Wicklow EcoTrail 2019
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Rene Borg | Aug 10 2019, 10:14am | Thanks again in advance for the IMRA committee for allowing us to post this here. The EcoTrail series is debutting in Ireland this September 28 on the initiative of Wicklow Tourism and Wicklow County Council. The event works closely and is supported by Wicklow Uplands Council and Pure Project to highlight the focus on sustainable trails and respect for the uplands and to promote County Wicklow at home and abroad as the fantastic outdoor destination we know it is. http://wicklow.ecotrail.com It will be based from Bray Seafront with the various routes (18, 28, 45 and 80k) going out to Little Sugarloaf, Great Sugarloaf, Powerscourt and Roundwood reservoirs respectively. The events are expected to carry 0, 1, 2 and 3 ITRA points respectively. The three shorter events are currently nearly sold out. Wicklow Athletics will provide a significant amount of the crew necessary to run the event but any IMRA runners interested please email info@ecotrailwicklow.com as it would be fantastic to have an IMRA team looking after one of the key sectors. There will be remuneration for everyone working on the event - details will be provided when you contact us. The course has access to a few areas not normally open to the public including the Northern part of Kilruddery Estate and Powerscourt Waterfall whose owners have allowed the event access for the day. For more information refer to the |
| Paul Mahon | Aug 15 2019, 9:49pm | There is free entry into any of the Eco Trail events (80, 45, 28 or 18km) in exchange for help out with marshalling :-) Drop a mail to info@outfront.ie and myself or Rene can sort out the details on location and time to suit you and whoever you are getting to marshal on your behalf thanks :-) |
| Niamh Kelly | Aug 15 2019, 11:16pm | Paul, do you need more marshals for the Ecotrail I do not mind helping out, Paul is running that day as well Niamh |
| Rene Borg | Oct 1 2019, 1:12pm | Congratulations to all the IMRA runners who competed in this year's event and a hearty thank you to the experienced IMRA hands who lent us a hand as marshals, demarkers and other key positions. Eoin Flynn who left the track for a 9-year love affair with the mountains was at hand as MC at the finish line and had a few solid results from IMRA top men to celebrate. Too many IMRA runners competed to name them all so here some highlights from the winner's roll: Several internationals used the opportunity to polish off the form ahead of the upcoming trip to Patagonia with Ian Conroy winning the 18 km ahead Kate Purcell who took 2nd overall. Caoimhin MacMaolain and Jimmy Synnott took care of the over-40 and over-50 prizes for men. The 28 km event was stacked with IMRA talent: Ruairi Long producing a strong mark of 2:21 to win six minutes ahead of Warren Swords (first o-40) and Brian Furey a further 4 minutes back in third. Gavin Byrne and the brothers Bell made up the rest of a pure IMRA top-6. Jill Horan won the ladies race in front of first o-50 (Ger Kelly) and Lucy O'Malley (first over-40). On the 45 km event, foreign runners dominated so we move swiftly on to the 80 km where the most interesting battle of the day played out as former middle-distance runner Joe Warne came from 14 minutes behind to win the race by 5 minutes. Jason Webb and Keith Mullen, who recorded their first few IMRA races these last two years, were 2nd and 3rd with Eoin Keith in 4th taking the over-50 prize. Ladies winne was Aoife Mundow - the only woman to 'sneak' under the 10 hour barrier. Well done to everyone else who competed and hope to see you again in 2020. |
| Lar Heffernan | Oct 1 2019, 3:14pm | Really enjoyable day ,some great trails and well organised. Thanks to all involved, will definitely be back next year. |
| Shane O'Malley | Oct 1 2019, 3:22pm | Great day Rene, Spoke to quite a few of the foreign runners there and they were really impressed including one guy who said he had done all the other EcoTrail runs. Roll on next year. |
| Peter Bell | Oct 1 2019, 6:07pm | That was a brilliant race, well done! You could see the amount of work that went into it and the trails where in great nic. Its defo on the list for next year. Nice one to the Eco team. |
| Andrew Hanney | Oct 1 2019, 6:13pm | Amazing marshals that’s for sure! |
| Brendan Lawlor | Oct 1 2019, 6:48pm | Well done to Rene, Hilary, Paul and all their many helpers and Marshall’s for a great days Hillrunning in Bray on Saturday.. great route ( I did the 18k) with a bit of everything and lovely mix of goodies and beer at the finish. Lovely atmosphere at the whole thing too despite the national mourning after the mornings events in Japan. Highly recommended for next year! |
| Laura Flynn | Oct 1 2019, 7:10pm | Well done and thanks to Paul, Hilary, Rene and the numerous other IMRA volunteers who gave their time on Saturday and at registration on Friday. What a great day of races and excellent performances from our international athletes - Ian,Kate, Brian, and Eoin (on the mike) before they head off to Patagonia to add to Sarah and Zac’s on the international stage. |
| Warren Swords | Oct 2 2019, 11:09am | Brilliant race at the weekend. The set up was exceptional. The 28km course was superbly designed, a lot of thought went into it. Great to see so many people enjoying the trails. Alcohol free Wicklow Wolf at the finish was the icing on the cake. |
| John McCann | Oct 2 2019, 2:43pm | Just wanted to add my thanks to the organisers and volunteers. It was an amazing day out on the hills. Everything was perfect, especially the route which really showed Wicklow at it’s best, helped by the weather. I will be back next year for sure. |
| Barry Murray | Oct 3 2019, 10:30am | An absolutely brilliant event. Hats off to Rene, Paul and crew. A real showcase for Irish trail/mountain running. This will grow legs and its great to see so many IMRA folk involved and participating. Moonlight beer that tasted like real beer but wasn't.... that was a treat ! And towels given out for sea dips, another nice touch. I'll be booking my place for next year for sure, and will get some more training in to stay with the lads ;) |
| Adam Leadbetter | Oct 8 2019, 2:55pm | A bit late to this - but thank you to everyone who organised and helped out with the event. I did the 45km, and it was superb. The route was excellent and well signed, the marshals were hugely encouraging and the aid stations easy to use. If only it wasn't on the far side of the country from me! It'd be great to have something like this on the west coast too. |
