Organisers of the Strabane Lifford Half Marathon have advised motorists to expect some delays in and around Strabane and Lifford on race day on Sunday May 18th.
The 10th edition of the cross-border event begins at the Alley Theatre at 9.30am and finishes on the Melvin Race Track where the last runners will come in at around 12.30pm.
A redesigned course will take runners through Lifford, up to Clady village and back to Strabane however runners will now avoid the A5 by-pass and run around more of Strabane centre in the early miles.
The race will also incorporate the Strabane Pedestrian Bridge for the first time which runners will cross in their 13th and final mile before the running track finish.
The spectator friendly course will cause some delays in Strabane town centre during the early miles with Railway Street, Bridge Street and Bradley Way particularly affected between 9.30am and 10am.
Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr, who will officially start Sunday’s sold out race, wished all the runners well and urged them to familiarise themselves with the traffic and travel arrangements in place.
“There is great excitement around Strabane for the Half Marathon which is one of the town’s largest events of the year,” she said.
“The new course looks great and will allow spectators to see more of the runners in and around Strabane town centre before making their way to the Melvin Running Track for the race finish.
“Between participants and supporters there will be several thousand people in attendance on Sunday and the atmosphere should be electric so I’d urge everyone to come out and support the runners.
“As always with an event of this scale, some traffic disruption is inevitable but our Festival and Events team will aim to keep this to a minimum.”
The Half Marathon will travel along the following roads and traffic will be affected on: Main Street, Bridge Street, Urney Road, A5 (from Urney Road to Bradley Way Roundabout), Bradley Way, John Wesley Street, Dock Street, Canal Street, Railway Street, A5 Barnhill, A38 Lifford Road, N15 Urney Road, Great Northern Link Junction, Meeting House Street and Ballycolman Estate.
To ensure the safety of both runners and motorists it will be necessary to introduce temporary traffic restrictions for a short time and disruptions to normal traffic will only be for a very short period of time, these have been carefully selected in consultation with PSNI, Gardaí, Department For Infrastructure and Donegal County Council, to minimise delays and inconvenience for residents and traffic.
Commuters are being requested to, where possible, avoid travelling along the affected route during the event and if they must do so to follow the signed diversions and allow some extra time for your journey.
On the Donegal side of the border the N15 southbound lane between Lifford and Clady will be closed from 8.30am – 1pm and diversions will be in place.
“We have been overwhelmed with the demand for places for the 2025 Strabane Lifford Half Marathon, it sold out in record time and we are looking forward to hosting our biggest field yet,” said Festival and Events Manager at Council Jacqueline Whoriskey.
“With more people taking part and attending we expect some delays on and around the race route however if motorists familiarise themselves with the arrangements these can be kept to a minimum.
“If you live along one of the roads on the route, please help by parking your vehicle off the road for the duration of the race and if you live off one of the main roads affected, please be careful exiting.
“Police and race marshals will be present around the race route to provide advice on the day.”
There is No Parking at Melvin Sports Complex on the day of the event and there is designated Half Marathon Parking for participants at Canal Street Car Park directly behind the start line at the Alley Theatre.
Other available Car Parks are John Wesley Street, Lower Main Street, Upper Main Street and Butcher Street.
As the event is on a Sunday morning it may be prudent to allow a little extra time to reach Church Services in Strabane, Lifford, Castelfinn and Doneyloop.
Police, Gardai and race marshals will be present around the race route to provide advice.
Race pack collections will take place on Friday 16th May from 4pm to 8pm, Saturday 17th May from 9am to 2pm in Melvin Sports Complex, there will be an opportunity to collect race packs on the morning of the race at the Melvin from 7.30am – 8.30am for any runners who can’t make it on Friday and Saturday,
For further information, please contact [email protected] or Council’s Festivals and Events Team on 028 71 253253.
A full breakdown of road closures and the expected times are available on the event website at: www.derrystrabane.com/slhm where a full video of the course is also available to view.
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