Interest is now building for the 55th Easter Festival of Running, organised by Manx Harriers and supported by First Names Group. Since the event rebranded three years ago, there has been an encouraging growth in entries with around 600 individuals taking part in last year’s event. This year there will be further change as the men’s relay is being replaced by a 5k race.

The action starts in Port Erin on Good Friday evening for the Bushy’s 10k. Peel Hill is the venue for the famous Hill Races sponsored by Full Factory Winnerswear on Easter Saturday afternoon whilst Douglas Promenade hosts The Outback sponsored women’s 5k and men’s 5k races on Easter Sunday morning.

The Festival is popular with both locals and visitors, attracting around 300 off-Island competitors in 2015. There is an extensive prize list including awards for the first local club in both the men’s and women’s events.

The official closing date for entries is Sunday 2nd April. Entries taken after this date will incur a ?2 per race supplement.

Festival Director, Chris Quine, commented:

“We are delighted to welcome First Names Group as our new headline sponsor and hope that we will enjoy a long and successful partnership. We are also grateful to our other sponsors and the DED for their ongoing support.

“Since the Festival was revamped in 2006 we have continued to develop and evolve the event. We re-branded as the Easter Festival of Running in 2013 which then saw a further rise in the number of both visitors and locals taking part.

Whatever your level, the Festival has something for everyone with the 10k traditionally the most popular event. From a sporting perspective, it is it a great opportunity for locals to test themselves against good standard opposition on their home patch. However, it is also a good boost for the local visitor economy too. Last year over 300 athletes attended the Festival, the vast majority staying for at least three nights.”

Go to www.easterfestival.info for more information.