Terrain

Day 1: Black Lakes West

Middle Distance

Planner: Bernard Creedon (CorkO)
Controllor: Kevin O'Dwyer
Organisers: Robert O'Connor (CorkO), Gerald Duffy (CorkO)

Starts: 1.00pm - 3.30pm

Course	Classes	Approximate Length	Climb
1	M21E	6.1km	180m
2	M21L, M35L, M40L	5.1km	140m
3	M18, M45, M50L, W21E, W35L	4.9km	135m
4	M21S, M40S, M55L, M60L, W18, W40L	4.2km	130m
5	M55S, W45L, W50L, W55L	3.8km	115m
6	M16, M65L, W21S, W40S	3.1km	100m
7	W16, W55S, W60, W65L	2.3km	70m
8	M14, M21N, W14, W21N	2.3km	20m
9	M10, M12, W10, W12	2.0km	15m

Note on the W21E/W21L classes: Based on the number of entries received, the W21L and W21E classes have been amalgamated. The resultant class will be called W21E; it is the same standard as a W21E course, but the length of a W21L course. The length of the course has been chosen based on finishing times in these classes in previous competitions held on this terrain.

The Black Lakes are situated on the rough open mountain terrain of West Cork, which was last used for Irish Championships in 1999.

Click on the links for examples of the terrain and map:
Black Lakes 1 (118 kB)
Black Lakes 2 (223 kB)

"I've been on The Black Lakes twice. The first time in 1996 at Shamrock O-Ringen, and the second time 2007 at an OK Linné training camp. I remembered the terrain as quite varied, from flatter marshy areas to technically difficult slopes. All in all, a beautiful and tough area that was really enjoyable, especially the scenery at the lakes!"
-- Mats Troeng, Swedish Elite Orienteer and WinSplits creator

Day 2: Crohane Mountain

Classic Distance

Planner: Brian Corbett (CorkO)
Controllor: Brendan O'Brien (KerryO)
Organiser: Brian Flannelly (CorkO)

Starts: 11.30am - 1.30pm

Course	Classes	Approximate Length	Climb
1	M21E	9.9km	400m
2	M21L, M35L, M40L	7.4km	250m
3	M18, M45, M50L, W21E, W35L	6.8km	200m
4	M21S, M40S, M55L, M60L, W18, W40L	5.0km	200m
5	M55S, W45L, W50L, W55L	4.0km	160m
6	M16, M65L, W21S, W40S	3.4km	130m
7	W16, W55S, W60, W65L	2.8km	130m
8	M14, M21N, W14, W21N	2.6km	125m
9	M10, M12, W10, W12	1.3km	60m

Like the Black Lakes, Crohane features rough open mountainside with considerable rock, marsh and contour detail that has been typical of the Shamrock O-Ringen. The runnability is variable, and dependent on the rainfall in the weeks preceding the event.

In 1998, Crohane Mountain was the scene of the first round of the Orienteering World Cup.

Click on the link for a map example:
Crohane Mountain (176 kB)
Click here to download the World Cup 1998 Classic distance map (1 MB).

Day 3: Muckross Forest Park

Chasing Start

Planner: Colm O'Halloran (CorkO)
Controllor: John Walshe (WEGO)
Organiser: David O'Donovan (CorkO)

Starts: from 9.30am

Course	Classes	Approximate Length	Climb
1	M21E	9.2km	240m
2	M21L, M35L, M40L	8.2km	150m
3	M18, M45, M50L, W21E, W35L	7.1km	150m
4	M21S, M40S, M55L, M60L, W18, W40L	5.0km	60m
5	M55S, W45L, W50L, W55L	4.7km	50m
6	M16, M65L, W21S, W40S	3.6km	65m
7	W16, W55S, W60, W65L	3.6km	40m
8	M14, M21N, W14, W21N	3.3km	30m
9	M10, M12, W10, W12	2.5km	30m

Muckross (Killarney National Park) is an old forested estate beside the world famous lakes of Killarney, with a wide variation in terrain type. This was the scene of the World Cup Relays in 1998, and the area has been newly re-mapped for Shamrock 2009.

The forest is mostly deciduous and fast-running, with many paths, and with rocky, steep and contoured parts. The open fields interspersed with rocky forested sections will make for an exciting finish to this year's event.

Click on the link below for a photo:
Muckross (25 kB)
Click here to download the World Cup 1998 Relays map (404 kB).

The full results and report from the 1998 World Cup held in Killarney are available here: wc98_killarney_full_results.pdf (pdf file, 6.4 MB).

---