Calendar 2025
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Liam Vines | Dec 12 2024, 11:18am | It’s starting to appear!!!! Be aware that there is a few new races that won’t be on the calendar or in there leagues for a day or so.. For the reasons you will have to ask the IT guys.. so give it the day then start planning your year.. Proper update coming tomorrow… |
| Mick Hanney | Dec 12 2024, 11:45am | Thanks Liam and committee for the work on this. Let the planning commence. |
| Andre Van Barneveld | Dec 13 2024, 8:21am | Is the Stone X to Lug still looking to get jammed in there somewhere?? |
| Elaine Casey | Dec 13 2024, 8:54am | And the nav challenges? |
| Alan Kennedy | Dec 13 2024, 9:46am | Thanks Liam and team for all the work that goes into this huge list of races, more added again today as promised. Fun plotting out the year ahead and for all the negotiations with Spouses to begin. |
| Eoin Hamilton | Dec 13 2024, 11:18am | Great work on the calendar so far. Delighted to see a few 1000km races added to the calendar. I think Bray to Bray was a good start but time to push the distance a bit |
| Karl Bourne | Dec 13 2024, 11:34am | That's a great looking calendar for 2025 so far. Thanks to Liam and team for all the hard work that has gone into this. Great to see the winter races kicking off in January again this time, February is far too long to wait. The addiction is real! |
| Jeff Swords | Dec 13 2024, 12:11pm | Not sure if Eoin has his tongue in cheek but just in case people start making plans around whole weekends, for the few races in there with distances of 999km, the distance is just a placeholder until we get more accurate distances. |
| Dave Docherty | Dec 14 2024, 7:58pm | I know one lad who was planning a Wednesday night Ultra. |
| Liam Vines | Dec 15 2024, 9:18pm | So its up.. And I am 2 days late with this.. We are still working on a few bits for the West so dates and venues will be along soon for that. Winter League Back to 5 races 3 to score. Carrick is in, don’t worry Niamh will be bringing you off the normal summer route. The other 4 are old relabels. Jody Boyle is League Coordinator so if you want a spot as RD get in touch with Jody. Trail League Going to 5 races with this but two are on the weekends before the hour changes. Best 3 to score, this should make the league a lot more competitive. Be great to be back in Devils Glen and Mick is preparing to have us in Annacurra. John Bell is League Coordinator here so same deal shout if you want an RD spot. Southeast League 7 races with a big spread across the counties. 4 to score. A trip to the Comeragh’s will hopefully be one of the highlights of this league. I would really like to see the number of league finishers go up here. So, check out all the race dates. Niamh Kelly is Race Coordinator for the Southeast and will be waiting for your call. Leinster League Doesn’t really need any pushing as it is already what everyone wants to do on a Wednesday evening. The usual 13 races with 7 to score. A trip up the M50 to the Cooley’s is probably a bit different but let’s see how that goes. Vivian is League Coordinator, so he is accepting RD applications now. Leinster Half Marathon League This was a huge success in 2024, so just the one change. Going to Co. Louth and the Cooley’s for the day. There will be a few tweaks to other routes hear and there but it’s a case of if it isn’t broken don’t fix it. Niamh O’Ceallaigh is League Coordinator for this one. Irish Championships First race is Lug but with a bit of a twist it’s the Ballineddan route from 2024 LC should be a cracker to start with. Unfortunately, it became impossible to keep Carrauntoohil on the calendar, but Mangerton is a very capable replacement. This championship requires a bit of travel and time to complete but it is well worth doing. There is also “THE SINGLET” worth it all by itself. Peter O’Farrell is in charge here. Leinster Championships IF all goes to plan this will be a supper championship. To be honest we are still waiting on permission to be given for one venue, but all is moving along. And as for the TBC for the last race. That’s for a new year surprise. Mick Hanney will be keeping us all in check for this one and hopefully will have a few Strava flybys on the go. Ulster Championship Second year of NIMRA and IMRA working together on this. It would be great to see more IMRA runners getting this championship done. It is one of my own goals for the year. Irish Ultra Championship Wicklow Way back to a summer spot. Slieve Bloome Way not in nesting season. Get the training miles in all… Gavin Byrne is on the look out for some good help especially in Laois. Night events Crone on the Friday of St. Patricks weekend. Two when the evenings get dark after the summer. Epic events in 2024… Alistair Hodgett will be looking after the night events. No Stonecross to Lug for next year. It was decided that the effort to put on this race needs at least 30 to justify the long day put in by RD and volunteers. So, we have an experiment to carry out. Two questions could be answered. 