Three-time Olympian Derval O’Rourke to take part as national race ambassador
Hundreds set to descend on Galway City as participants get ready to hit the streets
Hundreds of people are set to return once again to the streets of Galway on Wednesday the 14th of September as the GT5K race series returns to the city. It marks the return of Ireland’s longest running corporate race event in person after taking place virtually in 2020 and 2021.
Now in its 11th year, the GT5K series has grown from a single event in one location to series of 5K races involving over 8,000 participants, covering each province in the country. Three-time Olympian Derval O’Rourke will be race ambassador this year once again, while Irish Rugby Player James Lowe, BBC Journalist Holly Hamilton and Conor Oliver, Connacht Rugby player will join this year’s social squad.
While the race series was held virtually for the past two years due to Covid, it allowed GT5K to expand its international reach and saw runners participating from 23 different countries across the globe, including the UK, US, Cayman Islands, and Australia.
The locations and dates for the 2022 series are;
- Cork City on Tuesday 6th September
- Galway City on Wednesday 14th September
- Dublin Docklands on Tuesday 4th October.
Those taking part in other parts of the country from Belfast to Waterford, Mayo to Meath, can also complete the 5k race on October 4th alongside those in the physical Dublin race and register their times online.
Building on the success of the recent virtual events, organisers are also delighted to announce that a virtual option will also be available to participants internationally on the 4th October.
Grant Thornton's GT5K Ireland ambassador Derval O’Rourke was one of the many runners who participated in last year’s virtual run.
Commenting in the lead up to the GT5K race in Galway, Olympian Derval O’Rourke said: ‘I am delighted to see the GT5K event returning to Galway following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. As national ambassador, I’m really looking forward to seeing the streets busy again for the GT5K event with an atmosphere that is unrivalled both in the event itself and the fun and comradery during the celebrations afterwards.’
Aimed at encouraging social running amongst the business community across the country and indeed internationally via the virtual format, the event welcomes everybody from seasoned runners to complete beginners. Each run can be completed individually or as a team, with four participants on each team. Team members’ times are combined to determine the winner in each category. There are three categories; male, female & mixed.
Michael McAteer, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton Ireland, said: “We are delighted to see the return of the live run for Grant Thornton’s GT5K series in Galway. It has been brilliant to see the GT5K grow over the years, from a single run in 2012, to a fully-fledged series in many locations around the island of Ireland just over a decade later.
‘It’s fantastic to have the support of the business community in Galway year-on-year, with more and more signing up and enjoying the healthy competition. This year we hope to build on the series’ success both nationally and internationally.
‘We look forward to GT5K 2022 being our biggest race series ever, which will help raise funds for the Red Cross and the brilliant work they do globally.’
All of the GT5K events are chip timed, with each participant receiving a technical t-shirt and virtual goody bag.
For registration and more information visit: https://www.grantthornton.ie/gt5k/
The Red Cross is the preferred charity partner for the GT5K race series in all locations globally and Grant Thornton Ireland as well as Athletics Ireland are delighted to supporting them with their inspiring humanitarian efforts around the world.
The Irish Red Cross is part of the largest global network of voluntary humanitarian action in the world - the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - which has a national organisation in nearly every country in the world - some 189 Red Cross or Red Crescent societies in total. The Irish Red Cross works both at home in Ireland and in countries overseas which have been damaged by wars or natural disasters.
