New cycling & walking route from Dublin to Galway under development

Back in 2013, I had a post up about an 110km Ultra in England that went from the East to West coast roughly following the route of Hadrian's Wall. I had posed the question if such a run was possible in Ireland from Dublin to Galway.

The Grand Canal goes from Dublin to the Shannon so it certainly seemed possible that a route might be viable.

Well it seems that this is exactly what is now happening and the 276km route is shown below...

Here are some of the features...

Features
◗ A purposeful recreational facility for use by both cyclists and walkers
◗ 91km of towpath along the Royal Canal Network
◗ 45km of disused railway line from Mullingar to Athlone
◗ 140km of new build Cycleway from Athlone to Galway with new bridges
 across the rivers Shannon and Suck
◗ Regular service facilities
◗ Scenic views of diverse landscape including coastline, boglands, woodlands and watercourses
◗ Towns and cities featured on the route include Dublin, Maynooth, Mullingar, Athlone,
 Ballinasloe, Loughrea and Galway

While some charity runs go from Malin to Mizen on pubic roads, this shorter option from coast to coast looks like a safer option and could be covered easily in a week if someone opted to do a marathon per day.

The pathway will of course be a great addition to any runners along the route or anyone visiting the region.

You can find out more about the National Galway to Dublin Cycleway in this PDF document.

The website for it is http://www.galwaytodublincycleway.ie/

Coast to Coast Ultra in England. Why not Ireland?

The concept of traveling the length of the UK is well established with people running, walking and cycling from John O'Groats in NE Scotland to Lands End in Cornwall. There is also a similar concept in Ireland with a trip from Mizen Head in Cork to Malin Head in Donegal.

In England, there is also another race that goes East/West instead of North/South. Known as the 'Wall Run', it starts in Carlisle on the west coast and finishes in Newcastle on the east coast...

The 'Wall' part comes from the fact that the route follows the path of Hadrians Wall which was the northern limit of the Roman Empire some 1,800 years ago.

The route is roughly 69 miles long and can be run in one day, two days or as a relay. The terrain is mixed with both on and off-road sections. You can get a feel of it in the video clip below...



The event website is http://www.thewallrun.com

Could there be a similar event in Ireland? From say Galway to Dublin?

The distance is a lot further at roughly 120 miles (non-motorway).  It is however reasonably flat and there is a pathway alongside the Grand Canal which stretches for about 70 miles from Dublin to the Shannon.

Roads in Blue, Grand Canal in Red

Has anyone run this before? I know in June 2011, Ian Redican did a charity run over 5 days from the Spire in Dublin City to Eyre Square in Galway City, roughly 130 miles. Has anyone else done it?
Could it be a regular event?

Related links...
1) Transport Minister proposes new cycle route from Dublin to Galway...Sep 2012...Irish Times...
2) Charity Run from Galway Bay to Bray in Wicklow...Oct 2012...Facebook...