First warrior home
THE largest field ever in the history of the popular Warriors Run saw a record 1,031 athletes take part in the challenging run up Knocknarea Mountain. In a close finish, it was Jake O’Regan who was first to cross the finish line.
THE 2018 Warriors Run saw thousands of athletes and spectators flock to Strandhill on Saturday for the biggest entry ever in the popular race up Knocknarea. This year’s winner was Clare native Jake O’Regan in a time of 54:44 and the Sligo-based runner was also victorious in the recent Streets of Sligo. Hot on his heels in second place was JP Carty, as Aidan McMoreland was 3rd. The first woman to cross the finish line was Deirdre Byrne (1:04:59) with 2nd place going to Heather Foley and Eimer O’Connor running a fine race to finish third.
The Warriors Run, now in its 34th year, attracts competitors from all across the country and further afield. Micki Murray, PRO of the Warriors Festival, said it was another big success.
He told the Sligo Champion: “It was a brilliant event and we had the biggest number ever with 1031 which was the largest field in our history.
“The numbers were up a lot on last year when we had roughly 940 runners.
“It went really well overall. We had a few minor casualties. There were 2 people brought to hospital as a precautionary measure, one man had fallen on the mountain and was airlifted by the Coast Guard to hospital after being assisted by the Sligo/Leitrim Mountain Rescue team. Another runner needed assistance near the end of the race. Both of them were brought to hospital and were released later that evening.”
The sun was shining brightly on Saturday which pleased organisers and the heavy rain on Sunday meant the children’s race had to cancelled. Micki said: “It was a fantastic day overall and there was a really good atmosphere about. The weather made it too. Jake O’Regan from Clare won it for the first time. The local runners did well too with Turlough Conway winning the local prize, we had a number of different categories,” Micki explained. Core Timing was overseeing the race results as the runners and walkers crossed the finish line cheered on by supporters. Micki said: “So much preparation goes into the Warriors Run for the day itself, it is pretty much year-round. There are 15 of us on the committee. “It is a huge event for Strandhill and we get great support from the whole village. All the businesses come and support it which is great. We put a call out for volunteers and we had 182 this year which was fantastic. The Warriors Run brings the village together,” he added.