Some of the staff from the Enniskillen Dunnes store who will be helping to marshall the Enniskillen Spooktacular 5K Run The event will be taking place on Friday 25th of the month starting at the Townhall at 7-30 pm
A monster crowd is expected to take to the streets of Enniskillen over the Halloween holidays as runners from across the province and further afield line up for one of the most atmospheric events in the racing calendar.
The third annual Enniskillen Spooktacular 5k Run will be held on Friday, October 25 – and organisers are promising runners and spectators alike an evening of frighteningly good fun as well as top quality action.
With the race starting at the Diamond at 7.30pm, participants will complete a two and a half lap circuit of the historic island town, before crossing the finish line back on the main street.
In the past two years, around 300 runners of all ages, abilities and in all sorts of costumes have joined in the proceedings, with enthusiastic crowds lining the route to cheer them on.
With a bumper prize fund of over £1,000 (including £100 each for the first male and female home), there’s sure to be fireworks at the elite end of the field.
In a hotly contested race last year local star Mark Hoy – with a time of 15.50 – had a four second advantage on Enniskillen Running Club’s own Conan McCaughey. Both runners have significantly improved since then, and it will take any visiting athlete to be at the top of his game to claim the honours.
In the women’s field last year, Patricia O’Hagan of the St Peter’s club in Lurgan claimed the title in
a time of 18.06, with Clones AC’s Denise Toner nine seconds behind.
As well as prizes for the first three male and female runners across the line, there will also be a host of prizes in the under-16, over-40, over-50 and over-60 categories.
And it’s not just those at the front of the field who will be in with a shout of treasure – there’ll also
be rewards for the runners wearing the best fancy dress costumes, as well as technical T-shirts for the first 250 entrants.
The evening’s proceedings kick off at 6pm when registration opens at race HQ, Pat’s Bar in the Diamond, which will also host the prize-giving and post-event refreshments.
Race director David Somerville said he hoped as many people as possible – from the serious athlete to the occasional fun runner – turn out for what should be a very enjoyable evening.
“We have had an amazing response over the last two years – and we’re hoping 2013 is going to be even bigger and better. The feedback we have had is that people love the atmosphere of a night-time race right through the centre of town.
“We have pegged entry fees to the same levels as previous years, but have almost doubled our prize fund on 2011. The course is certified by NI Athletics, we will have chip timing from Precision Timing and we have a huge army of marshals and volunteers to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
Enniskillen Running Club chairman Stephen Clawson added: “We are looking forward to a high-quality night’s racing, as well a fun, family event with a real Halloween holiday feel about it.
“We would encourage people who have friends or family members taking part to come out and cheer them on. Because the race goes round the town a number of times there’s plenty of opportunity to support your runner.”
Stephen also thanked this year’s sponsors – the Westville Hotel, the Railway Hotel, 02, Pedalware, Dunnes Stores, Pat’s Bar, Diamond Taxis, Future Renewables, CVC Technologies and Speedy Reg – for their generous support.
Online entries are now being accepted at www.precisiontiming.net, as well as at www.athleticsni.org (follow the link to Fixtures). Paper entries will be accepted before 5pm, Tuesday, October 22, at Salon Twenty2, East Bridge Street, and M&S Tyres, Cornagrade Road, Enniskillen. For postal entries, or to view the route and keep up to date with the latest race news contact the organisers at www.facebook.com/enniskilenrc
