A TRULY epic weekend of endurance and willpower saw over 200 gritty athletes compete in the non-profit Kerry Way Ultra which involved an energy-sapping 200km non-stop endurance race over 40 hours, from 6.00am on Friday to late on Saturday night.
They had to take on the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, Iveragh Peninsula’s ancient trails and coastal cliffs for Ireland’s longest distance trail route.
Athletes came from across the globe to experience the gravity of the race, which was awarded four points by the prestigious Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc event.
There were three races involved – the 200km Kerry Way Ultra, the Kerry Way UltraLite from Sneem to Killarney and a new Kerry Way UltraNight from Waterville to Killarney.
Brian Buckley from Cork raced home in an amazing time of 25 hours, 20 minutes and 28 seconds followed by Killarney’s Sean Clifford in a time of 25.56:56.
The first lady home was Aoife Mundow in an amazing time of 30.32:24.
The winner of the Kerry Way UltraNight was Dermot Maguire in a time of 11.10:30 and Tralee’s Sarah Enright was the first lady home in a blistering time of 11.55:08.
The winner of the Kerry Way UltraLite was Robert Jankowski in 5.56:02 and the honours in the ladies’ race went to Lianne Van Dijk in a time of 6.30:14.
Race Director, Eileen Daly, commented: “I will never underestimate the determination of the runners, marshals, support crews and volunteers or the kindness of the Kerry Way landowners and South Kerry Development Partnership”.
She added: “The marathons reached a phenomenal amount of viewers who engaged with our live tracking on Facebook. More than 14 countries worldwide were represented”.
KERRY WAY ULTRA 200KM
1 Brian Buckley: 25.20:28
2 Sean Clifford: 25.56:24
3 John Mollohan: 26.37:56
KERRY WAY ULTRA 200KM LADIES
1 Aoife Mundow: 30.32:24
2 Clare Keeley: 31.32:24
3 Michelle Nolan: 34.23:33
4 Joanna Edwards: 35.17:54
5 Mairead O’Keeffe: 35.48:04
6 Catch Doolan: 36.16:55
7 Jacqueline Toal: 37.14:44
8 Tina Reed: 37.26:08
9 Eileen Keohan: 39.07:03
KERRY WAY ULTRALITE
1 Robert Jankowski: 5.30:40
2 George Snee: 5.44:07
3 Anthony Cahill: 5.56:02
KERRY WAY ULTRALITE
1 Lianne Van Dijk: 6.30:14
2 Elaine Collins: 6.40:28
3 Daniela Lubiscakova: 7.22:17
KERRY WAY ULTRANIGHT
1 Dermot Maguire: 11.03:26
2 John O’Leary: 11.10:30
3 Barry Drennan: 11.27:16
KERRY WAY ULTRANIGHT LADIES
1 Sarah Enright: 11.49:47
2 Miriam O’Connor: 15:55:08
3 Jennifer Costa: 16:01:36
4 Cora Grimes: 17:51:29
Report and Photographs: Valerie O’Sullivan. Click on individual images for details
© KillarneyToday.com is the 24/7 online news service provided by O’Mahony Media
Advertise to grow your business: Over 310,000 views every month. Over 21,000 followers on Facebook. Call 087-2229761
