Magilligan dunes are bounded to the north by the Atlantic ocean fringed by a six mile long beach. To the south lies Lough Foyle, a tidal sea lough, and the two converging shores join at Magilligan Point. Here a Martello Tower (built 1812) overlooks the narrow straight to Co Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. A small car and foot passenger ferry makes regular crossings giving direct access to the popular “Wild Atlantic Way” tourism route.

The middle distance race will make use of the terrain to the North West of the area adjacent to Magilligan point and the Martello Tower.

The area is a mix of intricate dunes, interspersed with more level areas, which afford some very fast running. The map was fully updated in September 2024.

Travel Directions

From Limavady take the A2 to Bellarena and Benone. The event is about ten miles north of the town and should take about twenty minutes by car. The competition area will be clearly sign-posted to the left off this main road.

From Coleraine take the A2 to Castlerock, Downhill and past Benone. The competition area will be clearly sign-posted to the right off this main road.

Car Parking

The parking area will be available from 9.30am and will be signposted to the right on the approach to the competition area. All participants must show their car park passes (which will be emailed out) to gain entry. Please have photographic identification available to show if requested.

Event Layout

Toilets

Toilets will be available close to parking . Only ONE toilet will be available close to the start.

Club tents and Finish Area

There will be space for club tents close to the final run-in, this will be taped to keep the competition area OOB.

Enquiries

Enquiries will be located close to the finish. Loan SI-cards can be collected from here.

Colour Courses

Light Green, Orange and Yellow courses must be booked in advance of the competition. NO ENTRY ON THE DAY.

Terrain

Open sand dunes, generally low lying with a maximum rise of approximately 20m and with some extremely intricate areas. Runability is variable from very fast to tough. Progress is hindered in some areas by scratchy vegetation which can be up to waist high. Gaiters or other similar leg protection and full leg cover is recommended.

Mapping Notes

All areas used by the courses were resurveyed in September 2024, primarily to pick up additional paths, fences and vegetation. Magnetic north has been updated. Symbols have been updated to ISOM 2017-2 standard except for contours and form-lines which have been made slightly thinner to improve readability. Prominent trees have been mapped using the standard large and small prominent tree symbols. Be aware that this does not mean that every isolate tree is mapped (“prominence is in the eye of the beholder, who in this case is the mapper!”).

Map

• Scale 1:10000 with 2.5m contour interval for Courses 1 – 3.
• Scale 1:7500 with 2.5m contour interval for Courses 4 – 9.
• Scale 1:5000 with 2.5m contour interval for Courses 10 and 11

Start

Starts are from 11.00 to 14.00 with the exception of Course 4 which continues to 15.00 owing to the very large entry in the associated classes.

The start for all courses is about 1km from the parking and assembly area along a tarmac road.

There will be only ONE toilet at the start.

Water Stations

There will be no water stations on the Middle distance event courses. Please ensure you are well hydrated and bring your own water.

Finish

Please make sure that you manually “punch” one of the finish SI stations – beacon mode is not enabled.

The finish will be located approximately 200m from the parking.

Loan SI-cards must be handed in at download unless you intend to use them for the Classic and/or relays.

Courses Close

All course will close at 4:30 pm.

Classes / Courses

Championship Classes

Course Number	Classes
1	M21E, M18E, M20E
2	M35, M40, M45, M50
3	W21E, W18E, W20E
4	M16, M55, M60, W35
5	M65, W16, W40, W45
6	W50, W55, W60
7	M70, M14, W65, W14
8	M12, W12
9	M75, M80, W70, W75
10	M10, W10
11	M85, W80, W85

Non-championship classes

Course Number	Classes
4	Men Short
6	Women Short
7	M/W18 Short, Light Green
8	M/W16 Short, Orange
10	Yellow

Course Details

Course	Controls	Length	Climb
1	21	5.7 km	170 m
2	18	4.7 km	180 m
3	17	4.4 km	125 m
4	17	4.5 km	125 m
5	15	4.0 km	105 m
6	18	4.0 km	125 m
7	14	3.6 km	100 m
8	11	2.0 km	40 m
9	12	2.0 km	40 m
10	10	1.7 km	30 m
11	12	1.8 km	40m

Contact Form

If you have any queries about this event please use the contact form below:

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