Google+ Running in Cork, Ireland: Notice: The Great Railway Run 25km - Sun 16th Apr 2023

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Notice: The Great Railway Run 25km - Sun 16th Apr 2023




The annual Great Railway Run from Cork to Carrigaline will be held this year on Sunday the 16th of April 2023

Update - 11th Apr : There are fewer than 50 places left now. Entries close at midnight on Friday 14th April.

Buses and Parking Information 🅿️🚍❗
Buses to the starting area will leave from behind the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre, Church Road at the following time:
25K: Bus to Centre Park Road at 8:30 am sharp
Transport will also be available from Carrigaline to Cork after the event. Buses will leave the Youth Centre and travel to Centre Park Road at regular intervals between 11:45 an 13:00.
For those leaving cars in Carrigaline, the preferred parking areas are town centre car parks. There will be no car parking at the Youth Centre.

The 25K run will start at 9:30am in Centre Park Road and follow the old railway line that skirts the shores of Cork Harbour. The race will finish in Carrigaline at the Lions Youth Centre on Church Road.

Entries: You can enter online HERE


Route... The run will roughly follow the route of the old Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway which ran from 1850 until 1932.

For a large part of the run, the route will follow the old railway line that skirts the shores of Cork Harbour. The big change this year is the finish. An extra section will be added in after Shanbally so that the race finishes at the Carrigaline Youth Centre.



You can find details of the 2023 route HERE

More details on the event website.

There are two things that stand out for me about this event.

1) Point to Point... Most race routes take the form of some sort of loop where the start and finish points are near each other. This is one of the very few that goes from point to point. There's something special about starting an event in Cork City and ending up down in Carrigaline.

2) Prep for the Cork City Marathon... The Great Railway Run comes about 7-weeks before the Cork City Marathon and it's a good opportunity to try out your planned marathon pace. Do a short warm up before the event and then run the 25kms are your marathon pace. You should be reasonably comfortable by the time you get to the finish line. If not, you might need to revise your plans. It's also a great training session as part of your marathon preparation.

25K Prizes...
€3000 in prize money sponsored by Phelans Pharamacy. Prizes will be awarded for best overall placings as well as for age categories. Strictly one prize per entrant. The Joe West perpetual trophy will be awarded to the fastest male and female in the 25K race. Cash prizes will be as follows:

Men Overall: 1st €500, 2nd €250, 3rd €120, 4th €75
Men Categories: Wheelchair, M40, M45, M50, M55, M60, M65 - 1st in each category €50

Women Overall: 1st €500, 2nd €250, 3rd €125, 4th €75
Women Categories: Wheelchair, W40, W45, W50, W55, W60, W65 - 1st in each category €50

The prize giving will be held after the race at approximately 12:45pm in the Carrigaline Lions Youth Centre on Church Road.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pity they dropped the 10K option from this race. Really enjoyed it the couple of times I did it

Anonymous said...

How do u get back to cork afterwards?

Anonymous said...

I'm entered but have no intention of trying to run 15.5 miles in 2,20 is there a cut off here I hope not,it's a charity run,

John Desmond said...

The last runners in 2022 were around the 3-hour mark so you should be fine.

Anonymous said...

FAQ section on event website gives a cut-off time of 12:30pm so given it starts at 9:30am you've a 3hr window to run.
Some of last years times showing as 3:30hr but it also clearly says if you're over 3hrs you'll be requested to leave the course....can see this putting off runners who have run the distance close to but under 3hrs in the past for fear they'd be made stop.....