26 August 2018
Tafelta Athletics Club may be only two years in existence, but it looks like it could be organising the top race in the mid Ulster area this autumn. The club was founded in Magherafelt by respected coach Francis Purvis with the assistance of, among others, Rosemary Hargan, Katrina Davis and David Seffen. It now boasts a membership fast approaching 100.
The Tafelta 10 Miles goes ahead on Saturday, September 15 and follows a course in and around Magherafelt. The main sponsor is O’Neill’s sportswear company who this year are celebrating their centenary since setting up a manufacturer of gaelic footballs in 1918. They are now the largest producer of sportswear in Ireland.
“We’re looking forward to hosting our race next month,” said Purvis. “We decided to go for the ten miles because it’s a distance that used to be very popular but now rarely appears on the racing calendar. Sub 50 minutes clockings for the distance used to be quite common in Cookstown and other places and it would be nice to see someone run that fast on September 15.”
Kilronan School in Magherafelt is set to benefit financially from the race. Kilronan looks after children from age 3 to 19 years with severe learning difficulties and prides itself on providing each individual with a range of learning opportunities to meet their own needs and abilities. All money received from the race will be put to meeting this objective particularly when the government purse strings are growing tighter by the day.
Entry is currently open for the Tafelta “10” on the Athletics NI website. There are event tee-shirts for the first 200 entrants with Championchip Ireland providing accurate times for all the finishers. For more information contact Francis Purvis on 07597595831, or alternatively via email: francispurvis@hotmail.co.uk. The event website is www.klubfunder.com/clubs/tafelta_ac