An entry of around 400 is expected for Sunday’s Donegal Half Marathon, which gets underway in Letterkenny at 9.20 am.
Now in its ninth year, the race, which is once again sponsored by the Kernan’s Retail Group, continues to attract a large field.
Looking ahead to Sunday, race director, Brendan McDaid, said he’s happy with how preparations for the longest race of the Donegal Grand Prix Road Series have gone.
“We launched this year’s race back in March and a lot of work has been done by the organising committee over the last five months,” he said.
Following feedback from a survey among those who took part in last year’s race, the organisers have made significant changes to the course.
The two main changes see the removal of the climb up Letterkenny’s Port Road and the large loop of the course being done the opposite way.
The combination of these two changes has resulted in a new starting line at the beginning of the Conwal straight. There will be a flat four miles in and around the town before competitors head over the Oldtown Bridge, out Bomany and New Mills and through Rashedog, before coming back into town along the main Glenties Road via Tullygay and Conwal, and finishing on the Danny McDaid track at the Aura Leisure Centre.
“It’s certainly a flatter and faster course,” Brendan said.
“Hopefully the weather will be favourable and the competitors will leave with a good experience.”
The deadline for online entries for the 2022 Donegal Half Marathon is Friday the 26th of August at 6pm.
No registrations will be taken on the day of the race and the cost for registering Saturday afternoon at race headquarters in the Aura Leisure Centre will be €35.
Sunday will also see the return of the 1k races for children after the main event gets underway. All participating children will receive a goody bag, courtesy of Donegal Sports Partnership, and a free cinema pass, kindly sponsored by Century Cinemas.
The Donegal Volunteer Centre is seeking stewards to help with the event. Those interested in helping on Sunday can email John at john@volunteerdonegal.ie.
To register for Sunday’s event, follow this link: https://www.njuko.net/donegal_half_marathon_2022
