by Chris Quine
Easter Festival Reflections We all really enjoyed the festival. I think most of us from who came from Liverpool will be back next year, hopefully we will also have a much bigger team. (James, Liverpool) just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and all the people involved in organising this weekend! All of us from Manchester had an amazing weekend and will be back next year in full strength to beat HBT in the running and retain the drinking title! (Helen ,Manchester) I would like to give the Manx Harriers and everyone involved in the festival a huge thanks for the hospitality - and for all the effort for such a great weekend, I can hardly walk now dude! Loved it, and GUHH will definitely be back (Rory, Glasgow) Thanks for a really good weekend. Everyone in our party really enjoyed themselves and are already planning on returning next year. We're going to try and get a bigger party over next year. (Laura, Liverpool) 23rd April 2006
Newspaper preview - missing in action Below is the newspaper preview submitted to IOM
Newspapers. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have made this week's Manx
Independent.
Following declining numbers since the late 1980's, this year's Easter Athletics Festival sees something of a revival in numbers, Over 250 runners are expected to take part in the showcase of the weekend - a 10k road race to be held in the south of the island, starting and finishing on Shore Road, Port Erin, which is being held in conjunction with the popular Bushy's Great South Run series. This should be a fine spectacle and a large crowd is expected.
The Festival is supported by the
Department of Tourism, as well as by a number of corporate sponsors and has
attracted entries from throughout the
Chris Quine for the organising club Manx Harriers said “We are delighted with the increase in numbers – the direct result of a lot of hard promotional work by the organising team over the winter months. Hopefully, visitors and locals alike will have a weekend to remember.”
From a competitive perspective, it looks like some close racing is in store with a number of pedigree athletes on display. These include last year's winner James Walsh of Leeds and his team-mate, Jorge Thomas, the current Welsh cross country champion. They could be vying with Edinburgh based Hunter's Bogg Trotters for team honours. Local star, Keith Gerrard, will be hoping to be in the thick of the action in his only race of the weekend on Good Friday. Motorists in the south of the
island, in particular, are asked to take extra care on Friday evening from
around
The full programme of events is: Friday 14th April - Bushy's 10k road race, Port Erin - start 18.45 Saturday 15th April - Mann Link Peel Hill race - start 14.15 (men), 15.05 (women) Sunday 16th April - Douglas Promenade, 5k road race (women) at 10.15, 4 x 5k road race (men) at 10.45
Twisted Angels for Festival Local all-girl band Twisted Angels will be providing post race entertainment at the Bay Hotel on Good Friday. The Indie-punk foursome play their own material plus covers.
From Eldorat to Isle of Man? Amongst the last minute entries is an intriguing
entry from a Kenyan athlete Tarus Elly. Little is known about him but he is
understood to be currently in Kenya and travelling to the UK this week to
compete in the Festival subject to visa's etc. After that he is planning to be
based in the Manchester area. (12th April)
Former winner returns Another last minute entry is former Festival winner
Phil Mowbray of Hunter's Bog Trotters. Phil was a regular in the mid to late
1990s when on occasions he camped in a tent for the weekend. His current form is
not known and he will be part of a large contingent who are combining the
Festival with a stag weekend! (12th April)
Refreshing the parts................ Local supermarket chain Shoprite will be sponsoring
water bottles at the finish of Friday's 10k road race. They have kindly donated
300 bottles for the event. Shoprite have stores throughout the island including
a store in Port Erin. (11th April)
Irish in stew over transport! Amongst those entries received in the extended
entry period up to 9th April, is a very welcome entry from the Republic of
Ireland. Ballyfin AC will be competing in the Festival for the first time,
although transport difficulties mean not all the group can make it over to run
on Good Friday. Hopefully the rest of their weekend will make up for this
disappointment. (11th April)
Ones to watch! Who is your money on for the Festival? It looks
like it could be the most competitive events for a number of years. Amongst
those to keep an eye open for are:
James Walsh - Leeds University/DOSS AC - 2005 Festival champion Don Naylor - Hunters Bog Trotters - former
Commonwealth Games runner
Gareth Raven - Sale Harriers - former North of
England medallist
Local hero Keith Gerrard will be running in the 10k
only so will want to make his mark whilst Nick Altman of HBT and Richard Ward
(Manchester Uni) could also be a dark horse for a top three finish.
