Waterford...Preview of the Dungarvan 10 Mile Road Race - Sun 1st Feb 2009 (1pm)

It is important to note that there are some major changes for the race this year. While the 10 mile course is essentially the same, the start and finish lines have been moved. In addition, they have a new race centre this year. In previous years, they used the Crystal Sports centre on the Western side of the town. This year, they will be using the Dungarvan Sports Centre which is behind St.Mary's parish church. See map below.


Parking.......They will be diverting all traffic "from all directions" in a one way from the N25 at the Youghal roundabout on Cork road and it will be very well sign posted from there to the Dungarvan Sports Centre. There will be limited parking there and they will also use other car parks around the town which will be signposted on the day. On the point of parking, you might also consider trying to car pool on the day. The fewer cars that turn up, the better.


Entries........If you have pre-entered for this race, you should receive a letter (Tues-Thurs) with your race number and a timing chip for your shoe. You should collect your goody bag and race shirt before the race at the Sports Centre. If you are entering on the day, the cost is €20. Please note that while the race starts at 1pm, they will stop taking entries at 12:15pm.


Race Headquarters.........Everything is at the Dungarvan Sports Centre. They will have the mens changing in the main centre. The Ladies changing is the boxing club which is part of the same sports centre building. They will have a Help Desk at the centre if you have any questions.

'Taay' and sandwiches after the race will be served at the sports centre hall where the presentation of prizes will also be held.


Course.........The start is very close to the sports centre. The start consists of a short loop before you head out West again towards the bypass. At around the 2 mile mark near the garage, you will be back on more familiar ground as you pass the old starting point near the Crystal Sports Centre. At the next roundabout, you turn off left onto quieter roads. This is the start of a short loop until you come back to a main road again at 3 miles. Not long after this you come to the 1st of 3 water stations which are marked as 'W' on the map above. Another few hundred metres and you start on what is the nicest part of the course. The next few miles are on nice quiet country roads and there is some great running here. At around the 5.4 mile mark, you take a sharp turn left and it's a good spot to check out who is ahead of and behind you. Right at the junction at 6 miles and at around 6.5 miles, there is the only real significant downhill section of the course. At the end of the hill, you turn left and then, it's pretty flat for the next 1.5 miles until you rejoin the main Cork-Waterford road at about 8.25 miles. Even though it's a busy road, the hard shoulder is pretty wide. There is a bit of uphill running here but it's very gradual and nothing serious.


As you get close to the finish, you will approach the main roundabout at the entrance to the town. Note that the hard shoulder gets very narrow here so watch the traffic. Just after the roundabout, the finish is just around the next left turn. Overall, a reasonably flat 10 mile course and one where you can post a fast time.

If you want to examine the course in more detail, you can see it on the MapMyRun website.


MP3 players and iPods.......Note that these are banned!! You will be running on public roads and they will not be closed.







Tomorrow, I'll have a look at the weather as we get a bit closer to the day.