Connemara Round

About

A looped course in the Connemara Mountains taking in the Twelve Bens, Maumturks and Partry Hills mountain ranges. The round starts and finishes in the village of Letterfrack, and to successfully complete the round, participants must visit all 29 peaks, totalling approx. 94km and 7,700m climb in under 24 hours.

Connemara Round Route Detail

The start/finish is located at the intersection of the N59 and L11030 roads in the centre of Letterfrack Village at grid reference L 709577. EastWest Mapping provide 1:25,000 scale maps for the Connemara Mountains. Peaks must be accessed in sequential order listed below. Grid References take precedence over names. The grid reference is the location that must be visited in all cases. All numbered checkpoints must be visited. The route between each checkpoints is entirely up to the participant.

Point	Location	Grid Reference	Location Type	Notes
1	Start/Letterfrack	L709577	Road Junction	Crossroads in centre of village: Intersection of the N59 and L11030 roads
2	Currywongaun Hill	L731596	Peak
3	Doughruagh	L751594	Peak
4	Garraun	L767610	Peak
5	Letterettrin	L796620	Peak
6	Búcan	L852607	Peak
7	Leenaun Hill	L874593	Peak
8	Cruach a Doirín	L897565	Peak
9	Bunnacunneen	L938577	Peak
10	Cruach Breac	L958552	Peak
11	Corcogmore	L953491	Peak
12	Mullach Glas	L937492	Peak
13	Binn Mhór	L918494	Peak
14	Binn Chaonaigh	L900516	Peak
15	Barr Sliabh na Ráithe	L894526	Peak
16	Mulnahogue	L888528	Peak
17	Knocknahillion	L870538	Peak
18	Letterbreckaun	L857551	Peak
19	Maumturkmore	L855568	Peak
20	Bencollaghduff	L798530	Peak
21	Bencorr	L812522	Peak
22	Derryclare	L815510	Peak
23	Benlettery	L775495	Peak
24	Bengower	L783506	Peak
25	Benbreen	L783515	Peak
26	Benbaun	L786539	Peak
27	Benfree	L778544	Peak
28	Muckanaght	L768541	Peak
29	Benbrack	L766558	Peak
30	Diamond Hill	L731570	Peak
31	Finish/Letterfrack	L709577	Road Junction	Crossroads in centre of village: Intersection of the N59 and L11030 roads

Results

The list of completions of the Connemara Round is shown below (ordered from newest to oldest). Please select a name to view results.

* Categories

M -	Male
F -	Female
G -	Group

Hall of Fame

The list of Category Record Holders of the Connemara Round is shown below (ordered from oldest to newest). Please select a name to view results.

Female Record Holders

Male Record Holders

Group Record Holders

Ranked Categorised Completions

The full list of completions by cateogies, ordered from fastest to slowest is shown below. Please select a name to view results.

Female Completions by Time Taken

Male Completions by Time Taken

Group Completions by Time Taken

Connemara Round Rules

Any attempt to be recognised must first be publicised in advance on the forum section of the IMRA website www.imra.ie and afterwards by supplying a list of splits (arrival time at each of the nominated points/Grid References). All runners intending to attempt the round must register on the IMRA website.

All 31 nominated points must be visited in order. The 31 points are the 29 peaks as well as the start/end points. The start point and the end point are the same physical location.