Amongst the women it could be a battle between
defending champion Laura Carney or Liverpool Harriers and Olivia Walwyn of
Durham Old Hobblers, a top 15 finisher in the National Cross Country
championships.
Add your thoughts on the forum at www.manxathletics.com - remember to keep
it in the spirit of the Festival! (9th April)
Beer drinking competition entries A reminder that entries for the beer drinking competition will close at 8 pm on Sunday 16th April. Entry forms will be available throughout the weekend and the cost is £4 per team - 4 to a team. See the relevant section on the website for full details and rules. (9th April)
Sunday refreshments Refreshments will be available on Easter Sunday morning from the T Tea Shop located close to the start of the 5k and relay. They will be serving hot and cold drinks during the morning as well as a variety of hot takeaway food. Remember also that refreshments will be available at The Outback Aussie Bar after the relay where we also hope to be showing a video of the Good Friday action. (9th April) Important information - Event registration All entrants receive a race pack. This includes
race number, t-shirt, ticket for prize presentation and race
programme. Due to the large number of runners who will be
looking to register on Good Friday, visiting teams may request their packs to be
delivered to their hotel earlier in the day. To take advantage of this e-mail [email protected] as soon as possible.
We cannot offer this where there are any outstanding requirements on the entry
e.g. entry form not signed. These cases will be collected from a special desk at
race registration on the day once all requirements have been met.
The main Event Registration on Good Friday will take place at the Bay Hotel, Port Erin and will start at 17.30 (or just before). Locals in particular as asked to arrive as early as possible and not leave it until the last minute - registration will close at 18.30 - i.e. 15 minutes before the start of the race - to ensure a prompt start. Any competitors who are entered in just Saturday and/or Sunday's races may collect their packs on Friday or, preferably, on Saturday or Sunday from around the start area at least 30 minutes prior to the first race. Parking on Good Friday To avoid disruption in the start/finish area, any locals driving to the Good Friday are requested to use either the car park near Port Erin Railway Station (behind the Shell Garage) or Shoprite Car Park in Bridson Street. (8th April) Post race massage Local Sports Therapist Gemma Rae will be offering post race massage for sore limbs at the finish on Good Friday. A small donation to charity will be requested for each massage. (8th April) Vets challenger Amongst the latest entries is former Festival
winner Bashir Hassain of Stockport Harriers. Bashir is now a Veteran/Master and has
been visiting the island since the late 1970s. He recently achieved success at
the World Masters Championships in Austria. (8th April)
Large increase in the
number of visiting athletes: 170 visitors have
entered this years Festival – a number which will no doubt keep the Isle of Man
Department of Tourism – our biggest sponsor - happy. With a number of spectators
also due, the Festival is bringing close to 200 people into the Visitors please note
that you will be given a questionnaire to complete for the Dept of Tourism. This
is looking for information on your group – number in the party, number of nights
you are staying, estimated spend per head. This information is then passed back
for use when applications for future support is
considered. Transport to and from
Port Four coaches have been
booked to transport athletes and supporters to Port Erin for the Friday
10k. The coaches will be at
the War Memorial at 16.45 and leave at 17.00 at the latest. Once a coach is
filled it will leave so athletes will have more time for race
registration. Three coaches will
leave Port Erin at 22.30 for arrival in Food will be available
after the race at a number of local outlets. These include the Bay Hotel – about
20m from the finish line! - and two cafes close by. There are also a couple of
other pubs within another 400m and the ice cream parlour are also planning to be
open!! Festival goes international The organisers were delighted to receive the first
overseas entry this week. Veteran runner David Chan from Hong Kong is visiting
the island over the Easter period and is taking in the Festival during his
stay. (3rd April)
Important Course Information Click here for important information about the Easter Festival events courses Festival Information Packs Information packs detailing full arrangements for
the weekend will be dispatched next week. Keep an eye on the website too for
regular updates. (31st March)
Champions to defend titles Both men's and women's winners from 2005 look set to
defend their Festival titles. James Walsh swept all before him last year and
will be part of a strong Leeds University team.
