2016 Manx Telecom Parish Walk entries open on December 1

The start of the 2015 Manx Telecom Parish Walk by Mike Lambden

The countdown to the 2016 Manx Telecom Parish Walk begins in earnest when entries open on Tuesday December 1, with discounts available for those who sign-up early. Enter before January 31 and it will cost just £30, but if you are a Manx Telecom mobile customer you will also receive an additional £5 discount thanks to the event’s title sponsor if they enter before January 31, 2016.

The 85-mile race is on Saturday June 18, starting as usual at the NSC. Certificates will be awarded to all walkers who complete the full 85-miles in under 24 hours. Sub 18 hour finishers receive a gold certificate, 18 to 21 hour finishers receive silver, and 21 to 24 hour finishers, bronze. For 2016, there will again be a competition for younger walkers aged 18 to 21 completing the 32.5 miles to Peel with prizes donated by Manx Telecom for the first male and first female competitor. There’s a Corporate Team Award for teams of four walkers who are all from the same Isle of Man based company and with no more than one walker who has previously completed the full 85 mile distance. And there’s an Overall Team category for four walkers which cannot include more than two who have completed the full 85 miles. In both of the team competitions the winners will be decided by the highest aggregate distance covered by all four members, and all participants in the team competitions must enter individually and include their team names.

David Smith, Manx Telecom Marketing Director, said: “2016 will be our fifth year as title sponsor, and during that time we have supported the hard work of the organisers by bringing our technical and marketing expertise to help them encourage many new participants of all ages to take part. In previous years our mobile customer discount on entry fees has proved to be very popular, so we’re delighted to offer this again for 2016. In the New Year we will also have some exciting news about all three of the biggest sports and community events we sponsor – the Manx Telecom Parish Walk; Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge; and the Tough Mann Adventure Challenge. We can’t say too much right now, but watch this space!”

All Manx Telecom Parish Walk entries must be made online at www.parishwalk.com and the final closing date is May 8. From February 1 to March 31 the entry fee is £35, and £40 from April 1 until the final closing date.

Manx Telecom has been the Parish Walk’s title sponsor since 2012, but the company’s support for the event goes back to 2007 when it began sponsoring the official timing and results service. In this year’s event defending champion Richard Gerrard won the race and set a new record time of 14hrs 40mins 08secs, knocking more than two minutes off the previous best time. Janette Morgan retained the women’s title and finished ninth in the overall standings. Michael George and David Walker finished second and third respectively in the men’s event, while Karen Chiarello and Stephanie Quayle were second and third in the ladies’ race. A total of 175 walkers completed the full 85-mile course within 24 hours. The under-21s winners Alex Eaton and Danielle Oates who both won in 2014 too.