Entries for the Manx Telecom Parish Walk 2014 open on December 1. The title sponsor has announced it is to extend support for the event until 2017 and there will also be new team trophies for the 2014 race specifically for younger walkers aged 18 to 21. Entry costs ?30 for all participants in all categories, but Manx Telecom mobile customers will receive a ?5 discount if they enter before January 31. All those who enter will receive a commemorative Manx Telecom Parish Walk technical tee-shirt, goodie bag. The walk takes place on Saturday June 21 - just go to www.parishwalk.com for both individual and team entries.
David Smith, Manx Telecom Marketing Director, said:
“2014 will complete our initial three year commitment to the event, and we are very pleased and proud to announce that we will be extending our role as title sponsor until 2017. Every year the Manx Telecom Parish Walk is a shining example of the Island’s tremendous community spirit and enthusiasm for sport. We are delighted to continue our support and look forward to another great day next June.”
Manx Telecom’s association with the Parish Walk goes back to 2007 when the Island’s leading telecommunications company began providing timing and results services.
The new awards for younger walkers in 2014 will be a competition for teams of three aged 18 to 21 walking the 32.5 miles to Peel. The winners will be the team with the fastest combined time of all three walkers. There will be separate prizes for men’s and women’s teams. Next year’s race will again feature a Corporate Challenge category for teams of four who must all be bona fide employees of the same company, and no team can have more than one member who has previously completed the full 85-mile Parish Walk. There is also an overall team competition with the rule that no more than two of the four team members have previously finished the full Parish Walk course. All participants - including those for the team and Corporate Challenge events - must enter individually. To enter the team events, entrants simply put the name of their team or Corporate Challenge team on the online entry form.
The Manx Telecom Parish Walk can trace its roots back to the 1850s, but the first event that is comparable to the modern format was held in 1913. That year there was an event called the Parish Walking Match organised by the Isle of Man Times and the Manx Sporting Club. The First World War and its aftermath prevented any repetition of the event until 1923.
