So it's six days to the off & if the rumour mill is correct we could be in for a grandstand finish as we have the possibility of former winner & current Dublin City Marathon title holder, Sean Hehir, lining up against five time Fields winner & course record holder, Gary Thornton. Gary made a return to the local road running scene in Galway last week with a 30.29 in the Ballinderreen 10km, a time which would have given him 1st position in the fields for the last three years. We could be in for a good one!!
The race route can be found here.
Although a lot of races throughout the year have seen a drop in entry numbers the Fields is heading for another record entry again this year. We are currently around the 1200 mark & growing daily. We will be closing entries soon but please note; There will be no entries accepted on the day!!
Registration will take place, as usual, in the Presentation College Hall in Athenry. Registration opens at 9.00am & closes at 10.45am sharp. There will be parking at the school & overflow parking available in adjacent schools & public car parks. We will have plenty of signage & marshals on hand to assist you & if in doubt please go to where the marshal directs you.
The start line is situated behind the School Hall & adjacent to the Train Station. The easiest route is to turn right after exiting the registration hall & pass through the adjacent train station or church grounds (See attached Registration Map). The race starts at 11.00am on the button.
We have pacers in operation on the day for 40, 45, 50, 55 & 60 minutes. They will have a luminous yellow t-shirt with ‘Pacer’ wrote on it & will have a balloon corresponding to their finish time.
There is a Juvenile race which takes a loop through the town and is 1km long. This race starts adjacent to the North Gate Arch (See attached Map) and finishes under the Arch. Registration is also in the Presentation College Hall from 9.00am but closes at 10.00am for a race start of 10.15am sharp.
As always we have a commissioned Galway crystal for the winners in all of the categories listed below;
First six in both Senior Male and Female.
First two Junior Male and Female
First two Over 40 Male and Female
First two Over 45 Male and Female
First two Over 50 Male and Female
First two Over 55 Male and Female
First two Over 60 Male and Female
First two Over 65 Male and Female
First two Over 70 Male and Female
First three teams of four Male and Female
The presentation of prizes will take place in the Presentation College Hall from 13.00pm and we will have our race headline sponsors on hand to present the prizes.
We would like to take this opportunity to again thank our headline sponsors for their continued assistance;
Kinvara Rock & Road - Half Marathon & 10km
For a full list of our race sponsors, to enter the race or to see further details & results from all previous editions of the race see our dedicated race website here.
Finally, everyone at Athenry AC would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas & we look forward to seeing you on the 26th.