Facilities

This parkrun is located in the Sport Ireland campus in the west of Dublin and is accessible by bus from the city centre. Because of the sheer size of the campus there is a long walk from the bus stop to the start of the run of about 1km, so if travelling by bus allow time for this walk. There is a small car park close to the start line, which may fill up quickly, but there are other larger car parks in the campus, within 500m roughly. The area is residential so walking would be possible for residents, again though, time should be allowed for the walk into the campus. There are toilets at the Horse Arena close to the start line, but no changing facilities.

Course

When I visited this event there was a temporary course in place until after the upcoming cross country championships have taken place. This temporary route is made up of three laps of the course. There are no sharp climbs on the course, but there is a fair elevation difference between the top and the bottom of the course, so it couldn’t be called a flat run. The well signposted route is roughly 60% grass and 40% paved. The grassy parts were quite muddy when I was there in October, so winter running here would be exciting I would say. The surroundings are very nice, being an open field with some nice mature trees dotted around it.

Coffee

Coffee is had in the National Aquatic Centre, which you will pass when exiting the campus. It is a hive of activity.

X Factor

The scale of the Sport Ireland campus is impressive, with excellent facilities for a whole range of sports. The elite athletes of each discipline train in these facilities and inspiration can be taken from their Herculean efforts.