Laura Carney was the class act in the women's races
in 2005. She will be part of a group from Liverpool Harriers (30th March)
Newcomers Pendle on the way The organising team are keen to attract more club
teams into the Festival. Therefore, it is great to see Pendle AC from Lancashire
bringing over a small but potentially very useful team over to compete for the
first time. (30th March)
The Easter Festival Rules - OK! The rules of the Easter Festival have now been finalised and published. Download here (24th March)
Changing facilities on Good Friday Changing facilities including showers will be
available before and after the 10k road race on Good Friday at Port Erin. Local
football club Rushen FC are based at Croit Lowey about 700m from the finish of
the 10k. Facilities will open at 17.00 and close around 20.30. Thanks are due to Rushen Football Club for the kind
use of their clubhouse.
Note, there are no changing facilities at Peel or
Douglas Promenade. (24th March)
Festival Supporter Pack With a large number of people traveling to the
Festival to support competitors, a special Festival Supporters Pack is being
offered. This will include transport to and from Port Erin (Good Friday) and
Peel (Easter Saturday), a ticket for the Prize Presentation and Party at
Paramount City and a race programme. The cost of these is just £6
each. Anyone wanting to reserve a package should e-mail
Chris Quine - [email protected] -
before Friday 7th April. A place will then be saved for you on the runner's
coach. Payment should be made on Good Friday when you
board the coach. (24th March)
Former local residents return Local enthusiasts look forward to welcoming back
former Isle of Man residents Peter Costley and Karen Rushton. Peter and Karen
lived on the island through most of the 1990's and were regulars on the local
scene. Both competed in the Island Games. They are now based in the Southampton
area. (24th March)
Liverpool Harriers return A squad of about 8 runners from the Liverpool area
are planning their visit to the Festival. The majority of these are members of
Liverpool Harriers and include last year's overall women's winner Laura
Carney. (21st March)
Engineering a secure future for the festival The organising team are delighted that Swagelok Ltd are going to provide financial assistance towards some of the "behind the scenes" costs with running the Festival. As with other support, this help enables more money to be directed towards developing the event and is part of our strategy of bringing more commercial sponsorship into the event. This should help secure our long-term future. Swagelok are an engineering company
and part of an American-owned corporation with a factory near
Douglas. (19th March)
A tale of sponsorship by Bushy's Local brewery and pub chain Bushy's have agreed to sponsor the numbers at this year's Festival. Competitor numbers will carry the Bushy's logo. The Good Friday road race finishes at the Bay Hotel, the "jewel" in the Bushy's empire. The Outback, hosts of the Easter Sunday lunchtime event, also serves the famous Bushy's Brews.
This type of support gives the organising team more money to plough into developing the Festival. (17th March)
The future's bright, the future's orange! Long time Festival supporters, Manchester
University - aka Alehouse Academicals - are planning to bring a party of around
25 to this year's event. Renowned for their bright orange t-shirts, we can look
forward to cries of "Alehouse" throughout the weekend.
Along with Leeds University - aka DOSS AC - they
have been the mainstays of the Festival in recent years (14th March)
Hunters Bog Trotters return One of Scotland's leading club teams, Hunters Bog Trotters are planning to bring a party of around 26 to the Festival. Of these 15-20 or so plan to run. The team are combining the weekend with a Stag weekend! From a running perspective their main focus will be the Peel Hill Race. HBT were regulars in the mid-late 1990s with Phil Mowbray winning the Festival on a couple of occasions. Scotland look set to be well represented with teams
from Edinburgh and Universities expected as well. (10th March)
Age groups clarified We would like to clarify the rules for age groups in the Festival. Ages are as at 1st September 2005. Therefore, for example, juniors (under 20) those aged 17, 18 or 19 as at 1st September 2005 should be entered as JM (men) or JL (women). However, at the other end of the scale, the age for
Vets is age on race day.
