Bad Road showdown tonight

There is the usual 7.30pm start time with participants being advised that the actual start line moves this year to just outside the Sainsbury’s restaurant on the Riverside Walkway.

This is to facilitate the lengthy work being carried out in advance of installing a new Pontoon on the river. The finish also has been adjusted and will move from the usual location at the rear of Da Vincis to the Walkway at the Fort George site.

Race HQ remains the Sports Centre at UU Magee on the Rock Road campus where entries will be accepted from 6pm.

Remember to get there in good time to process your entry and get down to Sainsbury’s for the 7.30pm start. It will take at least five minutes to jog from Magee to the new start point!

Race Packs for pre-entries can also be collected from 6pm and online pre entries will be accepted up to 2pm on this afternoon. Just send, name, date of birth, age on race day and club, if any to [email protected].

The entry fee of £7 or 8 Euro can be paid when collecting the race pack. Electronic chip timing will be used this year so don’t forget to attach the chip securely to a running shoe otherwise you may not be recorded as a finisher.

Pre and post race Sports Massage will be available free of charge at Magee between 6.30pm and 8.30pm and the post race refreshments and prize presentations will follow in the Sports Centre from around 8.30pm.

Local clubs, City of Derry who are hosting the event, and Foyle Valley are expected to field strong squads and will expect to jockey up front. The Spartans will of course be without the talents of Connor Bradley, JP Williamson and Padjo Hamilton who will be away for warm weather training in Portugal but they have strength in depth and expect to field a number of competitive squads in the three to score championship team race. Valley’s Scott Rankin will no doubt welcome the absence of Bradley and Hamilton who beat him in Letterkenny over 3K just over a week ago but will still have to be wary of the Spartan’s Declan Reed, Emmet McGinty and the improving Noel Logan.

While runners from clubs outside the North West are expected there are to date no big name early entries received but last year’s impressive mens winner Paddy Hamilton of Annadale Striders may line up and if so his 14 minutes and 39 seconds course record from last year could be in danger, weather conditions permitting of course. Finn Valley’s Teresa McGloin ran a womens course record of 17 minutes and 6 seconds last year and although quiet of late may well want to revisit the scene of last year’s brilliant run. North Belfast Harrier and former winner Cathy McCourt is said to be interested in returning to Bay Road and the local female athletics such as Anne Paul, Marina Campbell, Catherine Lilburn and Jackie McGinley should ensure the quality of the womens race.

The City of Derry club wish to thank the overall series sponsors, Furey Insurances and the Bay Road sponsor, Noel Duddy Accountants, for their generous support which enables provision of the £400 plus prize fund at each of the six races plus the £800 overall series category winners prizes.

The other five races are supported by Longs Super Valu (Lisnagelvin 9th May); Furey Insurances (Buncrana 30th May); Joe Jackson Ice Creams (Culmore 13th June); Atlanfish (Carndonagh 27th June) and Healthy Ambition (Baliniska 18th July).