Results & Photos of the Kerry Way Ultra - 1st & 2nd Sept 2023

The annual Kerry Way Ultra was held last weekend on the 1st & 2nd of Sept 2023 and going by the photos and videos, it looked amazing as usual.

According to the results, an impressive 77 runners managed to complete the full 200km course.

Top 3 men & women...

Ultra - Female - 10am Start
2 Nikki Arthur 27:16:56 Finish
24 Jenny Elliott York 29:27:13 Finish
10 Sarah Clarke 30:09:59 Finish

Ultra - Male - 10am Start
39 Stephen Mangan 23:30:41 Finish
58 Jason Williamson 25:32:03 Finish
20 Michael Dowling 25:32:04 Finish

Ultra results HERE

In addition to the 200km ultra, there was the usual 'lite event' which does the last 58kms of the route. 'Lite' results HERE

A new welcome addition this year was the 'ultra nite' which does the last 101kms at night. This is an excellent stepping stone as it allows people to gain experience of running at night and navigating in the dark before they commit to the full 200km event. 'Nite' results HERE

Photos...

1) The organisers have some finish line photos HERE

2) Valerie O'Sullivan does a great job covering this event every year and she has a gallery HERE

Video... 

The organisers have together a series of videos which capture a flavour of the event and area.

I remember back in 2013 talking to the organisers about this event when they had a stand at the Maxi-Marathon event in Killarney. It was early days back then and hardly anyone knew about this new ultra  event and they were trying to get people interested.

It's come a long way since then and it's now one of the best ultra running events in the country.

For more information, check out their website... https://kerrywayultra.com/

Winner breaks course record in the 2021 Kerry Way 200km Ultra

The annual Kerry Way Ultra was held over the weekend with the 200k event starting at 6am on Friday morning.

In the men's race, the first man home broke the old course record of 22h 36m 27s set by Barry Hartnett in 2017.

Top 3 finishers in 
The Kerry Way Ultra, Men’s Race 
1.John McKeogh 22:25:44*
2.Ricki Wynne 22:53:55
3.Keith Lane 23:06:53

Winner outright...👏👏🥇John McKeogh, Winner of the The Kerry Way Ultra Marathon, in an incredible time of 22:25:44. in a 200km non stop endurance race - The Kerry Way Ultra Marathon, a daunting 40 hour, 200km, non stop race, which traverses the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Iveragh Peninsula, on Ireland’s longest trail route in Ireland a daunting 40 hour, 200km, non stop race, which traverses the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Iveragh Peninsula, on Ireland’s longest trail route in Ireland. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

First 9 finishers

Top 5 finishers in the Kerry Way Ultra, Women’s  Race 

1. Lianne van Dijk 28:39:05
2.Joanna Edwards 33:10:34
3.Simone Durry 33:35:04
4. Kasia Skowron 34:57:45
5. Claire McCann 35:46:16

AMAZING🥇🥇👏👏👏....Lianne Van Dijk,  First Lady Home, in a time of  28:39:05, competing in the The Kerry Way Ultra Marathon, a 200km non stop endurance race - The Kerry Way Ultra Marathon, a daunting 40 hour, 200km, non stop race, which traverses the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Iveragh Peninsula, on Ireland’s longest trail route in Ireland a daunting 40 hour, 200km, non stop race, which traverses the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Iveragh Peninsula, on Ireland’s longest trail route in Ireland. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

At the time of writing, the full results aren't up yet but keep an eye on the organisers Facebook page for results and photos... https://www.facebook.com/TheKerryWayUltra

Results & Photos of the 2020 Kerry Way Ultra

 

The big running event this weekend in Munster was the annual Kerry Way Ultra. Contestants started the 200km course on Friday morning at 6am on the 4th of September and finished on the Saturday.

Most of the course is off road or on quiet country roads and it looks as if they got some nice weather for this years event for a change.

With most running events cancelled due to the COVID restrictions, this is one that could go ahead due to nature of the race. There are no issues with social distancing as most of the contestants end up being kms apart!

First woman home... Aoife Mundow completed the 200km course in 25h 26m. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

A total of 77 men and 4 women completed the 200km Ultra course.

Top 4...

Kerry Way Ultra Female
    118        Mundow, Aoife    25:26:49    Finish
    52        Enright, Sarah    29:35:49    Finish
    174        McNamee, Julie    33:08:03    Finish
    33        Costa, Jennifer    37:32:02    Finish

Kerry Way Ultra Male
    20        Byrne, Gavin    23:37:17    Finish
    94        Lane, Keith    24:01:18    Finish
    16        Buckley, Brian    24:32:13    Finish
    43        Delille, Remi    24:32:13    Finish

Full results

46 contestants had to retire which gives an indication of just how daunting a course this is.

Photos... 

1) Valerie O'Sullivan as always took to the hills to get some stunning shots.

a) Gallery 1

Cork runner Brian Buckley wins Kerry Way Ultra

Congratulations to Cork runner Brian Buckley who won the 200km Kerry Way Ultra race over the weekend in an amazing time of 25 hours and 23 minutes.

Brian who is a member of Watergrasshill AC is pictured above with his support crew of David Carr, David Yelverton and Maria Dorgan.

The race started in the early hours of Friday morning the 6th of September and finished on Saturday.

The route for the 200km Kerry Way Ultra is shown below...

3 out of 10 Runners complete the Kerry Way Ultra this weekend

Back in September of 2012, I had a post about two runners who set out to complete the 120 miles / 200 kms of the Kerry Way. That was very much a trial run for this year's official event when 10 people took part.

As you can see from the map above, the route takes in a large anti-clockwise loop around the Iveragh Peninsula. Much of the route nearer the tourist areas is well signposted but there are sections in the more mountainous regions that are poorly marked. This turned out to be a problem on the day with several contestants losing their way.

 The event started in Killarney at 6am on Friday the 6th of September. Of the ten that started, only three finished the arduous 120 mile route with the first man finishing in just over 27 hours.

1    Stefaan DÆESPALLIER    27:08:00  1    Male    7.4 km/h
2    Jens WAECHTER    30:45:00  2    Male    6.5 km/h
3    Bridget BRADY    37:56:00   1    Female    5.3 km/h

Run of the Kerry Way for charity...

Two runners, John Healy from Cork and Paul Gosney from the UK (but living in Killarney) set out to run the Kerry Way last Friday in an effort to raise funds for charity.  The pair left the tourist office in Killarney at 9:40am on Friday morning and headed out to do the Kerry Way in an anti-clockwise direction. The route was as follows.....From Killarney, they followed the Way through the Black Valley to Glencar..........took the Windy Gap Climb into Glenbeigh.......and then south. They didn't take the out and back sur to Caherciveen as they wanted to keep it a continuous loop. Then, it was on to Waterville and Caherdaniel via the Coastal Route......then the inland route to Sneem and then up the old Kenmare Road to finish back at the Tourist Office in Killarney.

While Paul was unable to finish the route due to injury, he did stay with John for most of the way and ran with him through some of the most difficult sections.

John Healy finally arrived back in Killarney on Saturday night after completing the 192 km course on the Iveragh Peninsula in a time of 37:07:03. Considering that much as of the Kerry Way is off road, that time is all the more impressive.

As part of the run, their aim was to raise funds for the Charities HAVEN, a Building Programme in Haiti and the Kerry Way (for upkeep and maintenance). You can find the donation page HERE