Runners prove their mettle

IT’S no secret that they’re made of hardy material up in North Kerry and they certainly proved it again this weekend as over 150 runners tackled the inaugural ‘Listowel Endurance Festival’.

Comprising of a gruelling looped run around a section of the Listowel Town Park, runners were able to choose from 24hr run, a 12hr run, a six hour or a three hour run.

Tents, gazebos, mountains of sweets and food, cheering support crews and a constant smile on the faces of the runners were the order of the day, a day which organiser Vincent O’ Leary said couldn’t have gone any better.

“Ah, it went fantastic. We’re absolutely delighted with how it went,” said Vincent, talking to The Kerryman on Monday.

There was great support and a great atmosphere on the day. It took a lot of hard work to get to here, but it went very well. We’ll try and be back next year for sure,” he finished.

The overall winner of the run was Jurah Karcak who covered over 100 miles and 181 laps of the Town Park over the 24 hours.

Kerry Crusaders’ very own Fozzy Forristal was second home in the 24 hour run, again covering over 100 miles and a grand total of 173 laps.

Runners Theresa Grimes and Jill McCann also celebrated huge occassions on the day, both reaching the milestone of having 100 marathons.

All race results for the event can be found at www.myrunresults or on the ‘Litowel Endurance Festival ‘Facebook.

All photos by Fergus Dennehy. Anna Stack, Ann O’ Shea, Marilyn O’ Shea, Catherine Sugrue, Gretta Quirke, Mary Toomey Roche, Theresa Grimes, Jill McCann and Julie Byrne pictured before the start of the Listowel Endurance Festival on Friday evening.

Theresa Grimes and Marilyn O’Shea are all smiles on lap two of the Listowel Endurance Festival on Friday.