And they're off! All set for Abbott Longford Marathon on Sunday

Sunday's Abbott Longford Marathon is marking a significant milestone. “This is the 20th anniversary of the Longford Marathon; we should have celebrated our milestone anniversary two years ago but due to Covid we had a two year gap,” Fiona Fenelon, one of the key figures in the organising of the day, told the Leader.

To call the Longford Marathon 'a race' is a disservice. In the last two decades it has become a festival that draws people to the town, with the running being the examination point to a drawing together of people in a celebration of running.

The team that brings the race to life every year is a core group, but the extended team ensuring the day runs smoothly is massive: “Year in and year out there are people who do so much behind the scenes to make this happen. The work of the volunteers and the people who come out to cheer on the runners is why we have the reputation as 'the friendly marathon in the heart of Ireland',” Fiona explained.

Last week the organisers held the annual launch of the The Abbott Longford Marathon. Organisers, sponsors, political representatives and runners came together for the preamble to the race that attracts large numbers to Longford every year.

The public support for the event is very apparent on the day, but the financial support by local businesses is also crucial: “The race is kindly sponsored by Abbott, who has been the title sponsor of the marathon since 2019 and played a key role in the continued success of the event. There is a great synergy between the marathon and Abbott given the nature of their business in health.

In addition to sponsoring the event, Abbott staff from the Longford plant and other plants across the country are taking part in the various events and dozens of staff members have volunteered as stewards.”

'Fantastic' Longford turnout for Trek with Theresa

The changeable weather of the weekend did little to dampen the enthusiasm of over 100 walkers who marched across Ardagh Mountain in aid of a good cause.

Fiona says 60 staff members of the sponsors will line up on the start line. Those slots are filling up quickly and with only a week to go the race is almost at full capacity. In addition to the 42.25K marathon, the day includes a variety of distance events including: Abbott Streets of Longford 5k (walk or run); Abbott Half Marathon (21k); Abbott Full Marathon (42.25K); Abbott Ultra Marathon (63.42K); and the Abbott Marathon Relay (4 to take part in the relay consisting of 3 X 11k runs plus 1 X 8k Run).

Fiona is delighted with the progress of bookings: “This year we have seen a surge in entries. It is possibly going to be the best numbers we have had in years. We are almost at capacity. The relay marathon is proving very popular. This is the village-to-village relay which is a team event where four people each run a section of the race. The 5km is also a very popular event as people can run, walk or jog. Several local businesses are signed up for the various events which is great to see. We have a lot of international visitors signed up, some of which have never missed a Longford Marathon.”

Conor Murphy, Site Director at Abbott Diagnostics Division Longford spoke about backing the local marathon: “At Abbott we are passionate about helping people live their fullest lives and achieve their potential. Running a marathon is a tremendous embodiment of that spirit with proof that at our healthiest, we can accomplish amazing things. We are thrilled to continue our sponsorship of the Abbott Longford Marathon and to be able to celebrate the achievements of all the participants.”

Conor spoke of the community support that has been the hallmark of the day: “What makes this marathon so special is that it really helps to foster a great community spirit, that we at Abbott are very proud to play a part in facilitating.”

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Sister Matilda Fagan, a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, of San Antonio, Texas and native of county Longford, celebrated her 100th birthday recently.

Fiona says one thing that makes Longford special is the amount of people who come out to cheer on the runners: “People come back year after year to do this marathon. They always remark on how good it feels to have people cheering them on. That public engagement is what makes the Abbott Longford Marathon so special.”

The organisers have arranged music on the Marathon route this year to bring a little razzmatazz to the event: “We feel that this will bring a bit of a buzz to the villages,” Fiona concluded.

The committee are eagerly looking forward to another very successful Longford Marathon this Sunday, August 27.
Online entries are still open at www.longfordmarathon.com/enter

If you would like to volunteer on Marathon weekend please contact info@longfordmarathon.com

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