Ring to get them racing to Achill

Ring to get them racing to Achill


Anton McNulty

With the evenings getting longer and sun starting to make an appearance once again it is the ideal time to start pounding the tarmac and get in shape for the annual Achill Half Marathon.
Mayo’s new Tourism Minister, Michael Ring will fly the flag for his native county when he officially launches the Achill Half-Marathon in Dublin.
Now in its sixth year, the 2011 staging of the popular half-marathon will take place on Saturday, July 2, starting and finishing in Keel. As ever, proceeds from this year’s event will go to charity – west of Ireland heart charity Croí being the national beneficiary and St Colman’s Care Centre in Achill the worthy local organisation.
With entries capped at 2,500 this year, Minister Ring will be encouraging people to sign up early, when he officially gets the countdown under way in the capital this Thursday.
The rapidly-growing event, which attracted over 8,000 visitors to the island last year, will be launched locally the following evening, Friday, in ÓstΡn OileΡn Acla in Achill Sound. The evening will commence at 7.30pm and refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend, in particular all the volunteers who supported the event last year.
Tipperary Natural Spring Water and the Carlton Group are sponsors of the 2011 marathon, while The Mayo News are media partners.