The 2025 Donegal Half Marathon, which will be held in association with Kernan’s, has been launched and will take place on Sunday, August 24 in Letterkenny.
First held in 2014, the race has grown in popularity and attracted almost 600 entries last year. Speaking at the launch of the event, Donegal Half Marathon Chairman, Myles Sweeney, said the ability of the organising committee to attract participants of all abilities and backgrounds is the main reason for the success of the race.
“Retaining the ethos of the Donegal Half Marathon has been important – the model is all about encouraging participation, while it’s also about bringing the elite into the event,” he added.
“Many groups and individuals play a part in the Donegal Half Marathon. Letterkenny CDP who help us out with the family event and Letterkenny Century Cinemas who are involved in the children’s events are key cogs in the Donegal Half Marathon.
“I want to recognise our main sponsors, Kernan’s, who have been with us now since 2019. Donegal County Council make a huge contribution every year to the event, and we’re delighted with the support we got through the DFI grant. It’s great to see Mayor Gerry McMonagle and Cllr Donal Mandy Kelly here and we appreciate your support,” Mr Sweeney said.
“We also get support from Optum, Failte Ireland, Irish Red Cross and Donegal Sports Partnership. Thanks, also to John Watson of Watson Hire who gives us great support and it’s nice to see Garda Fintan Smith here representing An Garda Siochana whose help and support is crucial in the staging of the race. We extend our good wishes to Garda Sergeant Eunan Walsh and wish him a speedy recovery. Eunan has been a real support to us since the race first began,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of Kernan’s, Damian Daly said: “It’s a great privilege for us to be involved with the Donegal Half Marathon. This is our seventh year to be involved after getting a call from the late Dessie Larkin. It’s a Donegal event and it’s great for us to be associated with a county event. I thank the committee for all the work you do and thank Cathal Curran from Kernan’s for all the work he does for the event every year.”
In his address, Mayor of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Cllr Gerry McMonagle said: “I’m delighted to be here and thank you for the invite. On the way here this evening, I was just thinking back to the night Dessie brought in the motion to start this event, and it got the full support of the members. He outlined what it would mean, how it would get people involved and how it would help to promote healthy lifestyles and athletics, while also putting Donegal in the map.
“It has gone from strength to strength and it’s great to see the buy-in from the community and the businesses who support the event as well year on year. With my other hat on with Letterkenny CDP, we are delighted to be part of the Donegal Half Marathon and helping out with the family fun aspect of the day.”
“The one thing about athletics is that it is all about family and it is all about community and it’s great that we have projects like the CDP to help out and be part of things. The Donegal Half Marathon is good for the town as it puts it on the map and it’s also good for athletics. My own family in Derry is very much into athletics. They very much look forward to the race and hear of other clubs in Derry talking about it. Let’s hope this year’s event is as successful as those in previous years and grows from strength to strength,” Mayor McMonagle added.
To register for the 2025 Donegal Half Marathon, follow the link below:
https://eventmaster.ie/event/Bk4EH23c8j
To access the QR code, follow the link below:
https://eventmaster.ie/event/Bk4EH23c8j/qrcode
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