Spar Great Ireland Run In person entries still accepted on Thursday and Friday this week
– Elite field led by European Cross Country Champion Hayley Yelling, World Championships Marathon bronze medallist, Viktor Rothlin and Irish record holder Martin Fagan
With four days to go, a surge in entries over last weekend has seen participant numbers in the SPAR Great Ireland Run exceed those of last year. Nearly 10,500 people have now signed up for Ireland’s largest mixed 10k Run which takes place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on Sunday 18th April at 1 pm.
In person entries can still be made at Lifestyle Sports in Blanchardstown Retail Park, Dublin 15 on Thursday 15th (noon-9pm) and Friday 16th (noon – 7pm). No entries will be taken on Saturday 17th or on the day of the Run.
Among the celebrities taking part will be singer Ronan Keating, former world boxing champion Steve Collins, Ireland and Leinster rugby great, Shane Byrne, broadcaster Ray D’Arcy and RTE sports reporter Evanne Ni Chuilinn. Ireland’s most successful female athlete, Sonia O’Sullivan, and Dublin football star Jason Sherlock will also be present to meet runners.
The elite female participants in the Run will be led by European Cross Country Champion, Hayley Yelling from Britain, former World Cross Country Champion, Benita Willis of Australia and last year’s third place finisher, Jelena Prokupcuka from Latvia. Irish star Mary Cullen has been forced to withdraw from the Run due to injury but a strong Irish challenge will be headed by Deirdre Byrne, Pauline Curley and national marathon champion Annette Kealy.
The men’s field will be led by Swiss World Championship bronze medallist, Viktor Rothlin, Luis Feitera of Portugal and Ireland’s half-marathon record holder, Martin Fagan. National cross-country champion Mark Kenneally will also challenge strongly alongside most of Ireland’s top distance runners.
The Run incorporate the Irish 10k road championships under the auspices of Athletics Ireland. To incentivise elite Irish athletes and raise the standard of 10k running in the country, a cash prize fund is in place for the first ten Irish men and women.
As part of its National Endurance Development Programme, Athletics Ireland in conjunction with the SPAR Great Ireland Run, will host an open forum for Athletics Ireland athletes and coaches in the Crown Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin on Saturday April 17th at 2.30 pm with Viktor Rothlin, Benita Willis, Hayley Yelling and Martin Fagan. Participants must register in advance with Athletics Ireland.
2010 is the eighth running of the event in Dublin which has grown rapidly in popularity since the first Run in 2003. RTE Two television will broadcast the Run live in a special programme.
The Run is preceded by a Junior Great Ireland Run for participants between the ages of 8 and 15 over a distance of 2.7 km. This event has also grown substantially and will have its largest ever field this year with over 500 young people taking part.
Earlier this year the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of athletics conferred an IAAF Road Race Label on the SPAR Great Ireland Run, in recognition of the event’s high standard of organisation, elite participation and media profile. This is the first time an Irish event has been recognised in this way by the IAAF.
Nearly 1,000 entrants in the Run are from the UK and their participation will be a significant boost to tourism in Dublin as they travel to the city for the weekend with family and friends.
Record numbers of participants are running for good causes including the Run’s nominated charities The Marie Keating Foundation, Our Lady’s Hospice and SPAR’s charity of the year, The 3Ts – Turn the Tide of Suicide. Barretstown and Temple Street Children’s Hospital are the nominated charities for the Junior Run.