Preview of the Evening Echo womens mini-marathon in Cork...Sun 25th Sept 2016

Although it is advertised as Munsters Premier 4-Mile Road Race, it is in reality a 3.8 mile charity walk/run with a road race at the front of it. If you intend to race it then you need to get to the start early. There are thousands of women taking part and when there are that many people, it is going to be very crowded.

Remember it starts at 1pm.

Course...The start of this race is on the Centre Park Road.

Mile 0-1....The first mile or so is very flat with only a slight uphill around the 0.8 mile mark as the road joins the Marina. This should be a very fast mile as long as you stay clear of the mass of runners/joggers/walkers/prams....etc.

Start of the Marina section near the 1 mile mark 

Mile 1-2.....Dead flat along the Marina. Probably the most scenic part of the run. Again, it should be a very fast mile. If you have started too fast, this is about where you should find out. Pace yourself for the first 2, you can pick it up over the last 2 if you have gone too slow.

Mile 2-3....This section includes the only real hill. There is a nasty pull from the 2 mile mark up to St.Michael's church, a distance of about 300 metres......

Start of the only real hill near the 2 mile mark

You are going to lose some time here. After that, it's reasonably flat with a slight fall downhill into Beaumount about the 2.7 mile mark. Then past the AIB bank and Post office and take a sharp right down Maryville Road. Around the 3 mile mark, there is a very steep downhill section. By far, the hardest mile.

Mile 3-3.8....After the initial downhill section, the remainder of the mile is flat with the finish on the Monaghan Road, near Kennedy Park.
 
....and finally, it is worth mentioning what a significant event this is for the city of Cork. With around 10,000 taking part and many getting sponsorship, it is probably no exaggeration to say that several million Euro will be raised for various charities. For many of those taking part, it may be closest they ever get to any sort of road race.

Update........A bit more detail in this preview HERE