1) will more people take part in open mountain running if aloud use a GPS? 2) Which is faster Map and compass or GPS?? Haven’t decided on a route yet but the distance will be around 50k and just so you know. You don’t have to use a GPS…… I think all the other stand alone rases are as they were in 2024. Munster As always Munster have an action-packed Calendar of their own. We are hoping that the dates are laid out in such a way that for all the bigger races everyone can do them and not feel they are missing out on something closer to home. Not always possible with so many races but we try. Some things to think about when picking your races for next year Do a race you have never done before. This might mean running in new mountains or in a different county but get out and do it. Move from finishing a race to finishing a league. It might take a bit of planning you might even have to miss a road race to get the needed races done. But it is so worth it… Move from following the flags to following your map, compass and your senses. There is no freer way to run. You may need to brush up on your navigation skills you might even have to take a navigation course, but once you take that step where you can go is limitless Volunteer often. Not just because you should or that we are always asking you to but because it’s the best way to get to know everyone. The perfect IMRA runner completes a league with 5 races in it. Does 3 races to get their finish misses one as we always have stuff to do and volunteers at 1 I hope the Christmas preparations are going well, and I hope to see a lot of you at the Remembrance run on the 27th. Liam Vines Race Coordinator |
| Laura Flynn | Dec 15 2024, 9:48pm | Wow … that’s impressive! Well done Liam to you and the committee on putting this together. |
| Andrew Hanney | Dec 16 2024, 12:06pm | Liam that is a mouth-watering description of great races to come in 2025. Well done to you and the committee for all the work done on this. |
| Eoin Hamilton | Dec 16 2024, 12:28pm | Always looking for a joke Jeff! Incredible work Liam and co. Calendar is looking brilliant. Will have the 2025 wall planner out soon. |
| Niall Corrigan | Dec 16 2024, 2:00pm | Does the unfortunate demise of Carrauntoohil as an Irish Championship race also mean the demise of The Reeks Skyline and the attendant weekend of fun? Or is it yet to be added? |
| Stephen O Keeffe | Dec 16 2024, 3:19pm | Yeah no reeks weekend at all this year. It was brought up at the Munster AGM. |
| Conor Murphy | Dec 16 2024, 3:31pm | Huh? What? Why? |
| Mícheál O'Mullain | Dec 16 2024, 5:30pm | Massive selection of races for next year lads fair play on the effort in putting it together. One might wonder going forward about the credibility of an IC that has no Carrauntoohil race but presumably there are valid reasons for same. |
| Robbie Williams | Dec 16 2024, 6:32pm | Right Lads It’s a bit of a saga but it’s down to permits, landowners and the access forum. Will spare all the details but we aren’t wanted down there. I have been jumping hoops for last few years and I don’t believe it can be satisfied. Now I’m definitely not talking about Cronins Yard as they have always been unbelievable in their support and went above and beyond. A massive appreciation to them . The Reeks seriously needs to by taken over and managed by a government body like NPWS. Nobody wants to bear responsibility and nobody wants to do the work that’s needed to make paths etc suitable for the numbers that are now taking to trails there. It’s done in every other country, only last week I ran Snowdon and they can even get a train up to their summit, we can’t get a proper path to ours.. It’s a catch 22. Anyway, we had 9 years of brilliant summer racing, I can’t waste any more of my life on it without getting blood pressure so Mangerton for 2025. See you all in 2025 |