Note for prizes, athletes who are entitled to two
prizes (e.g. 10th overall and 2nd vet) will win the highest value of the two
prizes, rather than both awards.
This will be clarified in the Festival rules to be
published in due course. (6th March)
Hares and Hounds chasing for honours again in 2006 The organising team are delighted that Glasgow University Hares and Hounds have booked a squad of 14 to attend the Festival through official event travel agent Mannlink Travel. Glasgow were regular supporters of the festival
through the 1980's and 1990's and regularly brought international standard
athletes amongst their number. We look forward to welcoming them back in
2006. (4th March)
Train & Race on the same day! We
have negotiated special rates with IOM Transport for runners and supporters
wishing to travel to Port Erin by train. - Minimum party size of 10 - Book by Friday 7th April
2006 - Must be competitors or Festival
supporters - All booking to be made via Manx Harriers –
details below - Everyone in the party must travel on the same
journey Depart
Arrive 10.15 11.12 12.15 13.15 14.15 15.12 16.15 17.12 - Team name - Number of tickets required - Departure time Don't be a fool & miss the 1st April deadline All runners are reminded that there is now less than one month until entries close for this year's Easter Athletics Festival. This year the Good Friday 10k road
race is going to be held in conjunction with the first in the popular Bushy's
Great South Run series. All locals
running in the Festival will automatically be included in the results for the
Great South Run. Those not wanting to run the whole Festival may enter just the
Great South Run but will not be eligible for any of the Festival prizes or any
parts of the Festival "package".
Organisers are hoping that combining
the two races will bring in a bumper entry with visitor numbers already looking
set to be the best for several years.
The closing date for Festival entries
is Saturday 1st April. Entries for the Great South Run only will be taken on the
night. (28th February)
Rules clarified for University
teams: University teams are very welcome and the
event rules accommodate university teams as well as club teams. To count for a
team award we would expect all team members to be bona fide past or present
students at the relevant university, be entered as a member of the university
team (or Old Boys team) and for all runners to wear a university vest/tee-shirt
(rather than their club vest). When entering, runners should state, for example,
“Durham University Old Boys” on the entry form along with their personal
registration number with their relevant governing body e.g. North of England
Athletics, Scottish Athletics, etc. Those who are not affiliated/registered or
members of an affiliated club must pay the unattached levy as Manx Harriers will
be required to pay a fee to North of England AA for all unregistered
runners. Sunderland strolling to Festival The latest team to commit to the
year's Festival are newcomers Sunderland Strollers. They are planning to bring a
party of eight runners over. Hopes are also high that Glasgow University Hares
and Hounds are set to return after an absence of around six years. (20th February)
Local promotion to kick in A key part of developing the Festival
is to increase the number of local runners taking part. This will be helped
further by the opportunity to run in the Bushy's Great South Run which is being
held in conjunction with the Good Friday 10k race.
Expect to see Festival posters,
kindly designed by Steve Partington, in various locations over the coming
weeks. (20th February)
Easter Sunday lunchtime at the Outback The Easter Festival Organising team are delighted to announce that they have agreed with local Australian themed Sports Bar, The Outback, to hold an athlete get-together after the Easter Sunday races. For those off-island, The Outback is located in the centre of Douglas behind the Town Hall about 400m from the start/finish of the Sunday races. Expected to take place from around noon into the
early afternoon, there will be a light buffet for competitors and officials. It
is planned to show a DVD of the Good Friday road race and also present prizes
from the Friday and Saturday races to those under 18 and therefore unable to
attend the presentation at Paramount City on Easter Sunday evening. It is hoped
there will be a large number of athletes there to support this initiative and
also to recognise the efforts of the younger athletes.
It is also intended to have some provisional
results from the morning events available later on in the
lunchtime.
The Outback have also offered to give free entry to
Festival competitors over the weekend (there is a cover charge in the evening but
not during the daytime). (15th February)
Universities continue to support Festival University teams continue to be some of the mainstays of the Festival - it looks like 2006 will see some regulars and also some teams making a return after an absence from the Festival. Leeds University/DOSS AC have been great supporters
for many years and are planning to bring a team of around 40 this year.
