The 2026 IQEQ Easter Festival of Running gets under way in Port Erin this evening with a record advance entry of 772 athletes and nearly 500 visiting competitors.
The weekend opens with the IQEQ 10km on Port Erin Promenade at 6.45pm, taking runners along the Gansey coastline before looping through Port St Mary and finishing back on the seafront.
Racing continues tomorrow with the Full Factory Winnerswear Peel Hill Races, with the men off at 2.15pm and the women at 3.15pm.
The Festival concludes on Sunday with the Outback 5km on Douglas Promenade, with women starting at 10.30am and men at 11.20am.
Entries will be accepted on the day subject to race limits.
Easter Festival of Running
The women’s field is headed by defending champion Rebecca Flaherty of Oxford University, fresh from winning U20 gold at the English National Cross-Country Championships.
She faces strong competition from Cambridge’s Niamh Bridson Hubbard, making her Isle of Man debut, along with Emily Ruane, Lucy Storey, Katie Lowery and Beth Ansell.
The men’s title race appears wide open, with Leeds’ Ritchie Gardiner, Cambridge’s Patrick Roddy, and Edinburgh duo Thomas Hilton and Angus Wright among the frontrunners.
Local interest centres on Ollie Lockley in Friday’s 10km, where his 28:29 personal best makes him the standout contender.
Cai Lewis is expected to feature strongly in Sunday’s 5km, while Ryan Corrin, Corbyn Schade and brothers Lucas and Harry Stennett add further Manx strength.
In the women’s local ranks, marathoner Christa Cain lines up for the 5km, Dawn Atherton contests the 10km, and veteran Joanne Schade returns for the shorter race.