World masters comes to Clonmel

It is with great honour that we announce that the World Masters Mountain Running Championships will be held in Ireland in 2022. This is a very prestigious event and is held in a different country every year.

The committee consisting of members of IMRA the Irish Mountain Running Association who are affiliated with AAI have worked hard and diligently to secure the bid for this event so it was with great pride that they accepted the WMRA flag in Austria and look forward to welcoming many top international mountain runners to Clonmel, Tipperary in 2022.

The 20th World Masters Mountain Running Championships was held in the Alps in Austria on September 4th this year in very warm and sunny conditions. Due to coronavirus regulations the organisers were unable to have the usual festivities and cultural ceremonies associated with this event but never the less Andi Stern chief organiser in Telefes in Stubai Valleybuton an excellent event with the help of over 300 volunteers.

It was vibrant and exciting with athletes meeting and making new friendships as well as aggressively competing on a very challenging course.

We obviously do not have the soaring heights of the mountains in the Alps, but as the members of WMRA the world masters running association put it” Clonmel will be equally challenging, but in more technical and climate terms”.

With over 600 athletes from 21 countries competing this year there were 12 Irish participants and we are extremely proud of Ger Maloney Glen Bhuí Rovers, Wexford who had a magnificent run winning a silver individual (over 60s) medal an incredible time of 45:10.

The remainder of the Irish contingent had to grind it out especially having to run on O=oxygen deficit (at 2000m - oxygen levels decrease from 21% to 16%). But oxygen deficit is no excuse! There is no hiding place in these races.

Our event will technically stretch over 3 days usually Fri, Sat, Sun but the athletes will usually start arriving a few days in advance with race day being the Saturday.

The athletes are given a race package will consist of their number, a t-shirt, participatory medal, and they usually receive gifts of some local food and crafts. On the Friday evening there will be a parade of athletes with their country flags and colours. This will be followed up with the opening ceremony with a display of Irish culture, dance and music some speeches and official opening of the event.

The race itself will be held on the designated mountain where there will be supporters, stewards, aid stations. At the finish line there will be refreshments and massage beds on offer. On race evening there will be the official “PASTA PARTY” celebration ie usually a local dish. The podium presentations with national anthems and flags of winners displayed will be the highlight of the evening. To finish there will be the closing ceremony with the passing of the flag to next year’s hosting country.

On the Sunday morning we intend to hold an open race offering an opportunity to everyone to give the course, a try. There will also be prizes for this event.

We’ve got a lot of good people, local councils and organizations and an experienced organizing committee on board to make this a roaring success. We intend to have it recorded and televised for one of main terrestrial channels as well as a live stream through the WMRA site.

At the presentation ceremony in Telfes the flag of the WMRA was handed over to Patricia and Tom Blackburn representing the organizers of the WMMRC 2022. Best of luck to all the planning team and in conjunction with the significant bodies in Clonmel who have already offered support we look forward to an exciting and successful championships. Go n’eiri libh!