Saturday will see hundreds of runners and walkers take to the streets of Enniskillen for the annual 10k Road Race and Leisure Walk. The event, organised by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and supported by Enniskillen Rotary Club and the National Trust, has become a huge annual community event for the town and organisers are once again expecting in excess of 800 people to take part in the event which starts from the Lakeland Forum at 2pm.

“We are hoping we will have in around 800 or 850 participants all being well, which would be similar to previous years,” said Chris Elliott of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, who has been working on the event for the past twelve months. “This is one of our large mass participation events and it’s definitely a big one for ourselves. There is significant work that goes into it. Planning starts pretty much the week after the previous year’s event. I have to get bookings made and get the dates set with Athletics NI and things like that, so it is a 12 month ongoing process.”

There is something on the day for all the family, with a Kiddy Fun Run taking place at the Lakeland Forum at midday before the main event gets underway two hours later.

Enniskillen Running Club will be well represented with many of the more experienced runners aiming for prizes and personal best times, but there are also many of the club’s newer members looking forward to tackling the 10 kilometres for the first time. “The beginners in the club that have been running for a shorter time are probably the most excited about it,” said long standing club runner Karen Dolan. “We have some people who have done the couch to 5k and this is another stepping stone for them. We have a lot of experienced runners but we have a lot of beginners as well and this will be their first 10K and they will have been aiming for this all year.”

To assist the runners in hitting their desired times, the running club will once again send several pace runners out to help others maintain a steady pace. Green balloons will mark the runners that are setting the pace for 45 minute pace, as well as 50 minutes, 55 minutes and 60 minutes. “We did it last year and a few people asked us to do it again,” said Karen. “I did the 60 minute one last year and I wasn’t sure if people were enjoying it or not but throughout the year people were coming up to me and saying I was the person that helped them get under the 60 minutes. There was so many trying to get under that mark that I must have had at least 20 or 30 or maybe more following me. It was nice to hear that it was useful for them and there was a few requests if we could do it again this year.”

Motorists are advised to expect some traffic delays from 2.00 pm along the 10k route which will initially bring participants from Fermanagh Lakeland Forum through Enniskillen to the National Trust’s Castle Coole Estate. On leaving the estate, participants will make their way around the Killyhevlin Industrial Estate and move on to the Ardhowen Hill, Derrychara playing fields and the Millennium foot bridge over the River Erne before crossing the finish line at the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum.