An Post Enter Team In Race Around Ireland

The Race Around Ireland will be officially launched by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD, in the Balreask Arms, Navan on Tuesday July 28 at 7pm.

An endurance race like no other hits these shores in September when some of the best Ultra Endurance cyclists in the world start the inaugural Race Around Ireland from Navan. This is a 1,350 mile Non-Stop race on bicycle that loops around the entire country passing some of Ireland’s most famous landmarks, taking in magnificent scenery and crossing the country’s highest mountains.

The Race Around Ireland is a World Cup Cycling event open to elite and

novice riders. It has been sanctioned by the Ultra Marathon Cycling

Association (UMCA) and is a registered Cycling Ireland event organised in

association with Navan Road Club, Meath Local Sports Partnership and the

Ciaran Maree Cancer Research Fund. †The Race will start in Navan on the 15th

September 2009 and riders will complete a 1350 mile loop of the Country

before returning to Navan inside five days.

The event is being promoted by Navan Road Club and organised by local personal trainer Alan Heary. The route was designed by cycling Ireland route designers Joe and Emmet Roche and has impressed the World body of Ultra endurance cycling, Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) so much that it has been included as part of their World Cup Series. The Race Around Ireland is ranked by the UMCA as the second toughest in the world after the Race Across America

Unlike other Irish cycling races such as the RAS or Tour of Ireland the course is in no way roped off, there are no marshals controlling traffic flow, and there are no planned rest stops or stages in this event. In The Race Around Ireland, once the clock starts it won’t stop until each rider reaches the finish line at the end of the 1,350 mile circuit. Teams of four and eight people will relay 24hours a day to finish inside 96 hours while solo riders will cycle for up to 22 hours per day to be competitive and finish within the allotted 120 hours.

Teams and solo riders have registered from the UK, America, Canada, Slovenia, Croatia, and of course Ireland. The solo division includes current World Cup Champion Caroline Van Den Bulk, Ireland’s endurance record holder Joe Barr, as well as several riders that have competed in and finished the Race Across America, like runner up in 2008 Mark Pattinson.

An Post Team Connacht has entered a 4 man team in this gruelling Race Around Ireland, 3 of the members were or are postmen with brothers Noel and Michael Brady from Westport, Padraig Marrey Ballinrobe (Postman in Westport) current record holder for the Mizen to Fair head route will lead the team, the 4th member of the team is Dara Mooney from Sligo, the team will be heavily supported by a 10 person back up crew and over the past few months the team and crew have been preparing hard for one of the toughest endurance races in the world in any discipline by cycling / racing against the clock in events like the Mizen to Malin in under 20hrs bid.

 Sky Sports Presenter Graham Little has also entered a team and their progress will be featured on Sky Sports. Local radio station LMFM will also be represented in the race.

It is not just about the elite however, amateur riders have also entered and lots of the teams and individuals are cycling to raise money for their chosen charities. Some places are still available for teams. For more information go to www.racearoundireland.com

If people would like to get involved in the event without cycling it is possible to do so. Some teams are looking for people to travel with them as support crew and The Ciaran Maree Cancer Research Fund are looking for people who would like do the route on motorbike to raise money while supervising the race. This is a great way to travel all around Ireland in aid of a great cause.

Some facts about the event:

1The Race Around Ireland is 1350 miles of non stop cycling (cyclists willcycle day and night to finish) 2It starts and finishes in Navan. The route goes through 22 counties. 3Its being organised in association with Navan Road Club and Meath Local Sports Partnership 4There is 75,500ft of climbing on the route 5Sanctioned World Cup event (UMCA) 2nd Toughest in the World Cup Series after The Race Across America 6Registered Cycling Ireland event 7Solo riders have 120hrs to complete it (They will cycle between 20 and 22hours per day to finish inside the allotted time)8Teams of 4 and 8 have 96hrs to complete the circuit (They will cycle in relays 24hours per day to finish inside the time)9For the charities that will benefit from the event go to http://www.racearoundireland.com/charities.asp 10Novice as well as Elite Ultra distance athletes will compete including current Mens World Number 1 Fabio Biasiolo (Italy) and †Womens World Number 1 Caroline Van Den Bulk Canada). Countries represented include The UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Croatia, Italy and of course Ireland. Sky Sports will feature the event on their new show "Sporting Ireland" as one of the presenters (Graham Little) is taking part. 11DCU will be undertaking to do some ground breaking research on endurance fatigue with the An Post team. 12The Main Sponsors for the event are the Ritz-Carlton

For more information on the race or how to become involved:

Contact Details

Alan Heary

Race Director

087 900 8845

racearoundireland@gmail.com

www.racearoundireland.com