| Mícheál O'Mullain | Dec 16 2024, 7:57pm | Cheers Rob. Totally agree re GB races etc. It’s a joke that we can’t have one race a year up the highest mountain. Not your fault you have put years into it. As we all know the mobs of pitiful cases with Rongbuk glacier levels of equipment being dragged up there every weekend by guides cause infinitely more damage than any mountain runner. For some people if they can’t do it themselves then they must ruin other people’s fun. It was always thus. Turning the place into a National Park looks like the only answer at this stage |
| Peter O'Farrell | Dec 16 2024, 8:20pm | The Irish Championship in 2025 looks great. Well done to Robbie, Liam and the committees putting it all together. These are 5 races with very easy navigation in the sunshine and some of them are fairly doable on a misty day with paths a lot of the way. There's enough difficulty to sort out the winners and yet very achievable for many, if not most IMRA runners looking to see the country from it's highest peaks. AND, get their hand on the limited edition Irish Champs singlet. - hopefully LESS limited in 2025 with MORE league finishers! |
| Mick Hanney | Dec 16 2024, 8:29pm | Re: IC 2025, those runners who took part in the inaugural Leinster Champs Lug via Ballineddan race will have familiarity with the route. Similar challenge to the Fentons route in terms of distance and elevation but with nice grassy bits. Details are updated early for anyone that wants to try it in advance. |
| Jamie Westerman | Dec 17 2024, 7:47am | Hey everyone - apologies if already stated but what are the Championship/Trial races to qualify for the Singlet in 2025? |
| Andy Keeling | Dec 17 2024, 8:12am | If it's the same as last year Jamie, you just need to complete the league to nab a singlet. Complete 3 out of the 5 races and you'll get one :) |
| Niall Corrigan | Dec 17 2024, 8:53am | Thank you for the update, the efforts and the memories Robbie. “And since we’ve no place to go, CPO, CPO, CPO” |
| Barry Murray | Dec 17 2024, 9:23am | For those that will miss the Reeks experience, it will be replaced with the Dingle Mountain Running Festival on the same dates..... there'll be a summit finish race on the Friday evening up one of Irelands biggest mountains, a spectacular 1/2 marathon on the Saturday, and a trail race up the hills around Dingle town itself. |
| Warren Swords | Dec 17 2024, 11:40am | Great stuff on the calendar. Really impressive feat to get so many races and leagues published for 2025 by December. |
| Conor Murphy | Dec 17 2024, 5:02pm | Well this is a disaster. Thank you for your post, Robbie, I'm certain the problem is not because of any lack of effort on your part. I've said it before, frankly I think in any other organisation the likes of you and Turlough Conway would be paid for the phenomenal work you both do at regional level. You are both a credit to the sport here. And I'm not going to criticise the Reeks Access Forum, I know a number of people on it. Furthermore, these regional uplands forums could very much be "the new normal". But for a mountain running organisation to lose access to not just Carrauntoohil but 9 of the 10 highest mountains on the island is desperate. And it is the ultimate in chickens coming home to roost. When I criticised IMRA for dropping the ball on access, I got paragraph after paragraph of personal abuse and vitriol from Eoin Keith. When I enquired if IMRA had attended the National Conference on Trails, I was told to go set up my own national organisation by Brendan Lawlor (who afaik was a former Secretary of IMRA). To be very fair, there are individuals like Peter O'Farrell, David Power and Turlough (again) who tried to press the issue. So here we are, now we can all see how IMRA's approach to the access issue is working out. Can you imagine if the Fell Runners Association lost access to the Lake District in England? I think there would be mass resignations. The communication and consultation about this problem has also been awful. I don't see it mentioned anywhere in the President's Address. Paragraphs about the bizarre rule by chat policy, nothing about access to the Reeks closing down. The Address praised the Communications Subgroup whose role was to "ensure that...communications within IMRA and about IMRA are effective". But I don't see a word about this matter on the news section here. Oh and not a word about the AGMs either, so we don't even know if the move to completely erase access from the Constitution passed. Anyway, it is what it is. If anyone is tempted to answer with personal abuse and ridicule to deflect from what is now plain to each and every member, don't bother. I've heard it before, at this stage it's just boring. |
