The Spar Great Ireland Family Run – A Day For The Whole Family
The Spar Great Ireland Family Run will be taking place again on the 11th April 2015 in the Phoenix Park. There will also be a Mini event for the 3-8 year-olds and a Junior event for 9-15 year-olds.
The 10k run through the Phoenix Park will be broadcasted live by RTE 2 and the All Ireland County Challenge will give participants from the opportunity to run for their county.
The Mini event for the 3-8 year-old will be a 1.6k run and the Junior event will be 2.5k.
Last year’s winners in the Elite Men and Woman Championships were Japheth Korir of Kenya with a time of 29 minutes and 12 seconds and Iwona Lewandowska of Poland finishing in 33 minutes and 39 seconds.
The professional athletes will be there attempting to better these times, but for those who are just there to take part in a fun day of healthy running an hour will be a good enough time to aim at.
The SPAR great Ireland Elite Women, featuring the AAI women National 10k Championship will start at 13.10pm and the Junior events will start at 11.30am.
There will be four waves of runners starting the run at 13.30pm – orange, white, green and pink. The orange wave will lead the way and is the colour for the Elite and the AAI men.
The 10k scenic course winds through the park and begins and ends’ nears the Ambassador’s Residence. It is a great run and passes by trees and grass-lands where the runners really get to enjoy nature at its best and serene, while sweating and suffering all the way to the end.
That is why training is advised for those who are not trained, but want to participate in one of the biggest family day events of the year. Here is a few training tips for a successful day:
- Be Patient
- Mix walking and running
- Wear the right shoes
- Stay strong
- Go easy
- Schedule rest days
- Listen to your body
- Set a goal
- Use a training dairy
- Heed the 10% rule, don’t increase your training by more than 10% a week
The SPAR races are sponsored this year by An Garda Siochana, Aqua Pura, Code Blue, Athletics Ireland, Dublin City Harriers, IAAF, The Irish Independent, Life Style Sports, Lucozade Sport, Ordnance Survey, Puma, RTE Sport, SPAR, The Office of Public Works, The Order of Malta, The National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght.
There will be stalls with food and drink for participants and supporters and the FM104 Roadhog will be there to air the day’s festivities.
Entries are still open and you can ensure yourself a place by going online at www.greatirelandrun.org
