THE FIRST entries for the 2011 Scottish Widows Parish Walk will be taken at midnight tonight when the online entry forms become active on the event’s official website.
All entries for the Parish Walk have to be made online. Last year a record 1,693 entered and the race continues to grow in popularity, attracting competitors from all over the world.
This year the Scottish Widows Parish Walk takes place on Saturday June 25th, starting at 8am at the NSC. The final date for entries is midnight on Sunday May 15th.
The open walk is over the full 85 mile course, and competitors must be 21 and over on the day of the walk. There will be additional prizes for women.
The race for women under the age of 21 on the day of race is to Peel (32 1/2 miles). Competitors must be a minimum of 18 years old on the day of the walk. The race for men under the age of 21 on the day of the race is to Peel (32 1/2 miles). Competitors must be a minimum of 18 years old on the day of the walk.
Teams consist of four walkers but each one is only permitted to include two walkers who have previously finished the full 85 mile Parish Walk. The winning team is the one with the highest aggregate mileage. In the event of a tie on mileage, the total time will be the deciding factor. There will be awards for best overall team and best ladies team.
To be classified as a finisher of the full 85 mile walk a competitor must have finished in a time of not more than 24 hours. The man with the most finishes is David Collister who has completed the event a staggering 27 times. Ray Hughes has finished 22 times and Anthony Kneale 21 times. For the first time more than 1000 walkers reached the 32.5 miles distance to Peel with 1,036 achieving the feat.
The fastest ever winner of the Parish Walk is Sean Hands who didn’t walk in the 2010 event. His time of 14 hours 47 minutes 36 seconds (2006) is almost half an hour quicker than five times winner Robbie Callister (15hrs 16 mins 3 secs) who failed to finish this year.
Hat trick winner Jock Waddington - who is likely to start favourite again in 2011 - is the third fastest ever in 15 hours 18 minutes 6 seconds. The fastest ever lady competitor is Janice Quirk who finished second overall in 2009 in 15 hours 58 minutes 35 seconds. She didn’t race in the Parish Walk 2010.
www.parishwalk.com
