Pat and Nuala are delighted to be involved with the Spook once again
THE Enniskillen Spooktacular 5K run is back for its tenth anniversary at the end of this month. The run around the streets of Enniskillen has become a regular part of the Hallowe’en celebrations in the town, and after a Covid enforced absence the return of the event is being billed as the biggest and best yet.
The run takes place on Friday, October 28, and with over £1,500 in prizes the occasion is set to attract runners, walkers and strollers from near and far for the Enniskillen Running Club organised event, making it the largest night time 5K in Ireland.
Western Cars is one of the main sponsors, and owner Pat Mccaffrey is delighted to once again have his company name on the runners’ numbers.
“We are delighted and honoured to have been sponsors from the start of the event,” he said. “It is a great community event, and it’s lovely to see all types of runners of all ages running on the night. For this time of the year, it gives the town a bit of a buzz and it is great to see it back after lockdown. There is always a great atmosphere on the night, and a bit of a party feel around the town.”
Nuala Lilley of Nature’s Choice was one of the participants at the inaugural event, and she is another who is delighted to have maintained her connection with the occasion. As well as marshalling on this year’s run, she is also one of many sponsors who have enabled the 5K to grow from small beginnings to the success it has become today.
“It is an event that has really taken off,” she said. “The first year it was just a run around town and someone got some medals to hand out, but even then it had such a good feel about it from the word go. They needed money to allow it to continue and grow, and I went to them and said I would love to sponsor it.
“I continue to sponsor it for a number of reasons. I like the Spook because it has a big health element. You can walk it, you can run it, you can speed run it. I also like it because it has a family element and a social element. People walk with their kids, fathers run it with their children on their shoulders, others are out walking it with prams.
“It brings people onto the streets at night, which very few events do. Enniskillen is a lovely town to run at night because it has its churches and its steeples and the castle and the water’s edge, so it has that nice Hallowe’en feel to it.”
The Spooktacular is set to take to the streets of Enniskillen at 8pm on the last Friday of October, and with a prizegiving planned for Pat’s Bar in the Diamond after the participants have crossed the finish line, the organisers are promising everyone a fang-tastic night’s entertainment.
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For this time of the year, it gives the town a bit of a buzz and it is great to see it back after lockdown.