| Eamonn Hodge | Dec 17 2024, 9:16pm | Liam, that looks amazing. Overwhelming really. Would love to get a few of the half marathons in and try to complete some of the non-Wednesday night leagues and champsionships. The league director role being resurrected is a great thing surely. Thanks for all the hard work to everyone involved. |
| Alan Ayling | Dec 18 2024, 4:17pm | I think I can say I'm as sorry as anyone with the loss of access to the Reeks (for now)... so many enjoyable IMRA trips down there over the years, brilliant adventures, racing, scenery, fun & friendship. Massive appreciation to Robbie & Munster crew, as well as Vivian and various others for the original Carrauntoohil race. Hopefully something can be worked out in time. Meantime, looking forward to Barry's Dingle festival - though I still think uphill only racing is masochism taken too far (and the nice thing is in this modern age of not being allowed offend people, you can say what you like about masochists, they like being hurt)... ... and all the other amazing looking races the calendar offers. '25 gonna be GREAT! |
| Miriam Maher | Dec 19 2024, 8:51am | Great to see a wave of acknowledgement and appreciation for the hard work put in by Liam and co. on the 2025 race calendar. We’re already at 110 + races listed for the year ahead and that’s just for starters. It is a great pity that it is not possible to list Carrauntoohil amongst those race events. The reality of the hurdles that Robbie outlined demonstrates the complexity of holding races at times. Which makes the race calendar listed even more impressive. But all this focus on Carrauntoohil has reminded me of the one and only time I climbed our highest summit. IMRA race on June 4th, 2022, just two weeks after my mother passed away. I travelled down to Kerry from Kildare in the company of a great friend and travel companion for that day, Trish Murphy. In a state of numbness and a bit of shock from the impact of Mum’s sad decline over the previous months. But getting time out that day made complete sense. I took the early start, naturally, being a very real person that I am. I trudged my way to the summit, taking in what I could see around me, visibility was not the best. By the time I got there, the main field had started legging it past me, making my laboured efforts even more marked by their relative ease of pace to mine. Got to the cross in near whiteout, it just popped up, Lisa Hegarty huddled at it’s base but with a big encouraging smile for all of us all the same. As I touched the cross, first-time up Carrauntoohil, in raw conditions and full of raw emotions, I met Brian Flannelly who gave me a wordless hug of support. I started my descent, not much faster than my ascent. As I made my way down, Mike Jordan, Sam Scriven and Stuart Scott, all slowed their much, much faster descending race pace to greet me and offer their condolences on Mum’s passing. I nearly wandered off the wrong way down, corrected myself when the cloud lifted enough at one point to show me the way, but ultimately got to the fence and was able to totter down. I also got the time to myself on the way down to clear my head of a lot that was going on in it at that hard time. Trish, who had made it up and down in a much quicker time, came back up the way to meet me and down we went, enabling Viv O’Gorman to finally close up shop. And so, I finished my first and so far, only, race up Carrauntoohil. The reason I am putting this personal reflection up here is because what I remember most from that day was not the very impressive surroundings, or the achievement of doing a race on the highest peak in Ireland. What I remember most is the way good friends from the IMRA running community put their arms, literally and figuratively, around me that day. I have never forgotten that experience or how much I appreciated their thoughtfulness. So yes, it is unfortunate we can’t race up Carrauntoohil in the coming year, but when we do race up all of the other 110 + peaks in Ireland, we will do so in the company of the best of the running communities out there. That will do me. Wishing you all a lovely time over the Christmas and New Year break. May your hearts be light. And here’s to next year. |
| Joan Ryan | Dec 19 2024, 9:36am | Lovely words Miriam. Looking forward to the new years races and challenges. Thanks for all the hard work being done behind the scenes. Joan |
