Top of Coom Half
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Dáithí de Mórdha | Jul 22 2025, 11:49am | Micheál a chara, Have you anything in the line of a route map or a profile for this, or is it a horseshoe from Barr a' Choma to Danny Healy-Rae's pub?! |
| Micheal McSweeney | Jul 23 2025, 1:43pm | Dàithì mo chara dhìlis. I won't put up a Route map as all of the race is on private land with permission for just the day. I will however put a profile of the elevation in the photos section. The race will start at Barrnastooka, Kilgarvan and follow the mountains in a horseshoe around the Grousemount Wind farm. The first half of the route passes over the top of Barrnastooka and the 4 tops of Carran. On reaching Bealic above Gugan Barra, the route follows the County Bounds back to the Top of Coom. The last 5 ish km is the same as the last section of the shorter Top of Coom Race. The terrain for the most part is open mountain blanket bog. Nice energy sapping conditions. Lots of grip required. This is definitely not one for the faint hearted. But the views of Mid and West Corh and East and South Kerry make all the suffering worthwhile. Unless it's wet and foggy, which it often is. Then you will see nothing. A Fog and Bog classic. :-) Just think of the creamy pints and top class food in the Top of Coom, Ireland's highest pub, afterwards. The first few km up Barrnastooka was part of an Irish Championship race back in the 1990ies. Hosted by two local farmers John Egan and Sean Twomey. John and Sean were also two top runners in their day. World Champion Mountain Runner John Lenihan won on Barrnastooka in the 1990ies, who will win in 2025? |
| Dáithí de Mórdha | Jul 23 2025, 9:52pm | Grma Michael, Sounds mighty. Just my cup of tea, as there is no better way to spend a morning than sinking up to your bellyband in the bogholes of Cork and Kerry. Looking forward to it! |
