This year’s Annalong Horseshoe Fell Race will forsake its base for the last 37 years at Dunnywater and will now start and finish at Silent Valley Reservoir, within the NI Water complex.

The number of entrants last year put severe pressure on the existing facilities at Dunnywater and it’s felt that rather than limit the number of entrants, a move to a new location would solve the current issues with the Dunnywater venue. Last year we had a record entry of 100 runners, which meant that we struggled to accommodate parking for the number of competitors vehicles along the Dunnywater avenue, causing complaints from the residents on the avenue regarding access. With an increase in competitors, the lack of toilet facilities and the health and safety risks associated with the road section also raising concerns, therefore it’s a logical move to Silent Valley, which will address all of these issues for this year and years to come.

With a new venue, the race route will be altered and the course will be as follows:

START GRID REF 308218 (north of gate and adjacent to ‘plug hole’)
CHECKPOINT 1 GRID REF 315254 (style at Ben Crom Reservoir)
CHECKPOINT 2 GRID REF 328261 (Slieve Lamagan summit cairn)
CHECKPOINT 3 GRID REF 336271 (Cove summit cairn)
CHECKPOINT 4 GRID REF 346286 (Slieve Commedagh summit cairn)
CHECKPOINT 5 GRID REF 358277 (Slieve Donard summit cairn)
CHECKPOINT 6 GRID REF 364257 (Chimney Rock summit cairn)
CHECKPOINT 7 GRID REF 320245 (Slieve Binnian north tor south side)
FINISH GRID REF 308218 (north of gate and adjacent to ‘plug hole’)

The revised course will be approximately 23km in length (subject to route choice) with a height gain of approximately 2050m.

For further information, please refer to the event page here > http://barfni.co.uk/events/annalong-horseshoe/