The longest race of our Irish series takes you from the coastal town of Bray to the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Your journey begins on the seaside promenade before the short steep climb to the iconic cross on Bray Head. Here you bid farewell to your views of the Irish Sea and turn towards the mountains proper.
You continue your run on a variety of trails with the early stages of the race dominated by interesting rocky trails as you traverse across Little and Great Sugarloaf Mountains, passing by the scenic Killruddery Estate, on-route to the Wicklow Way – a 132 km walking trail stretching south out of the Irish capital Dublin.
The middle-section of the race offers nearly every type of good trail imaginable with a few sections of quiet country road and plenty of ups and downs to keep you challenged and entertained. Wicklow is called ‘The Garden County’ for a reason and you pass by many of the national park’s highlights including the Powerscourt Waterfall and Lough Tay (‘The Guinness Lake’) viewpoint before a loop on the newly upgraded ‘Roundwood Reservoir’ trails signals the beginning of your return journey to Bray via Belmont Estate.
We expect most finishers will arrive between 9 and 12 hours after they depart, and they will be greeted by the dusk settling over Dublin Bay and the glittering lights of Bray and Dublin where you can expect a true Irish welcome as you cross the finish line on the seafront.
