Wicklow Way Relay
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Rene Borg | Feb 12 2025, 12:46pm | Before Jason begins posting the more detailed and formal updates in the coming weeks, just two early points to share: Point 1: registration should open a similar time to last year (roughly mid-March) so now is a great time to start thinking Point 2: I have not been 'out and about' as much as usual the last year, so welcome any updates on changes to the Wicklow Way in the last 12 months that we may not be aware of. Feel free to post here or email me on rene dot borg at outlook dot ie Once we are aware of all updates, we will remap the current plotaroute collection for the eight legs to reflect the new reality on teh ground. As always if diversions are put in place at any stage before race day, they take precedence over the regular (non-diverted) Wicklow Way. |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 1 2025, 12:42am | NOTICE: 22nd Annual Wicklow Way Relay – 2025 ------------------------------------------------ Hi folks, The Wicklow Way Relay, a junior teams fundraising event, fosters a strong sense of community within IMRA. Teams often comprise runners of varying ages and backgrounds, leading to a unique blend of competitive spirit and light-hearted banter. The collective effort and shared experiences, from pre-race preparations to post-race celebrations, create lasting bonds among participants as many will attest. It's often lauded as the highlight of the calendar year and I hope you have an opportunity to join us in some capacity for the 22nd running of it. Registration opens at: 14:00 on Friday, 21st March, 2025. This gives you seven weekends to complete your recce's. Captains should purchase an entry and provide details of their provisional team that same weekend. This forum will be our main method of general communication in the lead up. Many thanks, Jason, Bill, Rene |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 1 2025, 12:49am | And now to suck you in or scare you away! A few words about the role, hardship, and joys of being a team captain in the Wicklow Way Relay. The Role of a Captain: Being a team captain in the Relay is like being a mix of a race strategist, logistics coordinator, motivational coach, and part-time therapist. Your job will begin well before race day and extends well beyond the final runner crossing the finish line. Some of your key responsibilities include: -Team Selection & Strategy – Finding 2–8 willing (and available!) runners and figuring out who runs which leg based on their strengths. -Reconnaissance – Ensuring that every runner has recce’d their leg, knows the handover points, and (ideally) won’t get lost. -Registration & Admin – Handling team entry, marshal assignments, GPS tracker issues, and answering at least 50 panicked messages the night before the race. -Logistics & Transport – Coordinating car shares, meeting points, baton handovers. -Race-Day Nerves Manager – Keeping everyone calm, fixing last-minute dropouts, and possibly replacing an injured runner at 4 PM the day before because “you’re the captain.” The Hardships of a Captain: -The Dreaded Last-Minute Dropout – No matter how well you plan, someone will text at 4 AM with a twisted ankle, stomach bug, or sudden existential crisis. Now you’re scrambling to find a replacement or running double legs yourself. -Herding Cats – Runners mean well, but getting eight busy adults to train, show up on time, and actually read your 14-paragraph-long email about logistics is near impossible. -Car Park Tetris – The RD has given strict parking rules. You must now explain to three drivers why they can’t park “just anywhere” and why their car absolutely will result in a time penalty or, even worse, disqualification if they try. -Lost Runners = Lost Time – Someone, despite weeks of reminders, has ignored your GPS links and is now lost in a forest, 2 km off course, with no signal. Cue frantic calls and prayers to St. Brendan the Navigator. -The “I Swear I’m Fit” Liar – Every team has that one runner who confidently claims they’re in top shape but then nearly collapses at the halfway mark of their leg, cursing their choices. Now you’re apologizing to the next runner for the 15-minute delay. The Joys of Being a Captain: -Race Day Magic – The morning chaos fades into the beauty of the Wicklow Mountains, the thrill of watching your team fly through the hills, and the pure adrenaline rush when a runner storms into a handover point ahead of schedule. -Unforgettable Moments – The team WhatsApp blows up with inside jokes, heroic efforts, and stories of near-disasters (“Remember when Dave nearly ran into a cow?”). These become legends for years. -The Bonding – Friendships are forged in the fires of relay stress. You’ll go from strangers or casual clubmates to a proper squad, united by shared suffering, victories, and post-race beers (all paid by your team mates of course!). -The Post-Race Celebration – Obviously the best part! Kicking back after the race, beer in hand, reliving the highs and lows, and already planning next year. Because despite the stress and possibly even falling foul to rule 7, you’ll be back! Final Verdict: Worth It? Being a Wicklow Way Relay captain is equal parts pain and glory. It’s stressful, frustrating, and exhausting—but it’s also one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. The thrill of seeing your team pull together, push through struggles, and finish the race strong makes every bit of chaos worth it. And let’s be honest...you’ll definitely complain about it afterward… but you’ll also be the first one signing up to captain again next year. O Captain! My Captain! Lead us forth to glory! Jason |
