We would like to welcome you to the Streets of Galway 8km road race, which is organised by Galway City Harriers AC, the long established athletics club in Galway. Here you will find some more information about the race.
The Streets of Galway 8K road race is an annual event which had its inaugural running back in 1986.
Saturday 6th August 7pm will see the 36th staging of the race which has been hosted since 1991 by local athletics club, Galway City Harriers AC.
The race takes place on the weekend after the August Bank Holiday - Saturday 12th August 2023 at 7pm.
The race starts and finishes in the Claddagh area of Galway City. The course winds a path on the roads and streets through the city centre and out into the Salthill suburbs, before returning on the roads along the coastline to Southpark in the Claddagh where the finish line is located.
This year we are once again delighted to have the Blackrock Health Galway Clinic as the Streets of Galway 8K race sponsor.
The Blackrock Health Galway Clinic is a Galway institution and is a major health provider and employer for the city and county. The Blackrock Health Galway Clinic aims to improve the health and quality of life of the individuals and communities it serves, and to promote health and wellbeing across society.
Senior Men
Senior Women
1st €500
1st €500
2nd €250
2nd €250
3rd €150
3rd €150
4rd €100
4th €100
5th €75
5th €75
6th €50
6th €50
7th €50
7th €50
8th €50
8th €50
9th €50
9th €50
10th €50
10th €50
Junior Men
Junior Women
1st €50
1st €50
2nd €35
2nd €35
Men M40
Women F40
1st €50
1st €50
2nd €35
2nd €35
Men M45
Women F45
1st €50
1st €50
2nd €35
2nd €35
Men M50
Women F50
1st €50
1st €50
2nd €35
2nd €35
Men M55
Women F55
1st €50
1st €50
Men M60
Women F60
1st €50
1st €50
Men M65
Women F65
1st €50
1st €50
Men M70
Women F70
1st €30
1st €30
Men M75
Women F75
1st €30
1st €30
Men’s Club Team - 4 to Score
1st €200
2nd €100
Women’s Club Team - 3 to score
1st €150
2nd €75
Team Category - 4 to score (mixed gender)
1st €100
A standard entry fee of €25 will apply, plus AI levy and processing fee and includes a superb race tee shirt, number and chip timing and an opportunity to race the Streets of Ireland's friendliest city.
Register via Eventmaster website
The race starter list will be available closer to Race Day which is Saturday 12th August 2023.
The list will be published on the Galway City Harriers website.
Each participant receives a commemorative t-shirt when they pick up their race number.
Yes. There will be a bonus awarded if an overall race record is set by a male or female athlete. The current race records stand as follows:
Male race-record: 22m49s
Held jointly by Séamus Power (Kilmurray Ibrickane) 1998 and Josphat Boit (Clonliffe Harriers) 2009, albeit over different courses.
Female race-record: 26m01s
Rosemary Ryan (Bilboa AC) 2001
The above times must be improved on (and not just equalled) in order for a new race record to be officially ratified.
No. Team prizes will be awarded to the top 4 male scorers and the top 3 female scorers associated with the same athletics club (which must be affiliated to Athletics Ireland or some other national athletics governing body) according to the final finishing order.
There will also be a special category prize this year for groupings of individuals (e.g. workplace colleagues, gym members, family members, etc.) that are entered into the race together.
In order to do this, it is simply a matter of ensuring all team/family members associate the same team name (e.g. "Team Kelly") to their individual race entries via the "Workplace/Gym/non-AI Team" field on the online race entry form. Much like the athletics club team competition, teams do not have to be formally declared beforehand, they just need to be associated to the individual entry and team prizes will then be awarded based on the finishing order (e.g. first 4 members of the same team home = 1st team prize).
Note - it is permissible to associate your individual entry to both an athletics club and a team and enter both competitions. The main difference between the athletics club competition and the other team competition is that the non athletic club teams can be mixed gender. Team members are also eligible for individual category prizes.
Yes, absolutely. We would be delighted to get assistance in any way possible, either before, during or after the event. Some typical tasks that our race day volunteers carry out include:
- race pack assembly
- race pack collection
- catering (before and after)
- race route marshaling
- start/finish line logistics
- water distribution (5K mark and finish line)
Note - you do not have to be a member of host club Galway City Harriers AC to help out. Please contact sogvolunteers@gmail.com for more details.
You may officially transfer your race entry to another person via a link provided on the confirmation email you will have received on registration of your race entry. There will however be a nominal fee charged for this service.
Note - we cannot hold onto (for later collection) or post out t-shirts that are not collected at race pack collection time.
No. Unfortunately we cannot process refunds for logistical reasons.
