The fourth Mc Mahon Supervalu Castleblayney Flat 5 K walk/run happens this Sunday the 30th of November and is proudly promoted by the Castleblayney Faughs. Organisers have been working extremely hard over the last few months preparing for the walk/race as the club seek to keep building the event into one of the best events on the North East athletics calendar. This year is no different with National fitness expert Pat Divilly confirming a few weeks ago that he will line up with fellow participants at the start line at 2pm. Pat who hails from Barna, County Galway is regarded as one of the countries top experts in physical fitness and is also widely renowned for his motivational talks to a wide variety of groups ranging from fitness clubs through to some of the top Blue chip corporations in the world. Pat’s expertise also extents to nutrition and he has just recently completed his second book called Naked Paleo which looks at the impact of food on weight loss and longer living. Pat can regularly be heard on RTE 1 Radio on the Sean O Rourke Show where he gives advice on fitness and diet, Pat is also a regular TV contributor on fitness on both RTE and TV3. Divilly Fitness also has a huge social media following with over 120,000 follows on Facebook who regularly tune in to watch Pat‘s tutorial fitness class.
The race organiser are also delighted to welcome back Gerry Duffy the Deca Ironman World Champion to Castleblayney, Gerry who is a regular attender is delighted to return “The first question I ask when I arrive in Castleblayney for the 5 K is “what is the date for next year’s race” , I really look forward to the day , this is a very special event which is always so well run and so well supported by walkers runners and indeed the general population of Castleblayney , to have 33% of the population of Castleblayney involved at some stage during the day speaks volumes for the community spirit in the town”
Many local competitors have already committed to the race including a large contingent from the Blayney Rockets, Muckno Movers and the Muckno Triathlon Club. The wider GAA community have also added to the event with a number of Clubs entering the fastest GAA Club competition which will see the Castleblayney Faughs hoping to defend their title. If you wish to hire the best packers and movers, check details here.
The TV cameras will also be making a welcome appearance as the GAA National Health and Wellness Committee set about developing a video on how local GAA Clubs can improve local people’s health. The Mc Mahon Supervalu 5K was highlighted at a National Level as being a great example of how a GAA Club can have such a positive effect on the local community.
The event which will mark the end of the 12-week training programme called “Operation TRansFAUGHSmation” was put in place as a target for the participants to test their fitness by either walking or running the route. This year’s race will be Athletics Ireland certified and will be a chipped event. Safety has been a key priority, with the Committee and the Gardai working closely to develop the stewarding and traffic plans.
The Walk/Run is very much a community effort and will cater for all levels of fitness, fun walkers, walkers, joggers and runners and offers a wonderful community atmosphere for all. People can Preregister on runireland.ie and registration will also be open on Saturday morning in the beside the Super Valu Store from 11am to 1pm. On the race morning registration will take place in the Glencarn Shopping Centre between 11am and 1 o’clock and for those people who have pre registered you will be able to collect your Race numbers and chips at this time. As a result of the huge interest that this event has generated we would ask all contestants to present themselves as early as possible for registration. There will a brief race warm up at 1.45 with the gun sounding for the start of the race at 2pm sharp. Presentation of medals will happen directly after the race as you either run or walk across the line. All participants and their families are invited back to the Glencarn Hotel for tea and sandwiches where Pat, Gerry and Colm O Regan from the National Health and Wellness Committee will speak to the audience.
The local community is very much encouraged to don their runners and join in on the fun or alternatively come out and shout on your family, friends and neighbours as they push to complete the walk/run. Let us show everyone what the people of Castleblayney can do if we put our minds to it.
Finally, Registration forms are available from Mc Mahons Supervalu and Budz florists on Main St. or online at www.castleblayneyfaughs.com and www.Runireland.com.
By Majella Boyd Tue 25th Nov