| Mick Hanney | Mar 2 2025, 1:23pm | Just in case anyone is planning a recce of leg 7, the section at Sheilstown will be closed all day Sun 23 Mar as there will be a motor rally happening. There was a sign up this morning to that effect from Coillte & Motorsport Ireland.. |
| Gareth Little | Mar 4 2025, 3:45pm | Hi folks, I note that there is a link for captains to register a team with the cost being €144 and I am presuming this does not include annual membership. For captains entering a team with runners who are not IMRA members at that point, how does the annual registration get paid for them? Thanks, Gareth |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 13 2025, 8:54pm | Hi Gareth, Team captains should check that all team members have their usual membership. If someone doesn’t have it, they need to go to the shop and select "WWR entry." This will prompt them to buy the €10 membership, which gives them a Leinster race number. They will only pay €10 because the WWR entry itself is free. Let me know if any questions. Thanks, Jason |
| Gareth Little | Mar 13 2025, 9:09pm | That answers my question. Thx! |
| David Power | Mar 13 2025, 9:47pm | Jason, you might check that with committee or IT webmaster, as this year members can't purchase separate 10 euro entry. It's automatically bundled when you enter your first race, so not sure what this means for team entries like this. |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 14 2025, 10:15am | Hi David, From what I've been told, the above process is what's been agreed in the case of a runner who does not have a Leinster Race Number. There will be a product called 'WWR entry' for €10. This only needs to be bought by a runner if they have not run any races before participating in the Relay in order to have a race number. Thanks, Jason |
| David Power | Mar 14 2025, 10:48am | Ah ok, maybe I can't see the purchase option in the Shop, as I already have 2025 membership. So it does appear for people not registered for 2025 so (I hope)....we'll find out soon enough so. [and I'm not even a captain, worrying about this stuff!!] |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 14 2025, 10:54am | It's not live yet. Likely it will be made live at the same time a team entry is available. Thanks, Jason |
| Stuart Scott | Mar 14 2025, 10:58am | Hi David. The first stage will be the team entries. After the event sells out, the shop will open for those needing membership and will stay open until the deadline for making changes to teams has passed. No need to fear! (I remember the good old days when entries used to have to be posted - and I accidentally deliberately told people the entry deadline had passed as an April Fool's - a lot has changed since!) |
| Eoin Keith | Mar 14 2025, 11:08am | Just on as Webmaster to confirm all that. After the team captains have paid all the full race entry fees we will then be changing the entry fee of the race to be zero. Anyone who is not an IMRA member who want to race in a Relay team as their first IMRA race of the year will then be able to purchase that race entry. The website will then automatically add on their annual membership (with a Leinster based number assigned for them) so that they will be able to purchase that. If anyone has bought, or will buy, a race entry for any other race before they run in the relay then there will be no actions required, as they will already have an IMRA membership on the day of the race. Gareth and David, those were all good questions, thanks. |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 20 2025, 6:23pm | NOTICE: ------------------ Registration opens at: 14:00 tomorrow Friday, 21st March, 2025. There are 34 entries up for grabs with the 35th spot reserved for last years winners East Cork A/C. FYI: Having a 2025 imra number is not a requirement of purchasing an entry. We expect the usual sell out time of sub 30mins and some years its been sub 15mins! Good luck to all potential captains! Jason ------------------ |
| Jason Kehoe | Mar 21 2025, 2:31pm | Hi folks, There appears to have been a glitch with entries. It's been oversold despite the limit put on the even page. Likely we will look at timestamps and select the first 34 entries, inform unlucky teams and issue refunds. Never a dull moment in the WW relay! Jason |
| Stuart Scott | Mar 21 2025, 2:50pm | Is there a waiting list? :-) Would it work if the event was split into 'elite' and 'regular' waves starting one hour apart? For us mere mortals, that's really what the event becomes in any case after a few legs. It might need some extra volunteers but the IMRA community will rally I'm sure... |
