WAAR (Wild Atlantic Adventure Race), which is organised by Healthy Club, Naomh Muire CLG, Donegal, consists of a Run, Cycle, Hike and Kayak traversing some of the most scenic routes along the Wild Atlantic Way including Carrickfinn beach and Mullaghdearg beach.

Almost 500 participants from all over Ireland and beyond took part in the adventure race on May 13th, an increase of 77 competitors from last year. The drastic change in weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the brave WAAR participants, many of whom were training since last year’s event to beat their own personal “Everest”. 

WAAR caters for all abilities, from the highly competitive to the more recreational participant. Seventy of the participants were over the age of 50 with the oldest participant, Brian Gallagher, aged 69 years. The proud father of the overall female winner, Siobhan Gallagher received a special award for he’s participation as the oldest member of WAAR 2017.

 WAAR is aimed at all club members and the wider community with four different routes to cater for individuals and teams of different levels of fitness and experience. Due to the high level of interest in the event Naomh Muire introduced a shorter sprint (39k course) this year to encourage more newcomers to adventure racing with the aim to encourage participation in the community. The true spirit of WAAR was evident when Shaun Stewart, first over the line and Valerie McGinley who was the last to cross the line received the two biggest applauds of the day.

Running, cycling and adventure racing has really exploded in the last couple of years in the Kincasslagh area since the introduction of WAAR in 2015. It was introduced by the Club Health & Wellbeing Committee in Naomh Muire with the aim to enhance community development in the area. They wanted to provide something unique that would not only reduce social inclusion but also enhance people’s physical and mental fitness. All the exercise classes provided by the club throughout the year including yoga, spinning and Couch to 5K feed into the annual WAAR event. 

Naomh Muire CLG are one of the 60 clubs in Ireland participating in Phase 2 of the GAA Healthy Clubs project, in partnership with Irish Life and Healthy Ireland. The project is focused on improving the health of the nation and capitalises on the key role played by GAA clubs in local communities all over the island of Ireland.  The intention is that the clubs will become hubs for health information and programmes thereby empowering their members and communities to enjoy healthier lifestyles.

National Healthy Club Coordinator, Aoife O’Brien who supported WAAR 2017 as an official starter, competitor, and presenter of awards said 
 
“WAAR is a great example of how clubs can reach out to the wider community and provide opportunities that not only support people’s physical health but also their mental and social health which is just as important for overall general wellbeing”.

Check out the following links for more information on the WAAR and the GAA’s Healthy Club Project:

https://www.waar.ie/

https://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/community-and-health/healthy-club/