Half Marathon preparations underway

THIS Sunday’s 31st staging of the Waterside Half Marathon extraditionary, will see in incess of 1,000 runners, joggers, walkers and even fun runners destine on the Gransha Grounds.

First off will be the 10 mile challenge walk at 10am, with the wheelchair athletes and half-marathon runners taking the gun for the 13.1 mile race at 10.30am, finally at 10.45am it’s the turn of the fun runners who will tackle a less demanding two kilometres course which takes place within the Gransha Grounds.

The up front half marathon action is difficult to call at this stage, as the big guns once again are hedging their bets, many of course will simple turn up on the day and a serious of good up front battles is anticipated.

Among the confirmed early entries are two of the local Sparatans, national silver medal team from last Sunday in Athenry. Declan Reed and Emmett McGinty will link up with club-mate Noel Logan, who has been the first Waterside resident to finish in the last two years. This trio are expected to challenge strongly for team honours on Sunday.

Defending champion Stephen Duncan, has been inactive of late and while his attentions are unknown it would be no suprise if the Omagh Harriers runner lined up to defend his title.

From Donegal, the Letterkenny pair Pauric McKinney and Gary Crossan, who both also ran in Athenry, could well be in the mix for top ten finishes.

The 2011 women’s winner Julie Balmer of North Down, will not be defending her crown, but a former Waterside champion Letterkenny’s Marie McCambridge, fresh from a excellent win in Athenry, may well toe the line in a bid to increase her bank balance.

Other confirmed entries to date include Derry native Lisa Sturgeon of North Belfast Harriers and leading local distance runner Marina Campbell, the North Belfast runner has broken 85 minutes for the distance and a good battle is expected between herself and the City of Derry runner, Foyle Valley’s Martina McMullan has been going well recently and should be among the favourites for the F40 age group and with the re-designed course hopefully offering an opportunity for personal bests.

Another master athlete to look out for will be local man Christy McMonagle, who won his fourth succession national M65 age category in Athenry last Sunday and the evergreen Sparatan will be firm favourite to claim his Waterside Half Marathon age group title yet again and in the process finish well ahead of many much younger runners.

Preparations are well underway for the Waterside Half Marathon and members of the public participating in the event and those living in the area of the route are advised that some traffic restrictions will be in place for a short period during the event.

In an effort to minimise disruption and to avoid delays, members of the public are asked to follow the signed diversions and co-operate fully with the police and race marshals.

This year’s Waterside Half Marathon will take the runners along a new course route, which extends out and back between the Gransha Grounds and the Campsie Industrial Estate. Sections of the A2, country bound carriageway, will have lane closures to create runners’ lanes and a temporary speed restriction will be in force. One new feature of the traffic management system will be the introduction of one way traffic system at Donnybrewer Road, so anyone from the city planning to visit the White Horse Hotel should follow the diversion signs.

Derry City Council event organisers are asking members of the public to avoid travelling along the route during the event if at all possible and urge those who must travel to drive carefully and remain vigilant, as they may encounter people running on the road. Residents living along the route are also being asked to park their vehicles off the road to keep the route clear for the race to pass safely.

Full details on the specific route and traffic restrictions are available on the website www.derrycity.gov.uk/halfmarathon.