| Rene Borg | Mar 21 2025, 4:37pm | hi Stuart, it's a model I have considered many times over the years to try and deal with demand. If I remember right, we considered sending the teams that are at danger of falling for time limits earlier but that then just exacerbated the problem (as faster teams naturally caught up with slower teams). we never really considered sending the fast teams first although that may actually solve the problem. It does create two new ones: 1) volunteers need to be out for longer periods since at every station since the event will spread over a longer time frame and 2) the slower teams would arrive in Shillelagh between 18 and 20. either may not be a major problem if handled well - if there were 8-9 more teams that will mean 8-9 more crew members . I'd personally be happy to do some calculations around it over the weekend . teams would declare a rough time bracket for themselves basically and the race organisation would make the division based on that. |
| Peter O'Farrell | Mar 21 2025, 5:37pm | Or change the legs to suit available car parking and bring the race start slightly earlier - to 6.30am to So start leg 1 in St. Comumba's college or the golf club beside it. Start Leg 2 in crone wood. Start Leg 3 at Pier Gates carpark. 4 The parking field sometimes used for Scarr 5 Glendo 6 Glenmalure 7 - the nearest available parking field to Iron Bridge 8 - The nearest available parking field to the current set up For instance :) |
| Rene Borg | Mar 21 2025, 5:57pm | worth an analysis for sure Peter and if Gaffney's field is not available, I do have a field right on the Wicklow Way that would probably hold what we need too. we do have sheep there a lot of the time but with the right planning we could put them in the back field. So a few options. but identifying fields for 7 and 8 are probably the trickier bits but some of our IMRA members from that area may have contacts. |
| Mick Hanney | Mar 21 2025, 6:00pm | re: Ironbridge, in recent years we have opened the gate into a section of woods beside the car park which allows for overflow parking. That said, there is forestry works happening there at the moment so it needs to be watched to ensure its available come race day. |
| Liam Vines | Mar 21 2025, 6:19pm | Congrats to the lucky 34 teams that got in. Commiserations to those that also got an entry in, due to the timing of the mass entries, but after those first 34 entries. As suggested by Jason, we have reviewed the timestamps for the entries received. We will be processing refunds for any entries received after the first 34. We’ll let the unlucky few know directly if their team didn’t get through soon… |
| Liam Vines | Mar 21 2025, 7:52pm | Just to let everyone know that the emails have been sent out. Have a great weekend might see some of you in Devils Glen.. |
| Paul Croke | Mar 23 2025, 3:43pm | Hi, I'm trying register again for 2025 and there seems to be no option available to purchase the a membership. Is there any update on this? Regards Paul. |
| Stuart Scott | Mar 23 2025, 4:56pm | Hi Paul. Once-off membership for the WWR will be available in due course but there's no rush on this - once all runners have valid membership on the day of the race that's the main thing. In the meantime if you sign up for any other IMRA race your annual membership will be added automatically and that will of course cover you for the WWR too. |
| Robert Asher | Mar 26 2025, 11:11am | A quick query, just to clarify - on the Jotform for team entries, where it says "Runner's 2025 IMRA number (from IMRA results DB)", I presume this to mean their IMRA race number for races in 2025, but *not* their lifetime IMRA Runner ID? Do I have that right? |
| Rene Borg | Mar 26 2025, 12:18pm | that's right Rob - the number from this year. it is to verify that people have purchased an IMRA membership for the year so they are covered by insurance on race day. |
| Leah Benson | Mar 26 2025, 3:50pm | Hi, just wondering how to access the jotform for 2025 teams? I registered and paid but haven't received any further info yet so hoping I haven't missed something. Thanks. |
| Gareth Little | Mar 26 2025, 5:05pm | Hi Leah, there is a link on the event details page. |
| Jeff Swords | Mar 27 2025, 8:47am | ***NOTE FOR TEAM LEADERS AND MEMBERS*** Relay team members **who do not already have 2025 membership ** and ONLY for those in a relay team can now purchase their 2025 membership via the Wicklow Way Relay store item. *** DO NOT BUY THIS THINKING IT'S A TEAM ENTRY *** |
| Robert Asher | Mar 28 2025, 12:13pm | Hi Jeff - unless I'm missing something this option doesn't work for Captains who have purchased a team entry (but haven't yet bought their individual 2025 IMRA membership) - when I log in it tells me I've already purchased an entry for the event |
| Eoin Keith | Mar 28 2025, 3:31pm | Hi Robert, Can you try again and see if it works for you now, thanks, |
| Robert Asher | Today, 8:44am | Works now, thank you! For any other captains in same situation - you need to click on "Membership/Shop/Online Entries" in the banner and look for the WWR entry there |
