Race report by Elaine Guinane on the Curraghchase 10km Race in Co.Limerick, Sunday August 17th

A sunny Sunday in Curraghchase Forest Park in Limerick made for an ideal setting for a ten km race last weekend. With numbers up from under 300 last year to over 600 this year, the small village of Kilcornan was a hive of activity. The Race HQ in the GAA hall was well organised, with a large number of pre-registered entries.

The race started bang on time just outside the entrance to the Forest Park. The first few kilometres were along a tree-lined road towards the centre of the park, with a few minor pulls and drags here and there. Once in the centre of the park, it was off to the right, past the Curraghchase house and onto some hard work! Here runners were met with some quite long pulls, as we wound our way around some lovely tree-lined paths and avenues. Despite the many hills, the surface was quite good and allowed for smooth running. The course was also well laid out, with marshals at every junction and the route clearly marked out with signs and tape. Eventually we came out onto a road to complete the loop before retracing footsteps over the last two kms to finish back at the GAA Hall.

The finish line area was excellent, with a huge variety of food (From hot dogs to bananas to lollipops!) on offer, as well as free massages from experienced therapists.

Overall, a well-organised, scenic race in a lovely park. It is a tough course and probably not one for a pb, but the scenery and setting make up for this. At €20 per entry, however, it may be considered a little on the expensive side for a ten km race. There were also only race packs for the first 500 entrants, so anybody entering on the morning missed out. Just a few miles from the heritage town of Adare, a journey to this race could be part of a great day trip to Limerick.