New course, increased difficulty for Waterside Half Marathon runners

Runners have been warned to expect a much tougher course in this weekend’s Waterside Half-Marathon.

This year’s 13-mile run has been altered somewhat, making it more challenging as a result; starting and finishing in Ebrington Square, winners will take in the new Strathfoyle Greenway, Gransha and the Foyle Bridge before making their usual way through Bay Road, up the Strand Road and over the Peace Bridge. The changing landscapes of the city have meant a number of changes through the years, but organisers believe this year’s will be the toughest on runners to date.

“It is more difficult in my opinion,2 local race organiser and City of Derry Spartan Gerry Lynch stated. “If you look at the results from the first race in 1981, right through to last year, the majority of the quicker times for both men and women, were recorded on the original course, which was starting outside St. Columb’s Park Leisure Centre on the Limavady Road, and running out to City of Derry Airport where there was a U-turn and back. The key thing about that was it meant that the course was a literal straight charge out six and a half miles, a U-turn, and six and a half mikes coming back. You did have to climb a bray just before 12 miles but, all in all, it was a really quick course.

“Anyone who has a memory of that has a memory of the wind blowing in your face on the way out and blowing behind you on the way back, but maybe that’s an urban myth.

“In 2007, the course was changed basically for traffic management reasons and we used Gransha as a start and finish. Then, with the advent of the greenways we moved to starting at Ebrington and finishing on the track at St. Columb’s Park. This year it is taking in a bit of the older version of the course because it’s taking in the Strathfoyle Greenway which is new. That’s quite a difficult climb, and the first 8-plus miles, there’s quite a lot of climbing, more so than before, so I would be surprised if there are any record times posted, but who knows?”

Popularity

While there are concerns over the immediate future of the Waterside Half event, what is not in doubt is its popularity, with the event sold out weeks in advance, and hundreds of runners turned away.  

“The race is organised by council and looking at the entry lists which are definitely closed now, there were a couple of hundred people left disappointed because they didn’t make the cut off point,” Gerry explained.

“I reckon there’s in the region of 1,850 individuals entered and there’s 76 three-person relay team, and that’s bringing you up into the region of 2,100, which basically shows that road running and the Waterside Half Marathon in particular is alive and well as we’re heading into the 40th staging of the race, and we’re delighted to see that the numbers are out there.”

The absence of the Walled City Marathon in recent years may explain the constant popularity of the Half Marathon, which runs every September, but Gerry believes the reasons go far beyond the absence of the full marathon.

“It’s probably a combination of a whole lot of factors,” he said. “The event has been going for, well, 43 years now; we had to cancel it in 2006 at short notice because of traffic issues on the course, and we lost two years to Covid, 2020and 2021, so it’s well, well established. There has always been a good, core base of regular joggers and recreational runners, then you have the club runners as well.

“There has also been a big input from what we call the community running clubs over then last few years, and they add to not just the numbers, but the excitement and entertainment on the day. It has got a reputation and it’s also, from time to time hosts the Northern Ireland Half Marathon Championships. It started in 1981 and if you remember that far back, that was the beginning of the mass participation road tunning surge, and it’s continued. Healthy exercise still seems to be something that you find in large chunks down around these parts and beyond.”