Route: Wicklow Round (Ireland)

Location
Co. Wicklow, IE
Description

IRMA Wicklow Round:

A looped course covering 26 peaks totalling over 100K and over 6,000M climb. The challenge is to complete the Round in under 24 hours, with some unique rules. This Round must follow compliance of the IMRA:

Any attempt to be recognised must first be publicised in advance on the forum section of the IMRA website www.imra.ie and afterwards by supplying a list of splits (arrival time at each of the nominated points). Grid References 

All 29 nominated points must be visited in order. The 29 points are the 26 peaks as well as the start point, Drumgoff, and the end point. The start point and the end point are the same physical location:

-Competitors may run solo or in groups on the strict understanding that all members carry their own gear and that the navigation is done by a member doing the attempt in total.
-A competitor must have sufficient resources and skills to survive in a mountain environment for the duration of the attempt.
-It is against the spirit of the event to have a pacing runner or navigational support.
-Route choices on a tarred road are permitted but no transport of any kind.
-Food dumps and logistical support along the route are allowed.
-Competitors must have logistics and a plan in place in case of injury or adverse weather conditions. Many of the areas visited during the Round have little or no mobile phone coverage

The Wicklow round is a recognised qualifying event for the UTMB worth 3 qualifying points. 

The Wicklow Round started out as a longer route than the current and with a slightly different ruleset, based on feedback from runners, a special sub-committee consisting of Tony Kiernan, Brendan Lawlor, Brian Bell, and Joe Lalor, made various amendments to the original route, in the process shortening it by about 18-20km. 

53.1754543, -6.3689449

Comments

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Hi all! Stringbean here. I will be attempting to set out after Eoin Keith's FKT on Sunday, May 6th for a supported attempt on the Wicklow Round. In compliance with the IMRA, I will also be carrying a live tracker. Should be a blast! You can follow along at @thestring.bean

Should be good weather, and we will see how navigation goes.

Hi all,

Just giving the official notice of my attempt at the Wicklow Round tomorrow Saturday, April 13th, and try to chase the ghost of Joe. We're aiming to start at 4AM Irish time and everyone can follow along at the live GPS tracker (http://live.primaltracking.com/wicklowround19/). Have some friends posting on Instagram at @poleary87 and @doosterfilm if you want to see the suffering. Weather is looking not too shite, just a bit of dense fog on the summits and some sub-freezing windchill. Better pack a cup of tea.

Cheers,

Paddy

It's been an eventful two weeks for the Wicklow Round, and a great start to the 2019 season of attempts. Eight days after I set my record, fellow Irishman Shane Lynch took on the Round and cut another four minutes off my time for a new FKT of 16:23:32. Eoin's record stood for 10 years, Joe's for 11 months, mine for 8 days. There's a lot of Irish men and women gearing up tackle the route this early summer, so interested to see what everyone can do. Great to see the Round getting some traction in Irish media too: https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/ultra-marathons-make-paddy-o-leary-right-at-home-in-the-wild-1.3865115