The 5th annual Affidea Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon was launched yesterday by radio DJ Louise McSharry and Olympic hero Thomas Barr.
One of Ireland’s largest running events, which saw record number of entries last year, returns to the streets of Dublin’s City Centre on the 12th and 13th of August 2017.
The 2016 event saw record breaking numbers as 14,000 runners from 57 different countries took part in the event across four distances.
The total economic impact of the event was €7.8 million, filling 22,256 hotel room nights in Dublin.
This years event will double up as the Athletics Ireland National Half Marathon Championship.
There will be a strong social media element to this years race again with an expansion of the Rock ‘n’ Run Idol competition that debuted in Dublin in 2016 with hundreds of entries and 15,000 votes cast.
This year will see the search for four provincial winners along with a fifth Dublin winner. The five winners will become Rock ‘n’ Run finalists battling it out in a public vote to become the 2017 Rock ‘n’ Run Idol and win a VIP trip to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon in November.
The race has live bands along each mile to encourage and entertain runners as they make their way to the finish line. It concludes with a finish line festival and headline concert in the Phoenix Park.
“We are excited to be celebrating our 5th year in Dublin, we hope to do even more to engage with the vibrant running community of Dublin and attract runners from all over the world to this great city,” said Stacey Campbell, Vice President of Global Events for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series.
“After the success of adding more distances in 2016, we are delighted to have four distances on offer to allow runners of all levels to take part over the weekend.”
Speaking at today’s launch, Louise McSharry, Affidea Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin’s Ambassador said “I’m delighted to be involved in this year’s Affidea Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin series and the challenge of competing in my first ever 10k.”
“I’ll be keeping everyone updated over the next few months on my training progress. I am also really excited to be supporting the Rock ‘n’ Run Idol competition, whether you are a serious runner or a beginner like me I would encourage everyone to enter. The competition is about finding people who have used running in the past or are currently on a journey to better their lives or inspiring others to do so.”
CEO of Affidea, Tom Finn, said: “Affidea is delighted to continue its sponsorship of Rock ‘n’ Roll in 2017. Last year’s programme of running events was a huge success and we look forward to an even bigger and better weekend this year.”
“This sporting event is unique in that it brings together runners of all ages and fitness levels to enjoy running in a fun, light-hearted environment.”
Affidea is Ireland’s leading provider of x rays, MRIs and CT scans but with the best will in the world we hope they won’t see a surge in demand from novice runners doing damage in their training.
“This is a brilliant event, with live bands on the course, there is a real festival atmosphere created for participants and spectators. It’s a fantastic celebration of running and with the 5k, 10k and Family Fun there is an event for everyone to enjoy,” said Olympic Hurdler Thomas Barr.
John Foley, CEO Athletics Ireland, added that “We are delighted that our National Half Marathon Championships will once again be part of the Affidea Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon this August. We look forward to working with the Rock ‘n’ Roll team again this year to help deliver another fantastic weekend of running”.
To register for the event and for further information on the Rock ‘n’ Run Idol contest visit
www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/rock-idol/; follow frequent updates on Twitter (@RnRDublinHalf) and Facebook.
