All systems go for Longford Marathon

This will be the 23rd version of 'The Friendly Marathon In The Heart of Ireland'.

Entries are still open for the 2023 Abbott Longford Marathon, Half Marathon, Ultra Marathon, Marathon Relay and Streets of Longford 5K.

The Marathon takes place on Sunday August 27. The 2022 race was won by Matthew Collins with a chipped time of 02:35:35.

There is huge anticipation among runners and the race will have pacers in the marathon for 3.00h, 3.15h, 3.30h, 3.45h, 4.00h and 4.15h.

The pacers are identifiable by their pink pacer t-shirts and their balloon with the time they are pacing for on it.

The Marathon brings a lot of positives to Longford and is well supported by volunteers, runners and those who cheer them on. All of the races from the 5K to the Ultra Marathon are chip timed using Champion Chip Ireland.

This year's race features the usual calendar of events: Streets of Longford 5K, Half Marathon, Marathon, 39.3 Mile Ultra Marathon and four person Marathon Relay. All runners can collect their numbers on Saturday from 1.00pm to 6.00pm at Race Headquarters in The Longford Arms Hotel.

There are signs up around the town directing runners to the correct location. New entries will also be accepted at Race HeadQuarters on Saturday.

The full marathon goes via Clondra, Tarmonbarry, Whitehall, Rooskey, Newtownforbes, and back to Longford with regular drink stations on the route every three miles.

The Half Marathon course is a nice flat one lap course that starts and finishes outside the Longford Arms Hotel in Longford Town.

After a one mile lap through the town the course takes in a couple of miles on the N5 Strokestown Road before turning right and running through quiet rural roads passing houses and farmyards and finally joining the N4 back into Longford. Drinks stations on the course are approximately every three miles with a combined energy drinks station at mile nine

The scheduled start times are as follows: 7.00am - the participants who intend to walk the Marathon and the participants in the 39.3 mile ultra marathon will start. 9.00am - all other participants in the Marathon, the Half Marathon and the Marathon Relay will start. 9.05am - the participants in the Streets of Longford 5K will start.

Online registration remains open until 12 midnight on the Friday before the race.

An event like the Longford Marathon requires lots of planning and organisation and the support of volunteers is vital to ensuring the success of the event. The organisers are always looking for Saturday and Sunday of Marathon Weekend for all sorts of tasks, from helping out with number collection and registration to stewarding.

If you would like to get involved, you can email info@longfordmarathon.com

For more details on the Abbott Longford Marathon go to the website: http://longfordmarathon.com/ where there are helpful tips on nutrition, rules and regulation for the event and frequently asked questions.