08/10/2026
🏔️ **GLENDALOUGH AC WINTER LEAGUE 2026/27 IS BACK!** 🏃♀️🏃♂️
**16 races. Your best 7 count. One Grande Finale!**
Our Winter League kicks off on **Saturday 10 October with Green Gapways**, launching another winter of running around some of the most beautiful trails, forests, lakes and hills in County Wicklow.
This year we've expanded the programme to 16 runs, running through to February, with a mix of easier, runnable routes and a few tougher challenges as the winter progresses.
And **guests are very welcome!** You don't need to be a fast runner or an experienced trail runner to take part.
🟢 **HOW DOES IT WORK?**
Our Winter League is a little different from an ordinary race series.
You're not simply competing against the fastest runners. Instead, we use your recent performances to establish a secret handicap and predict what you should be capable of on each course.
You choose your distance and how hard you intend to run, using our modified Gösta Holmér / Lydiard effort scale, from very easy to full effort.
Let us know your chosen distance and effort **on WhatsApp before you start**, then report your finishing time and actual effort afterwards.
You'll receive a score based on how closely you matched your predicted performance. The closer you are, the higher your score!
**Your best 7 scores from the 16 races count towards the league standings**, which determine the staggered starts for our traditional Grande Finale.
The beauty of the format is that you can use these runs as anything from an easy training outing to a hard race effort. You don't have to race flat out every Saturday to do well!
⏰ **TWO START TIMES, TWO DISTANCES**
**8:30am or 9:30am every Saturday listed**
Both the short (usually around 5km) and long (usually around 10km) options are available at **either start time**.
🎄 **CHRISTMAS CRACKER – 19 DECEMBER**
We'll also have a special team competition, pairing runners from the early and late starts. The fastest combined teams take home a special Christmas prize!
🌲 **GUEST RUNNERS – PLEASE READ**
We welcome runners from other clubs and those interested in trying out Glendalough AC.
A few important points:
✅ **These are formal Glendalough AC training sessions**, rather than organised races.
✅ **They are NOT marked or guided runs.** Course descriptions and route information are provided in advance. Most courses follow existing official waymarkers or are simple routes that are easy to navigate, but runners are responsible for knowing and following their chosen route.
✅ **Guest runners should send us a few recent race results in advance.** This helps us establish a suitable starting handicap so you can participate in the scoring from your first run.
✅ **AAI-registered runners from any club are welcome** to participate under the applicable Athletics Ireland insurance arrangements.
✅ **Non-AAI-registered runners may attend as guests up to twice** to see whether they enjoy the sessions. After that, they should join Glendalough AC or another AAI-affiliated club to continue participating.
All runners should be comfortable covering their chosen distance independently and take appropriate care on trails, roads and shared paths as if you were out running on your own.
🏆 **THE GRANDE FINALE**
After the regular league, we'll bring everyone together for our traditional handicap finale.
The league leader starts first, with everyone else chasing at intervals determined by their league scores.
**First across the finish line wins!**
📅 **Saturday 10 October – Green Gapways, Laragh**
The full fixture calendar and a visual guide to how the scoring works are included in the graphics below.
Whether you're training for your next big race, looking to improve your running or simply want a regular Saturday morning outing with good company, we'd love to see you.
And, of course, there's usually coffee and a bit of post-run analysis afterwards. ☕😁
