WITH its continued success helping to change the lives of those that need it most in our social climbs, the Get BACk Challenge makes a welcome return for 2011. Through a series of new cycling running and walking events that will form the basis for the 2011 Get BACk Challenge, the calendar of events this year will include a mountain bike event, a family cycle, monthly running and walking race series and the annual Get BACk Challenge from Limerick to Doonbeg on July 2.
The events organised with the Limerick City and County Sports Partnerships in association with Focus Consulting will raise funds for socially disadvantaged children and childhood obesity interventions.
The first event on the calendar is the Get BACk Mountain Bike Challenge on Saturday May 14 next taking place in Ballyhoura.
Brian McGann Managing Director of Focus Consulting explained the decision to expand the event from one day to a series of events. He outlined ‘this will be the sixth year of the Get BACk Challenge. “We wanted to create more events that will help raise funds but also provide people with a varied calendar of events to train for and participate in throughout the year. This partnership with the Limerick City and County Sports Partnerships will result in an event taking place every month until September.”
Commenting on the programme, Brian added; “our annual event has been a huge success for the past five years but through opening up new events we can attract more participants and aim to maintain the funding levels for various initiatives in progress through the Sports Partnerships. While the July cycle to Doonbeg is the cornerstone event we anticipate that the other events such as mountain biking, family cycle and race series will become firmly established in the calendar of mass participation events.”
The first event in the 2011 calendar will be the Get BACk Mountain Bike Challenge on Saturday May 14th which will feature one of Europe’s best known mountain biking sites in Ballyhoura. The event will cater for beginners to seasoned mountain bikers over 17km and 35km routes. Throughout the summer a monthly running and walking Race Series will take place throughout Limerick City with varied distances from 3 to 10km that will be open to all to aim for. This will also be supported by the City Sports Partnership’s meet and train programme with Olympian Rosemary Ryan. A family cycle event will take place on the June 19, Fathers Day before building up to the annual Get BACk Challenge taking pace this year on Saturday July 2.
The annual Get BACk Challenge will take participants on a 100km cycle from Limerick to Doonbeg via the coastal route through Lahinch. A coastal 20km walk will also take place from Doonbeg for non cyclists on the same day with both events timed to finish together. In the past three years three time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond has participated in the event with plans to return this year. The funds raised from previous events has supported over 7,500 children in addition to annual contributions to hospices across the Mid West and funding for disability sports.
Phelim Macken, Coordinator with Limerick County Sports Partnership highlighted how Limerick is leading the way in sports through this partnership with the Get BACk Challenge. He said ‘this model of cooperation between the City and County Sports Partnerships and the Get BACk Challenge is the only one of its kind in the country and is being examined for national development.
Elaine Barry, Coordinator of the City Sports Partnership noted that “this approach achieves all of the objectives from participation in sports and activity particularly those considered as from sporting disadvantaged areas and has enabled us to innovate with so many of the programmes now supported with the funds raised in the Get BACk Challenge. A few of the programmes we have developed are now being rolled out in other counties while the recent Childhood Obesity programme ‘ Way to Go Kids’ with the HSE, Sports Partnership and Get BACk Challenge is looking like becoming a national programme based on the initial reaction to it.
She concluded “the programme of events organised with ourselves and the County Sports Partnership will allow everyone get involved in at least one event whether it is a family cycle or participating in the run series. The fact the 2011 represents City of Sport in Limerick also highlights the opportunity for all to set one challenge for themselves and help children in socially disadvantaged areas at the same time.’
Full details of the list of events and how to register are featured on the getbackchallenge.com website or the Limerickcitysports.ie and cllsp.ie websites.
