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End of Northwest Classic? | |
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Bob Mullan Motors 5K Series 2005 Bob Mullan Motors 5K Series 2004 Bob Mullan Motors 5K Series 2003 Bob Mullan Motors 5K Series 2001
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The future of the Waterside Half Marathon has been put in doubt following the police’s refusal to sanction the race’s traditional route again next year for safety reasons. The shock news comes just days after the most successful staging of the event which was established back in 1981. Plaudits have been coming in all week from runners all over the province and beyond after 578 entrants took to the roads for the full 13.1 mile contest. There were also over 100 walkers and a similar number of relay runners in action plus the 200 in the Fun Run to swell numbers to over a 1000 for the first time. Traffic has increased enormously in the past five years on the race route which follows an out and back course along the Clooney Road to Longfield near City of Derry airport. It is believed that the police have grave concerns for the safety of the runners particularly on the Maydown and Caw roundabouts which have led them to withdraw permission for the event. This column has several times in recent years called for a review of the race organisation but those calls have always appeared to fall on deaf ears. However, now something radical appears necessary if the northwest classic is to appear on the athletics calendar in 2006. It is widely agreed that a 2:00 pm start is much too late. Even former winner Hammie Cox who was one of the guests of honour last Saturday remarked on this. Certainly, the argument that it held so late to allow people to travel to the event does not hold water. The Belfast Marathon starts at 9:00 am, the Dublin Marathon at a similar time. Tomorrow’s Bangor Classic 10K even has a 10:00 am kick off. Certainly, it is hard to see why the Waterside could not go off at 11:00 am. It is not clear either why the race has to confine itself to one of the busiest arterial roads in Northern Ireland. Diversions around the relatively quiet roads of Gransha and Strathfoyle would ease the traffic problem and make more interesting running for the participants. Or why does the race route have to confine itself to just one side of the city? It is some years since it was sponsored by a Waterside-based local newspaper. Why not rename it the Foyle Half Marathon and embrace the whole city These and other questions will have to be resolved in the very near future or local athletics is likely to lose the jewel in its crown.
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