| Olwyn Sheehan | Dec 19 2024, 9:50am | Thanks for sharing Miriam, very eloquently put, that's exactly the ethos that most IMRA members share. It's a great organisation. Keep up the good work. And bring on the good times on the hills in 2025! |
| Dermot O'Eidhneain | Dec 19 2024, 12:28pm | I would also like to add to Miriams post ( I have never met you :) ), but i also had a similar personal experience this year . Thanks to IMRA for providing a much needed outlet during the year, and for Stuart persuading me to join in the first place . Looking forward to 2025. |
| Richard Fox | Dec 19 2024, 1:05pm | Well done and thank you Liam and helpers for putting together a fabulous smorgasbord of adventures for 2025. Really looking forward to getting stuck into a good few of these. Appetite whetted and rarin to go. Thanks so much again for putting huge effort into getting the calendar out (and in such a timely fashion) Cheers foxy |
| Val Jones | Dec 19 2024, 1:51pm | I'm sure that for the first carauntochail run Douglas Barry didn't ask for any permission, just gathered everyone at the hydra road with Right everyone, just up to the top and back. Ah the old days |
| David Dinsmore | Dec 19 2024, 2:08pm | There doesn't seem to be much happening in Connacht? I see Mweelrea on 21 June but no Nephin and no Connacht League. We had a league race on Nephin last year as well as the traditional weekend and I think the dfeedback was positive. David Sands and I are more than happy to organise again this year. I'd even be the speck in a hi-vis again! If it's not too late, could I suggest moving Mweelrea to the 22 and having Nephin first? People could still camp at Westport overnight but it might encourage more people to run Nephin |
| Liam Mooney | Dec 19 2024, 3:19pm | Thanks Liam and co. for putting together such a great calendar of events for 2025. It’ll be hard to squeeze any kind of a life outside of mountain running next year! Yes, unfortunate that there’ll be no Carrauntoohil in the calendar, but with every disaster there comes great opportunities. Sure, if the NPWS hadn’t blocked us from running on Leinster League favourite Sorrel Hill this year, ye might never have come visit us on Church Mountain! Likewise, with this, there’ll be other gems of mountains and great new routes uncovered in their place. There is a huge amount of work and stakeholders to be managed in organising any race, so for IMRA, as a purely voluntary organisation, to be able to stage 110+ races in a year right across the country is a truly phenomenal achievement. I for one would like to extend my appreciation for the tireless work that the committee put in to make this great organisation tick. We all think that our own lives are so exceptionally busy, that we don’t have time to sit on committees and help organising more, but the committee with their own busy lives and commitments, continually show up putting the shoulder to the wheel to keep the organisation progressing and bringing a great community of people together. Many a bad day has instantly evaporated on arriving at an IMRA race to meet ye beautiful, wonderful people of the IMRA community! There hasn’t been an IMRA event yet I’ve attended that I’ve regretted, and that is down to the great community of people within IMRA and the monumental voluntary work that goes on behind the scenes to make these events happen. Thank you, and looking forward to seeing you all in the hills a lot again in 2025! |
| Liam Vines | Dec 19 2024, 3:20pm | Hi David I have the West mentioned in the first line of my overview.... The fixtures and venues are being worked on and will be along in due course. The priority at the moment is working on the race that is left this year and the early races next year 6 of them in January.. It’s also Christmas so hopefully there isn’t anything else from now on that can’t wait till the new year.. Happy Christmas all see you on the 27th ““AT PIER GATES”” |
| Alan Ayling | Dec 19 2024, 3:48pm | "There hasn’t been an IMRA event yet I’ve attended that I’ve regretted" Clearly the words of a man who didn't have to find number 6 in the Prophet's Nav Challenge this year ;-) |
| David Dinsmore | Jan 7 2025, 1:05pm | Hi Liam Could i ask that you consider a tweak to the Connacht weekend and run the Nephin event on the Saturday and Mweelrea on the Sunday? People could still camp overnight at Westport but it might encourage a few more people to run Nephin, especially following the success of last year's event with the use of the pub and local facilities. Could I also ask that no other events are scheduled in the province that weekend to encourage more participants. Thanks |
