Cork Half Marathon - Enjoying the fruits of one’s labours
St. Finbarr’s A.C. is pleased to announce that this year’s John Buckley / St. Finbarr’s A.C. Cork Half Marathon will take place at 11am on Sunday the 9th of September 2012. Race H.Q. for the event is the Blarney GAA Club off Castle Close Road. This race also incorporates the Munster Half Marathon Championships and follows a new out-and-back course between Blarney and Lower Rathduff. On-the-day entrants will be required to fill out an entry slip giving details of Name, Gender, Club, D.O.B, and Mobile. Just present the completed slip with the €25 entry fee at the desk and you will receive your race number and race chip pre-packed. A large number of entries is anticipated, so please allow plenty of time for parking, registration and warm-up. Post race refreshments and prize giving will take place back at the GAA clubhouse.
This year’s race will incorporate:
- Chip Timing by Precision Timing. The chip will allow for timely and accurate collation of results. Late online entries can pick up the timing chip at the clubhouse on the day.
- In conjunction with our sponsor John Buckley Sports, highly visible Race Pacers (1:30, 1:45 and 2:00hrs) will be used to help participants reach the finish line while maintaining pace, staying safe and most importantly, having fun! The race pacers will be equipped with balloons, brightly coloured tee-shirts and a target time on their backs.
- A Goody Bag with a race souvenir and a 20% money-off voucher from John Buckley Sports.
- Munster Half Marathon Championships. No separate registration required. Individual prize categories are 1st, 2nd & 3rd Men (Senior, O/35 & O/50) and Women (Senior, O/35 & O/45). Athletes must be AAI registered members of a Munster based club. There are no team prizes!
Cork Half Marathon Map 2012 - Click here
To get to the Blarney GAA Grounds, head out of Cork on the N20 (Mallow Road) and exit at the Blarney (R617) slip road at (A). Take the first left turn (Route 1) after the roundabout and follow the Clogheen-Milcon Walkway on your left. There’s a car park for users of the walkway about half way down this road at the START line. At the next junction turn right and then left to arrive outside the GAA Grounds at (B). There’s a small lay-by with limited parking facilities between these two junctions near the Scout Hall. There’ll also be limited parking inside and outside the GAA Grounds on Castle Close Road. There’s also plenty of parking in the Secondary School just off the R617. To arrive at the School, take the second left turn (Route 2) beyond the roundabout.
Cork Half Marathon Route 2012 - Click here
The beautiful wooded countryside just north of Blarney village provides a leafy backdrop for the Cork Half Marathon. No matter what the weather conditions, all this natural greenery makes for a very pleasant running experience. There’ll be five water stations in total – one at the FINISH and four out on the course. Two stations are passed twice en route for a total of seven water stops. Click on the Route Map above for details. The course itself runs northwards from Blarney past Waterloo, Monacnappa Estate and Lower Kilmona. For the most part, the route runs parallel to the N20 Cork-Mallow road, whose traffic can be heard in the background.
Cork Half Marathon Elevation 2012- Click here
This year’s race is an out-and-back course, which incorporates a looped start in Blarney before heading northwards on the Waterloo Road. The race turns around at Cheese Factory entrance in Lower Rathduff and heads back to the traditional finish on the Waterloo Road. The new course takes out the hill up to Grenagh village removing over 50m of elevation and making the course significantly flatter and faster.
Cork Half Marathon Start 2012
The race starts at the Amenity Car Park opposite the entrance to the Clogheen-Milcon walkway. When you exit the GAA Grounds, turn right, cross the road at the Yield sign, go past the Children’s Playground and turn left at the Mallow/N20 road sign. You’ll do one lap coming back to the Amenity Car Park. On the second lap, you’ll go straight ahead at the Garage, past another Garage and right onto Waterloo Road and the beginning of your hinterland odyssey.
Cork Half Marathon Turnabout 2012
You’ll pass the FINISH line just short of the 2M mark. There’s a relaxing downhill section beyond the 2M mark. For the next mile, you’ll be running through woodland with the river Martin on your right. At the Waterloo Inn (3M), you’ll go over Putland’s (Waterloo) Bridge passing the church and the round tower on your right. From here, it’s a nice steady rise all the way to the 7.5M mark and the Turn’about at the Cheese Factory. From there, you’ll be running slightly downhill and retracing your steps all the way back to the FINISH. Don’t forget to pick up your water bottle and goody bag before heading back to the GAA Grounds.
St. Finbarr’s A.C. members have expended a lot of time and effort in preparing for the Cork Half Marathon. We greatly appreciate your participation and will do everything possible to ensure that yours is both a pleasant and rewarding experience. Please note that the public roads will remain open to traffic during the race. Therefore, runners must run on the left hand side whilst exercising due care and caution. Also, participants are strongly advised not to use headphones during the race. In the event of an emergency, all stewards will be issued with an emergency contact number. We wish all of you the very best of luck on Sunday and look forward to seeing you back at the GAA Grounds for some Tea, Sandwiches and Cakes.
