The Millennium Way Relay run this Saturday (July 19) will be raising funds for The Children’s Centre. There are team and individual races along the 28-mile multi-terrain footpath from Ramsey to Castletown. The Millennium Way Relay was first held in 1979 when the Millennium Way trail first opened. Traditionally, it was on Boxing Day with the last event being held in 2009, but it is returning this year as a fundraising event for The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects which help children and families across the Island.
Each of the four relay legs has its own challenges. The first leg, 11 miles from Ramsey to the Brandywell Road, covers a mostly undulating course across open country; the second leg is a 6 mile trail section mostly downhill to the changeover in Crosby; leg three is predominantly a uphill road section covering 4.5 miles; and the final 6.5 mile leg from St Marks to Castletown is mainly flat and across open country before arriving in the Island’s ancient capital.
A total of 15 teams of four runners, and two solo runners, have signed up to take part. The first group of runners start in Ramsey at 9am. Lisa Motley, Endurance Events Fundraiser at The Children’s Centre, commented:
“We are really pleased with the response to the relay and are looking forward to a great day. We’re extremely grateful for the support from Canada Life International which is enabling us to put this popular event back on the Island’s sporting calendar. Thanks must also go to the Up & Running store in Douglas for generously donating gift vouchers as prizes. Winners of the team event will receive a trophy and each member will also go home with a ?25 Up & Running gift voucher. There will be ?15 vouchers for the fastest man and fastest woman on each leg, and ?15 vouchers and trophies for the first male and female in the individual event.”
While the course is predominantly off-road, it does cross a number of road junctions. Organisers will put signs in place to alert drivers to be aware of runners, all participants will be asked to take extra care. The event runs from 10am to 2pm – and motorists are advised to look out for runners on the Tholt y Will Road, Brandywell Road, West Baldwin Road junction by the bridge, Ballamodha Straight to Sliverdale Glen, and the A7 by Rushen Abbey.
The full list of teams (and their start times and race numbers in brackets) are as follows with the team members listed in the order they will run. The start times are staggered based on the predicted time for each team to complete the course with the idea being that all of the teams should finish in Castletown at around 2pm.
9:00 (13) Panacea: [Sam Tipper, Martha Manini, Clarisse Ceoto, Ben Barlow]
9:21 (3) Strix: [Matthew Gold, Andrew Winstanley, Richard Drinkwater, Nadine Teichmann]
9:37 (7) The Old Codgers & A Young Fellow: [Ian Callister, Geoff Hall, Alan Gault, Dave Hall]
9:46 (6) Hardly Athletic: [Stephen Quirk, Stephen Caley, Juan Owens, Dom Murphy]
9:51 (1) Blood Sweat and Beers: [Juan Kinvig, Sarah Cringle, Jack Sleight, Becky Watterson]
9:53 (8) The Millennium Wheyyy Boys: [Jess Carridge, Richard Gault, Stephen Mulhern, Amber Carridge]
10:07 (14) Beaver Boys (Barclays): [John Kelly, Neil Withers, James Cahill, Phil Kensall]
10:11 (2) Smells Like Team Spirit: [Mark Flanagan, Phil Motley, Courtney Payne-Audsley, Phil Collins]
10:13 (10) Port Erin Coastguard: [Mark Watterson, John Keggin, John Keggin, Mark Watterson]
10:17 (12) Fuelled By Chocolate: [Eleanor Gawne, Rachel Holden, Christine OHanlon, Caroline Moran]
10:29 (11) First Names: [John Norrey, Gary Yates, Dawn Yates, Joanne Glassey]
10:33 (5) Skanco: [Andy Gosnell, John Bolton, Darren Smethurst, Dee Mcloughlin]
10:50 (15) West is Best: [Ben Scott, Simon Foster, Neil Westwood, Dan Davies]
10:52 (9) Team Mulhern: [Michael McHale, Paul Hinstridge, Stuart Christian, Richard Mulhern]
10:54 (4) Designated Drinkers: [Jock Waddington, Richard Gerrard, Vinny Lynch, Chris Cale]
There are two solo runners, Paul Kinnin and Rob Sellors, who will be starting at 9am.
Photo - The Millennium Way Relay on July 19 will offer some spectacular views for runners.
