West Mayo marathon is won in record time as nearly 4,000 take part
On a picture perfect day in sunny Mayo, nearly 4,000 participants today undertook the third annual Westport Marathon.
One of the most scenic routes in the world, the the event welcomed both seasoned and first-time marathoners with a challenging yet rewarding experience amidst the breathtaking landscapes of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way and the backdrop of CroaghPatrick.
The event is a premier running event in Ireland, featuring three race distances: a full marathon (42.2 km), a half marathon (21.1 km), and a 10 km run.
With over 4,000 competitors taking part it is now the largest running event in the west, attracting participants from all over Ireland and afar.
This year has seen a huge growth in international Competitors with runners travelling from Switzerland, France, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, the United States and Australia to take part
Winner of the full marathon was Sean Hehir from Gorey in Wexford who finished in a record breaking time of 2:33:22.
The first female over the line was Ellen Marie Curley from Clifden, coming in at a time of 3:21:21.
Taking the number one spot in the men's half marathon in a time of 1:15:40 was Dublin man James Moran.
Leah Lawler, a native of Carlow took first prize in the women's half marathon.
The 10k competitors didn’t waste time with Westport man Bryan Renton racing across the finish line in an impressive time of at 00:34:56
The first lady Maria Byrne from Dublin who registered a time of 41:28.
Westport Marathon has announce Western Alzheimers as its charity partner this year.
This amazing charity provides a complete range of care and support services to families affected by Alzheimers/Dementia in the west of Ireland.
Western Alzheimers was set up in 1996 as a direct response to the lack of support and services available to people living with dementia in the west of Ireland.
For more information on Western Alzheimers and how you can donate visit https://westernalzheimers.ie/
Full race results are available here.