BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
The Tullaroan Marathon is a staple in The June Bank Holiday Weekend Calendar and with the event making a welcome return last year following the Covid outbreak, this year’s event can expect to have greater numbers with participants registering from across Ireland and abroad.
There is a variety of distances for anyone who is taking part tomorrow and that includes The Ultra Marathon which is about 40 Miles Long.
There is also the normal Full Marathon which is 26 Miles (40KM), Half Marathon (13 Miles), 10KM and 5KM.
Whatever distance you choose to run, there will be plenty of thrills in the hills among the spectacular scenery on what is a wonderful event for all the family.
The action will commence from 7am tomorrow morning(Saturday) with The Ultra Marathon, and a Be Spoke Medal will be on show for finishers along with the famous Tullaroan T-Shirt for all finishers of The Ultra Marathon, Full Marathon, Half Marathon and 10KM.
The Tullaroan Marathon has grown each year since the event began and with 14 Nationalities represented last year, it strongly emphasises the massive interest on a wider scale. Having attracted massive interest from around the world last year, several countries can be expected to be represented in an event that continues to grow and expand each year.
Last year included participants from the UK, the US and Africa, while several countries from around Europe had runners competing also that sums up the popularity of the event.
Apart from The Marathon, Tullaroan Athletics Club has a number of major events throughout the year. On Easter Sunday morning, they appropriately hold their annual Easter Sunday Bunny Run as The Easter Bunny makes an appearance. The Easter Bunny Run is a family fun filled morning that brings the community together in such a wonderful atmosphere on a very special day.
Another event they run is the aptly named “Run Off The Pudding” that is held over The Christmas period. The “Run Off The Pudding” has a variety of distances almost identical to tomorrow’s Marathon, as on the day their is a Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10KM and 5KM.
It’s a perfectly named event at Christmas, and a most perfect opportunity to work off t he Christmas calories.
As well as The Tullaroan Marathon, their is a BeSpoke Medal for anyone who completes The Easter Sunday Bunny Run and The “Run Off The Pudding”.
There is a wonderful community spirit particularly among the events hosted by Tullaroan Athletics Club, and that will most certainly be seen tomorrow with The Tullaroan Marathon.
It will begin from 7am tomorrow morning (Saturday) with The Ultra Marathon and with the other races following on afterwards, Tullaroan will be very busy all day in particular for an event where preparations would have begun several months ago.
Stewards will be busy and they will be spread out at various points for the respective races, and with a whole host of Volunteers enthusiastically getting involved in helping out for the occassion, it helps ensure the smooth running of what will be a wonderful day out.
As mentioned, The Ultra Marathon commences proceedings from 7am tomorrow morning(Saturday), followed by the Full Marathon at 8.30am, Half Marathon at 9.30am, 10KM at 10am, with The 5KM starting at 10.15am.
There will be plenty of water stops across the various distances, while at various stops their will be Coca Cola, Jellies and Fruit.
For anyone who has registered for tomorrow, they can collect their number from 6.30pm to 8pm this evening (Friday) and also tomorrow morning (Saturday) from 6am until 30 minutes before the start of the race they are entered in. Check out tullaroanmarathon.com for further details on tomorrow’s race.
This a family friendly event for every member of the family to enjoy on what will be a great day out.