No. Unfortunately we cannot process race entry deferrals not for logistical reasons.
No. We cannot process on the day entries for logistical reasons.
Your race pack will contain a race number (bib) with integrated timing chip and a souvenir t-shirt.
Yes - you must be a minimum of 16 years of age on the day of the race to run as a junior. If you are 20 years of age (or older) on the day of the race, you qualify to run as a senior athlete (or in one of the age/gender denominated age categories).
Please contact our online race registration partners in the first instance.
Yes. We cannot guarantee that you will get unobstructed passage on the race route after 60 minutes as stewarding will be scaled back at that point and roads will be fully open again.
Yes. It will not be required beyond the finish line but please dispose of carefully and do not litter.
No - Buggies, younger children or pets are not permitted on the race route.
No - for the safety of all, you are not permitted to run while listening to music. This is to ensure that you are aware of what is going on around you, and can clearly hear any instructions from the Gardaí or race officials when out on the course.
As a general rule, only athletes capable of finishing in less than 30 minutes should occupy the first 20 rows of the starting area. As a mark of courtesy to your fellow runners and for your own comfort and safety, we would ask that walkers/joggers/slower runners should place themselves towards the back of the field at the start. We have balloons with pacers for the following times :
35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes.
For all participants, please note that your timing chip will record your actual net time and any delays in crossing over the starting mat after the gun will not take from your chip time. Gun time (or gross time) will be considered as the official finish time and will be used to determine prize winners. Chip times will be recorded and published for all athletes as well however.
Your race number and timing chip have been specifically allocated to you and you alone. It is strictly forbidden to exchange them with anybody else. Please ensure that the number (bib) in your race pack corresponds to the race number assigned to you at registration time. If this is not the case, please return it to the race organisers. The timing chip is embedded in the race number (bib) and it is important to attach it securely to your running top and keep it attached for the duration of the entire race. Your race number (bib) should only be attached to the front of your running top in order for it to be accurately read by the timing system at race start/finish. Finally, do not bend, fold, trim or otherwise modify the race number (bib) in any way. Modifying the race number could damage the timing chip antenna which will impair it's sensitivity and result in either an incorrect or no reading.
There will be no parking at the start/finish area so please avail of the many city centre car parks or on street parking in the nearby vicinity.
Please note that as the race starts and finishes in a residential area, we would ask that you respect the local environs by not obstructing access to private residences and to use litter bins to dispose of all rubbish.
The race starts at 7pm sharp. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at the start line (15-20 minutes minimum) as due to the expected large numbers taking part you will miss the starting gun if you leave it to the last minute.
Race headquarters is at the Galway Rovers clubhouse on Nimmo's Pier in the Claddagh and you should go there to warm up (in Southpark) or to avail of the toilet or changing facilities beforehand.
No. Due to the logistics of the race and the distance covered, we do not apply for an official road closure. The Gardaí provide assistance with race marshaling however, particularly at all signaled junctions. There are numerous other race marshals stationed along the route to ensure safety of passage of all the athletes. Participants are requested to proceed with caution and to obey the instructions of the Gardaí and race officials at all times during the evening.
- Reason for chip-time = race-time in results data: No detection of the chip at the start-line but positive detection at finish-line
- Participant listed as "No Time" in results data: No detection at the finish-line (or commentator's pickup antenna on the course) but positive detection at the start-line.
Non-detection of timing chips are typically due to some or all combinations of the following issues:
- wearing of clothing over the race number (bib)
- arm held across the race number to start/stop/check a stopwatch
- race number folded horizontally affecting the chip antennae (chips are mounted vertically on the bib to align with number digits so as to minimise the risk of damage from folding even if logos are folded down to make the bib more compact)
- officials/spectators/other athletes standing in front of the finish-line antennae (only a couple of cases of this scenario typically occur during any race and only either primary or backup antennae tend to be covered at any one time)
- timing chip failure (less likely as two chips are present on the race number/bib - unless both chips happen to be damaged by folding mentioned above)
As you can see, timing a field as large as presents in the "Streets of Galway", is quite a complex and technical matter and participants can often increase the risk of failing to record a chip time by how they use their number.
Provisional results will be posted on the website of host club Galway City Harriers within 24 hours of the race finishing. Further, if you register your entry with a valid mobile phone number, you can expect SMS confirmation of your finishing time some time afterwards.
Individual race prizes are presented at race headquarters within one hour of the race finishing (approximately 8:30pm on race night). Team prizes may take longer to finalise and so may be presented after race day if the need arises.
Please send an email to streetsofgalway8k@gmail.com. We will endeavour to reply within 24 hours.