1. To complete the Connemara Round, competitors may run solo or in groups on the strict understanding that all members carry their own gear, are self-propelled (no physical pushing or towing) and that the navigation is done by the solo / group members who are validly attempting to do the Round in total.
2. For groups to have their Round recognised all group members must complete the Round together and only a genuine reason may be accepted if a group member drops out part way round.
3. It is against the Rules of the Round for a group to split up to allow different paced group members to complete in different times.
4. It is against the Rules of the event to have any pacing runner or navigational support personnel accompany them during the Round attempt at any stage.
5. It is against the Rules of the event to use a GPS or any other type of electronic or other external navigational assistance device for positioning or pacing assistance or for route finding during the Round attempt.
6. Navigation should be by use of Map (Printed on paper) & Compass only. It is against the Rules of the event to use and tape or similar to mark section of the route in advance
7. It is against the Rules of the event to use a phone or similar device during the Round attempt to access the tracker data except at designated logistics /support/ refueling points which are located at tarmac road crossing points.
8. It is forbidden to use a phone or other form of communication to get any feedback, instructions or any other relevant information during the Round attempt except at designated logistic/ support refueling points as below,
9. It is against the Rules of the event to have fuel or liquid stashed along the Round route or to access similar left in position or offered by others encountered along the route except at designated logistic/ support refueling points as below,
10. Only access to drink shall be at naturally occurring water sources on the route and at designated support/ refueling points for food and drink.
11. These Logistical Support Points are all located at tarmac road crossing points
12. Designated / Permitted Logistical Support Points are as below:
    • Start
    • Public Road between CP4 (Garraun) & CP5 (Letterettrin)
    • Public Road (N59) between CP5 (Letterettrin) & CP6 (Búcan)
    • Public Road (R336) between CP8 (Cruach a'Doirín) & CP9 Bunnacunneen)
    • Public Road (R336) between CP10 (Cruach Breac) & CP11 (Corcogmore)
    • Public Road (R344) between CP19 (Maumturkmore) & CP20 (Bencollaghduff)
    • Public Road (L51374) between CP22 (Derryclare) & CP23 (Benlettery)
    • Finish
13. A competitor must have sufficient resources and skills to survive in a mountain environment for the duration of the attempt.
14. Route choices on a tarred road are permitted but no transport of any kind.
15. Food dumps and logistical support along the route are allowed at designitated points specified above.
16. Competitors must have logistics and a plan in place in case of injury or adverse weather conditions.
17. It is understood that some people may wish to attempt the Round route in the style of other "Rounds" by use of pacers, navigators, GPS, etc. There is no objection to that but such attempts should not be notified to IMRA nor should those doing such seek to be recognised or recorded as successful Round attempts.
18. Should anyone complete the Round circuit in such a manner and then use that experience gained to complete the Round on another date as per the Rules of the event then only the latter Round will be recorded.

Disclaimer

Rounds are personal challenges; IMRA's only involvement is to agree to record attempts. Neither IMRA, its servants, or agents can accept any responsibility of any nature or kind for loss, damage or injury suffered by a participant who takes part or attempts the any Round. Each participant takes part at their own risk and is fully responsibility for their own safety, support and equipment.

Connemara Round History

Since the first completion of the Wicklow Round in 2009, and the Rankin Round in 2014 there has been a growing interest in long distance mountain challenges amongst the running community. The Connemara Round provides another long distance challenge to test your mountain running and navigation skills.

The Round was conceived, recced, and refined over a number of months in 2022. The goal was to create a looped course that takes participants along the beautiful ridges of the Maumturks, Twelve Bens and Partry Hills. The guiding principles in developing the round were to provide a challenge that has a sociable start/finish point, and that is on a par, in terms of distance, elevation and difficulty, with other rounds across Ireland and the UK.

Statistics

Statistics based on successful rounds to date.

Column Descriptions

Min Time	The minimum time that stage was completed in.
Max Time	The maximum time that stage was completed in.
Mean Time	The mean (average) time that stage was completed in.
Min Cumulative	The lowest (i.e fastest) cumulative time for this stage.
Max Cumulative	The highest (i.e. slowest)cumulative time for this stage.
Mean Cumulative	The mean (average) cumulative time for this stage.

Note:

• The median is the 'middle' time if all the stage times were ordered from fastest to slowest. A good basic overview of the median is given at mathgoodies.com.
• Theses statistics are compiled from the timings of successful round completions. No timings for unsuccessful rounds are included.
• The cumulative time for each stage is taken from the population of all times submitted for that stage. As such, it would be unwise to use the 'Max. Cumulative' column as a worst case scenario if you were to plan your times.