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The friendly Irish Orienteering Championships moves to the north of the Emerald Isle over the May Bank Holiday Weekend, but this year including a “warm-up” urban event.
The “Seven Towers” town of Ballymena, convenient to both Belfast airports and the ports of Belfast and Larne, is the venue for an evening urban event on Thursday 1 May. Visitors will find the majestic Causeway Coastal Route a perfect option for Friday ending up at the Ulster University Coleraine Campus in the late afternoon for the Irish Sprint Championships. Both the Ballymena and Coleraine events are designated as UKUL.
Then the action moves to the tricky north coast sand dune terrain at Magilligan, location of the 2002 British Championships, for the Middle Distance on the Saturday and the Long Distance on Sunday on adjacent maps, with both events counting as UKOL.
Following the loss of two forest options because of storm damage, we now remain in the Magiligan area for the Irish Relay Championships. These will be held on the Lower Drummans on the western side of the Magiligan area. The area promises fast competitions across the low lying mixed terrain of sand dunes and grazed farm land.
With a handicap system, the Irish Relays make for a fun day as outside of the Premier and Junior classes, runners from different clubs can form teams. Individuals wishing a relay run will be able to enter by selecting an option to be assigned to a team.
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