Cork City Marathon 10k Route Revealed
Cork City Marathon 10k Route 2023 - Flat as a Pancake!
8:45am, Sunday June 4th 2023
Route of Cork City Marathon 10k 2023
After much speculation about the route, over the past few months, on social media, and in the general running community, the route has finally been disclosed and will undoubtably have been worth the wait ...Its Flat as a Pancake!
It will Start and Finish in Patrick Street, at the same Start and Finish Lines as the Full Marathon, so 10k runners will enjoy the complete 'Pana' Cork Marathon experience
This course was measured by John Quigley, AIMS/World Athletics Grade A International Measurer
Enter Cork City Marathon 10k/Half-Marathon/Marathon
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| Start of Cork City Marathon 2022, at Savoy/Maylor St |
The 10k will start at 8:45am, 30 minutes after the Marathon, which moves to the earlier start of 8:15am
Route Map of first 3 Miles of 10k
Using the same start line as last year, by the Savoy/Maylor St, the race heads up Patrick St, turning onto Grand Parade, and immediately turning right, onto Washington Street, continuing along Lancaster Quay, and out Western Road, passing the 1 Mile mark between College Gates and Gaol Cross, before turning right at the Sacred Heart Church
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| Towards the end of Western Road, the course heads right at AIB | Almost immediately after the Sacred Heart Church the course turns right again onto the Mardyke |
From here to the Finish, much of the course is over streets that are covered by the Marathon itself, either at the start, or at the end
After the Sacred Heart, there is an immediate right turn onto the Mardyke. At the city end of the Mardyke, the course turns onto the Cumann na mBan walk, passing the 2 Mile mark just after the turn and before the Bridge.
Towards the city end of the Mardyke, the route turns left onto the Cumann na mBan Walk
It continues along the riverside Cumann na mBan walk, coming out onto North Mall, and continues directly ahead onto Pope's Quay, passing North Main Street on the way
End of Cumann na mBan Walk - a gate in the railing, on the extreme right, will be open on the day
Exit onto North Mall
The course now follows the Full Marathon route for the next two and a half miles. The 3 Mile mark, just before John Buckley Sports, is reached just before Christy Ring Bridge. At Christy Ring Bridge, the course turns left, proceeding out to Lady's Well, where it turns left and immediately right, onto Watercourse Road
The Blackpool section of the course
Turning left onto O'Connell St, and immediate right onto Great William O'Brien Street. It continues directly ahead, passing Blackpool Church, on the right, as far as Brocklesby Street, where there is a sharp hair-pin turn
The sharp turn at the junction of Brocklesby Street/Commons Road
From there the runners head back towards the city, along Commons Road, and into Blackpool village, where it heads right, along Watercourse Road, as far as Maddens Buildings
Maddens Buildings Junction
Here, the route turns left, then does a U-Turn around a traffic island, and back in towards the city centre
The Maddens Buildings Loop
The course does a U-Turn around this traffic island (the turn from Maddens Buildings can be seen in the distance on the right, adjacent to the white van)
Here there is an 'S Bend', with the course turning left towards Blackpool and, almost immediately, doing a 180 degree turn, around a traffic island, and again heading in towards the city centre. Note: this 'S Bend' was necessary to make up the distance, ensuring that the 10k and Marathon Starts and Finishes coincided
After the S Bend, the race heads back in to Christy Ring Bridge, where it turns left onto Camden Quay, crossing over onto Patrick's Quay
Junction of Brian Boru Bridge/Patrick's Quay
At Brian Boru Bridge it turns right, over the bridge and right again onto Merchant's Quay
Turning from Brian Boru Bridge onto Merchant's Quay, by the Bus Station
From here it continues directly ahead, past Patrick's Bridge and on to Lavitt's Quay and Kyrl's Quay, before turning right onto North Main Street
From here the finishes of all three races; Marathon, Half-Marathon and 10K, are exactly the same: Proceeding to the junction with Washington Street and Grand Parade, followed by the finish down Patrick St
Tim O'Donoghue, East Cork AC, 2022 Marathon Winner at the Finish Line by Opera Lane
Overall this is probably one of the flattest courses one could find on the planet, so should prove a very attractive event with everyone, from the serious athlete, to those who simply want to savour the experience of Famous Cork Marathon Finish
The route of the Cork City Marathon 10k 2023 was finally signed off yesterday, with Gardai, Emergency Services and all the other significant parties agreeing to the route and traffic management plans, following several months of discussions and problem-solving, with several different route options being tabled and discarded, for a variety of reasons
The reason for the early starts for the 10k and Marathon is to ensure that essential city centre routes are reopened in time for increasing cross-city traffic later in the morning
Cork City Marathon 10k Course Map by Official Measurer
Cork City Marathon 10k Route on MapMyRun
This course was measured by John Quigley, AIMS/World Athletics Grade A International Measurer
Cork City Marathon 10k Route 2023
Cork City Marathon 10k Route 2023 - Map View
Cork City Marathon 10k Route 2023 - Course Elevation Profile
Don't be put off in any way, by the apparent 'hills' in the elevation profile above. This course is as flat as you can get. Google (and MapMyRun) has been 'fooled' by the presence of buildings and trees along the course. The course starts at 4m elevation, on Patrick St, and, obviously, finishes at 4m, more or less, as the finish line is only 93m further up Patrick St. Along the way, there are a few very slight rises, with a total elevation rise (and fall!) over the entire 10k route of some 36m, and all of these small rises are gradual. You couldn't ask for a flatter course!
