far the hardest part of the course.

You go under the old bridge, sharp right, right again and then continue the climb. In fact you are climbing from about the 2 mile mark to roughly the 3.7 mile mark. The road then levels out and after the 4 mile mark, you turn off left and start a long downhill section. The finish is near the school.

Overall.....A tough five mile route, especially the section after Glounthaune making it possibly one of the toughest 5 mile races in Cork? The proximity to Cork City and ease of access should make it an attractive option for some runners.

Sponsor.......The main sponsor is the Edge Sports. For more details on the location of their stores, see this previous post or visit their website at http://www.theedge-sports.com/store/

From the organisers....
On Sunday the 29th of April at 10:30am Gaelscoil Ui Drisceoil will host a five mile road race and a two mile fun-run/walk from their new school in Dunkettle. (Formerly the Ibis Hotel)

Registration for the race will take place on Saturday the 28th of April and at the school between 3 p.m. and 5pm or on the morning of the race from 9 a.m.

The race will start at the entrance to Dunkettle House and proceed East along the old Cork-Midleton Road to Glounthaune Church, runners will then take a left up the hill under the Old Bridge where they will turn right and loop around onto the Caherlag road travelling West along the highlands past Eirn’s Own, turning left at the cottages and finishing at the school where water and refreshments will be provided.

There will also be a shorter two mile fun-run or walk for those who not wish to participate in the longer event.

The entry fee will be €10.00 and there will be parking on the morning in the school with overflow of parking in Dunsland Garden Centre.

Running has really taken off in recent years, which is evident by the number of runners on the roads morning, noon and night. This is an excellent opportunity to participate in a local event over a challenging new course.

“Failte Roimh Cach”