The increasingly popular sport of trail running has attracted a professional French athlete to this year's Gaelforce Mountain Run which takes place on Saturday.
Thibaut Baronian, who is sponsored by trail running giant Salomon, is swapping the French Alps for Connemara's mountains to compete in the event.
Now in its fourth year, the Gaelforce Mountain Run takes place on the open mountains of the Killary Fjord, with three different levels for athletes of varying experience.
Seasoned hill runners will compete in the 22km elite event, for which there is prize money for the winners, while the 13km event is for intermediate runners, and a 12km introductory route is ideal for athletes with a certain level fitness and a pair of trail runners.
Organisers say the event shows off the amazing views of this stunning part of Connemara, Killary Fjord and views of the Twelve Bens, Mweelrea, Bengorm and the valleys.
Event organisers Killary Gaelforce, is an Irish company which was a trailblazer in Ireland for this type of event. Having started in 2006 with Gaelforce West, which continues to be the flagship event, there are now more than 10 events on the Killary Gaelforce calendar, which include adventure races, trail running, and mountain running.
Saturday's event. which is also a qualifying event for the prestigious Ultra Trail de Mount Blanc, starts and finishes in Killary Adventure Centre in Leenane.
For further information or to register go to https://gaelforceevents.com/en/gaelforce-mountain-run or call 095 42006.