Edinburgh University look set for a return after some 20 or more years and are
understood to be bringing around 16 athletes. Meanwhile, news has been received
this week that Glasgow University - last seen in the Festival around 2000 are
also planning to bring over a small team. (12th February 2006)
Return of junior event After an absence of around 18 years, organisers are
planning to include some junior races in this years Festival. Final details are
to be arranged but it is intended to hold a 3k race for under 17s, under 15s and
under 13s at Port Erin on Good Friday. This will take place whilst the main 10k
race is taking place. It will, primarily, be aimed at local youngsters but of
course visitors would be welcome too. This may be particularly appealing to
anyone visiting the Festival with their family. It is also hoped to promote the races through local
schools. By involving them in the Festival at a young age will hopefully inspire
them to take part in the full Festival in future years. More details to follow at a later
date. (3rd February 2006)
Entries Update Entries are now coming in for this years Festival. To date entries have been received from Eccleshill Road Runners of Bradford, Hunters Bog Trotters of Edinburgh as well as local club Northern AC and host club Manx Harriers. Meanwhile, enquiries have come from all parts of the British Isles including the Republic of Ireland. Remember entries close on Saturday 1st April (and that isn't an April Fool!). (29th January 2006)
On-island Transport Arrangements There have been a few questions about on-island transport to the races on Friday and Saturday. The following should be helpful: Free transport will be provided to both Friday and Saturday's events from Douglas click here for more information about Douglas - this is included in the race entry fee. On Good Friday coaches will leave for Port Erin from Douglas Prom - near to most of the hotels - at around 4.45 - 5 pm. The race will start at 6.45 pm and the trip takes about 35 minutes. This will leave time for signing on and a bit of a look around. There will be a coach back to Douglas at around 10pm. The race will be based around a pub on Port Erin prom and we are discussing arrangements with them. Hopefully there will be some live entertainment on and they have said they will do a special menu for the runners. Hopefully the results will be ready too by the end of the evening. Some of the teams may well want to go to Port Erin earlier in the day. It is a small fishing port and very picturesque. click here for information on Port Erin There is an option to go on the Victorian Steam Train - it takes about an hour and costs about £4-5. click here for details about the steam railway On the Saturday the coach will leave for Peel at around 1 pm. click here information on Peel The men's race is at 2.15pm and the women's at 3.05pm. The coach will return around 4.30pm although some run back to Douglas via a few of the pubs en-route!! It is about 11 miles! Supporters may be asked to pay a nominal charge for the coach (15th January 2006)
Easter Festival - The Movie!! Plans are well advanced for a film to be made of this
year's Festival. This will be made by students from the Isle of Man College and
is being supported by the Dept of Tourism and Leisure.
It is planned that there will be a short film to be
used for future promotional purposes and a longer version to be made available
for purchase on video and or DVD. More details nearer the time. (13th January 2006)
Change of approach to promote Festival The promotion for the 2006 is somewhat different to recent years. In the past the approach has been fairly passive relying upon the reputation of the event through word of mouth and advertising in Athletics Weekly. The new strategy is more aggressive. A glossy promotional flyer (designed by Steve Partington) including an event entry form has been produced. This has been used to promote the event through a number of different mediums:
Full on-island promotion will start in the New Year so watch this space. (13th December 2005)
News Update
1. There has been great excitement amongst the team organising the 2006 Easter Festival this week. Two new teams have booked their travel arrangements and are expected to bring large parties along. Edinburgh University were a regular team back in the 1970's and 1980's. They have booked 16 places. Eccleshill Road Runners from the Bradford area will be making their first trip and have booked 21 places. Meanwhile, following a lot of promotional work in the UK, a number of other clubs and universities are actively looking into the event - hopefully there will be more news in the next few weeks. 2. Organisers of the IOM Easter Festival have released details of their partnership with the popular Great South Run series for Good Friday's 10k Road Race. So that all runners, officials and supporters are clear what this means in practice, the following has been agreed.
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