Over 10,000 for Great Ireland Run - Printable Version +- Running Information Forums (https://www.time-to-run.com/forums) +-- Forum: Country and General Discussion (https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Forum-Country-and-General-Discussion) +--- Forum: Ireland (https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Forum-Ireland) +---- Forum: Pre-event Ireland (https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/Forum-Pre-event-Ireland) +---- Thread: Over 10,000 for Great Ireland Run (/Thread-Over-10-000-for-Great-Ireland-Run)

Over 10,000 for Great Ireland Run - TheEd - 12-04-2013 Over 10,000 adults and children will enjoy a family running day out in the presence of the world’s greatest distance runner on Sunday next (14 April) as the eleventh SPAR Great Ireland Run 10k, SPAR Mini and Junior Great Ireland Runs and SPAR Great Ireland Mile will take over the Phoenix Park in Dublin. Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia, the defending champion and course record holder, triple Olympic gold-medallist and world record holder at 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres will top the bill as world champions, Olympians, Ireland’s finest runners, celebrities, politicians and children hit the roads of the Park at various distances. Bekele will be the inspiring presence for over 1,200 children who have signed up for Ireland’s largest ever running events: the SPAR Mini Run for 5 to 8 year olds and the SPAR Junior Run for 9 to 15 year olds. Among the celebrities taking part will be: Boyzone member and actor Keith Duffy Musician and TV star Niall Breslin (Bressie) Radio and TV talk show presenter Matt Cooper TV presenter, Grainne Seoige Musician Brian Kennedy Magician Keith Barry Minister for Tourism, Transport & Sport, Leo Varadkar Sonia O’Sullivan will start the Junior Run Bekele will be strongly challenged by his compatriot and current world 10,000 metre champion Ibrahim Jeilan. Both men are seeking places on their national team for the World Championships in Moscow in August and will face each other again at the Ethiopian trial race in the USA next month. Also in the field will be Australian Collis Birmingham who broke up African dominance by finishing eighth in last month’s World Cross Country Championships, Moroccan marathon star Abderrahime Bouramdane, nine times European cross-country champion, Sergiy Lebid from Ukraine and 2:09 marathoner Urige Buta from Norway. The home challenge will be led by national cross-country champion Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers alongside Stephen Scullion from Belfast and Sean Hehir from Rathfarnham. Gemma Steel of Great Britain will defend her title against Irish gold medal winning European cross country team member and defending national champion Linda Byrne. Both will be pushed hard by Spanish number one Diana Martin, British Olympian Julia Bleasdale and Italy’s Elana Romagnolo. As part of the SPAR Great Ireland Run’s commitment to keeping athletics in the public eye a new race, the SPAR Great Ireland Mile, has been added to the event programme and will precede the 10k Run on Chesterfield Avenue, the main road in the Phoenix Park. This new race will bring exciting competition out of the stadium and make the sport more accessible, especially to the large number of children who will be present in the Phoenix Park on the day. The mile will feature 15 top runners from Ireland and Great Britain including the fastest man in Ireland over 1500 metres last year, Paul Robinson of St Coca’s AC. Also in the field will be Colin Costello, former European Junior 1500 metre champion, Anthony Whitehead, former European 1500 metre silver medallist from Great Britain, Ireland’s top under 23 Darren McBrearty from Letterkenny, Nick Samuels from Great Britain and Eoin Everard from Kilkenny. The 10k Run incorporate the Irish road championships under the auspices of Athletics Ireland and the largest field ever for the event, an 8% increase on last year of 475, has entered as club runners chase fast times and personal bests. The Run gets under way at 1:10 (elite women) and 1:30 (men). It will be preceded by the SPAR Junior Run at 11:30, the SPAR Great Ireland Mile at 12:20, and the SPAR Mini Run at 12:30. Personal late entries for the event will be accepted at Life Style Sports in Blanchardstown on Friday 12 April (10 am to 7 pm) and Saturday 13 April (10 am to 4 pm) subject to availability. Willie O' Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods (owners and operators of SPAR Ireland) said: “We are delighted during SPAR Ireland’s 50th anniversary celebrations to be headline sponsor of the SPAR Great Ireland Run 2013. It is fantastic to see international athletes of the calibre of Kenenisa Bekele and Gemma Steel travelling to Ireland once again to defend their titles in the SPAR Great Ireland Run, particularly in this year of The Gathering. It is also wonderful to see that we have a greater number of children participating in this year’s SPAR Junior Great Ireland Run and the SPAR Mini Great Ireland Run, ensuring it is an event for all the family.” RTE Two television will broadcast the Run live in a special programme. The SPAR Great Ireland Run is the only event in Ireland recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of athletics, with an IAAF Silver Road Race Label in recognition of the event’s high standard of organisation, elite participation and media profile. Nearly 1,000 entrants in the Run are from the UK and their participation will be a significant boost to The Gathering and tourism in Dublin as they travel to the city for the weekend with family and friends. Many participants are running for good causes including SPAR’s charity partner, The 3Ts - Turn the Tide of Suicide, providers of 1800 247 100, 1 Life, 24 hour suicide prevention helpline. The Run’s other nominated charity is the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. The Baby Max Wings of Love Fund is the nominated charity for the Mini and Junior Runs.